# Movie/TV characters' great apartments **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941 "2016-03-14T02:46:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/61 "2016-03-18T03:44:49Z")
Marty Kaan’s apartment in House of Lies was sweet. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/62 "2016-03-18T17:51:17Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > In the TV program Bosch mentions that he made a bunch of money from a movie of one of his cases. There is a movie poster on the wall that he points to. I think it was for Black Echo, which was the first Bosch book. In the books, a lot of new characters assume that Bosch is a dirty cop on the take due to his ridiculously expensive house. ---
**Author:** ![TexCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/texcat/32/9041_2.png) [@TexCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexCat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/63 "2016-03-18T19:38:56Z")
Movie and TV houses can be seen here: [Houses Onscreen Archives - Hooked on Houses](http://hookedonhouses.net/category/houses-onscreen/) ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/64 "2016-03-21T05:00:50Z")
They had a nice apartment in _Rosemary’s Baby._ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/65 "2016-03-21T14:56:51Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > They had a nice apartment in _Rosemary’s Baby._ The had a freakin’ _gorgeous_ apartment in _RB_ – the exterior shots of “The Bramford”, the fictional building, were actually of _The Dakota_, the extremely exclusive place on Central Park West where John Lennon, Leonard Bernstein, and a slew of actors lived. > **[The Dakota](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota)** > > The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was constructed between 1880 and 1884 in the German Renaissance style and was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh for businessman Edward Cabot Clark. The building was one of the first large developments on the Upper West Side and is the oldest remaining luxury apartment building in New York City. The buildi... ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/66 "2016-06-25T22:44:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The had a freakin’ _gorgeous_ apartment in _RB_ – the exterior shots of “The Bramford”, the fictional building, were actually of _The Dakota_, the extremely exclusive place on Central Park West where John Lennon, Leonard Bernstein, and a slew of actors lived. > > [The Dakota - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota) And it was a feature of the story: the reason they could afford that apartment was due to it being preferentially let to them due to Rosemary being a possible surrogate, and it being such a great apartment was a factor in making Rosemary be less inclined to run away the moment weird things happened. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/67 "2016-06-26T18:18:21Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I think Leonard and Sheldon have a pretty cool apartment in TBBT. As did Monica in Friends. Of course, in both cases, one wall remains/remained unseen. Leornard and Sheldon’s geek collections is what really makes that a great apartment.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/68 "2016-06-26T19:42:39Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Holy crap–what a fabulous link. :eek: Thanks! Would be even better if the creator didn’t have that lousy theme on it. Shows up as basically really, really dark grey on black on my monitor. And if I highlight the words, they become black! But he does draw good. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/69 "2016-06-26T23:30:11Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I think Leonard and Sheldon have a pretty cool apartment in TBBT. As did Monica in Friends. Of course, in both cases, one wall remains/remained unseen. Is there an apartment/house in any tv show in which this DOESN’T occur?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/70 "2016-06-26T23:48:24Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Is there an apartment/house in any tv show in which this DOESN’T occur?😕 How I Met Your Mother shows the forth wall from time to time. 99% of the time they’re in the apartment, the camera is looking at the characters from the POV of where the TV (in the apartment) is. From time to time, they need to show something on the TV or happening on that side of the room. It must be a PITA to bring in the wall and the set dressing, move a camera to behind the couch and re-rig all the lights just for one shot, it happens once in a while. Plus, you can see how crowded it gets when you end up with 2-4 actors trying to work in a really cramped spot. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/71 "2016-06-27T01:01:34Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Most NYC apartments are entered from an interior building hallway, which you reach via elevator or stairs from a lobby that acts as a foyer for the entire building. Unless you live in the “converted warehouse loft” where it looks like the character enters their enormous open space via what used to be a freight elevator. > [@Baker](#): > > It was “a big 'ol barn” because it WAS a barn. He rented the loft cheap. I presume it came with all the bells and smells a barn has. He didn’t expect to stay long. It’s also why he bought the cheap 'ol beater of a car, he knew he’d be making enemies and it would get trashed. But IIRC, his actual car was a Mercedes. I got the impression that due to his particular set of skills, he could pretty much write his own ticket. Plus he didn’t have a lot of expenses and his work was in the middle of nowhere, USA. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/72 "2016-06-27T01:54:55Z")
Dan Tanna’s house in _Vega$_ was pretty rockin’! Starts at 2:00 in this clip. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/01iKDegrW_g/hqdefault.jpg "Vegas (1978) - PILOT OPENING") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01iKDegrW_g) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/73 "2016-06-27T03:40:24Z")
