Take one.
'The Big Bang Theory is one of the
most popular shows on television,
'loved by millions of people
all over the world.
'I've access to everything you don't
normally see that brings the show
'to life every week.'
As soon as I got onto the set,
I was very excited
and walked down the stairs...
'From the secrets of the wardrobe
room...'
I'll know. If this is missing
when you leave, you're in trouble.
'To watching the cast
record the show.'
Isn't it fun to learn things?
This is great.
Welcome to The Big Bang Theory,
Access All Areas.
Within reason. I can just go
waltzing into the ladies' loos
or ladies' rest rooms,
whatever they call them.
'Luckily for you, I am a long
allowed to waltz onto the set
'to meet the cast and I'll be
starting with the tough questions.'
Which character do you most enjoy
shooting scenes with?
Goodness!
That is Sophie's Choice.
Who makes you laugh the most
when you're doing scenes with them?
Who makes me laugh the most?
Favourite people to work with?
How can I answer that?
Are you trying to start
World War III?
I'm not going to answer that.
Kunal, diva...
Kunal, I don't like working
with at all.
Sure. Sure.
He, to be fair, said the same.
I'm sure he did.
Johnny Galecki, just outrageous.
Who makes me laugh the most?
Erm...
You can say none of them.
I'm racking my brain. I can't even
remember their names.
Simon. Another diva.
I'm going to be diplomatic
and say... the cast.
Or none is probably better.
Or myself.
You should hear the things I say.
But I enjoy them all equally.
Not really. Is that my yearbook?
Mm-hm. "Dear Leonard,
You're really good at science.
"Maybe one day you'll come up
with a cure for being a dork."
OK, jokes aside,
what I really want to know
is how they go about making
the show each week.
We start on Wednesday mornings.
We do the table read, which is all
the actors, producers and writers.
We read the script and we laugh.
Hopefully!
Hopefully.
And that's usually when we find out
what's going to be happening,
so it's as much a surprise to us
as everyone else.
The writers take notes of what
seems to work well,
what didn't work, and they go off
to start rewriting.
Thursdays and Fridays we rehearse
more, get it on its feet
and we do run-throughs
for producers
and network and studio.
That's when rewrites come through,
so sometimes the script will change
by as much as a third,
and then we have a weekend
in between to learn our lines.
Monday we rehearse with cameras.
I prefer 20 minutes of rehearsal,
but these guys need hours.
But you are a consummate
professional.
It's what a lot of people
have been saying.
Tuesday night is live
audience taping.
Take a bow and they immediately hand
us a warm envelope
with the next morning's
script in it.
So, that's the actors' week
from start to finish,
but before they can do any
rehearsing or recording,
they're going to need a script.
But there is an original finals draft
Ghostbusters script
with actual slime stains.
Oh, you're right.
It's Ghostbusters II. Never mind.
Each and every episode of The Big
Bang Theory starts in this building
in the writers' room.
Led by creators Bill Prady
and Chuck Laurie,
the team have to conjure up new and
exciting ways of making us laugh.
Ooh, dark matter...
we'd better bring a flashlight.
'And if anyone knows the pressure
of writing a hit show,
'it is Chuck Lorre, who also created
Two And A Half Men.'
How do you keep coming up
with ideas that feel fresh
and interesting when you've
made 100 episodes of a show?
Desperation and fear
is a good motivator.
It's like riding through a tunnel
with a train behind you.
For nine months, you can't stop.
All aboard! Whoo-whoo!
And how much does the script change
from when you do
your first table read?
About 30% to 40%.
Yeah? Is that quite typical?
Gosh, I've been on shows
where it changed 100%
from table to shoot night.
120%, you know?
I've never seen a show
consistently
where what we read
at the table is so funny
that the rewriting
becomes a minimal amount.
I can't seem to get in touch
with Amy.
I tried email, video chat, tweeting
her, posting on her Facebook wall,
texting her... nothing.
Did you call her on the telephone?
The telephone!
'It's common on many shows where
what we read on the first day,
Monday,'
there's not one word from
that script that's there on Friday.
OK.
'We hear all the time,'
the condition our scripts come in,
the good condition
they come in, it's a anomaly.
And it makes a difference.
You know, I mean,
they're not perfect.
We've certainly had scripts
we've had to work on.
Some have had more changes
during the week than others,
and those are rough weeks.
Guys, we are going to do
a different line there.
