NYC As Seen On TV: How Is Hollywood At Recreating Our City?

Check out those seats in the back, they wouldn't normally face that way.

Don't you love when you are watching a movie and your OCD about NYC pal points out that tiny little inaccuracy in, say, the subway car. Hollywood doesn't always get the city's details down to perfection, and sometimes their portrayal is downright insulting. We're launching a new series to out the worst of the worst—so if you see something off on the big or small screen, say something.

Recently while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer we saw a scene that takes place in New York City's subway system in 1977—a screenshot is above, notice anything wrong? Send along your own tips and screenshots, and we'll do our best to document Hollywood's mistakes!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on April 12, 2011 11:07 AM

Comments [rss]

Jeff Harmon

My girlfriend and I were living in NYC when this episode came out, and we were impressed at how much they got right. The car set looks like a contemporary-90s R44 dressed on the cheap with trash and graffiti, but the rolling stock was in service during 1977. We also extrapolated that the slayer probably lived in the projects in Bed-Stuy and that Spike likely kills her between express stations in Queens. Call it a B+, some minor inaccuracies but nothing horribly jarring.

starbot

Surprised no one mentioned the eyesore that was Godzilla. They fit Manhattan on a golfball.

Kristi Evans

Great comments section here. Bravo!

yawn3419

Dunno if anyone said this already - but the last season of "24" was completely not in NYC. Lexington Avenue somehow became a wide open boulevard in that one.

haze1512

I'm pretty sure that advert is written in Comic Sans... Forget the fact that the font didn't exist until 1994, it's a heinous offense to use that font in a public setting...

ChristopherT

One of the biggest offenders I've ever seen was Friday the 13th - Jason Takes Manhattan. It's just ridiculous and looks nothing like Manhattan.

Gepap

Fringe used to be filmed in NYC but moved to Vancouver - so they started showing scenes supposedly from Manhattn with alleys.....

At the same time, most of Fringe was supposed to be happening in Boston, which might have worked if they didn't have background shots of the Williamsburg bridge popping up in scenes which supposedly were in beantown.

Guest

Not enough rats.

Fofofofofo

Futurama is pretty spot on.

Donot Friendme

pftt.. all the lights are working that car.

Lindsey Moore

Was there advertising like that in the subway in the 70s?

Wasseka

Yes, they were mostly for Dr. Tush.

youngpro

Yeah, definitely, and since after then we've been stuck wtih Dr. Zizmore ads and those ridiculous buniuns.

sketto

For inaccurate depiction of NYC, I can't cite a specific episode, but pretty much every episode of Law and Order that I've ever seen has a dead hooker in Tompkins Square Park. I lived nearby that park for years and never once tripped over a dead hooker.

imadick

that's because a jogger / junkie / teenage make-out couple always finds them first.

KevinJWalsh

Spider-Man I used Chicago els to depict Manhattan streets. There hasn't been a midtown el since 1955, when the Third Avenue came down.

www.forgotten-ny.clom

Spirit of 76

They admitted right from the first movie that they took a ton of geographical liberties with the NYC they created, not just with the El.

vintagejames

Why is Eric Ripert in this shot?

Mary

The seats behind Billy are facing forward ... they should be facing into the train.

k_squared

CSI:NY kills me. The other week they showed a stabbing on a subway platform. They kept broadcasting subway announcements like "this is the red line to Penn Station" and then the announcement was also saying "all aboard the red line" as if it was an old-timey railroad.