The situation comedy, or sitcom for short, is one of America's oldest forms of entertainment on television. A chronicle of the history of sitcoms would go back decades, undoubtedly beginning with classics from the 1950s such as I Love Lucy and going through each decade since. You have Gilligan's Island, Get Smart, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Diff'rent Strokes, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Family Matters, Full House, Married With Children, Perfect Strangers, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends, Martin, Will and Grace, The Big Bang Theory, and many, MANY more. There is no doubt that this TV genre will live on in the years to come.
There is something unique about a comedy show taped in front of a live studio audience. When watching a sitcom on TV, you can't help but laugh along at many of the same humorous moments. It's like that old saying about how laughter is contagious. And to be honest, I very much prefer a sitcom with a laugh track than one without. (Nothing against those other comedy shows, especially as I might watch them later.) For years, I would sometimes imagine what it's like to be in a sitcom audience. Only after a very long time did I finally make the effort to find out how and to actually participate in a sitcom taping as a laughing audience member.
Before I proceed further, I have a statement to make.
The following narrative is a first-person account of an event where cameras and mobile phones were not allowed. All photos on this page are screenshots of the program that aired on television or other photos found online. However, if issues still arise from this presentation, please let me know and we can discuss modifications to remedy the problem.
With that, guess what sitcom I saw live? Answer: Last Man Standing.
A Quick Confession
Last Man Standing is not a show I ever watched before, even if it went for seven complete seasons (six on ABC, then one on Fox) before going into its eighth season. It's mainly the fact that there have been so many other things to do, such that TV shows ended up lower on my priority list. Even if streaming shows is an option for someone like me who prefers to watch anything whenever, instead of scheduling life around air times for TV shows, I still ended up focusing more on other things, like movies. This is true even if I enjoyed Tim Allen on his previous hit sitcom, Home Improvement.
Regardless, I wanted the experience of watching a sitcom taping live in person. I signed up for Last Man Standing because that was the only sitcom available for taping during the week I was on vacation. That's not to say I wish I saw something else. Not at all. As I will soon describe, this was a very enjoyable experience.
My Arrival
It was Tuesday, November 19, 2019. The taping was scheduled for 6:00 PM, and I decided to eat a super early dinner between 3:30 and 4:00. I didn't want to take the chance of having the taping go on for so long that there would be no restaurant option for a super late dinner. As for getting there, it was no problem, because I was in a shopping area about a 10-minute drive from the studio.
Last Man Standing was taped at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California, located just northwest of Los Angeles and Universal City and just southwest of Burbank. I drove east on Ventura Boulevard and passed Laurel Canyon Boulevard before turning left on Radford Avenue. The destination was a real short distance north on Radford. The studio lot was on my right, first evident by a security gate for staff to enter and exit. But as a visitor, my first stop was actually the visitor parking garage further north. I knew I was going to the right place not just because I saw the garage, but also because I had to stop and wait behind a long line of cars going there as well.
During the wait, I noticed that the studio was adjacent to a residential neighborhood comprising apartment complexes. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone living so close to CBS Studio Center went to a taping simply by going there on foot. Anyway, after about 15 minutes, I finally inched my way to the security guard at the garage entrance. Per procedure, I showed him my show ticket and photo identification before he gave me the all-clear to enter. I was told I could park in any spot without a reserved sign. It turned out that the unmarked visitor parking spots were on the two uppermost levels of the garage. I ended up parking my car on the garage roof.
Check-In and Studio Entry
The next step was to walk down the stairs from the parking garage roof all the way down to the bottommost level, beneath the ground level of Radford Avenue. That was where I located the check-in tables, confirmed which one was for Last Man Standing, and traded in my ticket for a small paper visitor pass. Next, I went through an airport-style security check before heading to the line of visitors for Last Man Standing. Needless to say, I used the restroom at this time, assuming I would not have that chance later.
At last, we were ordered to follow a staff person to the Last Man Standing studio, which was Stage 9. We all walked across the studio lot from north to south. Once we were in the area near the security gate, we turned left, then left once more to the studio doors. Inside, I found myself in a long narrow space running behind a seating structure, like being behind bleachers. We headed left and up a ramp to a doorway that would take us to the seats themselves. I had to wait about 10 minutes before I was finally in.
The Set of Last Man Standing
Since photography was not allowed, you'll have to use your imaginations here.
