Abba Zabba

Enough with the New York shows!

09/21/05

03:44:24 pm, by Abba Zabba

, 199 words, 52 views

Categories: The TV! The TV!

Enough with the New York shows!

I'm sick of New York. Not the real New York, but the TV New York. It seems like half the shows on TV are set there. This isn't just a problem for "Seinfeld" and "Friends" clones with a group of sassy young friends who drink coffee and trade quips; there's also a new genre of family sitcoms set in Long Island or Brooklyn. I don't watch many dramas, but I know that plenty of crime and legal shows take place in New York also.

The problem isn't just that New York is an overused setting. It's that the writers only use the elements of the city they want. These shows will have jokes about subways and taxi drivers, but the characters live in huge beautiful apartments, and everyone's white. It's just lazy. Instead of being creative and making up a new setting, or being accurate and using a real place, they use this amalgam of big-city cliches called "New York".

The only thing lazier than writing a show set in New York is writing a show set in the greater LA or Hollywood area. Yes, TV writers, we know that's where you live. And we don't care. Try harder.

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Comment from: LonerVamp [Visitor]

I wouldn't call it lazy so much as just pandering to what people want to watch. Granted, anyone in New York will see it for what it is: an idealized and simplified depiction of the Big Apple. However, people not in New York may find the big city alluring or mysterious or just something different that they like to watch on TV or something.

I guess, you need to place shows somewhere, and it is easier to place them in large cities where you can "blend" the show into the background and be a lot more anonymous and you get more material for stories, especially for shows not actually centered on the characters but rather on situations or comedy or suspense or story.

I find more "human drama" type shows to be ok with less mainstream locations. I don't watch much tv, but one show I did/do enjoy is..uhh...that one on WB with a single woman and her daughter. They get away with a small town because the show is character-based.

Permalink 09/22/05 @ 09:11

Comment from: odessa [Member]

My bigger pet peeve is them using the New York name and filming lord knows where. CSI New York is a prime example. Do they think that with a city as large as New York people won't notice that they ain't where they say they are? Of course I have little respect for the show anyway - either they don't listen to their science experts or their "experts" are idiots. I have little respect for shows that sell that they are "fact-based", but are full of crap.

Permalink 09/22/05 @ 13:01

Comment from: u235 [Member]

As a former New Yorker it's kind of "quaint" to see bits and pieces of different shows as you walk by - hey there's the diner they filmed blahblahblah at. But what irks me is the total lack of reality in the authenticity of the environment. Like sex and the city, thinly clad women strutting down the street with titties hanging out is a crock. Have some junkie-beggar with urine stains trailing them sticking out a used paper coffee cup and whining for money.... now THAT's New York.

Permalink 09/22/05 @ 14:54

Comment from: sTmykal [Member]

There is supposed to be a show coming out that is set in Indianapolis. Judging from the stills I've seen, they've photoshoped the skyline on to a generic neighborhood for the exterior shots. Everything else looks so ... generic. I give it six shows before it's replaced by a funny animal show.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/close_to_home/

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Enough with the New York shows!

09/21/05

Enough with the New York shows!

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