Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Backstage at Big Bang Theory

Back in October, Simon Helberg auctioned off a backstage tour of The Big Bang Theory, with the proceeds from the auction going to a theater company. A friend of mine, Carl, was one of two winners, and very graciously offered to let me come along!

So at the taping last night we checked in as VIPs, had reserved seats in the front row right in front of the guys' apartment, and when it ended were given purple wristbands to get backstage. Once we were back there, Simon greeted us, and started by handing us each a folder that contained a cast picture signed by himself, Jim, Johnny, Kunal, and Kaley.

Between the crew, guest stars, and other lucky guests, it was still quite busy down on the stage, and at first Simon was often stopped to be introduced to someone. But I took those opportunities to take as many pictures of the sets and prop details as I could, relishing the chance to finally see things up close.




We spent time in the guys' apartment first. After Simon gave us the okay to take pictures, but not physically take anything (of course!), I heard him telling someone that when his mom used to take him on sets as a kid, he would take little things like pieces of paper - things no one would notice, just because he could. When I took a picture of a chess set I'd noticed during the taping, which I didn't recognize, Simon commented that it must be new, because he didn't remember seeing it before. And when we peeked through the door that led to the "bathroom" from the hallway, we found a toilet and an open space that led further backstage - Simon recommended against using that toilet!

Of course, we took turns having our picture taken sitting in Sheldon's spot (with Simon on the couch next to us!), and I also got a picture sitting in Leonard's armchair. We went to Penny's apartment next (I was excited to get a good look at the pictures on her fridge), and I also scoped out the laundry room for good measure.



Throughout the tour Simon was very friendly and talkative - asking where we were from, and very surprised that Carl and his two friends had flown out from Texas just for the taping. Simon also talked a little about how he and his wife are expecting, and said she's due at the end of May - he said they didn't plan it to coincide with his summer hiatus from work, but it ended up working perfectly. He talked about living in LA and the different areas nearby (he lives only about 10 minutes from the studios), and when I mentioned I went to school in Malibu, he said he'd also lived there for a while.

I also made sure to tell Simon that his line about eating a butterfly was one of the funniest moments from the whole season, really the whole scene, and he was very appreciative.

While wandering backstage I had seen Kunal, Wil Wheaton, and Kevin Sussman, but didn't have a chance to say hi to any of them. But before we left, Simon went to find Kunal so we could meet him too. Kunal recognized me right away, and asked surprised, "What are you doing down here?" At Simon's confusion, Kunal said that he sees me almost nearly every week in the audience. (Since Kunal often sticks around to sign autographs, I usually get a brief chance to say hi as he signs my program for the week.) Then Simon said that makes sense, because he thought I looked familiar.

Kunal's wife was also there with him, so I told them both that I'd seen some of their wedding pictures, and they were beautiful, and congratulated them. Simon then joked that it was just a "small wedding." (If you haven't seen the pics, check them out here.) I told both Kunal and Simon that last night would be my last taping for the season, so when Kunal left he told me "see you next year, probably!"

In all it was a dream come true to actually walk the sets, and I can't thank Carl enough for letting me come, or Simon Helberg for offering the opportunity in the first place.

If you'd like to see all of my pictures from last night, you can view them in my new Flikr album here, or in the slideshow below:



22 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing this up, Roxanne! And somehow I had a feeling that that butterfly thing would come up because you loved it so much. And I love all the pics, especially the fridge one. But I've already told you that enough times. :D And I love that Kunal knows you. That is awesome. :D

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    1. Ha, I love that you thought that about the butterfly thing - I really do love that line.

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  2. So is that girl in the picture you Roxanne? I finally get to know who the legendary Roxanne is?

    You are so lucky! It must have been so awesome :3 It's too bad they won't let you go anymore. Why would they do that though? And how did they get you e-mail?

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    1. I don't know about legendary, but that would be me in the pictures! And they have my email because it's part of the contact info you give when you get the tickets - so they can contact you if the date or time changes (which has happened on occasion).

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  3. Funny how Simon was wearing the exact same hat when I met him last year. LOL.

    For some reason I can not post as KrystaMae:(

    http://twitpic.com/4evjav

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  4. Hi Roxanne! After seeing your picture on stage, I remember seeing you waiting in line the night my daughter and I went to the show on February 28. You were in the very front, so you must have had a stand by ticket that night. I can see both sides, though, of them finally following the rules for getting in, my daughter and I tried for 4 months, doing the same things you did, constantly refreshing the web site before we finally got tickets. We had to wait until we got garanteed seats, because we made the trip from the east coast. It worked out, though, because our birthdays are late Feb and early March, so we made it a girls birthday trip. There was an older couple in front of us in line, who also had garanteed seats, and I think they had been to the show other times as well, and there was also a tall blond lady who came in on stand by, and it seemed she had been there many times as well. I can understand them only allowing one garanteed ticket a year, but with standby it should be who ever gets there first. At least we got to go, the last year that Friends was taped, the tickets all went to friends of the sponsors, etc, so at least Big Bang is still trying to allow as many of the "little people" to attend. Let us know if they let you go next year, we love reading your reports here in the east coast!

