# Fictional renderings of real-life series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2012, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455 "2012-08-14T10:24:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/1 "2012-08-14T10:24:48Z")
Of the various renderings of real-life television series in fictional media, which did you like, and which did you dislike? I cannot think of any that I disliked, but I do have a couple I have really enjoyed, both from the Ramona books: –_St. Elsewhere_: In _Ramona’s World_, there was a fictional soap-opera-type medical series that Ramona and Daisy enjoyed that was entitled _Big Hospital_. The reason why I thought that _St. Elsewhere_ was well-represented by _Big Hospital_ was because, according to Cleary, Ramona wanted to “forget her troubles and lose herself in the corridors of the hospital where people in green pajamas fell in love if they weren’t too busy saving lives or comforting the lost and lonely.” –_Dallas_, _Dynasty_, and _Falcon Crest_: In _Ramona Forever_, there is a passage at the beginning of Chapter 4 that states, “The house felt lonely when she (Ramona) let herself in, so she turned on the television set for company. She sat on the couch and stared at one of the senseless soap operas Mrs. Kemp watched. They were all about rich people–none of them looking like Howie’s Uncle Hobart–who accused other people of doing something terrible. Ramona didn’t understand exactly what, but it was all boring, boring, boring.” That passage describes all three of those series to a T (curiously, _KL_ didn’t seem to be like that to me). Another reason is that these programs (_Dallas_ and _Dynasty_ especially) were widely syndicated in the 80s, so it would stand to reason that Ramona would have had multiple chances to happen across them. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/2 "2012-08-14T11:17:46Z")
In The Big Chill, Tom Berenger plays an actor who is obviously supposed to be Tom Selleck (who’s from Michigan, as the characters in the movie are all supposed to be). He’s the star of a TV detective series, called _ **JT Lancer.** _- it’s obviously supposed to be Magnum P.I. This is the opening of that show: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFMtKl_rQ_M) Selleck himself thought it was hilarious, and said he wished Kasdan had offered HIM the part. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/3 "2012-08-14T11:55:13Z")
**Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip**. We didn’t see a lot of the show they were producing, but the “Nic Cage” recurring bit actually showed up on **SNL** a few years later. “Peripheral Vision Man” was about all that needed to be said about any recurring character on **SNL** I couldn’t stand or that got a movie made of it that I couldn’t stand. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/4 "2012-08-14T12:00:07Z")
Also, that awful _telenovela_ on **King of the Hill** where the priest would blow some bad guy away and mutter _“Vaya con Dios.”_ Years before that came on, I was in a Peruvian restaurant in DC with my mom and the show that was based on was playing on the TV, featuring a violent, unsavory Catholic priest. In the credits, it became clear that the _telenovela_ was being financed by the (Mexican branch of the) Seventh-Day Adventist Church… ---
**Author:** ![Jenova\_Tokka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea5d25/32.png) [@Jenova\_Tokka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenova_Tokka)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/5 "2012-08-14T14:28:54Z")
_Murder, She Wrote_ had an episode where the head writer of “Buds,” a hit sitcom about six 20-something pals living in New York City, was murdered right after announced she was eliminating one of the characters to boost ratings. The cast of “Buds” was pretty much a one to one correlation to the cast of _Friends._ IIRC, the Lisa Kudrow character did it, as the writer was going to reveal she was actually many years older than she claimed to be and kill off her character. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/6 "2012-08-14T14:51:04Z")
In the comedy\*\*\* Forgetting Sarah Marshall\*\*\*, the character Sarah Marshall is an actress who stars in the TV drama series _ **Crime Scene** _, which is clearly a spoof of _ **CSI.** _ ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/7 "2012-08-14T15:47:14Z")
There’s another one that is not a true “series,” per se; it’s a news program. The short-lived late-90’s comedy _Lateline_ was said to spoof _Nightline_ w/Ted Koppel, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/8 "2012-08-14T15:51:53Z")
Well, both \*\*\*The Dick Van Dyke Show \*\*\*and the movie \*\*\*My Favorite Year \*\*\*showed fictionalized versions of Sid Caesar’s _ **Your Show of Shows.** _ Dick Van Dyke’s character, Rob Petrie, was supposed to be Carl Reiner. Reiner himself played Alan Brady, who was a stand-in for the maniacal Sid Caesar. In _ **My Favorite Year** _, Joe Bologna played Stan “King” Kaiser, another stand-in for Sid Caesar, and the show was re-titled _ **Komedy Kavalcade** _. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/9 "2012-08-14T18:34:47Z")
