Show and Tell

Valley residents and visitors who have driven past the sprawling NBC Television headquarters in Burbank may wonder what goes on in there.

It is a beehive of activity with cameras whirring, carpenters building scenery, costumers clattering at their sewing machines and TV stars jumping out of their fancy cars and striding into cavernous studios to work on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” “Days of Our Lives” and “Access Hollywood.”

And you can watch it all. You have to go in a special door and pay $7, but the experience is similar to what people would see if they just wandered in and looked around. Except on the “NBC Television Studio Tour,” you get a knowledgeable companion to explain everything.

“It looks very different from what you’re used to seeing when you watch these shows at home,” said Bill Connor, manager of guest relations. “Being inside a working studio is really different from riding a tram.”

Connor and his team of NBC pages--the legendary young staffers who aspire to rise in the ranks and run their own studios, a la Michael Eisner--think of the tour as an hour-plus unstructured walk through the studio complex to check out what is going on each day.

First, they show visitors a six-minute video on the history of NBC and then usually head for the sound stages where “Days of Our Lives,” “Access Hollywood” and “Twenty One” tape.

Along the way, while a page explains the production process and the exotic equipment being set up, visitors may run into Jay Leno or some other celebrity, Connor said.

Visitors can go into the sound stages and look around until the cameras start rolling. Then they have to move along to another part of the studio.

Folks who want to watch a taping have to make arrangements in advance, either by showing up as early as 8 a.m. to try to get tickets on a first-come, first-served basis or by mailing in a request in advance, Connor said. The free audience-participation tickets do not include the tour.

“People come early in the day, pick up advance tickets to be part of an audience during a taping, take the tour in the morning, go to lunch and come back for the taping in the afternoon,” Connor said.

The biggest draw on the walking tour is the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” set, which provokes a flood of questions from visitors, such as “What’s Jay Leno like?”

BE THERE

NBC Television Studio Tour, a 70-minute walking tour of the TV production complex. Departures at regular intervals weekdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank. Adults $7, seniors $6.25, children $3.75 and under 5 free. (818) 840-3537.