I've Got A TV Eye

We’re going to take a little break from the MIL today. I want to write about an obsession of mine… Television. But this obsession really has nothing to do with the critical aspects of programs, but with the sets. Because I’ve often found that the set interiors don’t really match the exteriors of the buildings that they show.

Yes. I actually pay attention to that aspect of realism and it can bug me.

If you’re a fan of ‘The Middle’… If you enter the front door the dining room would be to the right and the living room to the left. The interior matches the exterior. There’s a hallway that leads to the bathroom and 3 bedrooms. Sue’s bedroom would be between the dining room and the boy’s room. Both rooms have windows where the garage is on the exterior shot of the house. How can this be??

One of my all-time favorite shows suffer from the same issue… ‘Newhart’. The interior of the Stratford Inn is INCREDIBLY different from the exterior. Notice how there’s a window to both sides of the front entrance.

Facing the outside of the building from the yard would mean that the windows to the left gives light to the stairs leading to the basement. Why?

The window to the right exists in the exterior, BUT it’s turned inward for the interior shots. The wall is recessed interior wise and goes across for the dinning room, but there are no more windows for the kitchen on the other side. Plus!! Where is the chimney from the fireplace in the lobby??

Dick’s study doesn’t match either. His windows would face out into another room or sunroom, if you will.

For some reason, those types of things have always irked me. And I still count the steps that the actors take across a set in order to measure it with my own steps to get an idea just how big the sets are.

I’ve measured them all. From ‘Green Acres’ to ‘The Jeffersons’. From ‘Sanford and Son’ to ‘Taxi’. From ‘Newhart’ to ‘The Bob Newhart Show’. I’ve measured most of the shows that I’ve watched. Give it a try sometime just to see how big or small a set actually is. You may be surprised. You can find out exactly how far it is from the front door to the couch on ‘Green Acres’. Isn’t that something that you’ve always wanted to know? Haven’t you always wanted to know how big Jerry’s apartment is on ‘Seinfeld’?

I didn’t start this until I was a teen when I was watching ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’. I wanted to get an idea how many steps that it was from the front door to the parlor. So, I’ve had this “sickness” for most of my life. I’ve only shared this sickness with my wife recently while we were watching ‘Newhart’ in bed before turning off the lights. Now I’m sharing it with anyone who wants to read about it.