# American Sit-coms that never took place in America. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342 "2016-01-16T19:38:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/41 "2016-01-16T22:44:23Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > I wonder if “The Rogues” count? It’s been awhile, but didn’t the action take place in Europe, or were there stateside episodes as well? Funny you should mention this show. It occurred to me too. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/42 "2016-01-16T22:45:17Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > I didn’t want to include other countries, but if I did, along with \*\*'Allo 'Allo \*\*I think \*\*Red Dwarf \*\*would qualify as a British sit-com that takes place entirely away from the UK. There were two pilots made for an American remake of Red Dwarf. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/43 "2016-01-16T22:45:32Z")
[QUOTE=Richard John Marcej] **M_A_S\*H** - All 256 episodes took place in Korea [/QUOTE] There was the occasional scene of characters on leave in Tokyo. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/44 "2016-01-16T22:54:02Z")
Did any episodes of _Hyperdrive_ include scenes set in the UK? The only other US shows I can think of are _Combat!_ and _The Rat Patrol_, and I wouldn’t call either of them a sitcom… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/45 "2016-01-16T22:58:44Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > The only other US shows I can think of are _Combat!_ and _The Rat Patrol_, and I wouldn’t call either of them a sitcom… Add _ **The Gallant Men** _, _ **Twelve O’Clock High** _, _ **Court Martial** _, _ **Garrison’s Gorillas** _, and _ **Jericho** _ to the list … though I don’t recall how many (if any) characters were Americans in the last. (I’m referring here to the series about Resistance fighters in WWII that was on around 1966.) Also not sitcoms. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/46 "2016-01-16T23:28:28Z")
A couple more British series: [Up Pompeii](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_Pompeii!), set in ancient Pompeii, shortly before AD 79. [Dead Ernest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Ernest), set in Heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/47 "2016-01-16T23:37:22Z")
A year or two ago there was a short-lived sitcom called _Welcome to Sweden_ about an American living in Sweden with his Swedish girlfriend. I only saw it once and really just had it on in the background and wasn’t paying much attention to it, so I’m not sure if it went back and forth between the US and Sweden or was set entirely in Sweden. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/48 "2016-01-16T23:49:40Z")
_The Flying Nun_ was situated in a convent in San Juan, Puerto Rico. > **[The Flying Nun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Nun)** > > The Flying Nun is an American fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, written by Tere Ríos. Sally Field starred as the title character, Sister Bertrille. > The series originally ran on ABC from September 7, 1967, to April 3, 1970, producing 82 episodes, including a one-hour pilot episode. > Developed by Bernard Slade, the seri... > [@](#): > > Developed by Bernard Slade, the series centered on the adventures of a community of nuns in the Convent San Tanco in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The comic elements of the storyline were provided by the flying ability of a novice nun, Sister Bertrille. > > In the hour-long series pilot, Chicago native Elsie Ethrington arrives in San Juan from New York City after her arrest for having been involved in a protest; she then adopts the name of Sister Bertrille. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/49 "2016-01-16T23:54:16Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > **Red Dwarf** had at least a couple of flashback scenes that took place in England, such as the opening of “Ouroboros.” And about half of Timeslides. Part of Lemons took place in England, too, but more was in India. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/50 "2016-01-17T00:08:09Z")
Let’s see how many of these I can answer: > [@terentii](#): > > I think there was also an _ **Operation Petticoat** _ sitcom, set in the South Pacific, for a time back in the '60s. > > On the other hand, anybody remember _ **Six O’Clock Follies** _, a service comedy set in Saigon during the Vietnam War? Had a very short run in the 1979–1980 season, IIRC. Operation Petticoat was in the late 1970s; a young Jamie Lee Curtis was in the first season, mainly because her parents were in the original movie. And I vaguely remember _Six O’Clock Follies_; IIRC, the first episode dealt with talk that they were going to be pulled out (I think they were building an airfield, and the talk was that it was to pull everybody out), only for it to turn out that the airstrip was there because of President Johnson’s increase of troop strength. > [@terentii](#): > > Except for the scenes set in Hawaii immediately before they left on the “three-hour tour,” however, the castaways themselves were never shown back in the States during the original run, were they? If you mean the scenes in the opening credits (and even then, it was just the Skipper and Gilligan), then yes, they were not. The first episode begins with them on the island. It’s possible that you are thinking of the pilot, with a slightly different cast. > [@terentii](#): > > There was also a British sitcom where Mrs Slocombe (the rainbow-haired woman from _ **Are You Being Served?** _) was accidentally launched into space. _Come Back Mrs. Noah_ - but didn’t the first episode, where the launch occurs, take place at least in part in the UK? > [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > I didn’t want to include other countries, but if I did, along with \*\*'Allo 'Allo \*\*I think \*\*Red Dwarf \*\*would qualify as a British sit-com that takes place entirely away from the UK. Does the “KU” (the backwards UK) from “Sdrawkcab” count? > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > There were two pilots made for an American remake of Red Dwarf. The second one is with an asterisk - it’s a couple of minutes of Rimmer and Lister talking to the camera, followed by “scenes from upcoming episodes”, including one taken directly from the UK episode “Camille”. (This is the one that NBC refused to let the BBC include on the DVD for some reason.) Also, I think there’s one scene in Hogan’s Heroes that takes place at least partially in the USA; in the first episode with Major Bonacelli (an Italian officer who works with Hogan), Hogan needs a pizza recipe, and one of the prisoners says his father runs a pizzeria, so they call him (via London), and they do show somebody in a pizzeria reading off a list of ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/51 "2016-01-17T00:12:26Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > A year or two ago there was a short-lived sitcom called _Welcome to Sweden_ about an American living in Sweden with his Swedish girlfriend. I only saw it once and really just had it on in the background and wasn’t paying much attention to it, so I’m not sure if it went back and forth between the US and Sweden or was set entirely in Sweden. It was set mostly in Sweden, but there scenes shot in NYC even after the pilot. It’s a shame it was canceled, but it we were lucky it was ever broadcast in the US to begin with let alone given a 2nd season. