In Outer Space Scenes, Are They Holding Their Breaths?

When I was a young kid, I heard or read somewhere that TV shows were filmed on a "stage." Since my parents had always been active in community theatre, my conception of a "stage" was a theater stage, with a curtain, a proscenium, and an audience. The misapprehension was amplified by the voiceovers that used to run after the opening credits to sitcoms ("_____ was filmed on stage before a live studio audience!") and variety shows like The Carroll Burnett Show, which showed the actors on a traditional theater stage.

One show that perplexed me was the late '60's Irwin Allen epic "Land of the Giants." I wondered how they were able to show giant people on a theater stage. Since I knew nothing of double-exposure photography, giant props, or forced perspective, I thought they used giant mechanical puppets. (I was an imaginative child.)

What brought all this to mind was cousin Lee Goldberg's blog post about conversations he had with members of the public at a library event -- including this one:

A woman asked me if she could visit the set of MONK when she's in Los Angeles with her family. I said it wasn't open to the public.

"You mean it's not filmed in front of a live audience?" she asked.

"No, it's not," I said. "Haven't you noticed that it's shot outdoors as well as indoors and that you don't ever hear anyone laughing or applauding?"

She shrugged. "I just thought they were being very quiet."