'If life was always like that here,'
it'd be a tear-your-hair-out
experience, I think.
On the flip side,
now I'm a little spoiled.
Why do you even want this here?!
Its size is completely
disproportionate to its purpose.
Seeing as its purpose was to piss
you off, I'd say it's spot-on.
Now, the writing's one thing.
Sure it's very good,
but then every show has writers.
But a show that features
a theoretical physicist,
an astrophysicist, an experimental
physicist, a neurobiologist,
a microbiologist and a...
well, a Howard Wolowitz,
obviously needs to use a lot
of sciencey language
that us at home
can barely understand.
Now, luckily, the actors and writers
have someone to help them
to ensure that they don't embarrass
themselves
by saying "loop quantum gravity"
when they mean string theory.
And, trust me, thatisfunny...
I checked.
I will graciously overlook the fact
that she is an arrogant,
sub-par scientist, who actually
believes loop quantum gravity
better unites quantum mechanics
with general relativity
than does string theory.
How do you deal with all the kind
of scientific content of the show?
Do you leave blanks...
Sub-contract it.
And then go...?
We have a brilliant astrophysicist
named David Saltzberg,
who's a professor at UCLA.
I basically get every script
in advance and I look it over,
and, er, the writers actually
know a lot of science
and fill out what they want.
And maybe it'll just need
a little tiny tweak here and there,
a change of word.
Other times,
they'll say, "Science to come."
What is physics?
We're designing
an experiment to look
for the annihilation spectrum
resulting from dark matter collisions
in space.
My tests of the bomb
quantum interference in fact
have reached an interesting point.
Force of gravity equals mass
times 9.8m per second per second.
Now we're testing phase
shift due to an electric potential.
Our 9.8m per second
squared as a, can...
Thematic theory,
algebraic gossip and epidemiology.
Time dependent backgrounds
and string theory.
You work on fundamental tests
of quantum mechanics?
It's specifically
quantum field theory
and D-dimensional de Sitter space.
I preserved it in a 1% solution
of polyvinyl acetal resin.
Oh, my God!
That's the most romantic thing
anyone's ever said to me
that I didn't understand.
And now we have Mayim Bialik,
who is a, you know...
A neuroscientist... neuroscientist.
So she tells us
when we're wrong in that area.
When it comes to neuroscience
and neurobiology,
I guess
I'm the unofficial authority.
Come on, tumour.
Mama needs an aggressive
little glioblastoma.
Did you ever think that you would
start using your neuroscience again?
In this way?
No.
'Since getting my PhD,'
I never thought I would be acting
as a neuroscientist, no.
Amy's at the dry-cleaner's
and she's made a very amusing pun.
"I don't care for p-chloro-ethylene
and I don't like glycol,ether."
Personally, I like that physics is
out there and incomprehensible,
but I really like it when it's
what we call freshman physics.
We don't need strength...
we're physicists.
We are the intellectual descendants
of Archimedes.
Give me a fulcrum and a lever, I can
move the earth. It's a matter...
I don't have this.
I don't have this!
It's something that people
have been exposed to in some way
and so there's
a chance of knowing what's going on.
Ah, gravity,
thou art a heartless bitch.
And, frankly,
if people disagree with the science,
they can send a letter
to Dr Saltzberg or Dr Bialik.
There's nothing wrong
with the science.
Perhaps you mean a different thing
than I do when you say, "Science."
Fashion's probably not
the first thing that springs to mind
when you think of
The Big Bang Theory,
but for a show that's about
pretty unfashionable guys,
they do all have
their own distinctive style,
from Sheldon's T-shirts
to Howard's...
eye-wateringly tight trousers.
They do stand out in a crowd.
So I assume this is all divided up
into different characters?
Yes, we call them character closets.
Sheldon, staring with
the plaid pants, of course.
Yes.
And then all of his T-shirts
back here.
He's got his Green Lantern
and Flash shirts.
He has a lot of T-shirts. They all
have a lot of clothes, to be fair.
Oh, yes.
'Do you have a favourite
Sheldon piece?'
I like this.
Yes, that's nice...
the evolution
of an into a robot is nice.
It screams Sheldon to me.
Wow!
Wow!
I really like Raj's outfits.
I like the fact that I think
he looks quite cool.
They all bridge cool,
except I throw something else
that just ruins it all.
I think he thinks it's cool.
