Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Author Topic: Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA  (Read 20339 times)

bricon

  • Member
  • Posts: 322
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #15 on: March 09, 2005, 12:36:57 PM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 12:29 PM\']9- Ellen
11- ? right now
[snapback]77579[/snapback]
[/quote]

Ellen is in 11, Miller in 9 currently.

Add Blockbusters (Cullen) to shows that used studio 1 occasionally...I'll try to dig out some tickets and post the revolving studio changes.

tvrandywest

  • Member
  • Posts: 1656
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #16 on: March 09, 2005, 01:57:48 PM »
[quote name=\'bricon\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 09:36 AM\']Ellen is in 11, Miller in 9 currently.
[snapback]77582[/snapback]
[/quote]
Then Ellen is where Paula Poundstone was last seen on a game show, and Dennis is now sitting in the former Sweep deli section!

Randy
tvrandywest.com
« Last Edit: March 09, 2005, 02:01:54 PM by tvrandywest »
The story behind the voice you know and love... the voice of a generation of game shows: Johnny Olson!

Celebrate the centennial of the America's favorite announcer with "Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time."

Preview the book free: click "Johnny O Tribute" http://www.tvrandywest.com

uncamark

  • Guest
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #17 on: March 09, 2005, 04:53:23 PM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 01:57 PM\'][quote name=\'bricon\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 09:36 AM\']Ellen is in 11, Miller in 9 currently.
[snapback]77582[/snapback]
[/quote]
Then Ellen is where Paula Poundstone was last seen on a game show, and Dennis is now sitting in the former Sweep deli section!

[snapback]77584[/snapback]
[/quote]

And if all of a sudden one night Miller jumps up and says, "and now it's time for the Round Robin game!", we'll know.

johnnya2k3

  • Member
  • Posts: 686
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #18 on: March 09, 2005, 05:06:01 PM »
[quote name=\'dzinkin\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 09:35 AM\'][quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 12:29 PM\']1- Access Hollywood (and I believe Dennis Miller) just moved to the larger quarters.
[snapback]77579[/snapback]
[/quote]
But where was Access Hollywood when Pat O'Brien was hosting?
[snapback]77580[/snapback]
[/quote]
When the show debuted in 1996 (with Larry Mendte and Giselle Fernandez; Pat didn't come in till the following year and of course Nancy O'Dell's been there since day one), they were at Studio 5 which they shared with "Later." Access moved to Studio 1 early last year before Pat left.

Speaking of Ellen DeGeneres now taping at Studio 11...where was The Other Half?

Jonathan Allen

tvrandywest

  • Member
  • Posts: 1656
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #19 on: March 09, 2005, 06:10:06 PM »
[quote name=\'johnnya2k3\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 02:06 PM\']Speaking of Ellen DeGeneres now taping at Studio 11...where was The Other Half?
[snapback]77621[/snapback]
[/quote]
Anne Heche has moved on. Don't you watch Access Hollywood?!

Randy
tvrandywest
The story behind the voice you know and love... the voice of a generation of game shows: Johnny Olson!

Celebrate the centennial of the America's favorite announcer with "Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time."

Preview the book free: click "Johnny O Tribute" http://www.tvrandywest.com

mystery7

  • Member
  • Posts: 753
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #20 on: March 09, 2005, 06:14:19 PM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 06:10 PM\'][quote name=\'johnnya2k3\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 02:06 PM\']Speaking of Ellen DeGeneres now taping at Studio 11...where was The Other Half?
[snapback]77621[/snapback]
[/quote]
Anne Heche has moved on. Don't you watch Access Hollywood?!

Randy
tvrandywest
[snapback]77643[/snapback]
[/quote]
He's probably moved on to watching The Insider.

johnnya2k3

  • Member
  • Posts: 686
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #21 on: March 09, 2005, 07:17:05 PM »
I was just asking you where was The Other Half (with Danny Bonaduce, Dick Clark, and Mario Lopez) taped? I know it was probably somewhere in the NBC lot.

