“THE DOCTORS”

Yesterday we went off to Paramount Studios where we were part of the audience for the back-to-back taping of two episodes of "The Doctors" t.v. show. That's one of Mom's favorite shows. We managed (wholly by luck,no pull) to get "VIP" tickets which entitled us to park on the Paramount lot (street parking around there is murder), to go to the head of the line for admission without waiting (enduring the glares or stares of awe, depending on your interpretation of those who had been waiting in the long line for some time), and to get seated down front where we might have a chance of being seen on t.v. Whoo hoo!  Celebs!  They didn't allow cameras (or even cell phones), so we had to leave those in the car. The only photo we got was of the Paramount water tower with it's logo:

Yes, that is the MORNING sun. We had to get up at 5:00 (well, Mom did) in order to ablute, dress, eat, and get on our way. Traffic was fairly forgiving for L.A. (Friday lite) so it wasn't too bad and we got there in plenty of time.

The taping itself was pretty interesting. Multiple cameras and booms, but a fairly simple set construction. All there was to it were the plastic backdrops and the table that the four docs sit at. That gets moved around, but there wasn't much else. The docs themselves look just like they do on t.v. No surprises. The "Bachelor" doc is pretty tall, the woman doc has r-e-a-l-l-y skinny legs and walks on what look like 5 inch stilettos, the plastic surgeon looks, well, plastic, and the pediatrician looks and acts like a friendly goof. They read just about everything off of teleprompters, only the banter is spontaneous. It was pretty fascinating to see the director work, giving cues, stopping the tape, redoing certain spots, etc. All in all we had a good time. We had to be there from 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a break at 10:30 for the loo. I liked the director. If he had been any more laid back he'd be comatose. But that kept things remarkably amiable and smooth. Absolutely no tension on the set, even when things went wrong.  I kept thinking that these guys get paid fortunes for this.  Sigh.