What tv show captured the flavor of its city best?

[searadiofreak]

As a companion thread to what is the largest city that a show was never "set" in, what tv show captured the flavor of its city best?

I'll start with Seattle and "Frasier". Have to add Miami with "Vice" as well.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I always thought "General Hospital" really captured the flavor of Port Charles...(rimshot)

Seriously, I would guess that as a general rule, since most TV shows are created/produced in NYC or LA, the shows set in those 2 cities would tend to be more accurately represented than shows set in other locales. Someone mentioned something similar on another thread some time ago; the practice of using LA street names, landmarks, etc. for TV characters' names.

As far as shows set elsewhere, "WKRP In Cincinnati" did make an effort to drop some real life Cincy media names once in a while, like Al Schottelkotte. They never showed anyone eating Cincinnati chili, though (A 3-way with Jennifer and Bailey? Hmmm...Oh, get your mind out of the gutter! It's chili and cheese poured over spaghetti!)

This also brings up the subject of accents. Nobody on "WKRP" sounded like they were from Cincinnati (one telltale sign is the "ar" sound being more like "or"; "car" is "cor"; also, for example, the word "fast" is more like "fayust". And of course, we can't ignore the North Carolina state cops on "The Andy Griffith Show" who sounded like they were from Brooklyn!

 

[tlyle]

Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo in Atlanta, vs Matlock. Matlock seemed more like where they filmed it (Wilminton, NC in its final days). Lobo did depict some of the shananigans that the Atlanta Police Department experienced at that time. If you recall, the Atlanta Children murders (Wayne Williams bring to mind) were occuring I believe during this time. A large portion of the force was focused on solving the case in 1980 and 1981.

 

[tlyle]

Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo in Atlanta, vs Matlock. Matlock seemed more like where they filmed it (Wilminton, NC in its final days). Lobo did depict some of the shananigans that the Atlanta Police Department experienced at that time. If you recall, the Atlanta Children murders (Wayne Williams bring to mind) were occuring I believe during this time. A large portion of the force was focused on solving the case in 1980 and 1981.

Of course Designing Women was probably closer to depicting Atlanta society and the city.

 

[BRNout]

This is going to seem cliche, but I think that Seinfeld did an excellent job of capturing the flavor of New York - particularly Manhattan. At least the New York that higher income people that live there see. Although not obvious to tourists/out-of-towners, each block in Manhattan is much like a small town with local businesses and people who get to know each other. Seinfeld really encapsulated that culture: the food, the things that locals do for fun, their interests, even typical sports fan culture.

Hey, I'm no fan of New York, but spend some time in 'the City' (the parts where people live) and you'll find yourself saying that "it's just like in Seinfeld!"

 

[Bob1370]

"This is going to seem cliche, but I think that Seinfeld did an excellent job of capturing the flavor of New York - particularly Manhattan. At least the New York that higher income people that live there see."

A lot of truth to that when it comes to young adult Manhattan in the 90s, but if you want to get the flavor of life in the outer boroughs you want All In The Family or King of Queens.

Corky Marlowe earlier posted "I always thought "General Hospital" really captured the flavor of Port Charles...(rimshot)"

There are people in Rochester, New York who are going ROTFL at that. Aerial shots of downtown Rochester have been used in the past as a background for the opening title of GH and its spinoff Port Charles, and the creators and writers used it (and the University of Rochester Medical Center) as background for the series. I don't know if the people who created the show have personal connections to Rochester, but they still come to the area from time to time to do exterior and location shots and tape scenes there. (The scripts often refer to the 'fact' that 'Port Charles' is on Lake Ontario about an hour east of Buffalo as well...check a New York State map and you see immediately what town they're actually referring to.)

 

[Corky Marlowe]

There are people in Rochester, New York who are going ROTFL at that. Aerial shots of downtown Rochester have been used in the past as a background for the opening title of GH and its spinoff Port Charles, and the creators and writers used it (and the University of Rochester Medical Center) as background for the series.

Didn't know that, but I do remember that the opening/closing titles to "The Edge Of Night" actually depicted the Cincinnati skyline. (The P&G/Cincy connection, obviously.)

 

[Hal Erickson]

I'll tell you two that DIDN'T: Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.
There aren't very many brownstones here in Milwaukee, and people don't talk with New York accents.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Fox's series Roc seemed to capture Baltimore quite accurately
(though not in a good way)

 

[LKellerIII]

Putting cultural "flavor" aside, both Streets of San Francisco and Nash Bridges captured the visual beauty of San Francisco well. Actually, Streets was more realistic - they'd shoot scenes in some dumpy and slummy neighborhoods. If you watched Nash Bridges, you'd think that San Francisco was nothing but beautiful buildings, steep scenic hills, and million dollar views.

I'm sure most of the interior scenes in Bridges used photographic city-view backdrops - it was always sunny in SF - no fog.

 

[azumanga]

I'll tell you two that DIDN'T: Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.
There aren't very many brownstones here in Milwaukee, and people don't talk with New York accents.

