Sitting In The Audience

Los Angeles (Oct. 1)--Yesterday, I hopped on the bus and rode about two miles to the studios of G4TechTV to see "The Screen Savers". Audience members were asked to arrive between 2:30 and 3:15 p.m. for the live show at 4:00 p.m. (all times PDT). A line formed outside the building, mostly male, mostly under 40. Being 64, I was the outlier.

A female audience relations person coached us. She also said that anyone who wanted to stay for the taping of "Unscrewed" with Martin Sargent and Laura Swisher could do so. Before we knew it, we were inside the building, but we still had to wait awhile to go into the studio.

Once we were inside, we saw Kevin, Alex, Sarah and Yoshi dressed as Star Trekkers and rehearsing their opening scene. The behind-the-scenes staff couldn't have been nicer to the audience. The show, under Paul Bloch's guidance, went smoothly.

Our audience relations person asked questions about Star Trek and gave away Star Trek DVD sets and other prizes for correct answers during the commercial breaks. Andy interviewed Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura on Star Trek. She shared some pleasant memories.

We met the entire cast after the show. They were friendly and answered every question.

Many of us remained for the taping of "Unscrewed". We were treated to soft drinks and pizzas from Domino's. This time we had a male audience relations person who kept everyone laughing as we waited.

Martin's wit was as amusing as ever, and Laura Swisher is even more beautiful in person than she is on TV. Martin surprised me in one way: he read all of his comments on a teleprompter. I would have thought he would have been more spontaneous. Don't get me wrong. He was still extremely funny and entertaining.

I had a great time, thanks to the friendly and warm G4TechTV staff. If you live in Los Angeles or plan to visit, try to catch a live show. You'll be glad you did!