Some of my loyal readers may remember that we failed to get into the audience of a TV show a couple of months ago. That is always a risk with such shows as they give out extra tickets to be sure of filling all the seats. Those tickets are free and so you cannot complain too much and we have got into everything else we have been to so far. There is still the inconvenience of travelling there and hanging around to find out if you got in.
Fortunately they gave us priority tickets for another event. As we had two lots of tickets this allowed us to go to two events and they both fell on this weekend.
On Friday we went back to Television Centre. This used to be the main home of the BBC, but some of it has been sold for residencial and office use. There are still three studios there and this is where the live broadcast of The Last Leg is filmed. This is a topical comedy show that goes out at 10pm. It started as part of the 2012 Paralympics, but has continued to cover all sorts of themes since then. Australian host Adam Hill has an artificial leg and co-host Alex Brooker has some birth deformities. The third member, comedian Josh Widecombe is the only one with a full set of limbs. So of course they talk about disability issues and I have seen a number of people in wheelchairs attending.
We had to queue outside for some time before they started giving out wristbands and processing people through security. Then our priority access got us in first. That did not necessarily mean the prime seats, which as behind the hosts and so visible during the show. The guests were Jonathan Ross and Katherine Ryan and they discussed Brexit, Australian elections and what people do in the shower. It does not all have to be serious topics. They ended with a song about climate change that involved some strong language. Swearing is allowed on some shows. I may have to watch this on catchup as we had cameras blocking our view at times. It was a fun show with some extra laughs before, after and during the breaks.
There was one part that was pre-recorded as it seems they do not have a licence to use some of their music when it is broadcast in Australia, but the rest is live.
There do not appear to be any clips of that show on YouTube, but there was a classic one last year when Chris O'Dowd turned up more than a little drunk.
We got home pretty late from this. That involved some diversions as the motorway was shut for overnight work.
Yesterday we had our second show. This is a more mainstream panel show called Would I Lie To You where celebrities tell stories that others have to guess are true or not. This time we were at Pinewood Studios which is a huge site just outside London where lots of big movies have been made, including a lot of James Bond. We got down there a bit early, so we went for a drink at a pub in the nearby village of Fulmer. There are some very nice (and expensive) houses around there. This cute place was across the road from the pub.
When we got to the studios there was a short queue to get through to security and into a marquee where we had to wait to go in. I did not manage to get any decent photos around there as we had to turn off our phones most of the time. Again our priority tickets got us in first and again these were not the prime seats which were close to the stage and in front of the cameras. My other half is quite happy to not be on TV and I do not really mind either way.
Interestingly we had the same warm-up man at both shows and he used some of the same jokes. He tries to get the audience to feel involved and in the mood to laugh. The show can be pretty funny anyway. Regular team captain Lee Mack keeps going off on extended stories and generally acts up. There were lots of times when host Rob Brydon said 'enjoy that joke as you will not be hearing it again' as this show tried to avoid swearing and anything considered too rude. We knew of most of the guests, but they are often spectators to the regulars who know how to get the laughs. They need to not take it too seriously.
The broadcast show is only half an hour, but they filmed for nearer two hours. There will need to be lots of editing. I think they even drop some rounds entirely. It really does not matter who wins in these things.
There are plenty of clips on YouTube and also some full episodes that look to be unauthorised. Interestingly this set of clips starts with Josh from The Last Leg.
We got home a little earlier this time, but that was two evenings where we did not have time for a proper meal. We made up for that tonight and I will be getting to bed at a more regular time as it is work tomorrow.
We really enjoyed both shows and it is always interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes. We will keep applying for more tickets for future nights out.
Managed to type TC instead of TV for the first tag, but cannot change that now.
The geeky guitarist and facilitator of the 10K Minnows Project.