Jonathan Allen
« Last Edit: March 09, 2005, 07:17:34 PM by johnnya2k3 »

bricon

  • Member
  • Posts: 322
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #22 on: March 09, 2005, 08:12:11 PM »
[quote name=\'johnnya2k3\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 07:17 PM\']I was just asking you where was The Other Half (with Danny Bonaduce, Dick Clark, and Mario Lopez) taped? I know it was probably somewhere in the NBC lot.
[snapback]77652[/snapback]
[/quote]

NBC studio 11, then Sunset Gower Studios.

joshg

  • Member
  • Posts: 659
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #23 on: March 10, 2005, 07:15:03 AM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 09:29 AM\']1- Access Hollywood (and I believe Dennis Miller) just moved to the larger quarters. Miller had been in the cramped MS-NBC/CNBC news closet on the second floor (originally the home of those 5 minute newscasts at :55 of some hours)
[snapback]77579[/snapback]
[/quote]

Are the AH offices still in those trailers out back on the NBC lot? You know, the beige trailers that parallel Bob Hope Drive.

Josh
Because Chiffon Wrinkles...

tvrandywest

  • Member
  • Posts: 1656
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #24 on: March 10, 2005, 12:43:38 PM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 03:10 PM\'][quote name=\'johnnya2k3\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 02:06 PM\']Speaking of Ellen DeGeneres now taping at Studio 11...where was The Other Half?
[snapback]77621[/snapback]
[/quote]
Anne Heche has moved on.
[snapback]77643[/snapback]
[/quote]
Damn, and I thought that was gonna be "line of the day"!

But back on-topic... Both NBC Burbank and CBS-TV City were built at approximately the same time. The motion picture industry that had previously forbidden their contract stars to appear on the up-start, competitive medium of television had relaxed that prohibition. The networks and studios (particularly Universal, at first) were now in business together as traditional Hollywood was filming the dramas, westerns and sitcoms that filled the TV schedule. Access to the West Coast stars, the growing need for a Hollywood presence and more sophisticated production facilities were among the motivations to move West. CBS was mostly working from a bunch of converted theaters scattered around mid-town Manhattan and a few converted radio studios in Hollywood.

NBC's studios 1 and 3 were designed for shows with audiences with the "stadium seating" high-angle audience tiers. The audience members climbed a flight of stairs outside of the studio so they could be seated and escorted in a way that never allowed them access to the stage floor. Each of those two studios had an audience entrance that fronted along the building's main facade. More than one star asked for an office above those Alameda Avenue entrances so they could see the audience members well before show time.

Studios 2 and 4 had no audience accommodations, and they were positioned at the other end of the building. Each has a huge stage making them versatile for all sorts of dramatic applications, and 1 even sits atop a water tank with glass windows for underwater shooting; the floor is removeable in sections to open the pool as needed. It's empty now for several reasons including the smell of the chemicals needed to keep algae from growing, and the problem with floor tiles that curled in the humid environment.

The other studios, such as 5 and 10, were smaller, located more in the heart of the building making accommodating audiences impractical, and were less versatile. Studios 9 and 11 were added decades later.

The coolest thing about NBC Burbank: the underground passages and tunnels.


Randy
tvrandywest.com
« Last Edit: March 10, 2005, 12:51:03 PM by tvrandywest »
The story behind the voice you know and love... the voice of a generation of game shows: Johnny Olson!

Celebrate the centennial of the America's favorite announcer with "Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time."

Preview the book free: click "Johnny O Tribute" http://www.tvrandywest.com

uncamark

  • Guest
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #25 on: March 10, 2005, 01:06:09 PM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 10 2005, 12:43 PM\']The other studios, such as 5 and 10, were smaller, located more in the heart of the building making accommodating audiences impractical, and were less versatile. Studios 9 and 11 were added decades later.
[snapback]77742[/snapback]
[/quote]

Was 5 the local public affairs shows studio?  When I took the NBC tour, they mentioned that they shot "Fight Back! with David Horowitz" in the local public affairs studio with a small audience.  (It's been so long that I can't remember if they let the audience alone or Mother MacKenzied it on the show.)

