With 279 episodes spread over 12 seasons, THE BIG
BANG THEORY is one of the most successful American sitcoms. The series was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. The first episode was aired by CBS on 24 September 2007 and the final episode on 16 May 2019.
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| The seven protagonists of the show. |
As I wrote in my blog post about
Vasquez Rocks, the main characters are four friends who all work for the California Institute of Technology, better known as Caltech: Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar). Sheldon and Leonard share a flat; opposite them lives waitress and aspiring actress Penny (Kaley Cuoco).
From the third season, Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) and Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch) become regular characters. The series is one of our favourite television programmes and not only ours as reruns are shown all over the world.
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| Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Filming took place at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. As I wrote in previous blog posts, the studio complex can be visited during a studio tour, for more information check the website of
Warner Bros. Studio Tour for current offerings. On arrival at the studios, we noticed that
The Big Bang Theory along with
Friends have been given a prominent place on the facade of the building of the parking lot where the tour starts.
Studio 25
Led by a guide, you and about 10 other visitors are driven around in an oversized golf cart past both the permanent film sets (the backlot) and the studio stages.
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| Embassy Courtyard, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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Stage 25, Warner Bros.
Studio's, 20 juli 2023 |
Among other
places, we stopped at Studio 25, built in 1935. As the plaque on the wall
indicates, classics such as Casablanca and Blade Runner were filmed here, as
well as The Big Bang Theory, in front of a live studio audience. In March 2019,
during the filming of the final season, it was announced that the hitherto
unnamed studio was named after the series and is now called The Big Bang Theory
Stage. Apart from the name, nothing else reminds of the show. We went inside
briefly, during our visit we saw the sets of the sitcom Bob ♥ Abishola. Taking photos was not
allowed. Despite the guide's presence, we were turned away by a security
guard...
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| Cast and crew at Stage 25, Warner Bros. Studios |
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| Stage 25, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Studio 48
At the end of the tour, which lasted about two hours, we were dropped off at Studio 48: Script to Screen. As the title suggests, costumes, props and sets, among other things are exhibited to explain how films and series are made. Some sets of The Big Bang Theory are on display here: part of Sheldon and Leonard's living room, the lift with the apartments’ front doors and part of Caltech's cafeteria, with the addition of costumes worn by the actors.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 2, episode 3, 0:02:32 |
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| Studio 48, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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The Big Bang Theory, season 2, episode 6, 0:15:16
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| Studio 48, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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The Big Bang Theory, season 2, episode 6, 0:02:53
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| Studio 48, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 10, episode 24, 0:03:55 |
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| Studio 48, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
The fun part is that you are allowed to step into the first two sets and take photos which of course we did! I forgot to take a photo of the living room without people, hence, by exception, we are in the pictures ourselves.
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| The Big Bang Theory, opening |
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| Studio 48, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
In another room of Studio 48, various props are on display, including the napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy that Sheldon shows to his son Adam in episode 7 of season 9, ‘The Spock Resonance’. Adam is making a documentary about his father, not only in the series but also in real life: For the Love of Spock was released in 2016, including footage from this episode. The napkin shown by Sheldon is clearly a different one from the one on display at Warner's.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 9, episode 7, 0:07:54 |
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| Studio 48, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Warner Bros. Studios backlot
We had opted for the Classics Tour. This focuses on film classics but you get to see the same sets. We took lots of photos and discovered numerous locations featured in The Big Bang Theory.
New York Street
In ‘The 21-Second Excitation’, the eighth episode of the fourth season, Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj go to the cinema to see a special version of Raiders of the Lost Ark with 21 previously unseen seconds. When they arrive there is a long queue in front of the cinema. When the screening is sold out the moment the four friends want to go in, Sheldon decides to steal the film reels. This scene was shot on New York Street, built in the 1930s for gangster movies.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 4, episode 8, 0:05:56 |
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| New York Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 4, episode 8, 0:10:35 |
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| New York Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 4, episode 8, 0:17:35 |
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| New York Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Across New York Street a scene was filmed for episode 24 of season 10, ‘The Long Distance Dissonance’. Sheldon does not realise that Ramona Nowitzki (Riki Lindhome) has a crush on him, so the others walk with them as she goes home.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 10, episode 24, 0:15:19 |
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| New York Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
When Raj is in need of money in ‘The Comic-Con Conundrum’, episode 17 of season 10, he goes to advertise Stuart's comic shop. He is on the corner of New York Street and Brownstone Street.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 10, episode 17, 0:09:45 |
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| New York Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Midwest Street
After Sheldon and Amy break up, she goes out with Dave Gibbs (Stephen Merchant) in episode 8 of season 9, ‘The Mystery Date Observation’. The scene in which they, not entirely accidentally, run into Bernadette, Penny and Leonard was filmed on Midwest Street,
originally built for the 1939 film Four Wives.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 9, episode 8, 0:14:25 |
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Midwest Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023
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French Street
After not behaving very kindly towards his helpful friends, Sheldon is left behind with Stuart (Kevin Sussman) when the others go to Las Vegas, in episode 13 of the ninth season, ‘The Empathy Optimisation’. They stand on the corner of French Street, a number of European-style houses, according to Warner's website. The building with the planter in front of the entrance is of the apartment complex where Sheldon, Leonard, Penny and later Amy live. It can also be seen in the second-to-last episode ‘The Change Constant’ (episode 23 of season 12) when Sheldon and Amy are met outside by journalists.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 9, episode 13, 0:17:35 |
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French Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023
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The Big Bang Theory, season 12, episode 23, 0:17:35
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| French Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
In ‘The Cognition Regeneration’, episode 22 of season 10, Sheldon challenges himself to learn how to stilt walk. This scene was also shot on French Street.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 10, episode 22, 0:19:16 |
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| French Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 10, episode 22, 0:19:19 |
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| French Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Brownstone Street/Ashley Boulevard
As Leonard and Howard walk down the street in episode 19 of season 9, ‘The Solder Excursion Diversion’, they are approached by an employee of a cinema to attend a sneak preview. The cinema set is on the corner of Brownstone Street en Ashley Boulevard.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 9, episode 19, 0:07:51 |
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Brownstone Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 9, episode 19, 0:07:52 |
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Brownstone Street/Ashley Boulevard,
Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 9, episode 19, 0:07:57 |
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| Ashley Boulevard, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Warner Village
Howard is pulled over by the police in ‘The Convergence Convergence’, episode 24 of season 9. This is Warner Village, a street with detached houses.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 9, episode 24, 0:16:13 |
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Warner Village, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023
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Hennesy Street
In the 12th and final season, Sheldon and Amy are married and go on their honeymoon in New York in episode 1, ‘The Conjugal Configuration’. During a tour, they visit locations from the life of Nikolas Tesla. This set is called Hennesy Street and is named after set designer Dale Hennesy. After redesigning this street for the film Annie, he died during production. The original set was built in 1935 for the film Frisco Kid.
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 12, episode 1, 0:14:12 |
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| Hennessy Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
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| The Big Bang Theory, season 12, episode 1, 0:17:00 |
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| Hennessy Street, Warner Bros. Studios, 20 July 2023 |
Screenshots and photos cast and crew © Chuck Lorre Productions/Warner Bros. Television
