The majority of America’s television shows are shot at studios in and around Los Angeles, California. A great way to learn how the shows are shot is to take a studio tour. They are great fun for the whole family and very informational.
Here is a list of five of the most famous television studio tours in California:
1. The Warner Brother’s V.I.P. Studio Tour
Location: 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA
Cost: $39
Duration: 2 hours
Reservations: (818) 846-1403
The Warn Brother’s tour is truly the best of all the studio tours. The tour is part tram ride and part walking tour, and really allows guests to get up close and personal with the sets of television shows such as “Growing Pains,” “The Brady Bunch,” and “Little House On the Prairie.” Other stops on the tour include the Warner Brother’s Museum, post=production labs, at least one giant sound stage, a prop warehouse, and a prop factory.
2. NBC Studio Tour
3000 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank
Cost: $7.50
Duration: 70 minutes
Reservations: (818) 840-3537
The NBC Studio Tour is a pleasant and informational walking tour of the in-use NBC studios. The tour is rather superficial, and does more telling than showing. However, guests on the tour do get to visit the set of The Tonight Show.
3. The Paramount Studio Tour
5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood
Cost: $35
Duration: 2 hours
Reservations: (323) 956-5575
The Paramount Studio tour is a long, tiring, lackluster walking tour. The guides rarely seem to know what they’re talking about or show any charisma. Most of the tour is spent walking along non-descript hallways. The fact that tickets to television show tapings at Paramount are free make this tour especially pointless.
4. Sony Pictures (formerly MGM) Studio Tour
10202 W. Washington Boulevard, Culver City
Cost: $25
Duration: 2 hours
Reservations: (323) 520-TOUR
The Sony Pictures walking tour is more interesting than the Paramount tour, but not by much. There really isn’t any big highlight on the tour, and after an hour it begins to feels rather monotonous. Any areas that are being used for filming are not shown to guests, and the studio is severely lacking in giant outdoor sets.
5. Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour and Theme Park
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City
Cost: $61 and includes admission to theme park
Duration: 45 minutes
Reservations: Not required
The Universal Studios tour is touristy and impersonal, but it is full of excitement. After boarding a crowded tram, guests are driven past creative offices, sound stages, and some truly phenomenal giant outdoor sets. The tour is also part theme park ride. In one sound stage the tram is rocked by an earthquake, in another it is chased by Jaws. There is plenty of television history to learn on the tour as more TV shows have been shot at Universal than at any other studio in California.
Source: http://www.seeing-stars.com/StudioTours/index.shtml
