A lotta questions. let me take a shot.
I was referencing information dating back to the facility's construction. 1 and 3 had the audience enter from Alameda Avenue via the second floor. Brian, I don't know when that was closed off, it was quite some time ago. Indeed the original permanent seating was replaced with bleachers, likely at the same time. But you should know that even to this day many in the Leno audience in 3 are loaded via stairs, although it is not the original flight of stairs. While that original rear, second floor entry still exists in studio 1, folks were loaded for at least the last few audience shows in that studio (WL, 21, etc.) as you remember in studio 3 (HS, SOTC, etc.), walking on the stage, mostly for the audiences' convenience and to comply with ADA rules - there is no elevator to accommodate the disabled when using the second floor entrance.
5 and 10 were not designed for audiences, although they were later "audience rated", and indeed did seat a small audience for shows such as "Fight Back" and as recently as that late night show that ended a few years back (I forget the name). That set was on the opposite wall from AH. The public affairs shows that used 5 are now in a corner of studio 10 where the KNBC news is a permanent set.
Yes, 2 and 4 did have audiences in the 70s and 80s; those audience shots were real. Again, I was discussing the original design - there was never permanenent seating as was built into 1 and 3. Things have gone full circle in both rooms. On my last look it appeared they no longer had the retractable bleachers that Brian speaks of, that were added for the game shows discussed in this thread. The wall closest to the parking lot where they used to retract appears to now be a permanent wall. Let me add for clarity, some variety shows and specials that taped in those studios (such as "Midnight Special", Flip Wilson, Andy Williams, Perry Como, Sammy Davis, etc.) did have audiences in seating sections that were integrated into the sets for those specific shows. Some "Laugh-In" skits had small audiences in 2 and/or 4. And some of the Dean Martin Roasts were taped there using a variety of "audiences" that ran the gamut from tables and chairs on the stage floor to simply cardboard cut-outs of people, with the audio fully sweetened.
9 and 11 were built in an area that was partially used for storage; there is still a great deal of set storage adjacent to those stages. Props and the set fabricating shop are in the main building.
No, I don't know the motivation behind the numbering system at NBC Burbank, but nothing I ever saw suggested that there was an alternate blueprint that included any specificly planned accommodation for future construction.
The latter seems to be the case at CBS-TV City. I'm told that the hallway we all know and love housing 31, 33, 41 and 43 was to be one of TWO such wings. Under that plan the corresponding studios in the other hallway were to be numbered 11, 13, 21 and 23. What happened to the even numbers in those sequences? I was told 32, 34, 42 and 44 were saved for possible future construction near the existing wing. But even Cappy, among the oldest of the old-timers at TV City seems unclear on all of this. I say that with great respect. But the original motivation behind much of this appears to be long gone, as Cappy was in the conversation at the Carruthers memorial in 33 where there was confusion about which of the sunken audience stages utilized which of the non-audience stages as "slaves" for commercial cut-aways.
Enough for now.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
