B-Side Blog Goes to 'The Soup,' Enjoyable Experiences Follow

Last Thursday, I had a whirlwind day. First I had the pleasure of attending the penultimate Big Brother episode of the season, then I got to meet Julie Chen, and then I hopped into my car and drove from the Big Brother house directly to the E! Studios to catch a taping of The Soup. Needless to say, it was a long but fulfilling afternoon, and I can think of no better way to end a hectic Thursday than by settling into Joel McHale’s audience and spending an hour or so laughing at pop culture.
My experience after the jump…

Well, first off, I have to thank my friend IndianJones for procuring tickets to The Soup. Apparently they’re not open to the public, and the only way anyone can get a much sought-after seat in the audience is to know someone on the show or at E!. Somehow IndianJones managed to rustle up a connection — a shocking development as of all my friends, he’s the one with the least connections of any kind. I must admit, it was a bit humbling. Have my powers of persuasion fallen so far that I must rely upon IndianJones to get me into places now? This cannot be. But for the time being, that’s the way it was, and so I checked my bruised ego and resolved to simply enjoy myself.
Anyway, the audience showed up at the studio at around 7 PM on Thursday night, and we proceeded to wait for about forty-five minutes in a lobby. Maybe it was an hour. I don’t know. Compared to the Big Brother audience, which skews heavily Middle American, this group was much more young and urbane. A “cool” crowd, if you will. I actually felt a little old. Anyway, at around 8 o’clock, the producers herded us into the studio, which wasn’t as small as I expected. I really thought it would be a tiny room, but it was moderate-sized and could fit about forty or fifty people or so. Granted, it was only a fraction of the size of the Big Brother audience (not to mention Dancing with the Stars), but still, it was larger than the set of Idol Chat on the TV Guide Network (I did a riveting stint there as a talking head one glorious morning in 2007).
Well, unlike the Big Brother audience — or really any live show I’ve been to — the producers didn’t make us leave our cameras and cell phones in the car. It was a refreshing change. Granted, we still had to turn our gadgets off, but before the taping, people were gladly taking photos of everything, and no one cared! What a delight. Plus, the seats were very comfortable and not crammed next to each other. And did I mention the plush carpeting? I know this all sounds silly and whatnot, but it was incredibly comfortable, which is essential in a taping. I could have stayed there for HOURS.
Anyway, Joel McHale eventually came out and talked to the audience, cracking jokes here and there. As expected, he was very Joel McHale-y: sarcastic, sardonic, biting, etc.. And as expected, we all enjoyed it greatly. IndianJones and I nabbed sweet seats in the second row, and in between segments, Joel talked to the audience, including our row. I think my interaction was limited to a mere “Yup” or “West Hollywood” (he asked where we lived). It was very brief, and I was hoping to say more and plug this blog, but then the girl next to me turned out to be the assistant to Louis CK, and apparently she and Joel had just talked on the phone yesterday; so they pretty much spent the rest of the down-time chatting. My banter opportunities were reduced to NOTHING.
The actual show was pretty fun to watch. As you may know, Joel stands in front of a green screen and talks to the camera. Off to the side are monitors on which the audience can see what the actual show will look like. Basically, it’s like watching it on your TV at home. There were actually some times when I got caught up into it, and then I’d look to my right, see Joel, and be like “Whoa. This is surreal. It’s like I’m IN the television!” Yet another postmodern experience in Los Angeles.
After the taping, however, Joel was super approachable; so of course, everyone approached him and took photos. Never one to shy away from a socially acceptable photo op, I handed a bashful IndianJones my cell phone to take a pic with me and Joel. It only took about three seconds before he realized he wanted to be in the photo too; so he handed my phone off to some very nice girl who then snapped the glorious image that now adorns the top of this post. Joel was very friendly, and I think IndianJones nearly passed out from excitement. As the girl handed back my phone, I informed Joel that I would be posting the pic on my blog. Sadly, he did not take the bait (as in, he did not ask “What’s the name of your blog?”). I didn’t really think he would, but you never know. Ultimately, I think he thought I was joking or something.
So that’s pretty much it. Here are three additional photos:

The set. That was the monitor that we watched the show on.

IndianJones enjoying the moment.

And me enjoying the moment.