I feel like removing it removes some noise, but doesn't affect the tone. Story is, the MASH showrunners didn't want a laugh track, but the network insisted, so they used the lowest-fidelity one they could get away with.

Thankfully it was broadcast in the UK without the laugh track.

Obviously it still wasn't as darkly observant as the movie, but it did have a edge.

Alan Alda has mentioned in interviews that he prefers it that way.