'When Raj first came to America,'
he was dressed head-to-toe
in Miami Vice clothes,
because that was a big popular
show in India at that time.
What about arguably
my favourite character,
dress-wise and otherwise, Howard?
Where's his stuff?
He's got a room to himself.
Of course he has.
Hey, qu'est-ce que s'up?
Look at that!
Very eclectic. I know.
Look at that.
If this is missing when you leave...
I've got my eye on it.
You're in trouble.
There is one outfit he wore with
an eye patch and leather pants...
The guy's a hero.
'And a flowy blouse.
He pulled it off.'
Hello, boys.
I would say he's a clothes... horse.
Whore or horse? I don't know.
I think horse.
I think for him, let's say whore.
I want to blend in.
To what?
Toy Story?!
This is Leonard.
I recognise these cords.
Yes.
A muted rainbow.
Yes, muted. He's got a bit of
a bucket of water thrown on him
compared to some
of the other characters.
Is this all stuff you want me
to try on?
No, this is stuff
I want you to throw out.
When I had to dress up as Supergirl,
that was especially liberating.
I don't know about you,
but I feel empowered.
Come on, I made that look good.
Yeah.
I'm Batman!
Camera... Action!
Does anyone have any wood?
Oh, come on! I just want wood!
Why are you making it so hard?
OK, we've got the writing,
the science,
the wardrobe and the actors.
But the world of the Big Bang Theory
wouldn't be complete without
the incredibly detailed sets.
Designed by legendary
production designer John Shaffner,
who designed the famous Friends
set amongst others,
the sets each have their
own special charm.
Actually, my favourite set is the
hallway between the two apartments.
The producers wanted this walk
and talk in the stairwell.
Well, we built the set and Chuck
and Bill came down and they looked
at it and said, "We really need
to see the stairway go down."
So I was like, "Oh, dear,
I'm not authorised by the studio
to cut a hole in the floor.
So then we went to the studio
and said we need to cut
a hole in the floor.
So that's how we came about
building the staircase that actually
goes down about six feet.
If you get to the bottom of the stair
and make a corner,
there's dirt and there's a wall
full of gum on it from the actors
who wait to go on
and put their gum on the wall!
So it's sort of starting
to look like the underside
of a table in a cheap diner.
Obviously as soon as I got
onto the set
and walked downwards I was amazed
at how little the gap is to fit in.
Once you've got down you just
sort of stand there against a wall.
Um, and the other thing about it
was trying to give them enough
space between the two apartments so
there'd be working space for a scene.
Um, I put this elevator in the middle
and I showed it to Chuck
and Bill and they said,
"We don't want the elevator
"because why would they walk up
and down the stairs?"
And I said,
"Because it's always broken.
The landlord has never fixed it."
Give me that.
What did you do that for,
I had plenty of time?!
So, this is it, I've chatted to
the cast and crew, I've poked around
behind the scenes, I know exactly
how the Big Bang Theory gets made.
All I've got to do now is
take my place in the audience
and watch them
actually record the show.
This is about as exciting as
it gets for a Big Bang fan.
In a way, I wish you could be here.
In another way
I don't cos you'll be in my seat.
What I can promise is that I'll
really enjoy it for you.
Excuse me. Sorry.
OK, hold the over, Richard.
Ladies and gentlemen,
round of applause,
are you ready to meet our cast?
Let's hear it!
It's just so electric in here
on our take nights.
It's very exciting to have
that energy from the audience.
Give it up!
Oh, it's amazing, I love it.
It's great, it's sort of like a short
play every week.
I wouldn't be half
as happy as I am here
if we didn't have that
live audience.
Here's Sheldon,
the incredible Jim Parsons!
It does add that element of
surprise and adrenaline.
Cameras A, B, C, X.
On the mark.
Here we go, and action!
I don't think I could ever get
a massage from a guy.
Really? What was I doing
to your neck last night
while you were playing Xbox?
Not much, it's still killing me.
We always get comments like,
"OH, my God that laugh-track
is driving me crazy,"
but it's not a laugh-track,
it's real people!
Where's Howard?
No, "Hi, Raj, how are you, Raj?"
Straight to,
"Where's the other white guy?"
When I watch scenes on
every show when you know
there's not a live audience,
it's just slightly
soulless. Something's missing,
they are a tangible presence in the
room, almost like another character.
