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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

TV Talk Tuesday-One Tree Hill Set Tour

My mom and I hung out with these people this weekend.

OK well I didn't actually see any of those people but I did go on the One Tree Hill set tour in Wilmington, NC where One Tree Hill (and previously Dawson's Creek) is filmed (at Screen Gems Studios).  I even conned my mom into going with me so I didn't have to go alone. 

They threatened to escort us off the property if we took pictures so I don't have any pictures of the sets but it was pretty interesting.  I saw Nathan and Haley's house, Brooke's Beach house and Red Bedroom Records. 

Fun Facts...
1-The brick isn't real.  Although Red Bedroom Records looks like it has brick walls, when you touch the walls you realize they are hollow.  It's wood or plastic that has been painted.  Same for the granite counter top in Haley's kitchen.  It's actually just painted wood.  I think the set designers do a really good job of making it look real on tv.
2-Lots of other stuff is fake.  The sinks don't have running water.  If they need water or electricity for any of the kitchen items, they have to run in a hose or bring in an extension cord. 
3-There's no real food in the fridge.  They showed us Brooke's fridge which has no power.  Most of the stuff is just empty boxes or Tupperware that has been painted to make it look like there is food in it.  Sometimes they move things around to make it look like people have actually been eating food from the fridge. 
4-The pool from Nathan and Haley's house is inside.  It's a real pool but they actually have it on a set beside the house.  They definitely had me convinced that the pool was outside on the show.
5-The stairs lead to nowhere.  All the sets are on one story so if you see someone go up stairs, they are not really going anywhere.  It just ends.  They put tops of trees outside of windows to make it look like they are on a higher level.
6-They have a side parking lot with cars used in the show.  A few years back when I drove by I saw Peyton's old car.  I guess they don't need that anymore.  But I'm pretty sure these are the cars from the hit and run last year.  Yeah, look familiar?
Ok, so those might only be fun facts if you've actually seen the show.  Overall things were a lot less fancy and high tech than I would expect them to be on a TV set.  They do a good job of making fake things look real on the show.  So now I have fulfilled my lifelong dream of touring a tv set so I can move on.  (But if anyone wants to get me on the set of PRec or The Office, I will still accept the invite.)

parking lot outside the studio
Have you ever been on the One Tree Hill set tour or on any other TV show set?
Are you going to watch the final season of One Tree Hill this year?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes,went with my daughter. Twas interesting. Saw the golden girls house front many years ago at universal.

Jenni said...

Sounds like B missed out on a good trip.

Emily said...

I'm so jealous!!! I love OTH and can't wait for the new season. Wish I could go.

$hanzie said...

As you know, yes I have been on that set..... I am convinced my tour guide was high and had never once seen an episode of Dawsons Creek or One Tree Hill but it was entertaining nonetheless. You saw some different things than me. Exciting stuff. And yes, as much as I hate myself for saying it, I will watch the last season of OTH. I have invested so many years of my life, I might as well.

Leesh said...

WOW, that's quite exciting to get a tour of the set. So many cool things I would have never thought about.

Mid-way through the last season, I gave up on the show. It was dragging and was not interesting at all. Plus, Jamie was irritating me. Now that some of the original characters are making an appearance in this final season (like Chad Michael Murray), I am definitely going to watch it. I wish they would bring back Felix for just one episode, he is one of my favorites.

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

That's awesome! When I was in LA last summer I went to Paramount and got to tour some sets. Hung was an awesome set. Glad you had fun!

Amanda @ It's Blogworthy said...

I remember when I went to NYC about 7 years ago, we toured the NBC studio and saw the news studio and also the SNL studio. The news one was crazy because all the silver stuff was just paint and/or duct tape..of course now it's HD so they have to use real metal I think. And the "marble" was just craftily painted plastic. Very cool..looks like fun!

Jennifer Fabulous said...

Oh fun!!! I love these kinds of tours! I think it's awesome you visited an actual set. I've only done the studio tours (which show glimpses, but never really in-depth).

Your experience reminds me of something funny I heard on the Tonight Show. This guy was an extra on CSI or something. I guess he had never had a tour like yours, because he totally thought the bathroom on set was real. So he went and discovered it was a fake toilet!! And when he walked out, all the crew members were just staring at him, horrified. Hahaha!

So glad that didn't happen to you. ;)