Larry Sanders Show, The

Folks who went to see The Larry Sanders Show tape only got to see portions of each episode.  The innovative, widely-acclaimed situation comedy ran on HBO from August of 1992 to May of 1998.  Chronicling the life and backstage dealings of a neurotic talk show host (and often employing anecdotes from backstage at real, contemporary talk shows), the series was shot on both film and tape.  It was tape when we the audience were watching moments from the show that Larry Sanders starred in for an entity referred to only as “The Network.”  It was film when we saw the things the viewers of that show did not see.  Tapings, which sometimes involved shooting the tape segments for several episodes, were popular…and attendees said they were a lot of fun even if one only got to see about 20 minutes of taping.  The lines between reality and acting were often blurred, both on the series and at these tapings.