Some of my favourite scenes,
which also seem to be fans'
favourite scenes,
between Amy and Sheldon,
do not play that way all week.
The way you see them on TV is
the way that the studio audience
determines that they get played.
There's nothing like people
seeing Sheldon
and Amy kiss for the first time.
You can't gauge that.
Fascinating.
Um, and for me, that's really
where a scene gets life that it
doesn't have for the
previous five days.
It's like I'm
living in a dictatorship.
"You must take a vacation, you must
have fun, you must enjoy life."
I don't think you have a good
handle on dictatorships.
There are moments
when you can't help
but get carried away like
I guess you would in theatre.
You try to keep your pants on.
It's not always possible!
No, but we do our best.
The audience is amazing cos
they give you instant reaction.
And they don't lie.
They'll tell you immediately
if something is working or not.
I am the king of nerds.
What does that mean?
That means if anyone displeases me
I can arrange to have their email
inbox spammed.
We do quite a bit of re-writing
here on the fly with them.
Well, it means
if anyone displeases me
I don't help them
set up their printer.
You have to listen to the audience
to get the rhythm of it and then
we wait for the laugh and sometimes
it never comes and then we cry...
Um, guys? Guys?
No, it's gonna come.
I know it's been ten minutes,
just trust me.
I've been doing this for a really
long time and it's humbling
how often the studio audience
will tell you that what you thought
was hilarious is not hilarious.
And what you thought was,
meh, is fabulous.
I just don't know how I'm going
to break it to him.
How about topless?
Well, you waggle those puppies
in his face I bet you'd get him
to join the marines.
I think this is good,
I dunno, I hope it is,
if it's not the audience will
tell us and we'll fix it.
I just don't know how I'm going
to break it to him.
Hey, you know, I'm a big believer
in breaking bad news to a guy
when you're in bed with him.
That's how I told my high school
boyfriend I slept with his brother.
That's how I told his brother
the same thing!
You can't anticipate what other
people are going to respond to
and if you think you can,
you're crazy.
Time and again we've
run into situations,
with Sheldon especially, where
it's like, just coming off too mean.
They're not laughing they're going,
"Ohh..." You know?
And that's not the intent.
Sheldon's not cruel, he's honest.
When instead of a laugh
there's an "Ohhh."
Yeah.
Richard Feynman was a famous
American physicist.
Part of the Manhattan project.
Everyone in the world of science
knows who Richard Feynman was.
Now you do too.
In front of the audience
most of us can stay pretty focused
but it's some of the
playfulness that Jim
and I have that really kind
of brings out some of the giggles.
She broke that, it was fine!
Control yourself!
Are there times when you do just
totally lose it
even when the audience are there?
Oh, in as far as getting the giggles?
Yeah.
Kunal is the worst for that,
he cracks himself up constantly.
Follow your heart.
I'm the worst at that.
Yeah, I heard that.
That's why you asked me
this question?
Yeah, it's leading. It's leading.
No, it's so bad, like,
it's cos I'm having the most fun.
No, it's probably cos I'm
the most unprofessional.
He can't stop
laughing at his own jokes.
And so I'll come over and whisper
to him "Sometimes babies die."
And that steels him up.
When I first got here the...
Can I take it from there?
English is tough!
I'm going to be doing some
brain-stem estology
while you get yourself on the.
I have no idea what that line is.
With a live audience,
when they're enjoying it
and their laughter is
sincere and loud, it's...
That's a great,
great sense of gratification.
Too much?
Ooooh!
Yeah. No.
And that's a cut!
We have a wonderfully loyal audience
and there's a bond there
over five years.
You have given us
your half hour to watch the show,
I want you to come away thinking it
was a half hour well spent.
What an experience, I genuinely feel
quite lucky to have gained
this insight into the making
of the show.
Turns out it's both complicated
and fun in equal measure.
But I think I'll leave
the final word
on the last hundred episodes
to the cast.
What are you
tuning in for every week?
It's not the story and the sense
of what will happen this week
as much as it is, whatever happens
I want to see what these people do.
Here we are five years later...
Really close and a hundred episodes
that's over 500 days
here in the same room
with the same people.
Part of the reason we're still
here is it's a great cast.
These are really talented actors
and they can do anything
we ask them to do.
They couldn't be a nicer group
of people, they were so welcoming.
And the fact that nobody's
killed another person yet...
Is a real achievement!
Yeah, is a real achievement!