The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Jill's Journal: What show on t.v. is more fun than The Ellen DeGeneres Show? My Mom (Beppy), sister (Kristi), and I took a girls’ only, overnight trip to Burbank, California, and the massive Warner Bros. Studio with guaranteed tickets to the show in hand. Oh, the fun we had! (No cameras were allowed, so as much as I'd love to share pictures, I can't!)

We checked in at Warner Bros. as instructed, several hours before filming. We were whisked around the massive studio on a stretch golf cart, detouring around an episode of The Mentalist being filmed. Our driver pointed out where nine out of 10 seasons of Friends were filmed, where ER was filmed (and even the parking lot that doubled as the rooftop helicopter pad – oh the magic of television!), and where so many other pieces of t.v. and movie history happened. We were brought to a special theatre, which was apparently used extensively in the filming of last year’s best picture The Artist, and shown the movie Mirror Mirror, which is being released next week.

After viewing Mirror Mirror, we were driven over to Stage 1 and shown to our seats in the audience with the well-known Ellen set right in front of us. We were in the 10th row, I believe, on the aisle. It was a party from the moment we got in there with constant music and dancing and fun. About 45 minutes later, the show began and it was exactly like you see on t.v. No second takes and actual breaks for commercials (although we didn’t see any commercials – we were played music and expected to dance instead!). Ellen had a short monologue and danced for a very brief time, as it was a day of big-name celebrities on the show.

The first guest of the day was mega-star Julia Roberts, who was way fun and clearly having a good time.

Next was Liam Hemsworth. My Mom, Kristi, and I had no idea who he was, but he’s in The Hunger Games, which came out yesterday (the day after our Ellen Show experience) and is supposed to be the biggest movie of the year.

Then there was a surprise guest…Justin Bieber. Every female in that place under 25 went absolutely nuts, but my Mom, Kristi, and I fell into fits of hysterical laughter. A few days prior, my Mom had emailed Kristi and me to say she thought it might be Julia Roberts on the show (they don’t tell you ahead of time who will be there, but she had seen the t.v. listings and guessed). I had responded saying something to the effect of, “Oh good! At least it’s not some teenybopper like Justin Bieber.” And there he was, right in front of us after I'd said that, which just struck our funny bone.

Justin Bieber was there with a new artist he’d “discovered,” a female singer named Carly Rae Jepson. She performed and, all too quickly, the show was over. Ellen talked to the audience for a moment off camera, which was nice. And then she and her significant other, Portia de Rossi, left.

I’ve always wanted to attend a t.v. taping, as the whole process just fascinates me. But as interesting as that was, I think what my Mom, sister, and I will always remember was the fun we had. I’m so glad we got the experience together. It was an absolute hoot. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

(This was the three of us being silly in the hotel before the show...we were positively punchy (and so hungry) by the end!)