Last week I went to three shows. Actually, the only two sitcoms I had any interest in seeing were The Big Bang Theory and The New Adventures of Old Christine. Unfortunately, both film on the same day (Tuesday) -- on the same lot (Warner Brothers). I had been waiting all Fall, hoping one of the shows would slide its schedule by a day. It didn't happen, so I ended up going last week and making a choice. (BTW, I found airfare to be dirt cheap - $239 total round trip between National (non-stop!) and LAX, and hotels also cheap -- I ended up spending $60 bucks a night, before taxes, at the Ramada on Vermont.) Anyway, I enjoy Big Bang somewhat more than Christine, so that's the show I decided to go to. I've been to many, many tapings of TV shows -- but I've never been to a taping where the audience was made up of dozens of Cal Tech postdocs! It made for an unusual experience -- one of the postdocs even pointed out what he thought was an error in the script -- which led to him having a lively exchange with Bill Prady, one of the executive producers. The warm-up guy, Mark Sweet, (who I've seen many times before, and, in fact, saw again on Thursday) really didn't know what to make of the unusual audience. At one point, he invited members to come up and say what the show has meant to them. Several postdocs took him up on the offer. Before the taping started we were shown the episode that had been filmed the week before. I believe that it was shown last night, but I was out and haven't watched it yet. Much to my surprise -- and delight -- the suggestion I had given Prady more than a year ago (when I had seen one scene filmed on a Saturday afternoon) made it into the script! There before my eyes was the handsome, immensely popular, hugely successful physicist character -- catching the eye of Penny. Speaking of influencing a script -- one of the postdocs supplied a punchline for the show we saw being taped. I'll let you know if it is used. The next night I went to a taping of Kimmel's show. I'd been to the show before, so I have nothing really new to report (the pretty people get seats on the first two rows). The audience saw an interview with Courteney Cox; however, the show broadcast that evening had an interview with Zoey Deschanel, which had been taped at an earlier time. The other guest was Brian Austin Green. Sorry, I'm not at all a fan of this new singer Adele, who's been nominated for four Grammies. I saw a CBS Sunday Morning piece on her, and I was unimpressed, and seeing her perform live didn't change my opinion. Usually singers who have unremarkable voices can write decent songs, but I don't think she can even do that. On Thursday, my only choice was "Surviving Suburbia." I'll be shocked if this show gets more than a summer burn-off. Talk about a lame sitcom. It is the lamest of the lame. Who really wants to sit through a show starring Bob Saget? The writing's really got to be great to get past that, and, in this case, it isn't. And, while Cynthia Stevenson is cute on screen, her character couldn't whine more than if...well, I dunno, but you get the idea. The show contains zero memorable characters, and that combined with mundane scripts (we were shown the pilot), just makes it unwatchable. Well, that's my short summary. Oh, one more thing. You know, we occasionally talk about regional eateries (and, yes, I did manage to make it to In-N-Out three times) -- well, I spotted a Pinkberry at the Farmers Market. Since I had read something about it, I thought I should give it a try. Well, let me tell you. I think that was the best substance I've ever tasted in my entire life. Yes, it was that good. That memorable. I looked them up online and apparently they're only in California and New York. Since I'll be going to New York -- again -- next month, I'm looking forward to reliving the experience. Melissa P.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Like TV only smarter. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
