TV and radio shows that you've been in the audience for

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I've going to see Just a Minute tonight, and I am unreasonably excited. I'll report back tomorrow.

But tell me about when you've been in the audience for a radio or tv show , and tell me what you made of it all.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Monday, 7 February 2005 12:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Jim'll Fix It. I didn't get to sit on the sofas on stage, i was pissed off about that.

― Ed (dali), Monday, 7 February 2005 12:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I was in the audience for RuPaul when Duran Duran were on. To make sure that we got to sit in the front row, I dressed up like Barbarella. Not only did that ensure that we sat in the front row (and got some "You go, girl!"s from RuPaul) but Nick Rhodes took a photo of me that ended up in their tour programme. :-)

― The Phantom of the Operating System (kate), Monday, 7 February 2005 12:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, I'm jealous! I've been in the audience for I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They did two episodes in the one sitting and Humph made lots of fairly unfunny jokes about Woking which everyone laughed at anyway because they were about Woking, after all.

They had to redo quite a few bits at the end which was weird to watch because they all went into professional mode and kind of ignored the audience, except to say that they didn't expect us to laugh as hard the second time but that's OK because they'll mix it all together later and it'll sound fine on air.

― Madchen (Madchen), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

i was in the audience for mtv's the jon stewart show.

― oskar shindig! (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I was in the audience for the 2nd series of Big Train. The sketches had already been taped so they were just played back on a screen while we laffed with the assistance of alcohol.

My ex-flatmate went to a taping of Have I Got News For You and shared a lift with Clement Freud. The taping of the show took about 90 minutes cos of redos and the long pauses while people think of funny things to say.

― robster (robster), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:34 (twenty-one years ago)

It sounds like it spoils the magic.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Heh, I looked at this thread title thinking pah, I haven't been in any. Then remembered that I was at Just a Minute last year! I'm sure you'll enjoy it John. Nicholas Parsons is a total ditz, it's much worse than on the recordings. And yeah the retakes are weird.

Also, because they record two episodes there are running jokes through both, so if there's ever seemingly random audience laughter in the transmission it's probably because they are laughing at something from another episode.

There was someone doing a really obvious deliberately loud laugh in front of me so they'd hear themselves when the show was transmitted, which was annoying.

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I was in the audience for Blind Date. They redid the bit where the screen goes back and the date is revealed. One of the contestants 'thing' was pretending he was convinced he was actually a monkey. Can't remember if he won.

― alix (alix), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:39 (twenty-one years ago)

!
Alix wins.

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:45 (twenty-one years ago)

The David Letterman Show (on NBC). I sat behind Larry "Bud" Melman during an excruciating on-air skit.

also the long lost Morton Downey Jr Show. Topic of debate: heavy metal. Guests included Joey Ramone and a surly, wasted Ace Frehley.

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw Tony Bennett sing "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)" on Conan O'Brien almost ten years ago. My same hands that clapped for Tony also clapped for --- Ritchie Sambora that night.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been to HIGNFY a couple of times and either your ex-flatmate wasn't very lucky with the show or he didn't understand what was going on. The show does take 90 minutes to record (and, if they need to redo any shots, this takes place afterwards, not during, as it would spoil the flow) - it is then edited down so that the funniest bits are what make it to the final half hour. As for long pauses, well, that just doesn't happen - occasionally the timing isn't spot on but a) these are pros and b) most of it's scripted anyway.

― Markelby (Mark C), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, I wasn't in the audience for this, but it's an amusing story anyway. When visiting NYC, I took a tour of NBC (I think that's the network?). Part of the tour was the room that Rosie O'Donnel's show is filmed in. The tour guide was talking about the show and said, "Rosie treats her audience members real well. If you're in the audience, she'll give you food... pancakes, candy bars, uh, sandwiches... Rosie will eat anything!"

― Mickey (modestmickey), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Sally Jesse Raphael, dispiriting, apart from the free coffee and doughnuts.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 7 February 2005 13:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Keenan Ivory Wayans show
guest was that guy from JAG, he did an "impromptu" sax solo that they did over and over until the director got his act together.

Amen
took like 4 hours, tedious, hungry, horrible experience

America's FUnniest Home Videos
gained new respect for Bob Saget, he was pretty funny in between the crap he had to read. Me and some other kids almost got thrown out for over-the-top fake-laughing.

others will come to me, I've been to too many to ever want to go back

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 7 February 2005 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Went and saw Conan. Guests were Janeane Gareofolo and Uncle Jesse from Full House. Marc McKinney was supposed to be on but they ran out of time.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 7 February 2005 16:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I was in the audience for saved by the bell twice. One towards the late end of the series (slater must pick a college!) and another one was the new class. Good times.

― Dude, are you a 15 year old asian chick? (jingleberries), Monday, 7 February 2005 18:30 (twenty-one years ago)

* Good News Week
* Recovery
* Top of the Pops
* Rikki Lake

― marianna lcl (marianna lcl), Monday, 7 February 2005 19:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw Conan as well, but in 1996 - guests were someone I can't remember, Ray Ramano right when his show was about to start, and Fiona Apple. But Pimpbot was on so it was all o.k. in the end.

Oh, and I just remembered that I was on an Edmonton early morning show where I talked about C4nada W0rld Y0uth for a few minutes and then had to still sit on set, for the rest of the show, acting as on-camera audience, feigning wide-awakeness. And there was a nurse on talking about an upcoming blood drive, so I had my finger pricked for blood typing - all filmed.