The second (I think) season of \*30 Rock \* featured the new NBC reality hit _MILF Island_, a kind of mash-up of all the \*Bachelor/Bachelorette \*type shows and the loathsome atrocity that was _Temptation Island_. It was hilarious, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone’s actually done the MILF/Cougar thing on one of those shows by now. There are so many I can’t keep track. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/10 "2012-08-14T20:07:27Z")
The first thing that popped into my mind was Friends and Joey’s gig on Days of Our Lives. ETA: Steve Nichols playing soap opera actor Brock Storm on The Nanny, which co-starred his Days of Our Lives fellow actor Charles Shaunnessay. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/11 "2012-08-14T21:39:36Z")
At one point, Chicago Hope on CBS appeared opposite ER on NBC. One episode of Chicago Hope was about a commercial or promotional video that was being filmed to promote the hospital. The commercial was shown in the episode, and it was a shot-for-shot remake of the opening credits of ER. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/12 "2012-08-14T22:59:12Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > There’s another one that is not a true “series,” per se; it’s a news program. The short-lived late-90’s comedy _Lateline_ was said to spoof _Nightline_ w/Ted Koppel, IIRC. Similarly, **Sports Night** was something of a parody of ESPN’s **SportsCenter** ; the two leads represented Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick. And, of course, there’s **Inspector Spacetime** in **Community.** ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/13 "2012-08-16T13:02:17Z")
_Curb Your Enthusiasm_ had a story arc where they do a _Seinfeld_ reunion. [Someone edited the bits and pieces together chronologically.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-qP563KaBY) ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/14 "2012-08-19T15:32:00Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ-bae4xBo8) Here’s a clip from Season 1 of _Dynasty_, from the episode called “The Chauffeur Tells a Secret,” 2/16/81, that I believe will explain how I made the analogy between _Dynasty_ and that passage in _Ramona Forever_. The part I want to highlight starts at the 2:36 mark of this clip and goes to the 5:45 mark. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/15 "2012-08-19T19:21:19Z")
> [@Jenova\_Tokka](#): > > _Murder, She Wrote_ had an episode where the head writer of “Buds,” a hit sitcom about six 20-something pals living in New York City, was murdered right after announced she was eliminating one of the characters to boost ratings. The cast of “Buds” was pretty much a one to one correlation to the cast of _Friends._ Thinking of fictional versions of _Friends_, IMHO the only remotely amusing bit in the really awful and unfunny “comedy” _[Sour Grapes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sour_Grapes_%28film%29)_ was a brief parody of the _Friends_ opening sequence. This comes up because a minor character in _Sour Grapes_ is an actor who plays the Joey role. There was an episode of _Two and a Half Men_ that featured a show-within-the-show that was sort of [a _Baywatch_-ier version of _CSI_ called _Stiffs_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIdS_qMHWYA). It starred a busty investigator who bent over a lot while wearing a low-cut top. This in and of itself wasn’t that funny, although it did do a pretty good job of parodying _CSI_ dialogue, but I laughed out loud when the _Stiffs_ title sequence began. As with the real _CSI_ franchise, the show’s theme song was an old hit by The Who…[Squeeze Box](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW3PSKJ-Bik). ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/16 "2012-08-19T20:53:27Z")
The show _Stargate: SG1_ had an entire episode about a character who has inside knowledge of the secret Stargate program and he’s helping produce [a science-fiction television show called _ **Wormhole X-treme** _](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT-Vf_x4Dc4) that’s based on the ‘real-life’ SG1 team. So, basically, it was a chance for _Stargate: SG1_ to do a hilarious parody of itself. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/17 "2012-08-20T17:08:50Z")
**Galaxy Quest** ---
**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:** [August 20, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/18 "2012-08-20T18:13:34Z")
The NCIS detectives constantly have their TV tuned to the all-news channel ZNN… ---
**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:** [August 20, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/19 "2012-08-20T23:46:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > …ETA: Steve Nichols playing soap opera actor Brock Storm on The Nanny, which co-starred his Days of Our Lives fellow actor Charles Shaunnessay. The 2nd-to-last episode of **The Nanny** had Fran Shefield encountering Fran Drescher in an airport. Miss Drescher then reminded Mrs Shefield to tune in next week for the series finale of her hit TV _The Nanny_. I think there was also an episode of **The Lucy Show** where Lucy Carmichael met Lucille Ball. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455/20 "2012-08-21T20:11:49Z")
Bobbie Fleckman (Fran Drescher’s role from the movie Spinal Tap) also showed up on The Nanny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-renderings-of-real-life-series/631455.md?page=2)