From: sallylb@netcom.com (Sally Smith)
Subject: BOB (Newhart) : Report on filming of 6th episode
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 92 02:23:23 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Distribution: na
Keywords: watch this show

Attention sitcom fans (and even those of you who never go near the
things); this is one to catch.

I was going to be in LA last weekend and so I called up to see if
maybe I could get me a ticket to the filming. Well, anybody can
theoretically get one to this (or Cheers, Wings, Arsenio, or anything
shot at Paramount before a live audience) if you don't mind lining up
at the ticket office at 8 AM and then waiting in line on a first-come
first-served basis. I didn't really want to do that, so I called the
office of the guy who was directing the episode and got one. Before
the rest of you rush out and try this, or you think I have some
magical power, let me add that in fact I've known Michael and his
executive assistant for a couple of years from their tenure on
"Quantum Leap", and I like to keep in touch with people even if they
change jobs.

So, I got a reserved seat (second row center) with my name on it.
Well, OK, so it was a piece of masking tape stuck to a portion of the
bleachers. :-) So much for the glamor of showbiz. :-) Half the
audience seemed to be friends and family of the cast and crew, or
other Paramount employees (like gofers from "Entertainment Tonight"),
then they brought in a busload of folks from a retirement community,
and a few random people. While the audience is filing in, there's a
small jazz band playing (they're very good, but very LOUD). The crew
runs around doing the final setup or just killing time. I yelled at
the top of my lungs, "HEY, MICHAEL!!"  He looked up, recognized me,
smiled and yelled back, "HI! NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN! HOW ARE YOU?" At
least I think that's what he said; the band was so loud I was reading
his lips. I said, "FINE!" and he just shook his head, indicating that
it was so noisy we ought to give it up and I nodded.

Eventually, a stand-up comedian whose name I have forgotten (so I'll
call him SC for short from now on) comes out to warm up the audience
and explain how this TV show filming works.  Since the show hasn't
aired yet, they showed us an edited version of the pilot so everyone
would know who all the characters were. Then the SC introduced the
whole cast.  Bob came out last and did a few very funny minutes on the
way people from down South talk (the people who laughed hardest were
the Southerners) and sang a verse of a country song titled something
like "If Your Phone Don't Ring, That'll Be Me".

Then they shot the show. I am told that most sitcoms require the
audience to sit there for 3-4 hours; this one took under an hour and a
half. I was impressed. The cast and crew are real pros and everyone
seems to be having a *lot* of fun. The only real big mistake was when
one of the actors deliberately blew his line, I suspect to have
something for the blooper reel. It's shot with 4 film cameras that
have little microwave transmitters that beam their pictures to the
director's monitor, which is split into 4 sections. This picture is
also fed to the monitors in front of the audience so that you can see
what's going on even if the action isn't taking place in front of you.

I'm not going to go into much detail, you can watch for yourself, but
the premise: Bob is a comic book artist whose cult comic from years
ago is revived. It's called "Mad Dog", the story of a veteranarian,
who through a freak accident, is endowed with the superpowers of a
Doberman (I'm not going to spoil the jokes here, just watch the show).
Of course, this being the '90's, the company wants to turn Mad Dog
into a modern graphic novel tortured psychotic hero. The comic book
offices have the usual collection of oddball characters; Bob has a
wife and a grown daughter (no little kids, yeah!) and a fuzzy cat. Bob
is pretty much the same ol' Bob we've been watching all these years,
the ordinary guy reacting to all the craziness around him, although he
seems a bit more assertive this time around.

Between takes, the SC works the audience, provides trivia, and
introduces all the writers and producers (there are a mob of them, all
young, mostly former Cheers employees, and judging by their laughter,
the show's best audience). He also introduced legendary Marvel Comics
artist Jack Kirby, who was in the audience with his wife. He seemed to
enjoy the show and posed for pictures with the writers afterwards.

After they're done with the basic shooting, Bob calls the cast out to
take a bow, thanks the audience for coming, then the band plays what
someone told me was the theme song and the audience is dismissed. The
cast and crew stick around for some pick-up shots (one of the writers
had had an idea for another cute bit and the director wanted to shoot
a couple of things over again). I got to go down on the studio floor
for a bit of this and finally got to talk to Michael, telling him I'd
really liked the show and what was going on at "Quantum Leap" (since
I'd been to see them 2 weeks ago and he's been busy). He invited me to
come back, and I think I will next time I'm in LA. :-)

"Bob" airs Fridays on CBS, so check those local listings and tune in.
The writing's good, the actors are terrific -- this one's really funny!

Sally



-- 
Sally Smith (510)790-0608  sallylb@netcom.com (I was sally@tardis.tymnet.com)
I'm unemployed--these opinions *must* be mine!
"Don't investigate this too closely." -- Don Bellisario, re: "Quantum Leap"

Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv