Disclaimer: this has nothing to do with Peace Corps or my preparations for departure, but rather my OBSESSION with The Big Bang Theory.

“Knock Knock Knock, Penny. Knock Knock Knock, Penny. Knock Knock Knock, Penny.”

Living so close to Los Angeles, I take advantage of the opportunity to see any taping of a show when I can. However, typically, the reality shows are the ones I am able to get tickets for: Price is Right, Dancing With the Stars, America’s Got Talent, and So You Think You Can Dance. About a month ago, I randomly stumbled across a site where you could reserve tickets to see a taping of the most popular comedies on air. The Big Bang Theory is one of my favorite shows of all time. How I understand the punch lines to jokes with words I don’t even know is beyond me. But I am hooked on this show like a monkey loves bananas. So when I realized this site was releasing tickets to a taping of The Big Bang Theory the next day, I was online refreshing the page until they were released.

I have to say, that it was one of the best television show tapings I have been too, and I have been to my fair share. Not only was the whole waiting and check-in process easier, but overall, the Warner Bros. staff treat their audience with so much more respect than expected. What television show provides their audience with pizza and water for dinner in the middle of the taping? What television show has seating where you can actually SEE the set? Four words, The Big Bang Theory. It’s a shame you can only go to one taping a year—they put you on a list, or I would try to be there as many episodes as I could get tickets for.

Overall, the experience was great. One of my best friends and I arrived at the studio two hours before the arrival time on the ticket. My past experience of attending television tapings has taught me never to arrive when the tickets say because you will not get in. And it was a good think we did. Caroline and I were given numbers 38 and 39, which sounds amazing when I normally am 140 at a taping of DWTS. However, with VIP tickets and guaranteed tickets, they only let in a little less than 50 people out of the 120 that were waiting in line.

We were escorted through Gate 3 and walked across the studio lot to Stage 25 where TBBT is taped. Might I add, I got to see the building where Pretty Little Liars was filmed. Yes the show is on filming hiatus right now, but as a HUGE Pretty Little Liars fan, I got really excited when I walked by the building that housed the PLL set. Anyways, the way the filming works is the staff shows the audience the prior yet-to-be-aired episode of The Big Bang Theory to the one that they would be filming just to give us a background on what has happened. And then the filming begins. A 30 minute episode takes on average 4 hours to film with prep, scene shoots, and pickups (slight changes in the dialogue that are recorded or a tidbit of a scene that needs to be reshot because of poor audio, etc). It sounds like a long time to sit in a chair, but in reality, it goes by so fast. Between the audience director’s entertainment and the actual filming itself, time flew by.

Overall, the cast was amazing and hilarious in person. Jim Parsons toyed with the audience when he messed up a line and we “ooooo’d” him. Kaley Cuoco came up to the audience and personally thanked us for our patience and making it the show it is today. She also had to embarrass her dad a little, but I guess that’s normal. She even waved to Caroline and I when we were walking out to the car. Kunal Nayyar (Koothrappali) even made it a point to roll down his window on the way out of the studio and say thank you for being such a great audience.

The episode I watched taped airs this Thursday, so make sure you tune in. Maybe you will hear my laugh (just kidding highly unlikely with the 200 person audience). But still, I can’t wait to see which pickups they used and how it meshes together. And one last thought, next time you need to solve an argument, use Rock. Paper. Scissors. Lizard. Spock. It’s truly the only professional way to come to an agreement.