26. Sightseeing: Culver Studios/Bonnie Hunt Show

Do you ever find yourself so sure where you are going is one place only to realize you were just so wrong?

That's the initial experience I had going to the Bonnie Hunt Show taping.  I knew it was in Culver City.  When I last wrote about Culver City is what inspired me to get tickets so I could write about this sightseeing excursion.  I even had a map.  Yet, I so had it in my mind the taping was at Sony Studios (also in Culver City), I just about didn't reach my destination in time.

Luckily, I had been to a taping previously.  As I was traveling on Culver Boulevard, I noticed the Culver Hotel.  Whoo hoo!  A landmark I recognized, whose likeness graces part of the set for the Bonnie Hunt Show.  Mmmmmmm hmmmmm!  I was close.  The Trader Joe's.  The parking structure.  The realization!  Not Sony Studios!  The Culver Studios, site where such past movies as Gone With The Wind were filmed.  Luckily, I still had time to park and walk to the studio entrance before the time cut off.  (By the way, there is ample parking in the ramp with the first two hours free, $1/hour after and tickets to the taping are free.  Click here to see how to request tickets).

There is some waiting involved.  Seating, restrooms, water and entertainment is provided during the wait.

If you don't know, hot dogs and root beer are handed out as you enter the seating area of the set.  No limit on hot dogs.  No relish for the hot dogs either.  What is a hot dog without relish?  I'm just sayin'!

In my mind the wait and no relish are the only two downsides to the experience.  Waiting is par for the course when you attend a show taping.  And who knows, maybe they'll add relish.

Once seated the show employs a talented gentleman (wish I'd remembered or wrote down his name) who is awesome at warming up the audience and getting them to do things most likely out of their comfort zone.  I'm sure Bob, the electrician, will never be the same.

I love Bonnie Hunt.  Okay, not in a creepy way, but you know, in the sister of the same light (I sort of stole that from George Lopez who referred to Carlos Santana as his brother of the same light on his virgin episode of Lopez Tonight), I admire your work way.  I feel it is always a bonus when you enjoy the talent you have chosen to see.

I became an admirer after Bonnie Hunt's movie, Return To Me.  I have a soft spot in my heart for sweet home Chicago, along with genuine admiration for what a labor of love that movie must have been for her.  Having said that, for the movie I know she had Don Lake's collaboration, which he continues with the Bonnie Hunt Show.  Speaking of collaboration, when you experience a show's taping you get a glimpse of the village that must be involved to ensure all is coordinated as smoothly as possible to bring you that hour a day, M-F, of talk show entertainment.

Those I met who are involved with the show seemed genuinely friendly and gracious.  Also, I feel it is a nice touch that at the end of the taping, Ms. Hunt warmly thanks the audience for attending the show by traveling up and down the aisles shaking hands.

So, if you want to get your clap on (that's the price...and no it is not a venereal disease...you are expected to clap on command), as well as some laughs, this is an enjoyable taping to attend.

As long as you find yourself in Culver City for the taping, my next couple of posts will be about places to sightsee before or after the taping by virtue of their close enough to walk to proximity.

P.S.  I include the video below to give you a visual of the area, what the parking ramp looks like and where you walk to get to the studio.  That way if you ever sightsee the area and/or attend a taping...well...now you'll know.