The seating area was essentially one long narrow rectangle, elevated at least five feet above the stage. I estimate four rows of seats across maybe five sections, with each section having about 10 seats from left to right. So doing the math, we're talking roughly 200 people coming to watch a taping of Last Man Standing. I was directed to a seat in the last row of the second section from the left. Needless to say, I was very excited.
On this day, there were mainly four sets erected in the soundstage. The leftmost was the set for the kitchen of the Baxter household. To the right of that was the living room. Further right were two rooms for Outdoor Man, with the left one for the office. I had the kitchen directly in front of me, and I could still see the living room almost as clearly. But Outdoor Man was far away and at an angle for me. All of this was reversed for the people in the rightmost seating sections.
There were other key features of the studio besides the stage sets. A set of rails ran along the stage floor between the stage sets and the seating area, with two cameras mounted to wheels on the rails. Each camera had an attached seat for the cameraperson plus microphones secured by long poles. Real sophisticated stuff. Then there were the microphones hanging above us, plus a series of television monitors.
I checked my watch. It was only a little after 5:00 PM. I was starting to get impatient.
Preshow
A few minutes later, we were treated to preshow entertainment. A studio comedian in the seating area was on hand to do two things for us.
His first job was to make us laugh and smile to prevent us from getting bored during the wait. He had plenty of funny quips and jokes about lots of things. Some were also gags with people walking to their seats. The comedy was accompanied by music, handled by a DJ in an alcove in the back wall not too far from where I was sitting.
The other job for the comic was to give us some key instructions. He explained that we could laugh whenever the moment during a scene naturally called for it. We also had to know that the overhead microphones were really sensitive, so we had to be careful not to make any other kind of noises, like uttering words. Later, the comic explained what would happen before taping. As a bonus, we were going to watch the episode of Last Man Standing that was taped the week before, to act as an introduction before the live taping of the new episode in front of us. Then there would be a curtain call to introduce the cast, when we would all stand up and cheer loudly once Tim Allen himself came onto the stage last.
All in all, this was a great way to accommodate the guests. With that, I relaxed as the seating lights went down and I watched the recently taped episode on the overhead monitor, starting around 5:40 PM. It was fun, especially with all of us laughing throughout and applauding after the end of each scene.
In case you're wondering, the episode was "Wrench in the Works," which would air as the second episode of the Season 8 premiere on January 2, 2020.
Time for the Show!
Once the bonus episode ended, the lights came on, and the studio comic hyped us up for the curtain call. On the stage set for the living room, a pair of small curtains were set up to act as the passage for the cast members to emerge. One by one, the comic announced the cast members' names and we applauded as they came out to greet us: Krista Marie Yu, Jonathan Adams, Hector Elizondo, Christoph Sanders, Jordan Masterson, Molly McCook, and Nancy Travis. Then, I stood up to get ready for the big final intro. Interestingly, from my seat, I could see over the curtain, so that when the comic was just about to call out Tim Allen's name, I could already see him emerge from backstage before coming out through the curtain. Needless to say, I cheered as loudly as the others.
Then Tim picked up a microphone to speak. He thanked us for coming and got us excited for what should be a great show. He also made quick references to how this show had been on ABC before moving to Fox and to a particular news item that was on his mind. Lastly, Tim gave an appreciative shoutout to the nearby TV crew, including the director for this episode.
With one final chorus of cheers from us, the cast and crew got ready to work, and we all sat down to watch the show. The episode taped was "Student Doubt," which would air on Thursday, March 5, 2020, as Episode 13 of Season 8.
Scene 1
In this scene, Jen (Krista Marie Yu) is enthusiastically telling Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) about her favorite Chinese movie. Because he doesn't want to hear it, he opens the closet door, steps into the closet, and closes the door. He comes back out and Jen keeps talking before asking him what his favorite Chinese movie is. Moments later, Mandy (Molly McCook) and Kyle (Christoph Sanders) arrive to tell everyone about an upcoming college philosophy exam Kyle has to prepare for.
Here's what happens when shooting of any scene in Last Man Standing begins. The signal indicating the start of shooting is a buzzer sounding from somewhere, before the seating area lights get turned off. Then the director issues some verbal commands before yelling, "Action!" Then we all remain completely quiet, except to laugh, as the performers follow their script and the crew focus on their assigned tasks.
This first scene was certainly funny, particularly the moment when Tim Allen walked into the closet. But something even funnier happened afterwards. In response to the question about what his favorite Chinese movie is, Tim forgot his line. And it happened not once, but twice. Each time, the director stopped the filming, and everyone reviewed again what was to be done.