My all-time favorite TV apartment was [Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl)'s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHWJe8ASs6k) high-rise 1-bedroom. I freaking LOVED the turn-table wall to hide her costume. The secret lair and the private lift/secret entrance for her batgirl-cycle sure could come in handy too, but that turn-table wall is what really did it for me. How she managed to find, or construct her secret lair is beyond me – especially given that she was working at the city library as her day-job. But…_turn-table wall!_! ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/74 "2016-06-27T03:58:47Z")
Why is it that so many NYC apartments in TV and films feature a step down from the hallway door? I’ve seen this in dozens of different shows, especially ones from the 50s and 60s, and there must be more to it than a set designer’s trick. It’s even a plot point in _Rear Window._ ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/75 "2016-06-27T04:08:43Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Why is it that so many NYC apartments in TV and films feature a step down from the hallway door? > > I’ve seen this in dozens of different shows, especially ones from the 50s and 60s, and there must be more to it than a set designer’s trick. It’s even a plot point in _Rear Window._ The Petries had that, and they lived in the suburbs. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2016, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/76 "2016-06-27T04:32:03Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The Petries had that, and they lived in the suburbs. So did the bridge of the _ **TOS** _ _Enterprise_. Split-level design was all the rage back then! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/77 "2016-06-27T04:32:42Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The Petries had that, and they lived in the suburbs. A lot of people (and most often Rob) came into their house. It might not have been so much of a ‘step down’ as much as it was giving the camera/viewers a better shot of who was walking in since it didn’t put them directly behind the person in the foreground. Regarding steps, the one that I always wondered about was Full House. On the second floor, when they were in the hall, you’d see someone coming up a few steps from a landing. That means that entire second floor set was a few feet off the ground which also means either the entire set was built on stilts or (now that I think about it) a way to build the stairs down into the floor so that people could enter. What always bugged me about it is that, from the hall, you could see into the rooms AND you could see all four walls of all the rooms on a regular basis leading me to believe it was, essentially a fully put together floor of a house instead of a bunch of 3 walled rooms that were ‘geographically’ nowhere near each other (and sometimes even the same rooms just redecorated as needed). Further more, until I just thought about it now, it bugged me because that meant a rather large set being built up off the ground just so people could walk up a few steps. But, again, I’m wondering if that landing was set into the floor and not the other way around. Also, when Jesse and Becky moved upstairs a door magically appeared on the landing which is how the got up to the attic. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2016, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/78 "2016-06-27T04:50:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Ernest Lehman’s script for North by Northwest called for the House to specifically be like a Frank Lloyd Wright design. (The house never actually existed – it was the creation of a few sets and a couple of really nice glass painting by the legendary Albert Whitlock. What?!? You mean there really _isn’t_ a secret Communist lair just a stone’s throw away from a national monument?!? We were **lied to?!?** :eek: > [@](#): > > Virtually all characters in TV shows or movies have apartments well beyond their means. The only episode of _ **Starsky and Hutch** _ that I ever saw was the one where Hutch unknowingly falls in love with a hooker/porn star. When Starsky learns the truth, he goes to her apartment to “suggest” that she get out of town, and the place is a fucking palace! I was watching this in Scotland, in the living room of a pen-pal’s turn-of-the-century cottage. Her dad (a lowly groundskeeper on a private estate) turned to me and asked “Is that a typical American apartment?” I just laughed and said **“NO!”** ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/79 "2016-06-27T23:46:54Z")
Jim Phelps’ place was pretty cool. [![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHNuOuO6g8M/UcN20sON_zI/AAAAAAAACyM/utuqP6_1ei8/s1600/MI_apartment_S2.jpg) ](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHNuOuO6g8M/UcN20sON_zI/AAAAAAAACyM/utuqP6_1ei8/s1600/MI_apartment_S2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941/80 "2016-06-28T13:56:15Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > My all-time favorite TV apartment was [Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl)'s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHWJe8ASs6k) high-rise 1-bedroom. I freaking LOVED the turn-table wall to hide her costume. The secret lair and the private lift/secret entrance for her batgirl-cycle sure could come in handy too, but that turn-table wall is what really did it for me. > > How she managed to find, or construct her secret lair is beyond me – especially given that she was working at the city library as her day-job. But…_turn-table wall!_! She also had a switch that could instantly convert the contents on the other side of the wall into a store room which came in handy when a repairman can snooping around because of noise complaints. With some appropriately named label. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-characters-great-apartments/748941.md?page=3)