Bill Maher and The Price Is Right

Just got back from CBS Television City (about 4 blocks from my home) where I attended a live rehearsal of Real Time with Bill Maher, the HBO comedy/political satire show.

I'm a fan of the show and often watch it on weekends at my friends' place in Burbank since I don't subscribe to HBO. I was hoping to attend a live broadcast/taping but didn't get tickets. The show goes on summer hiatus in two weeks. Apparently they usually have a "dress" rehearsal (Bill wore jeans) on Thursdays so they can work through the comedy bits and see which ones work and which should be cut before the live broadcast Friday.

At the rehearsal, Bill came out and basically did his show. He delivered his monologue; he pretended to talk live via satellite to a Congressman; he sat at the desk and conversed with guest panelists; he worked through the New Rules segment; and his final monologue closed the show. The "guests" were played by the writers and producers of the show. They each sat-in and played their roles as pundits very well. The head writer and co-executive producer, Billy Martin, warmed up the audience before the rehearsal and introduced Bill.

Ironically, the Bill Maher rehearsal was actually conducted on The Price Is Right stage at CBS. I'm not sure why they did that, but it was like a bonus experience for me because I've been observing fans of the popular game show line up outside the studio for weeks, hoping to be one of the last contestants before long-time host Bob Barker retires. (In fact, there's a prime time special dedicated to Mr. Barker on CBS tonight!)

It's so funny to be in a television studio because it's always surprising how small everything is compared to how it looks on TV. The Bob Barker stage can't be more than 75 feet across and the audience couldn't hold more than 150 people. Since they had just finished taping an episode of The Price Is Right, the crew were striking the set pieces. I caught a glimpse of the Showcase Showdown set where the contestants stand behind the score boards. All the set pieces are mounted on platforms with wheels so they can be easily moved around (and off) the stage.

With the stage bare, all that was left was the gleaming white floor and the most crowded lighting grid I've ever seen. I mean there were hundreds of different lights pointed down to the stage and at the audience. The crew wheeled in Bill Maher's desk and positioned it right in the center of the stage. There was one HD camera gliding across the floor and shooting the whole program, and Bill had two large TV monitors facing him stage right. No doubt one was a prompter and the other probably a camera feed.

The whole thing was finished in less than an hour and we made our cheery way out of the studio. Oh yeah, if you ever go to a live TV taping, leave your cell phone in the car or be prepared to surrender it before entering the sound stage. They don't take any chances these days. The security checkpoint people (just like at the airport) searched all bags and collected all cell phones before ushering each audience member through the metal detector.

One more thing: TV studios are cold! Bring a sweater or light jacket. Luckily I was prepared (I'm such a know-it-all), but a lot of tourists who had been standing outside in the hot sun nearly froze to death inside the air-conditioned studio (all those lights and equipment produce a lot of heat). One lady who often attends tapings admitted it was not as cool today as it usually is in that studio.

I look forward to seeing this week's Real Time with Bill Maher so I can compare the rehearsal to the finished product. Highlights include a funny clip package of the recent Republican presidential debate, including one quote from my friend Tom Tancredo. How many people can say their best friend's Dad is running for President?! I also enjoyed Bill's scathing criticism of Jerry Fallwell, who died this week. Bill's final monologue has some great ideas about gays achieving mainstream acceptance in America (which they have had for years in Europe).

Finally, congratulations to Bob Barker who is retiring after a 50+ year career in television. You are an American institution, Bob, and we'll all miss you. "Come on down!"