MikeK

  • Member
  • Posts: 5216
  • Martha!
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #26 on: March 10, 2005, 01:19:18 PM »
[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Mar 10 2005, 01:06 PM\']When I took the NBC tour, they mentioned that they shot "Fight Back! with David Horowitz" in the local public affairs studio with a small audience.  (It's been so long that I can't remember if they let the audience alone or Mother MacKenzied it on the show.)[/quote]
The Fight Back! audience wasn't sweetened, at least during the years I avidly watched FB! (mid 80s to the end of its run in the early 90s).

ObGS:  The IMDB says Lloyd Thaxton produced Fight Back!

SRIV94

  • Member
  • Posts: 5507
  • From the Rock of Chicago, almost live...
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #27 on: March 10, 2005, 01:22:22 PM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 10 2005, 11:43 AM\']Studios 2 and 4 had no audience accommodations, and they were positioned at the other end of the building.
[snapback]77742[/snapback]
[/quote]
Just to make sure I'm understanding you correctly, are you saying that any show taped in 2 or 4 had no audience?  Or were accommodations added later (even if it was merely bridge chairs)?

There would be occasional moments during an NBC game where the cameras would be turned around to reveal audience members (Jim Perry getting a standing ovation on CS for his 3000th show, GONG audience members dancing to Gene Gene's music, to name a few--I'm not even counting putting the first few rows of SCRABBLE's audience in camera range).  So if the answer to question 1 is "they had no audience" would it be be safe to assume that any show where you saw an audience was taped in either 1 or 3?

One thing I do recall from GSN having shown it and me getting it on tape--when they showed the audience giving Perry a standing ovation on CS for that classic "3000th" episode (aired in July 1980), the back of the studio was adorned in yellow.  From just that little bit of info is it ascertainable what studio that was (or were they ALL yellow)?

Sorry for rambling--sometimes "the game behind the game" fascinates me just as much (hmmm, good title for a book ;-) ).

Doug
« Last Edit: March 10, 2005, 01:26:37 PM by SRIV94 »
Doug
----------------------------------------
"When you see the crawl at the end of the show you will see a group of talented people who will all be moving over to other shows...the cameramen aren't are on that list, but they're not talented people."  John Davidson, TIME MACHINE (4/26/85)

bricon

  • Member
  • Posts: 322
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #28 on: March 10, 2005, 01:39:52 PM »
[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 9 2005, 03:10 PM\']NBC's studios 1 and 3 were designed for shows with audiences with the "stadium seating" high-angle audience tiers. The audience members climbed a flight of stairs outside of the studio so they could be seated and escorted in a way that never allowed them access to the stage floor. Each of those two studios had an audience entrance that fronted along the building's main facade. More than one star asked for an office above those Alameda Avenue entrances so they could see the audience members well before show time.
[snapback]77742[/snapback]
[/quote]
Randy, do you know when the high entrance for studio 3 was closed off?  It seemed like the bleachers in 3 then were retractable, as in a gymnasium.  Always saw the audience enter from the side door to the floor, then up the bleachers.

Quote
Studios 2 and 4 had no audience accommodations, and they were positioned at the other end of the building.

Both have the same type of retractable bleachers.  In fact depending on the size of the set, they would use variable rows of seats.  For something like "Real People", they would use the full house of seats.  When I saw Wheel Of Fortune for the first time, I don't think there were more than 5 or 6 rows used (was either studio 2 or 4).

Quote
The other studios, such as 5 and 10, were smaller, located more in the heart of the building making accommodating audiences impractical, and were less versatile. Studios 9 and 11 were added decades later.

