Report From "Help Wanted"

When it was announced that Adrian Pasdar was going to be in a sitcom, my first thought after “Yay Adrian!” was “live studio audience.” I checked with my writer friend Kate Scamman if this is the normal case and she told me that the multiple-camera setup show is a dying breed, so I figured “Untitled Kari Lizer Project” (aka “Help Wanted”) would be filmed like The Office or 30 Rock (the only two NBC comedies I've seen), but my inclination persisted. I forgot about it during my adventure to find myself/30th birthday getaway, until I got back on April 4th and discovered the grand news: “Untitled Kari Lizer Project” (“Help Wanted”) WAS getting an audience for its pilot taping and tickets were available. I immediately put in my request and then hooked up with friends who were also going, Taffy and Jeff, fellow DSC and my event-going peeps.

I have some experience with late-night show tapings, but have never attended a television show taping before. The two have some distinct differences:


1. Late-night show tapings generally run a couple of hours; however, a TV show taping is likely to take four hours or more. Ours took five and a half, plus we got there to check in two hours before show time.


1a. Due to the length of filming, it is recommended that you eat something before you go. They did feed us halfway through with a slice of cheese pizza and a mini bottle of water, but I don't know if this is standard or not. It might depend on the length of filming. They don't seem to have any problems with you bringing your own food and water, especially how there is a vending machine in the audience holding area (this is for the WB lot).


2. Late-night shows (Leno, Kimmel, and Ferguson) have comfortable seating. The TV show taping? Maybe it was just the studio, but the seats were really uncomfortable. All of the chairs were connected, were smaller than normal chairs, and they offered no space to move one's arms.

3. Apparently there is a joke about TV show tapings having cold studios. I didn't mind the drop in temperature at all, but there were people who had brought jackets with them for when the cooling started. I can't remember if Late-night shows have the same problem in temperature, but I don't think so.


By no means is this me complaining because I would do it again in a heartbeat. But if you decide to go to a TV show taping, it's good to know what you're getting into!

Taffy, Jeff, and I were in the first ten (getting there two hours early and having internet tickets is a good deal!) and got to sit third row center. The first two rows were marked for the families of the cast and crew. We had really awesome seats for the show...and then the people who got to sit in the first row showed up: Adrian Pasdar's family and friends, many of whom happen to be from Heroes! There was Greg Grunberg, Leonard Roberts, Roberts's wife, and Pasdar's wife Natalie Maines. There was a man next to Maines who reminded me strongly of Paul Rieckhoff of the IAVA, but I don't think it was him. I have met Grunny and Leonard Roberts before, have been wanting to meet Maines, but this was not the time or the place. Believe me, inside I was squeeing, but outside I kept my composure. They are just people, even if they are pretty awesome people. I love the Heroes cast and their families very much. Grunny and Roberts were not the only ones from Heroes I saw: later in the night I saw Jack Coleman! He was watching from an adjoining unused set. I looked away to tell Taffy I saw him and he was gone.

I must be honest here: my expectations for the pilot weren't really high. I don't like comedies on NBC. Just not my kind of humor. What we saw in "Help Wanted" was quite good, I must say. It seems like a throw back to the comedies of NBC's past, such as Will and Grace and Seinfeld. "Help Wanted" was smart, sexual, and a little bit fluffy (a la Caroline in the City or Dharma and Greg). I think NBC can capture whatever CBS has going on with Big Bang Theory in "Help Wanted." If you know me, you'll know that I am Adrian Pasdar's biggest fan (cheerleader is more like) and I will support him wherever he goes and with whatever he does, but I would watch this show even if he wasn't in it.

Out of the whole cast, I was the most taken by Sarah Paulson--which is good, considering she's the lead. Paulson is an absolute crack up and I am now a fan (and guru on Get Glue). Between takes, she was goofing around, frequently breaking out into a dance. This lady is an absolute cutie and that fun side of her shines through in her performance of Mary Leahy. Mary's a devotee of the daily affirmation, a cheerleader, and doesn't have the best grasp of her own life. I can completely relate with Mary, as I am grappling with the same thing, and am even in a similar career type. I want to help blocked artists, while my own life isn't exactly a bed of roses.

Paulson gels very well with co-stars Adrian Pasdar (Brad), Tim Meadows (Ken), and James Adomian (Joss). The pilot did not feel chunky as some pilot episodes do, but solid. Mary, Ken, and Joss all seem a little nutty in their own ways, but Brad appears to be the sane one among the group.

Pasdar's Brad reminds me some of first season Nathan Petrelli from Heroes in looks (the suit (blue suit, red tie), but the hair especially--which got a joke about in one of the scenes; I hope it isn't cut), mannerisms (the hands in the pockets), and self-assuredness without the jackassery. Pasdar had wonderful chemistry with Paulson and I look forward to seeing more if "Help Wanted" gets picked up.

I was a little surprised at the explicitness of some of the sex jokes, but they worked in the contexts that they were delivered. And in fact I think they add to the lighter quality of the show (nothing was raunchy). There were a bunch of great one-liners and phrases that really stick with you (you're just going to have to imagine what I mean here. I'm not going to spoil the jokes. They aren't my jokes to tell. :) )

The audience was kept in good spirits by the veteran warm up comedian Robert G. Lee. Late-night shows have warm up comedians as well; however, unlike its late-night cousin, it seems the TV show taping has a warm up comedian through the entire taping. Lee is a real hoot and I hope I get the chance to hear his styling again. He was full of stories about the shows he has warmed up for. He told us the longest episode he had seen filmed was the wedding episode of Designing Women. Just two pages of the script (where there was no dialogue) took five and a half hours to finish! And when filming began at six in the evening, it meant the cast and crew was only getting to the rest of the episode (since they were making it backwards) at eleven-thirty in the evening. By two in the morning, the audience had completely left. Lee also delivered a lot of one-liners, but the best jokes came from his running commentary about the cast and crew on the set. He was picking a lot on one actor (whose name I cannot find but I will include when I do). The actor plays an out-of-work, down-on-his-luck sort. Lee was merciless in his internal dialogue for this actor, but was very funny. The actor was an excellent sport and never broke character when he was sitting on a couch looking decrepit, even between scenes.

Given the state NBC is in currently, and how Kari Lizer is a hot writer, and how the cast is made up of all established and pretty known actors, I wouldn't be surprised if the pilot is picked up. I'm not sure how long it is going to take NBC to make an announcement, but it should be within the next few weeks: the UpFronts are coming on May 16th.