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    1. I AM FROM THE EAST COAST. I LOVE READING
      YOUR REPORTS.MIKW

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    2. Glad to hear it worked out for you! I'm always impressed with the people who come from so far away to see a taping.

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  5. Thanks for the tour report, maybe you should have asked your good friend Simon or Kunal for VIP tickets to the final 2 tapings of the season.

    BTW not to sound all geeky but what happened to the iMac on the desk by the window in the guys apartment?

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    1. I never would have asked if they could get me in for the final two, but even if I did, they mentioned that it's even hard for them to get people into tapings now at the end of the season - I doubt they'd give me priority over people they actually know.

      And I don't know about the iMac; I was mostly distracted by the new chess set when I was in by the window.

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  6. Cool photos, Roxanne! It is interesting to finally see what's on Penny's refrigerator, isn't it? I noticed the three photos of Penny, Amy, and Bernadette, but the others were unfamiliar. Do you know if they were of Kaley Cuoco and other people, or just random photos?

    Still think it's a shame that you can't get into the final two tapings. I'm gonna miss finding things out ahead of time, especially for the season finale, but I guess there's something to be said for being surprised. :) (I'm not one of those people who are bothered by spoilers. For me, knowing how things go doesn't spoil the fun of actually seeing it happen.)

    Finally... sitting in Sheldon's spot? Ooooh, that's strike one. (Bazinga!)

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    1. Honestly, I was SO excited to see Penny's fridge! The other pictures looked like a mix of ones with Kaley, and just random people. (There were a couple old people with guns - Penny's grandparents? Haha.)

      I've always found it a bit ironic that I've been providing so many spoilers, seeing as I typically prefer to stay spoiler-free myself! So I'm looking forward to being surprised for these last two.

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  7. Roxanne,
    I've been a fan of your Big Bang Theory viewing recaps and I am saddened to hear that they won't allow you to attend the rest of the season. I really hope you are able to go back next season and continue updating this site! As a fan, it is awesome to be able to hear about how taping works and what kind of fun bloopers happen that we never get to see on tv. It is a fascinating account of how a tv show is filmed and thank you for noting as much detail as you do and also injecting your own feelings and experience into each taping report. The photos you posted here of the sets are AMAZING!! Thank you so much for sharing! I noticed so many details of leonard and sheldon's living room that you can't see on tv. Anyway, I just wanted you to know how much your time and your labor of love attending and sharing the taping of each episode is appreciated. Those of us who don't live in LA and can't get away to see the show in person are really enjoying hearing about the experience through you. Again, thank you and I hope you continue next season.

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    1. I'm glad you've enjoyed reading the reports! And also glad you liked the pictures - it was my goal to take pics of all the details you can't see on TV. :)

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  8. LOL that is so cool!!! I love seeing things up close. The Rubik's cube tissue holder is embroidered and not made of cardboard? Nice. And I love seeing all the names of the books and magazines and restaurant menus and Sheldon's "The Comic Book Center of Pasadena" mouse pad. And the pictures on Penny's fridge crack me up for some reason especially the ones with Amy and Bernadette. I wonder how many of them are Kaley in real life and not just fake?

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    1. That mouse pad was actually on Leonard's desk, but I loved seeing the details too! As for the pics on Penny's fridge, other than the ones with Amy and Bernadette, the two or three others that had "Penny" I'm pretty sure are Kaley in real life. But then there were a few with no one recognizable, which seem to just be random for set decoration.

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  9. Whoops I meant to say crocheted. And thank you for all your taping reports. I look forward to reading them every week. Bummer that you can't go to the last few.

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  10. You lucky duck. And you met Wil Wheaton too!

    Nice to know that I am not the only one who wanted to see the pics on Penny's fridge. Many thanks.

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    1. I didn't get to meet Wil that night, unfortunately, just saw him backstage. But I did briefly meet him once after another episode he was in, when he signed autographs. :)

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  11. Such great pictures!!
    Ugh, I wish I could visit a taping! But that's probably not gonna happen since I come from Germany!;)
    How was it possible for you to take pictures? I thought they didn't allow cameras and stuff in generel?
    Anyways, thank you for posting all of this!

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    1. It's true that generally they don't allow cameras (or phones) - when we first arrived at the sound stage before the taping, we left our cameras with security. Then once the taping finished, we retrieved our cameras before we went backstage.

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