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/52 "2016-01-17T00:26:02Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > St:tos Not quite. Even if you don’t count the occasional subspace video chat with an admiral back at Starfleet HQ, there was also that episode with Teri Garr in it that took place in modern-day USA (_Assignment: Earth_). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/53 "2016-01-17T00:38:29Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Also, I think there’s one scene in Hogan’s Heroes that takes place at least partially in the USA; in the first episode with Major Bonacelli (an Italian officer who works with Hogan), Hogan needs a pizza recipe, and one of the prisoners says his father runs a pizzeria, so they call him (via London), and they do show somebody in a pizzeria reading off a list of ingredients. Ah, yeah, I vaguely remember that. I think you may be right, I think they had a guy from a pizzaria reading a recipe. Which kind of shoots down my whole concept, which began with Hogan. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/54 "2016-01-17T00:49:09Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Not quite. Even if you don’t count the occasional subspace video chat with an admiral back at Starfleet HQ, there was also that episode with Teri Garr in it that took place in modern-day USA (_Assignment: Earth_). And the one where Edith Keeler Must Die. ---
**Author:** ![Cara\_mel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cara\_mel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cara_mel)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/55 "2016-01-17T00:56:16Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > The TV show “Dinosaurs” was set in a time far before an American land-mass could have been identified. Similarly the Flintsones. My feeling is The Flintstones always had a California feel to it, what with Hollyrock and the Tar Pits, and the drive-thru hamburger joint where the dinosaur ribs are slapped onto a tray attached to their car. Not sure if The Flintstones is considered a sitcom, though. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/56 "2016-01-17T01:01:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > _The Flying Nun_ was situated in a convent in San Juan, Puerto Rico. > > [The Flying Nun - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Nun) Best of the West, F Troop, and Dusty’s Trail were non-specifically located in the Old West, which could have been US Territories and not states. I don’t know if there’s any way to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/57 "2016-01-17T01:08:22Z")
ISTR that Wilma discovered America when she visited Columbus. Probably this episode: > **["The Flintstones" Time Machine (TV Episode 1965) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0580290/)** > > Time Machine: Directed by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna. With Alan Reed, Jean Vander Pyl, Mel Blanc, Henry Corden. Not everyone a caveman encounters in the future will be helpful, sympathetic, or even patient. Some will be downright menacing. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/58 "2016-01-17T01:09:20Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Operation Petticoat was in the late 1970s; a young Jamie Lee Curtis was in the first season, mainly because her parents were in the original movie. That late? I’m surprised! > [@](#): > > And I vaguely remember _Six O’Clock Follies_; IIRC, the first episode dealt with talk that they were going to be pulled out (I think they were building an airfield, and the talk was that it was to pull everybody out), only for it to turn out that the airstrip was there because of President Johnson’s increase of troop strength. Sounds more like _ **Tour of Duty** _ to me. _ **Follies** _ was set in a radio/TV station, IIRC. > [@](#): > > If you mean the scenes in the opening credits (and even then, it was just the Skipper and Gilligan), then yes, they were not. The first episode begins with them on the island. It’s possible that you are thinking of the pilot, with a slightly different cast. Yes, I count the pilot. I’d have to check my DVD collection to see if any of the Hawaii scenes were incorporated into the early episodes. > [@](#): > > _Come Back Mrs. Noah_ - but didn’t the first episode, where the launch occurs, take place at least in part in the UK? Yes, it did. > [@](#): > > Also, I think there’s one scene in Hogan’s Heroes that takes place at least partially in the USA; in the first episode with Major Bonacelli (an Italian officer who works with Hogan), Hogan needs a pizza recipe, and one of the prisoners says his father runs a pizzeria, so they call him (via London), and they do show somebody in a pizzeria reading off a list of ingredients. I remember that episode. The Italian was Vito Scotti, the same guy who played the mad scientist on _ **Gilligan’s Island** _. In the one with the Russian pilot (not Vladimir Minsk), the guest star was Bob Hastings, who played Elroy Carpenter on _ **McHale’s Navy** _. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/59 "2016-01-17T01:12:33Z")
> [@Cara\_mel](#): > > Not sure if The Flintstones is considered a sitcom, though. It was an animated takeoff on _ **The Honeymooners** _, wasn’t it? Just like _ **Top Cat** _ was an animated version of _ **You’ll Never Get Rich** _ (aka _ **Sgt Bilko** _). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342/60 "2016-01-17T01:16:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **Follies** _ was set in a radio/TV station, IIRC. Not sure, but it may have been a forerunner of _ **Good Morning, Vietnam!** _ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sit-coms-that-never-took-place-in-america/743342.md?page=4)