At a recent taping, a producer had a different explanation.

"The warm-up is integral," Ms. O'Donnell said in an interview after a recent taping.

At one recent taping, inside a church in Coney Island, several teenagers sat on plastic chairs, behind a microphone and before a video camera that recorded their stories.

"They're saying 'Florida,' " Mr. Edward told Ms. Carrozza during a recent taping of the show.

Now compare that with the recent taping of the final episode of "Home Improvement," a prime-time hit on ABC for the past eight seasons.

"Good morning, and welcome to Aura School Morning News," began the anchorman on one recent taping in a third-grade class.

At a recent taping, many were recent college graduates trying to pay off school loans or credit card bills from living beyond their means.

The town was also put under the spotlight in a recent taping of the reality television series, Road Hockey Rumble.

Judging by the heavily male audience at a recent taping, the show's viewers tune in for Mr. Sargent's deadpan locker-room humor.