Speaking of additional takes, the taping protocol for this sitcom (and probably other shows) is to film the entire scene twice. Presumably, this gives the crew more material to choose from for producing the final cut. With this live introduction to sitcom production, I learned two interesting things. One, we may not know in advance where the jokes are in the first take, but we know perfectly well when to laugh. Two, even if we know where the jokes are in the scene, the second take is as funny as the first, not less funny.
Here's something else I know now after viewing this episode at home. The last few seconds at the beginning of a scene and at the end (and maybe even in the middle) may get trimmed off to get the episode running time to an exact length. Shooting of this scene began with Krista Marie Yu walking into the room from out of camera shot and then proceeding to speak. In the finalized episode that actually airs on TV, it begins with her already in a standing position as she speaks.
Scene 2
This scene features Vanessa Baxter (Nancy Travis), Mandy, and Jen in the living room. They are discussing how to help Kyle prepare for his philosophy test. Mandy asks Vanessa to be a tutor for Kyle.
This is a good time for me to comment on how smooth the process of filming is. I can imagine how much work goes into producing one TV episode and the importance of every single cast and crew member doing their part. When I consider that, I'm amazed by how prepared they are and how well they end up working together.
I also want to explain what happens after a scene is shot. It's a quick break for the audience, while the cast and crew set up for the second take of the same scene or the first take of the next scene. During the break, the seating area lights up and the comic keeps the audience entertained with more jokes, with or without accompanying music from the DJ. It's very much like a live sporting event where quick bits of entertainment are provided for spectators during any stoppage of play. I cannot recall every single moment during the breaks, but I can say it was fun. In fact, it was so much fun that I never kept track of how much time passed during the break. I just enjoyed myself until the end of the break, signaled with the buzzer sounding and the seating lights turning off again.
Now that you know when breaks occur and what happens during each break, I won't talk about them anymore, except for one special breaktime moment later on.
Scene 3
At the Outdoor Man store, Chuck (Jonathan Adams) and Ed (Hector Elizondo) are admiring a photo of a classic car. They, along with Mike, have a side business restoring and selling classic cars. Mike comes in and joins the conversation. Then Chuck and Ed explain that their business decisions about cars have been based on a superstition. If Mike tosses his briefcase onto his desk and it lands upright, it signals good luck and a suggestion to proceed with the deal.
Although plenty of scenes in this Last Man Standing episode were taped live in front of us, others were prerecorded and played on the overhead TV monitors just to record our laughter. In general, scenes may be prerecorded for various reasons, like when the scene is set outdoors or in any other location outside the studio. Another possible reason is if the scene cannot be guaranteed to be filmed in a studio in a timely manner because of extra time needed for setting up the scene or getting it right. In this case, Tim Allen has to toss a briefcase onto a desk and have it land upright. Imagine if this scene were to be filmed live in the studio. Do you think the briefcase will land on the desk upright within just two takes? Probably not.
By the way, each prerecorded scene was played for us only once. It didn't involve two takes like with the live studio scenes, probably because the final cut for the scene was already decided beforehand.
Scene 4
In the kitchen of the Baxter home, Mandy and Kyle enter as Jen and Vanessa are getting ready to tutor Kyle. After Mandy leaves, Kyle sits at the table with Jen and Vanessa, and they begin a conversation about the best study methods, like notes with Roman numerals, three different colored pens for notes, and Jen's suggestion of reciting material backwards. Jen even demonstrates this by singing the Star-Spangled Banner backwards. In the end, nothing helps Kyle.
The moment when Jen sings the American national anthem in reverse was the one time we in the audience cheered and applauded. It was another memorable moment for me. I also imagined how much preparation Krista Marie Yu had to go through to get that right.
Scene 5
Back in the Baxter household kitchen, there is a conversation among Vanessa, Mandy, and Jen about how men seem to dislike receiving help, especially from women. This stems from Kyle's unwillingness to receive assistance with preparing for his philosophy test. Just as Mandy wonders who could help Kyle, Ryan (Jordan Masterson) enters the kitchen, and Mandy realizes he might be able to help.
I learned another thing about filming for television. If a cast member makes a mistake with a line in the middle of the scene, it may not be necessary to refilm all the way from the beginning. Instead, the director can tell the actor or actress to go back to a moment from a few seconds before and then restart from there. Obviously, post-production editing can easily remove the erroneous segment and substitute the new one.
