Like SF residents who howl at the liberties Nash Bridges takes with their city, New Yorkers like to pick apart the shows that are ostensibly filmed in NY - but reside almost entirely on sound stages in LaLa land.

And it shows, in ways small and large.

Like Friends , NYPD Blue,Spin City, Will and Grace, Everybody Loves Raymond etc etc.
Some of these shows even film exterior scenes in VANCOUVER AND TORONTO for chrissakes!

The only ones I can think of that keep the authentic faith are Law and Order, Third Watch (a GREAT show now), Da Sopranos and even Sex and the City.

(Although Sex and the City is considered fake because according to that show - Manhattan is a world of young, white non-ethnic women. Few asian, hispanic, black, Italian or New Jersey folk...)

Part of the fun is to catch the non-obvious ways that these shows show their non-New Yorkerness.

Ok, lets take Friends, ostensibly set on the lower East Side:

- The characters only wear black on special occasions. At most, they might don black jackets.

WHAT THE FUCK??? Black is the UNIFORM of New Yorkers.

Its not that theyre allergic to color co-ordination or pastels, by any means - but its a crowded, dirty city.

Black is easy to take care of, and looks stylish under almost any situation.

Thats why.

- The people in the coffee shop arent reading. Or if theyre reading, it aint what New Yorkers are normally reading.

Contrary to what people think of the New York public school system and teh New York Post.. everybody READS in New York.

If you watch Friends.. no one is clutching a newspaper or book.. or if they do, they have some odd choices.

On one episode, all the extras in the coffee shop scene are holding and intently scanning authentic, bright yellow copies of.... LOOT. LOOT????

Will someone raise their hands if theyve ever seen New Yorkers reading the shopping paper Loot in public? I didnt think so.

Walk into almost any coffee shop in Manhattan, and the newspaper of choice is... anyone, anyone... thats right: The New York Times.

(Thats seems also to be true of Berkeley, but for thats another argument altogether.. heheheh )

Throw in a Village Voice, Wall Street Journal, Daily News, New York Post and you got it.

And on the subways, if theyre reading, apart from newspapers, theyre reading ... anyone, anyone.. yes.. books.

Partly to take a quiet chance to catch up on some reading, as well as to avoid making eye contact.

Oh yeah, and another one.. the writers never have the characters referencing a New York street, neighborhood or subway letter.

Unreal.

Oh yeah.. and to tell just how fake it is?

Where the hell are the Greek coffee cups??

- No one is clutching a 10 oz cuppa coffee in the morning.

This series makes millions and they cant even get the details right!

You see why my indignation is so high?

Heh.