Why doesn't the sun ever shine in LA?

Cafe Society
1

For reasons not to be divulged at the present time, I’ve been watching a lot of both Baywatch and Beverly Hills 90210 recently. In both shows, they spend a lot of time on the beach, bathing, lying around in the sand apparently trying to get a tan, but the sun doesn’t ever shine. No shadows betray the presence of direct sunlight. It’s always darkish and dingy and we never see a patch of blue sky. I understand Kelly’s eggshell complexion but I don’t know where Mitch gets his tan.

Anywho… why is this? Is it something TV-specific (in Beverly Hills Cop III, seen by me last night (I lead a varied and interesting life), the sun did shine on the beach of Santa Monica)? Is it the smog? What’s it like there in real life?

2

I believe they shoot a lot of beach stuff during the winter, because the crowds are smaller and it’s easier to get a manageable set-up in shot. During summer (and genuine ‘sunny days’ the beach is too crowded and it’s difficult to film without some pimply kid in the background leering at Kelly and taking idle potshots at David ‘Nick Fury’ Hasslehoff).

However, being on the other side of the world and not being part of the LA TV machine, I couldn’t tell you for sure. This is a supposition based on an article I read once when there were plans to shift Batewatch to filming on the northern beaches of Sydney (where they also do lots of winter filming).

Mayhaps one of the incognito tv stars lurking on the board could assist?

3

I guess A-Ha was wrong… the sun doesn’t always shine on TV.

The need to shoot while the beach is less crowded makes sense, but wouldn’t they be able to use a private beach, or get a permit to close off part of the beach and fill it with extras?

4

The sun never shines.
It is too wet to play.
So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day.

5

It looks better if you shoot in overcast. Harsh shadows are distracting. When it’s overcast, you get good, even lighting that looks good on TV.

6

You want to see the Andersen-Lee frankenboobs in direct sunlight?

Watch V.I.P. instead of Baywatch.

7

Near the beach, especially late in the afternoon, it can get cloudy. We get breezes from the ocean which bring in fog and other grayness. But i guess that doesn’t explain Beverly Hills 90210, unless they don’t really film it in Beverly Hills (which is probably true)

8

Marine layer. While there are certainly too many sunny days in L.A. (the main reason I wanted to move away – and finally did after losing my job), there is often a morning and afternoon layer of clouds over the coast. “Late night and early morning low clouds”, as the weather readers say. Also, L.A. beaches are subject to “June Gloom” which is common in the late spring and early summer and can persist all day long.
Common terms heard in L.A. weather forecasts:

Marine Layer
Late night and early morning low clouds
June Gloom
Coastal eddie

9

Beverly Hills is close enough to the ocean to get socked in by a nice thick marine layer.