Audiences were definitely used in 5 as stated for Fight Back, and various game shows like You Don't Say and It's Your Bet.  They'd have audiences assemble in the tour lobby then march them through the middle of the building to the stage.

Studio 9, I was told, was originally a storage building, converted to studio for Days Of Our Lives some years back.

The other odd thing is that studios 1 and 3 were built first, and numbered as such; 2 and 4 were several years later.  Randy, have you ever heard why they weren't numbered consecutively as they were built?

tvrandywest

  • Member
  • Posts: 1656
Recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA
« Reply #29 on: March 10, 2005, 02:33:05 PM »
A lotta questions. let me take a shot.

I was referencing information dating back to the facility's construction. 1 and 3 had the audience enter from Alameda Avenue via the second floor. Brian, I don't know when that was closed off, it was quite some time ago. Indeed the original permanent seating was replaced with bleachers, likely at the same time. But you should know that even to this day many in the Leno audience in 3 are loaded via stairs, although it is not the original flight of stairs. While that original rear, second floor entry still exists in studio 1, folks were loaded for at least the last few audience shows in that studio (WL, 21, etc.) as you remember in studio 3 (HS, SOTC, etc.), walking on the stage, mostly for the audiences' convenience and to comply with ADA rules - there is no elevator to accommodate the disabled when using the second floor entrance.

5 and 10 were not designed for audiences, although they were later "audience rated", and indeed did seat a small audience for shows such as "Fight Back" and as recently as that late night show that ended a few years back (I forget the name). That set was on the opposite wall from AH. The public affairs shows that used 5 are now in a corner of studio 10 where the KNBC news is a permanent set.

Yes, 2 and 4 did have audiences in the 70s and 80s; those audience shots were real. Again, I was discussing the original design - there was never permanenent seating as was built into 1 and 3. Things have gone full circle in both rooms. On my last look it appeared they no longer had the retractable bleachers that Brian speaks of, that were added for the game shows discussed in this thread. The wall closest to the parking lot where they used to retract appears to now be a permanent wall. Let me add for clarity, some variety shows and specials that taped in those studios (such as "Midnight Special", Flip Wilson, Andy Williams, Perry Como, Sammy Davis, etc.) did have audiences in seating sections that were integrated into the sets for those specific shows. Some "Laugh-In" skits had small audiences in 2 and/or 4. And some of the Dean Martin Roasts were taped there using a variety of "audiences" that ran the gamut from tables and chairs on the stage floor to simply cardboard cut-outs of people, with the audio fully sweetened.

9 and 11 were built in an area that was partially used for storage; there is still a great deal of set storage adjacent to those stages. Props and the set fabricating shop are in the main building.

No, I don't know the motivation behind the numbering system at NBC Burbank, but nothing I ever saw suggested that there was an alternate blueprint that included any specificly planned accommodation for future construction.

The latter seems to be the case at CBS-TV City. I'm told that the hallway we all know and love housing 31, 33, 41 and 43 was to be one of TWO such wings. Under that plan the corresponding studios in the other hallway were to be numbered 11, 13, 21 and 23. What happened to the even numbers in those sequences? I was told 32, 34, 42 and 44 were saved for possible future construction near the existing wing. But even Cappy, among the oldest of the old-timers at TV City seems unclear on all of this. I say that with great respect. But the original motivation behind much of this appears to be long gone, as Cappy was in the conversation at the Carruthers memorial in 33 where there was confusion about which of the sunken audience stages utilized which of the non-audience stages as "slaves" for commercial cut-aways.

Enough for now.


Randy
tvrandywest.com
« Last Edit: March 10, 2005, 02:46:42 PM by tvrandywest »
The story behind the voice you know and love... the voice of a generation of game shows: Johnny Olson!

Celebrate the centennial of the America's favorite announcer with "Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time."

Preview the book free: click "Johnny O Tribute" http://www.tvrandywest.com