TV Land is a Small Place

If you were to learn everything you wanted to know about the US from television and movies, you'd think the country is made up of three cities: New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.

You might suspect there's a place called 'Vegas' and a place called 'Chicago' but you wouldn't see them very often. Occasionally you'd see a small town, unnamed and unplaced on any map. And if you watched the Simpsons, you'd know about Springfield, but you wouldn't know where to find it.

You would be shocked to learn there are so many other cities and places in the United States, which you never hear about. Let's not even get into Canada.

Which is why I was tickled to hear that the new USA series, "In Plain Sight" is going to be set in Albuquerque NM. How refreshing! There's a unique culture in New Mexico, and although I haven't seen the show yet, I'm excited about the idea of working that in to the series. It provides so many opportunities to show the world things it may have never seen.

I get why it's easy to set shows in NYC and LA. Filming is de rigeur there so everybody's used to it. The tax breaks are probably big. And that's where the actors are.

The actors are also in Vancouver, another big filming spot - but how many of the shows filmed there are actually set there? Why is there this assumption that we're only interested in how New Yorkers and Californians live their lives? Is it because they're more glamorous, exciting, rich?

I've been to NYC, and while I enjoyed it, it's far too crowded for me. Too many people and buildings and cars and noise. So I honestly don't get the passionate love affair people have with the city. I've never been to Vegas or LA or Miami, but I like Chicago and think more could be filmed there. I'd like to see a show filmed in Detroit (the state is working to attract filmmakers even as I write) so that people stop thinking of the city as a crime-infested rat hole. Maybe life would follow art, then.

In short, we're missing a lot of opportunities for diversity. Let's show the world that the country is made up of more than three whole cities, and work in fresh cultures and viewpoints and scenery.

Heck, even setting a show in Vancouver would be a good start.

Truth in Advertising or Just Advertising?

Last week's episode of CSI: NY used a prominently featured Fendi bag billboard in its plot and it got me to thinking about advertising and product placement on TV.

When I was a kid, I was irritated whenever a character opened a box of Loopy Fruits, which didn't really exist. It pulled me out of the realism of the story. What, didn't they eat Frosted Flakes like the rest of us? Drink Coke instead of Fizzy Soda? What were these fake brands?

Today we've gone the other way. Every TV show is an ad for Blackberry, Ford, Mac, or some other product. And it's gone beyond setting the realism of a scene, as you're well aware. CSI NY happens to be one of the worst about this. One episode a few years back had Danny getting a call from someone on his new phone, which he not only answered, but name-checked, complete with Coldplay ringtone. Since it didn't figure into the plot (even though I kept waiting for it to), it was grossly unnecessary.

So this is what it's come to. Since DVRs, VCRs and online viewing have changed the way people deal with commercials, shows are digging deep into obvious product placement to make money. It's no longer, "Get in the truck," It's, "Get in the Ford F-150." Really? Who talks like that?

Fact is, if you're gonna do it, can't you do it a little less obviously? Or do the advertisers pay for which star handles their product, whether they mention it by name or how long they discuss it? Can't the Ford just be parked in the scene? Or is that assuming that in this ADD world, we can't even focus long enough to pay attention?