TV Shows Set in Fictional or Unknown locals

[therealjm12]

The opening scene of Hill Street Blues, with the Old Style Beer sign was filmed in Chicago. There were many references to Rochester and Buffalo mentioned in the series. Delaware Ave., Lake Avenue and other street names and locations in both cities.. There is one episode where the cops are having a competition racing their squad cars up North Clinton Ave And St Paul Blvd. Both streets run parallel to each other in Rochester. Running from downtown to Irondequoit - a northern suburb.

 

[dhett]

Fantasy Island was set on a unnamed island, generally understood to be in the South Pacific.

According to Wikipedia:

The series was filmed primarily in Burbank, California, with the opening scenes of the enchanting island coastline being that of Moorea, French Polynesia. The house with the bell tower, where Tattoo rings the bell, is the Queen Anne Cottage, located in the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia. The plane, "arriving" with the guests, was filmed in the lagoon behind the Queen Anne Cottage. Sometimes, outdoor scenes were filmed at the Arboretum.

Gilligan's Island was also understood to be in the Pacific tropics, an unspecified distance from Honolulu, where the SS Minnow was based.

 

[jwgreek8606]

Roseanne is set in Lanford Illinois

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Wonder Years location was never mentioned, but it never snowed and only rained a few times

 

[EZway2go]

I always thought the Raytown frequently mentioned in Mama's Family was the Raytown in Missouri until closer inspection on a map revealed that it's a suburb right outside Kansas City. For some reason, I thought Thelma Harper and company lived in a really small town much farther away from any big city, let alone one as big as Kansas City.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

I always thought the Raytown frequently mentioned in Mama's Family was the Raytown in Missouri until closer inspection on a map revealed that it's a suburb right outside Kansas City. For some reason, I thought Thelma Harper and company lived in a really small town much farther away from any big city, let alone one as big as Kansas City.

Raytown, MO is a Kansas City suburb.

 

[therealjm12]

The opening scene of Gilligan's Island where they are gathered on the beach with the wrecked Minnow, was filmed at Newport Beach in Southern California. It's an open space that is surrounded by homes and businesses. It has been used in a lot of TV and movies for beach scenes. A lot of "storming the beach" in military movies.

 

[Bob1370]

The ABC soap operas General Hospital and Port Charles were supposedly set in the fictional city of Port Charles...but they got specific enough to say it was a city on a river about 70 miles east of Buffalo along Lake Ontario in upstate New York. That's Rochester, can't be anyplace else. If there was any doubt that Port Charles was actually Rochester, the shows have occasionally used insterstitials and even opening titles of an aerial shot of the town...and the Xerox Tower, Chase Bank Building and even Kodak HQ are unmistakable.

General Hospital has occasionally visited Rochester to shoot some exterior shots.

 

[BD Sullivan]

The opening scene of Gilligan's Island where they are gathered on the beach with the wrecked Minnow, was filmed at Newport Beach in Southern California. It's an open space that is surrounded by homes and businesses. It has been used in a lot of TV and movies for beach scenes. A lot of "storming the beach" in military movies.

In the pilot film of GI, during the opening theme (different from the familiar one), the boat heads out for the tour. In the far distance (to the left about 1:15 in), you can barely see a flag at half staff. That was because the pilot was being filmed at the time of the JFK assassination. For obvious reasons, production had to be temporarily stopped for a few days before they finished up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpimVRP3EW4

 

[Markxxx]

I always thought Glen Lawn ("Gimme A Break") would've been closer to San Francisco, but I am probably wrong.

San Pueblo ("The Partridge Family") was definitely far from LA and probably closer to San Francisco.

"Gilligan's Island" was all over. One episode they are 300 miles SE of Hawaii. Another episode gives their location as 140° longitude, 10° latitude, which puts it about 1,200 miles SE of Honolulu, which is a heck of a long drift. The Professor says it is approximately 110° longitude and 10° latitude." The only thing we know for sure is that it is way out of the shipping lanes.

Raytown is never really revealed, but in the NBC years when Mama learns to drive, she takes Aunt Fran's car and they do indeed have Missouri license plates on the car.

The Ricardos and the Metzes live in the East River LOL

 

[potnoodle]

I always thought the Raytown frequently mentioned in Mama's Family was the Raytown in Missouri until closer inspection on a map revealed that it's a suburb right outside Kansas City. For some reason, I thought Thelma Harper and company lived in a really small town much farther away from any big city, let alone one as big as Kansas City.

Actually, the origin of "Raytown" aka "The Jewel of the Tri-State" has nothing to do with Missouri or any other real towns. The writers of Mama's Family named all of the fictional towns referred to on the show (Raytown, Bundy and Hinckley) after serial killers, believe it or not. It was just a coincidence that Missouri had a real Raytown.