Funny, I can’t recall the price quoted, but the exact amount that the president of NBC (Bob Balaban) was willing to pay both Jerry & George for their pilot was mentioned. I think it was around $12,000 for both of them. George of course ‘passes’, because Ted Danson makes $80,000 per episode on “Cheers.” (George can’t stand that Ted Danson will be getting paid so much more than them.)
Then on the last episode of the series, the pilot is supposedly being picked up by a new network - and curiously, no figure gets mentioned.
I’ve always been annoyed by the writing-it-on-paper thing as well. Who does that in real life?
There was an episode in the first season of All in the Family in which Archie considers selling his row house in Queens to a realty that’s buying them but then decides not to when it turns out the realtor is black and also a blockbuster. In order to get rid of the realtor Archie intentionally gives the man a price he knows is ridiculously inflated for his house: “$35,000!” to which the blockbuster says “Sold!”
Even though that was only 35 years ago, the notion that you could then buy a house in Queens (certainly not luxurious but also not a slum) for $35,000 (or actually probably more like $25,000, since Archie’s price was exaggerated) is incredible. Personally I don’t think it makes it feel dated- ANY show is going to be dated a generation later, it’s unavoidable.
You also learn in AitF that Archie earned $5.50 per hour as a loading dock foreman.
Other shows that gave real prices:
Fred Sanford was offered $11,000 for his house and junkyard in Watts in one episode (while his place is in or near the slums I’m guessing anything at all liveable would sell for many times that today).
On I Love Lucy the Ricardos were once indignant that the Mertzes raised the rent on their Manhattan brownstone apartment to $120.
On an episode of The Cosby Show the Huxtables decided to teach Theo a life lesson by giving him imaginary money and having him rent an apartment (they’d emptied his room and took on different characters, for NYC obstetricians and law firm partners have plenty of time to do that) and charged him $600 for a Manhattan efficiency. That was only about 20 years ago but I’m guessing you’d do really well to find an efficiency in Brooklyn or even Jersey for $600 now.
The roommates on Three’s Company paid $300 per month for a 2 BR Santa Monica apartment across the street from the beach (again, not luxurious but also not the slums).
To me though, these don’t date the shows, they just place it.
There’s a great moment in the film Annie Hall wherein Annie (Diane Keaton) is trying to talk Alvy (Woody Allen) into letting her move in with him, since she is already sleeping there most nights out of the week. Alvy protests and questioins why she would want to give up such a great apartment? Why not hold onto it?
Annie: Alvy, that apartment costs me four hundred dollars a month.
Alvy (gasping in surprise): What for that fleabag hole in the wall???*
An apartment in Manhattan (and from what we see of it in the film, it’s on the large size for a Manhattan apt.) going for $400 a month, and that’s considered a lot of money — boy that really dates the flick!
*paraphrasing
That would be J. Beresford Tipton, IIRC. In the opener every week, we would see his hand signing the cheque, and the back of his chair as he passes it to the guy who would deliver it.
I’m glad someone else mentioned this as it bugs the hell out of me, but as others say I guess it’s mainly due to inflation proofing and not wanting to research actual costs of some things. Also it’s true that we seem to be particularly bad at doing that in the UK, amounts of money are virtually never discussed (to the point that when they are it actually has quite an effect).
Oh, anyone who has seen Once Upon a Time In Mexico no doubt remembers Agent Sands’ line about “It wasn’t easy to find a suitcase… small enough… for ten thousand dollars.” before handing over a lunch box full of money.
Now that you mention it, the characters themselves probably have no clue how much money is in the briefcase. I bet they’re writing “LOOK! WE’RE ON THE TELLY!”
Like Play It Again, Sam, where Tony Roberts’s character is always calling in to his office or wherever to report where he is: “This is Mr. Christie. I’m no longer at 555-1234. For the next two hours I’ll be at 555-5678.”
Actually, the cost for the original bionic woman was never disclosed, nor was it ever established whether Jaime’s reconstruction cost more or less than Steve Austin’s. There was one episode where Jaime declared that she must have cost more because of inflation and Oscar rejoined that her parts were smaller.
There was a bionic man before Steve, originally named Barney Miller but changed to Barney Hiller after the cop sitcom became popular, who had four bionic limbs. He was called the 7 million dollar man, from which we can deduce that a bionic arm for a man cost one million dollars.