(Saved by the Bell really had a live audience? wow.)

― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Monday, 7 February 2005 19:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw The Man Show once, when Carola and Kimmel hosted, not a bad experience, only about half the bits were lame. Plus we got beer!

― nickn (nickn), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

And I taped the show when it aired, and with freeze framing I can see myself a couple times.

― nickn (nickn), Monday, 7 February 2005 20:04 (twenty-one years ago)

The Grand Ole Opry and the nightly talk show that was on CMT before it stopped being a country music station. There was a kickass fiddler on that night.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Monday, 7 February 2005 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I was at the taping of the second part of the Father Ted Christmas Special. It was brilliant fun and I got to take home a copy of the Craggy Island Gazette.

Afterwards, I got to go to the party and hang out with Kevin McKidd, who is (or certainly was then) a really, really nice and funny guy.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Monday, 7 February 2005 21:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Archel's ex-boyfriend once made me go to something he claimed would be really funny. It was the immensely short-lived "Hot Potatoes". The one, if anyone saw it (shame on you), with Paul Daniels and Debbie Magee. All Les Dennis' jokes were scripted, and it was so bad that I ended up laughing at Gina Yashere. They made us stay behind at the end to (1) laugh on cue (prompted by the hideously unfunny Craig Hill) so they could record laughter shots because no-one laughed during the actual recording and (2) pretend to press non-existent "voting buttons" so that they could kid on they had the technology to allow people to vote for who was funnier out of Jeff Green and Jo Brand. I have never wanted a pint and a fag so much in my life.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 7 February 2005 21:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw Conan (guests were R.E.M. and Alyssa Milano, who is nearly brain-dead) and Conan's pre-show routine was fantastic, singing "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love" and getting all red in the face from exertion (I suspect that comes easy for him, though).

I also went to a taping of Mo Gaffney's short-lived Comedy Central show "Women Aloud" -- John Leguizamo was one of the guests, and some stand-up comedian who was vaguely racist and definately unfunny.

I am on screen briefly for each show, and desparately in need of a haircut each time.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 7 February 2005 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

- Rumor Has It, a short-lived and non-remembered VH1 game show
- Sessions at W. 54, Belle & Sebastian episode
- Conan O'Brien, circa 1998 or so

― mike a, Monday, 7 February 2005 21:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Saturday Zoo - long-forgotten Jonathan Ross nonsense.
Blind Date - more fun than I expected. Cilla was magnificent. They had to retape a bit where the picker said she was into watersports and the audience fell about.
Just A Minute - ridiculously good. Clement Freud, Julian Clary, Stephen Fry, Ross Noble iirc.
Front Row - free ticket at the Edinburgh festival. Dire. A couple of actors off the Archers were on and delivered a cringy archetypal-Radio-4 'comic' poem in rhyming couplets.

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 7 February 2005 23:28 (twenty-one years ago)

The Tonight Show (Leno-era, 1994)

Harry Shearer
Drew Barrymore (Erlandsson-era)
Pavement ("Brinkx Job" into "Cut Yr Hair")

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 7 February 2005 23:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Later with Jools Holland when Radiohead and, err, Zwan were on. And Pat Metheny, Martina Topley-Bird, Miranda Richardson, Ibrahim Ferrer, Bob & Marcia, Peter Saville...and possibly a few other people I can't recall. I think Kelly MacDonald was there in some capacity.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 02:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Penn & Teller's Phobophilia

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 02:13 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't know that show melissa. but how was peter saville?

i saw an episode of silver spoons as an eager 10-year-old. ricky shroeder was hott. i also witnessed a full-cast run-thru of the simpsons which imploded my mind.

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 02:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I couldn't really see Peter or hear him. He was sitting in a corner, completely hidden from me during his interview.

Miranda Richardson is a big sycophant though.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 04:06 (twenty-one years ago)

this thread is UNFUCKINGCANNY - i might be attending a taping of the bluecollarcomedy tv show thing!

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 06:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Late Night with David Latterman. I'm SO SAD I lost my souvenier sweatshirt.

― Pears can just fuck right off. (kenan), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 06:28 (twenty-one years ago)

letterman, even.

― Pears can just fuck right off. (kenan), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 06:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I was a token white guy in the audience on an episode of BET Teen Summit that dealt with "diversity issues"

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 06:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Several Letterman tapings circa '83-84 (one guest: Graham Chapman)

The Uncle Floyd Show

Robin Williams Live at the Met

Radio: The Robert Klein Show (guest: Gregg Allman)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 15:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Ally C and I went to CD:UK. Slash swore in an interview and they cut to a break quite quickly, then did lots of apologising when they came back. We also saw Madison Avenue, So Solid Crew and... I can't remember who else, sorry. There were lots of people kind of crouch walking around the floor trying to get us to dance while avoiding being picked up by cameras.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 16:53 (twenty-one years ago)

The weirdest thing about CD:UK was that we had to rush into the studio for the end of SMTV Live and pretend to be the audience cheering as they said goodbye because there wasn't time to get us in during the commercial break. Because the SMTV audience is made up of mostly drama school under-12s and isn't nearly as loud as CD:UK, we had to practice cheering at 40% volume before we went in, so we wouldn't drown out Cat/Ant/Dec. Then, they adjust the sound for CD:UK and you all have to scream and go wild while they introduce bands.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 16:59 (twenty-one years ago)

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