This was a good occasion to see the Los Angeles River from close as it runs through the studios – I think the concrete bed of the river has been used for Terminator and the episode of Jackass where Knoxville ruined his ankle (though I am not sure where these have been shot).

The recording took 6 hours (and we had to be there 90min before on top of that). This is quite long when you only get a slice of pizza, a bottle of water and some candies that the guy in charge of cheering the audience distributes. We had a great time in the breaks between scenes (indicated by a ringing bell) thanks to this guy, though the last 2 hours were a drag.

Fred and I participated in the animation as this guy asked who was from outside the US – I sang “La Mer” by Charles Trenet (known by Americans as “Beyond the Sea”) and Fred rendered “The Girl From Ipanema” in Portuguese. I think my performance was appreciated, with our host saying “I think I’m falling in love” and dancing with me. Maybe I should start a crooner career here – people who have ever heard me sing will have a good laugh.

Back to the show. We were first shown the pilot (which aired this month) and some material they had shot during the week for this episode. The crew then had 6 scenes to shoot. I think the show is quite good, even if neither hilarious nor very original, and the cast is “fantastic” (I have been brainwashed for 6 hours). Jenna Elfman is adorable and her husband, who was there, was fun. However, the problem with this kind of recordings is that by the third time you hear the same joke, you wonder why the other guys in the audience go on with their fake laughs... Another issue is that they almost didn’t use the main sets and shot in a corner of the soundstage that the audience could not see (though we could see the crew).

Overall, it’ a good experience and I’d like to go a bit further by seeing a more mature show like “That 70’s Show” with a “fantastic” well-oiled cast, crew, characters, writers, etc. The next step would be not to sit in the audience but being with the crew and better see how the ambiance (producers, writers, director and actors working!).