One person here mentioned earlier that "One Day at a Time", set in Indianapolis, lacked any local flavor; it could've taken place anywhere.

Another inaccurate series that very few remember was a 1977 CBS drama, "The Fitzpatricks", about a worker at a steel mill in Flint, Michigan. One problem, though -- there are no steel mills in Flint, just automobile plants.

 

[classictvfan]

Most shows or movies set in Chicago fail to
capture the local flavor or dialect, giving the
all of the characters New York type dialects.
(Hill Street Blues is one example)

 

[milwaukee_dave]

I'll tell you two that DIDN'T: Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.
There aren't very many brownstones here in Milwaukee, and people don't talk with New York accents.

I give both shows props for making authentic Milwaukee references from time-to-time, though I do remember laughing when I heard the famed Pfister Hotel mispronounced on "L&S."

 

[LKellerIII]

Most shows or movies set in Chicago fail to
capture the local flavor or dialect, giving the
all of the characters New York type dialects.
(Hill Street Blues is one example)

Except that Hill Street Blues was not set in Chicago. It was one of those cop shows set in an anonymous rust belt city - the name of the city was never mentioned. To me, the show had an East Coast flavor, so I assumed it was supposed to be eastern seaboard. I believe their department had some generic name like Metropolitan Police Department.

Apparently some people thought it was Chicago because the exterior shots of "Hill Street" station were actually the Maxwell St. station in Chicago (according to Wikipedia, anyway). The show was actually shot in LA, naturally. The only snow I remember seeing on the show was in the opening titles.

The far inferior 70s cop show The Rookies was another one. The cops' uniforms and cars said "S.C.P.D." The show had an LA feeling, so I always took that to mean "Southern California Police Dept." But it could have meant anything

 

[classictvfan]

Most shows or movies set in Chicago fail to
capture the local flavor or dialect, giving the
all of the characters New York type dialects.
(Hill Street Blues is one example)

Except that Hill Street Blues was not set in Chicago. It was one of those cop shows set in an anonymous rust belt city - the name of the city was never mentioned. To me, the show had an East Coast flavor, so I assumed it was supposed to be eastern seaboard. I believe their department had some generic name like Metropolitan Police Department.

Apparently some people thought it was Chicago because the exterior shots of "Hill Street" station were actually the Maxwell St. station in Chicago (according to Wikipedia, anyway). The show was actually shot in LA, naturally. The only snow I remember seeing on the show was in the opening titles.

The far inferior 70s cop show The Rookies was another one. The cops' uniforms and cars said "S.C.P.D." The show had an LA feeling, so I always took that to mean "Southern California Police Dept." But it could have meant anything

Actually, the patrol cars on Hill Street Blues were Chicago Police patrol
cars with the word "METRO" painted over the word "CHICAGO".

Also, T.J. Hooker was about the L.C.P.D.(supposedly meaning Los Angeles
County Police Department), but essentially it was the LAPD.

 

[Bob1370]

"Hill Street Blues was not set in Chicago. It was one of those cop shows set in an anonymous rust belt city - the name of the city was never mentioned. To me, the show had an East Coast flavor, so I assumed it was supposed to be eastern seaboard. I believe their department had some generic name like Metropolitan Police Department."


If Hill Street Blues had an unspoken, implicit setting (despite it never saying it out loud) it was probably Buffalo. Steven Bochco is originally from Buffalo, and with the exception of Hill Street itself, most of the street names mentioned are Buffalo streets (Delaware, Hertel and Elmwood Avenues are giveaways).

Incidentally, Chicago and Buffalo police car color schemes were also identical during the early 1980s.

 

[Carmine5]

As I see it, for a show to truly capture the flavor of the city it's set in, at least 50% (if not all of it) should be shot in that city. So, for me, the shows that capture Los Angeles best are "Perry Mason" and "Emergency."

For that matter, "Hawaii Five O" captures Honolulu very well, including the seedy neighborhoods of that city (yes, they exist).

c5

 

[Capemill]

Two pages and none of you have mentioned 'Homicide: Life on The Street'? For shame.

 

[landtuna]

As I see it, for a show to truly capture the flavor of the city it's set in, at least 50% (if not all of it) should be shot in that city. So, for me, the shows that capture Los Angeles best are "Perry Mason" and "Emergency."

For that matter, "Hawaii Five O" captures Honolulu very well, including the seedy neighborhoods of that city (yes, they exist).

c5

I agree with "Emergency" and "Hawaii 5-0" but would suggest that "Dragnet" (the original) was a much better representative of L.A. than "Perry Mason".

 

[notalkallstatic]

I would say Scranton, PA with "The Office." I love seeing references of the area in the show (Wegman's brand soft drinks, Gertrude Hawk Chocolate in the vending machine, the Froggy 101 bumper sticker near Dwight's desk, the one episode where the Chief Meteorologist from the local NBC station, WBRE, made an appearance on a TV in the background, etc.) Plus the opening credits and B-Roll were flmed in Scranton, PA.