Saturday, May 18, 2019

Y’all Come Back Soon!


We’re taking some time off, returning to our full posting schedule on July 1, 2019. See you then!




Thursday, May 9, 2019

We Love L.A. Week- “Dexter”



Like most other television shows set in Miami, Dexter was actually filmed in Long Beach, California. Hollywood believes that Long Beach looks like Miami on film. Additionally, Long Beach is far enough away from the hilly areas of Los Angeles eliminating the need to remove the mountains in post production. (Outside of Orlando theme parks, Florida is completely flat.





Wednesday, May 8, 2019

We Love L.A. Week! “The Closer”



The episode of The Closer in which a paparazzo might have been pushed off of a hotel balcony was filmed at what was then the Park Hyatt Century City Hotel.


Now called the Intercontinental Los Angeles Hotel, it is located next to the Fox Studios in Century City just steps away from Fox Plaza, better known to moviegoers as “Nakatomi Plaza”.






Tuesday, May 7, 2019

We Love L.A. Week! “CSI: Miami”




When Hollywood tries to depict Miami on screen, it often uses Long Beach, CA. CSI: Miami often subbed in Long Beach for Miami, once using the city’s permanently dry docked RMS Queen Mary for a cruise ship in which a murder takes place.




Monday, May 6, 2019

We Love L.A. Week! “Gilligan’s Island”




The wayward castaways stuck on Gilligan’s Island were supposed to be far away from civilization. In actuality they were just across the freeway from downtown Los Angeles.


While the vast majority of scenes were shot on a soundstage, whenever exterior shots were required they were filmed at Echo Lake Park in Los Angeles. Visitors can explore the park themselves today.


Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Toon In: In The Beginning, Part Two



Since most advertisers wouldn’t sponsor children’s programming because the conventional wisdom was that it was a waste of time since kids had no money, most after school programming of the 1950’s was cheaply produced or just repurposed cartoons. Walt Disney had been approached by syndicators who wanted to get their hands on his back catalog of cartoons and throw them on alongside the Looney Tunes in the afternoon TV ghetto that was children’s programming at the time. Mr. Disney resisted, instead trying his hand at producing his own TV show- the Mickey Mouse Club.


The Mickey Mouse Club sought to bring high quality to children’s programming. Perhaps a show with high production values could convince advertisers to jump aboard. Certainly the kids jumped aboard. The show was a wild success, spawning merchandise, albums, spinoffs and trips to DISNEYLAND. Sadly, advertisers were stubbornly ignoring the show. After all, kids had no money, so why advertise to them? Despite its high viewership, the show would not last long, though its influence would live on.