# TV shows and movies set in ambiguous time periods **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, movies\ **Created:** [February 20, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600 "2025-02-20T21:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/1 "2025-02-20T21:54:39Z")
The universe of _Severance_ seems to be set in a weirdly ambiguous time period (which I’m sure is on purpose). Everyone has iPhones, which makes it seem like the present day. But the interior of the Lumen offices seems to be stuck in the 1970s. At work the characters use what look like 1970s or early 80s computer terminals. Outside the office, no one drives a car newer than about 1995. In fact, various characters drive cars from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. It’s impossible to pin down exactly _when_ it’s supposed to take place. _Sex Education_ is set in a similarly vague time period. The characters act like modern teenagers, they have smartphones, and the internet seems to exist. Yet they all drive 1980s cars and listen to 80s music. The last one I can think of in recent memory is _Archer_. Personal computers and the internet exist, but it seems to take place during the Cold War and the Soviet Union exists. The cars range from 1950s to 1970s with I believe some from the 1980s thrown in. Can you think of any other example of works that take place in ambiguous, anachronistic settings? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/2 "2025-02-20T21:56:17Z")
Streets of Fire is a mishmash of '50s and '80s music and fashion sensibilities, and no date is given for its setting besides “another time, another place”. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/3 "2025-02-20T21:57:10Z")
never mind ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/4 "2025-02-20T22:07:18Z")
_Brazil_ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/5 "2025-02-20T22:10:55Z")
A good example is _A Christmas Story._ Details, such as the decoder pin, the Look magazine, the fire truck, etc, are all from different times. I’ve heard people say “for sure” the movie was set from anywhere between 1930 and 1950(!). I thought that was more of a feature: grown up Ralphie remembers things incorrectly because, hey, he was a kid. Memories get jumbled. (and there never was a BB gun like the one he got). Then _A Christmas Story Christmas_ collapsed the quantum equation and set the movie in 1940, 33 years before the present (1973). Stupid decision. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/6 "2025-02-20T22:15:24Z")
_Seven Days in May_ is set somewhere a few years in the future from when it was made. Since it wasn’t a science fiction or fantasy movie, it wasn’t as obvious that it wasn’t contemporary to the year of release. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/7 "2025-02-20T22:19:26Z")
Many of the Universal Monster movies were set in ambiguous time. In the Karloff Frankenstein movies, you never see an automobile or a telephone. Lamps are designed so that you cannot tell if they use electricity, gas, or kerosene. The Tom Tyler/Lon Chaney mummy movies were all made about 6 months or a year apart, and costumes, sets, and props look like the years they were released. But dialog within the films indicates they are about 20 to 30 years apart. The hero of each film is usually the son of the hero of the previous film. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/8 "2025-02-20T22:27:00Z")
**Delicatessen** takes place sometime after an apocalyptic event that happened in the 60s (judging by the clothing and tech), though how long after is anyone’s guess. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/9 "2025-02-20T22:31:57Z")
The settings of _Hercules The Legendary Journeys_ and _Xena: Warrior Princess_ treated thousands of years of history & myth as if they were all happening at the time of the series. For example both the Arthurian mythos and the assassination of Julius Caesar showed up in various episodes. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/10 "2025-02-20T22:50:41Z")
The 1989 film _Batman_ and its sequels are mishmash of anachronistic elements. Reporters use very old fashioned flashbulb cameras and criminals use Thompson submachine guns, And Batman has a small, personal jet plane and a rocket car. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/11 "2025-02-20T23:01:34Z")
Fess Parker’s _Daniel Boone_ TV show doesn’t really know when it is supposed to be taking place. One episode will have him outwitting redcoats during the Revolution and encountering fugitive duelist Aaron Burr in the next. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/12 "2025-02-20T23:09:25Z")
My wife and were talking about this just this week. We have seen several shows in the last year or so that were prey to this. Like set in the 80’s but the dress and cars were from the 60’s. I’ve heard directors talk about doing this as an intentional stylistic choice. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/13 "2025-02-20T23:10:05Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > A good example is _A Christmas Story._ Details, such as the decoder pin, the Look magazine, the fire truck, etc, are all from different times. I’ve heard people say “for sure” the movie was set from anywhere between 1930 and 1950(!). > > I thought that was more of a feature: grown up Ralphie remembers things incorrectly because, hey, he was a kid. Memories get jumbled. (and there never was a BB gun like the one he got). In a similar way, the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs was set sometime in the 1980s, on the basis of jumbled memories. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/14 "2025-02-20T23:15:02Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > The 1989 film _Batman_ and its sequels are mishmash of anachronistic elements. The _Gotham_ TV show is the same. They are trying to lend a noir feel to the setting. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/15 "2025-02-20T23:21:41Z")
I don’t know if the Simpsons qualifies; the occ. flashbacks to Homer and Marge’s youthful days would progressively show different time periods, starting with the early 70’s then I believe the 90’s and then even 00’s. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/16 "2025-02-20T23:23:34Z")
Yeah - Gotham was the first one to leap to my mind. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/17 "2025-02-20T23:29:37Z")
The 2006 live-action movie version of _Charlotte’s Web_. The year in which it takes place is not clearly stated, and the clothes, etc. seem to suggest a generic rural America. There are hints that it could take place in the 1950s (when the book was published) or the 1960s (older cars, reporters with old-fashioned cameras), but not enough details come together to pinpoint the exact era in which it is set. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/18 "2025-02-20T23:41:06Z")
No specific examples to give, but I’ve periodically mused about how to write a story, without betraying the time period in which it occurred. It greatly limits the subject matter, plot, etc. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/19 "2025-02-20T23:42:47Z")
And that [ETA: as in @themapleleaf’s post. The post above wasn’t there when I started typing] reminds me of _Schmigadoon_, which itself is a mishmash of elements from various musicals. Season 1 is like a generic early 20th century small town, with nothing to really pin down when it’s supposed to be. Season 2 has elements from the 1920s to the 60s. And also the Victorian era, since there’s a character based on Sweeney Todd. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600/20 "2025-02-21T00:06:09Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > No specific examples to give, but I’ve periodically mused about how to write a story, without betraying the time period in which it occurred. “The Nudist Colony Murders” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-and-movies-set-in-ambiguous-time-periods/1014600.md?page=2)