Also, I thought it was interesting to see this scene taped live, with Nancy Travis, Molly McCook, and Krista Marie Yu in the kitchen set while Jordan Masterson stood by in the living room set. It was fun to have the perspective of knowing the precise moment Jordan Masterson's character will appear on camera for the first time.
And remember my comment about how bits of a scene may get trimmed off? Well, here's another example. Shooting of this scene actually ends when Jordan Masterson takes one bite of a peanut butter sandwich. In the finalized episode, you don't see that.
Pizza Break!
I do not remember which scene this was after, but sometime in the middle of the show, all of us audience members were given free pizza as a treat. During one of the breaks, boxes of plain cheese pizza, plus napkins and small bottles of water, were brought over by staff. Each of us was given one slice of pizza, one napkin, and one bottle of water. I, already overjoyed by being in this studio, was even more grateful because of the free food. I truly savored my slice of pizza.
But believe it or not, I was not fully finished with eating the pizza when the buzzer sounded to signal shooting. Worse, my mouth was still partially full with a mush of saliva and pizza. Knowing that the overhead microphones were sensitive, I used my tongue to maneuver half of the mush to each side of my mouth and tried to clean off as much food off my tongue as possible. I sat still with my mouth open, food against my cheeks, and tongue somewhat elevated, but fortunately not making any wet mouth noises. Even more reassuring: the lights were off, so nobody could see me like this in the dark.
When I laughed in the weird position I was in, I managed to do so without making any other mouth noises, as if my mouth was already empty. Once the scene ended and the lights came on, I quickly swallowed my unfinished bite and washed it down with the last of my water.
I apologize if you were grossed out by what I just described.
Scene 6
Back at Outdoor Man, Chuck and Ed are discussing another decision to make related to the car business. Once again, they look to Mike's briefcase to help decide. For a moment, Mike doesn't toss it right away because he's hesitant. Ultimately, he tosses it and it tips sideways, which Chuck and Ed see as a bad sign.
Once again, this scene was prerecorded because it involved a briefcase toss. Like I said, it would be difficult for Tim Allen to toss the briefcase and have it land in a particular way in exactly two takes. It might take many more, and to do so in front of a studio audience would bore them to death.
Scene 7
Inside a marijuana store, Kyle and Ryan carry a heavy cardboard box and place it on a counter. Ryna then takes the opportunity to let Kyle know that there is no shame in asking for help if it is needed. Mandy comes in to check on Kyle, who gets defensive as he realizes that Mandy and Ryan were planning this. Kyle, upset, walks out.
This was another prerecorded scene. At the time of the taping, there was no studio set for the marijuana store. Also, I may recall that the beginning of the scene also included a moment with Kyle and Ryan cutting the box open, something that did not appear in the final edit. If that is true, then I assume that a live taping of cutting a box open would be problematic when it's time to do the second take or redo a take, because of the amount of time involved in applying fresh tape to the box.
Scene 8
Mandy enters her father Mike's office at Outdoor Man, because she is distraught that she may have ruined her marriage with Kyle. Mike consoles her and reminds her that the vows taken for marriage apply in good times and bad, not in good times only while believing that there are no bad times. Specifically, it's good for spouses to be honest with one another.
This scene was taped live in the studio in two takes. Because I was in the left half of the audience, the Outdoor Man sets were far away and at an angle from my perspective. Therefore, I watched the overhead monitors as filming went on. I could at least hear the dialogue between Tim Allen and Molly McCook. So basically, after the right half of the audience had a limited view of the Baxter household sets, it was my turn to have a limited view of the Outdoor Man sets. Thank goodness for the overhead monitors, because there really was no such thing as one good seat in this studio audience that provided a great view of everything.
Scene 9
Here's another Outdoor Man scene with Mike, Chuck, and Ed. Mike enters the room as Chuck and Ed are drinking in celebration. They're not exactly rejoicing a great business deal, but rather expressing relief with not proceeding with a bad decision. Then Mike reveals that he bought the car in question, prompting Chuck to comment that Mike went against the briefcase. Still, just for the hell of it, Mike tosses the briefcase onto a desk, and it lands upright.
I have no related behind-the-scenes commentary for this part. I'll just say that I was amused by the idea of the briefcase superstition while watching this episode being taped.
