# Shows that mask their setting. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146 "2009-01-06T22:41:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/1 "2009-01-06T22:41:31Z")
I can think of two. The Simpsons has been famous for toying with audiences as to where Springfield is located. As the years have gone by they have had so many contradictory clues as to where it is located it might as well be an American everytown. Hill Street Blues, which I always thought was set in New York City, was deliberately set in a generic city. It’s presumed by many to be Chicago but they never let on. I’d say there are lots of shows where the locale is never explicitly mentioned but what other shows have deliberately obscured their settings? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/2 "2009-01-06T22:48:53Z")
_My Name Is Earl_ is set in “Camden County” but exactly where that is isn’t specifically mentioned. The short-lived _Working_ with a grown-up Fred Savage didn’t even name the company they were working at; I’m pretty sure no location was given, either. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/3 "2009-01-06T22:53:14Z")
The Simpsons doesn’t mask a real location, as it very deliberately doesn’t have one. There’s enough contradictory evidence that every state in the US is surely ruled out, one way or another, not toying with the audience but hammering home the point. Anybody still trying to piece together clues to the X marking the spot is a madman! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/4 "2009-01-06T22:57:38Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Anybody still trying to piece together clues to the X marking the spot is a madman! > **[Springfield (The Simpsons)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield%27s_State_(The_Simpsons))** > > Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city in Oregon in the United States. The city's geography, surroundings, and layout are flexible, often changing to accommodate the plot of any given episode. > Springfield was inspired by a number of real-life locations, including creator Matt Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, the nearby town of Springfield, Oregon, and producer Mike Scully's hom... I suppose you’re right though… ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/5 "2009-01-06T23:10:43Z")
_Benson_ worked for the governor of an unnamed state. There was a later sitcom, whose name I’ve forgotten, about the mayor of an unnamed city. ---
**Author:** ![November](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6f9a4e/32.png) [@November](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/November)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/6 "2009-01-06T23:26:16Z")
_Scrubs_ was meant to be like this. Although it’s filmed in Los Angeles, it was originally meant to be able to take place anywhere in the US. Since then, a couple of things (shots of palm trees and such) have narrowed it down to ‘anywhere in a big city in California’, though. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/7 "2009-01-06T23:30:28Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > The Simpsons doesn’t mask a real location, as it very deliberately doesn’t have one. There’s enough contradictory evidence that every state in the US is surely ruled out, one way or another, not toying with the audience but hammering home the point. Anybody still trying to piece together clues to the X marking the spot is a madman! In the Simpsons Movie, they have Bart and Ned on hill, where they could see the ‘4 states that border their state’. One was Ohio, one was Nevada. I forget the other 2, but they were equally far apart. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/8 "2009-01-06T23:42:12Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > In the Simpsons Movie, they have Bart and Ned on hill, where they could see the ‘4 states that border their state’. One was Ohio, one was Nevada. I forget the other 2, but they were equally far apart. In one episode, it’s stated that West Springfield is larger than Texas. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/9 "2009-01-07T00:22:14Z")
Desperate Housewives’ city of Fairview is not in any identifiable state. The license plates of the cars all say “The Eagle State”, a nickname that no state uses. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/10 "2009-01-07T00:53:39Z")
Aren’t most of the daytime soaps in places like “Genoa City”, No State. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/11 "2009-01-07T01:46:55Z")
> [@jali](#): > > Aren’t most of the daytime soaps in places like “Genoa City”, No State. It’s generally accepted that the Genoa City that _The Young & The Restless_ is set in is the Wisconsin one. I seem to remember “Genoa City, Wisconsin” showing up on a luggage tag or something a couple of decades ago. And _As The World Turns_ is set in Oakdale, Illinois. I believe that _Another World_ was set in Bay City, Michigan. And, of course, _General Hospital_ is set in Port Charles, New York. My candidate is the soon-to-be-late, lamented _Pushing Daisies_, which is set in “Papen County”, no state. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/12 "2009-01-07T02:14:23Z")
All of this mysterious typography reminds me of Lordy Rodriguez–a Filipino-American artist who attended Houston’s High School of Performing & Visual Arts. He creates large, meticulous maps of places that look strangely familiar. Like [Kentucky](http://www.clementine-gallery.com/lr/04.html). His work is really delightful, repaying hours of scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/13 "2009-01-07T03:08:03Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Hill Street Blues, which I always thought was set in New York City, was deliberately set in a generic city. It’s presumed by many to be Chicago but they never let on. If they didn’t shoot the title sequence in Chicago, specifically in February, I’ll eat my hat. Chicago slush, Chicago viaducts, and thinly-disguised Chicago cop cars. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/14 "2009-01-07T03:41:45Z")
I was always amused by the fact that in _The X-Files,_ wherever they went in the whole country–at times even out of the country–it was always cold enough to require coats and the countryside was always suspiciously similar. And it was usually cloudy. I believe they shot it in Canada? Not a very good advertisement for Canada or wherever they shot it… ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/15 "2009-01-07T03:48:10Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > I was always amused by the fact that in _The X-Files,_ wherever they went in the whole country–at times even out of the country–it was always cold enough to require coats and the countryside was always suspiciously similar. And it was usually cloudy. > > I believe they shot it in Canada? > > Not a very good advertisement for Canada or wherever they shot it… Vancouver. Until the last couple or three seasons, almost all of it was shot around Vancouver. Which is why no matter where they went, everything looked all moist and dewy. Gah. I’m still pissed off at them for setting the flukeworm episode in “Newark County.” There is no Newark County! The city of Newark is in Essex County. They could have just used a title that said “Newark, NJ” or something. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/16 "2009-01-07T03:49:39Z")
It was shot in Vancouver. Lots of shows are or were. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/17 "2009-01-07T03:50:39Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > I was always amused by the fact that in _The X-Files,_ wherever they went in the whole country–at times even out of the country–it was always cold enough to require coats and the countryside was always suspiciously similar. And it was usually cloudy. > > I believe they shot it in Canada? > > Not a very good advertisement for Canada or wherever they shot it… From Wiki: _Duchovny caused controversy when it became public that he was the primary reason that filming of The X-Files series was moved from Vancouver, British Columbia to Los Angeles in 1998. Many residents of Vancouver were upset with Duchovny over scripted jokes on Conan O’Brien’s late night show about the city’s heavy rainfall; he joked that “Vancouver is a very nice place, if you like 400 inches of rainfall a day.” He also stated, “Of course, I’m tired of the rain. But if I wasn’t married to a woman that lives in L.A. I’d stay in Vancouver. It’s a lovely city.”_ ---
**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:** [January 7, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/18 "2009-01-07T05:09:45Z")
The Wonder Years? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/19 "2009-01-07T05:17:25Z")
In theory, Smallville is in Kansas. You can see Metropolis on the horizon. Metropolis has a sea port. 😕 ---
**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:** [January 7, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146/20 "2009-01-07T05:19:23Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > If they didn’t shoot the title sequence in Chicago, specifically in February, I’ll eat my hat. Chicago slush, Chicago viaducts, and thinly-disguised Chicago cop cars. I vaguely recall an interview where Buffalo was cited as the inspiration. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-mask-their-setting/480146.md?page=2)