CENDROWSKI: Action.
[BOTH SIGH THEN BOTH LAUGHING]
- This guy, he's so funny. - Some of the many antics...
...that you'll see on the set here of Big Bang Theory.
Hi, my name is Kunal. I play Raj Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory.
I'm Simon Helberg. I play Howard Wolowitz.
Today, we're gonna give you the tour of our set.
This is Leonard and Sheldon's apartment.
- Where we hang out much of the time. - Yes, exactly.
This is the couch where we sit.
- This is where I like to sit all the time. - No!
Oh. Ha, ha. Get it? It's actually Sheldon's spot.
- Yeah. - We can't really sit in it.
But when he's not around, we like to do things on it, you know, that--
- Sit near it. - Sit near it.
You know, worship it, pray to it.
NAYYAR: This is the kitchen. We've done a few scenes here.
- Just lounging around. - Just hanging around.
This is a savior, the fridge.
- Going to the fridge-- - Yes. It's a way to break up any--
Any scene we're having there, any you-need-some-movement...
...always send the guy who has no lines to go.
And it helps returning with a joke.
Well, if only all the girls thought that. Ha-ha-ha!
Come on, we're gonna show you the bathroom. This is my favorite part.
- It's actually-- - This is gonna shatter your illusion.
NAYYAR: Yeah, this is unfortunately the illusion. There is really no bathroom.
We have to dig a hole back there whenever we have to go.
This is the way to Leonard and Sheldon's bedroom.
Their bedrooms, which they build on other parts of the set, so it's an illusion.
You walk back there and then they out and you're in...
- This is Leonard's bedroom. - This is Leonard's bedroom.
Stocked with all the cool stuff that ladies like, like Han Solo, Chewbacca.
And then there's-- What's his name? Viggo--
- Viggo Mortensen. - This is Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.
- Sorry, we're not all really nerds. - Viggo Mortensen.
In this episode, there's a Lord of the Rings--
This is a Lord of the Rings episode.
- Where we find the Ring. - We find the One Ring.
- And it tears us apart. - It's the real ring from the movie...
...and it tears us apart, as it does the characters of the movie.
- Gentlemen, this is the One Ring. - Mine.
[ALL LAUGHING]
That's the hallway that you saw.
- See, it's all hard. Be careful. - It's all combobulated.
- Combobulated. That's the hallway. - We'll show you the hallway.
So, yeah. What else is there?
- Penny's apartment. - Yeah.
This is the sweetheart of our show. This is her apartment.
- This is where we wanna be as guys. - Always.
Yeah, we wanna spend time in this room...
...because it gets us in touch with our feminine side.
- Speak for yourself. - We get to spend time with Penny.
- I'm a very sensitive-- - Gets me in touch with her feminine side.
- That's what-- That's what we're after. - I was being--
So-- And that's actually her bedroom back there.
HELBERG: This is a backdrop.
She's got a lovely view of--
- This is Pasadena. - Pasadena.
NAYYAR: Gorgeous, gorgeous backdrop of Pasadena.
HELBERG: Nuclear plant or something. I don't know what that is.
And she's a big fan of stuffed animals like this. This one's Pooky.
- The stuffy doll, that's what he said. - Well, I call him Pooky.
- All right. - Anyway, I'm gonna stay in here and...
- He needs his alone time. -...play with Pooky.
- I gotta go shoot a scene, so... - You go. I will stay with Pooky.
When he finds his center and his chakras, he'll join us.
- Hey. - Hi.
This is my friend, Simon.
- So, yeah, this is-- - Elevator.
- This is the elevator that-- - Does not work.
[ELEVATOR BUZZES]
- Does not work. - Since day one.
We have to climb stairs and stairs and stairs.
You can see these stairs go to nowhere.
We actually all have to get very intimate down here like this...
...and he has to hold my leg. That's part of my own process.
This is Mark Cendrowski.
- Mark, say hi to everyone. - Oh, hello, everyone.
- Mark is the foundation-- - Of this show.
--Of this show.
And also the best-looking director in Hollywood.
- All right, thank you. - Here you go. Thanks.
Awesome.
Very easy. Very easy, by the way. Oh, I can get a soda now.
HELBERG: Ta-da!
So this is the Cheesecake Factory where we pretend to eat lots of food.
This is the preferred table of ours. We have used a booth a few times.
But this is where we sit, and the food is real, obviously.
But we don't really have time to eat it in the scene...
-...unless it's really good. - Mm-hm.
CUOCO: Hey, guys, enjoying your food? GALECKI: Yeah, it's delicious.
We're walking towards a hot set. Not just because these guys are on it.
- I know. - But, you know, kind of because of that.
So the reason it's a hot set-- Because you're not supposed to touch anything...
...you know, because it'll mess up the whole scene.
- Someone just got fired for that. - Exactly.
This is called a fourth wall.
It's when they have to shoot out towards this way...
...because, you know, there's a proscenium, so you build this...
...and it's like a movie. It becomes like a little movie set.
I don't wanna use too many big words for you.
NAYYAR: "Proscenium"? HELBERG: I use proscenium, yeah.
- This is-- Cafeteria. - Our cafeteria.
These are all the extras. Say hi to the camera.
MAN: Hi, camera.
Vending machine where there's one button that you press...
...and things will come out for free. And not like life.
NAYYAR: Excuse me. Can we get a ride here, please? Thank you.
This is the way we get transported in between scenes...
...because we don't like walking.
We don't wanna get too muscular on our legs...
...because we wanna keep slender on the show.
That'll be it. Thank you.
Tip her. You got the money now.
This is how we do Big Bang Theory. Thank you very much.
But I got 25 for myself. Check it.
Let's go see the wardrobe.
This is where all the magic of this and this happens.
HELBERG: Yeah. - This is our wardrobe.
- And this is Mary Quigley. - Welcome to the nest.
NAYYAR: Over here, you will see all of Rajesh Koothrappali's vests.
I, of course, have to have a separate enclave.
He has an entire room dedicated to Wolowitz.
This is how big his closet would have to be if he had a closet.
I say that's why he lives with his mom.
You know, he can't afford an apartment with this kind of closet.
NAYYAR: But let's see where his belt buckles live.
QUIGLEY: Yes. They live right here.
They're good icebreakers, you know, and it draws the attention right to the-- Ahem.
QUIGLEY: And, of course, one of my favorites was the Nintendo.
This is the one we used on the pilot. This first established Wolowitz.
It will be in the Smithsonian someday. I know it.
And the infamous alien pins that are always on the turtleneck.
There is a meaning behind them, which we will not tell you.
But you can try to guess.
Well, occasionally I buy the personal underwear for the cast.
- She gets a discount. NAYYAR: Oh, yeah. Oh.
- It's the biggest underwear in the world. - Yeah. Well, you know what they say.
- Big underwear. - Something.
Yeah. Big underwear, big waist. So, yeah...
- Hey, guys. - Hey. Glad to see you again.
- We changed clothes. - We changed those tattered rags.
- Oh, look who's here. HELBERG: Oh, Johnny. Johnny.
Give me five, man. Cool to see you. Looking good and hip.
- Are you doing all right out here? - Yeah. What's going on?
I was a little lonely. I was lonely. I appreciate you visiting.
HELBERG: Yeah.
Yeah, okay. Yeah, this is nice.
MAN: Guys, take five.
[SNORING]
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
- Thank you. - Thank you. Yeah, thank you.
Please come back and see us again. I really hope you enjoyed our set.