Scene 10
Here is the second-to-last scene, set in Outdoor Man. Kyle is in the middle of studying a philosophy book when Mandy walks in. She takes the opportunity to tell Kyle that she honestly doesn't think he's a genius, but assures him it's OK. Kyle is actually relieved by this and is happy to be free of the pressure. The two, sharing an embrace, agree that it's OK for Mandy to be honest with Kyle. However, not the other way around.
The first time we watched this scene, we all made an "awwwww" sound in response to the embrace. During the break, however, the studio comic explained that, for this particular show, that response was not wanted, so he instructed us to remain quiet during the hugging moment. Thankfully, we followed that command well for the second take, which was what made the final cut.
Scene 11
On the website of Outdoor Man, an embedded video of Mike plays. He begins talking about certain phrases and their actual meanings. This segues into his commentary on how people these days don't know how to do things themselves, often seeking help instead. Obviously, this is a contrast to the earlier theme about having no shame in asking for help. But hey, he's the last man standing, and this is how he can get his message across.
This final scene was prerecorded, so we watched it on the overhead monitors, and we only had to see it once just so the crew could record our laughter. Another interesting thing is that the video we saw was only the video of Tim Allen, without the surrounding contents of the fictional Outdoor Man website. That would come in post-production.
The best part, however, was the beginning of the video that was edited out prior to airing. Tim Allen began by saying, "Hello, audience. Thanks for watching." In response, we all briefly cheered and applauded. There was a momentary pause in the video before Tim Allen proceeded to utter the scripted lines of Mike Baxter. I thought this was an interesting way for Tim Allen to thank me and the rest of the audience for coming. This is something people won't know about if they don't go to a taping or hear about it from someone else.
The Curtain Closes
Once the final scene played, it was time for the closing curtain call. All of the cast members got together as a group again as we celebrated the completion of the episode. Basically, it was just like the opening curtain call: a great moment for everyone in the studio, whether it's the cast, crew, or audience, to appreciate being part of a television show.
Then the studio comic thanked us one last time, announced that this taping was the last episode to be taped for Season 8, and told us that Season 8 would premiere on Thursday, January 2, 2020. I made a mental note to keep an eye on the television schedule.
Leaving the Studio
Overall, taping of this 22-minute episode of Last Man Standing took a little over two hours, which was awesome. It was around 8:30 PM as I was walking with everyone else back to the parking garage. I went up the garage stairs all the way to the top to get to my car. As I drove down the levels of the garage, I couldn't help but feel satisfied that I had attended a TV sitcom taping for the first time ever in my life.
I also recall something else the studio comic said at one point. Did you know that Stage 9 of CBS Studio Center, where Last Man Standing was taped, was also where Gilligan's Island was shot? Yeah, it's true. AND it was the first show to be taped in Stage 9! That is just incredible. So now if I ever see an episode of Gilligan's Island, I could imagine what the taping might have been like.
Meanwhile, someone else mentioned that Seinfeld was also taped in Stage 9 at CBS Studio Center. Now THAT'S a show I would've loved to see a taping of.
Watching the Show at Home
After New Year's Day 2020, I started checking TV listings online. I confirmed that Last Man Standing came on Thursdays at 8:00 PM, 7 Central, with some Thursdays showing an additional episode right after. One source provided brief descriptions of each episode that was scheduled to air. I would check this source weekly to identify the episodes I saw, both the one taped live ("Student Doubt") and the recorded bonus episode ("Wrench in the Works"). I would end up waiting a little more than two months from the season premiere, almost four months from the taping, until "Student Doubt" finally aired on March 5, 2020.
It was a joy to watch the episode at home. The big question I had was whether I could hear myself laughing on the laugh track. Turns out I could not, because so many laughing voices were mixed together that it ended up being one voice essentially. There were plenty of times when I nodded in recognition of moments I remembered from the taping. I also noted the title card, the external shots of Outdoor Man and the Baxter home added in, and the scene transitions with fades and music. It made me appreciate further the work that went into the making of one television show episode.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. I had a ton of fun with seeing a sitcom taping and then watching the episode at home. I'm really glad I made the effort to do this.
This is something I definitely recommend. I said this before in my
previous commentary about attending a taping of a late-night talk show, but it's worth bringing up again. If you love TV shows and happen to be visiting the Los Angeles area, do some research on getting tickets to be in the audience for your favorite shows. You will definitely have a blast. Trust me. You will.
