Cristofle

Having lived in NYC, I love the shows that film there because I recognize the real locations, but I know it's expensive to film there. And it's logistically difficult to film in DC (although given that I live in the area, lol, and have for a combined 14 years of my life, it's super distracting when they green screen in front of random monuments and don't realize that what's actually in front of those monuments is a traffic circle). LA's lots are a lot easier.

Gemma_H

Sometimes it can be really awful when the do the green screen stuff. One that really got me was in NCIS, when they were supposed to be in England. It was SO obvious that they'd just parked a London taxi in front of a screen and were running stock footage of London traffic on it. And the other cliches they used for that episode were just so painful to see - a stereotypical American image of a British country pub and its regulars, etc. I may be an American girl through and through, but my hubby is English and we live in the UK, and to see how the whole country and its people are usually portrayed in US-made shows really doesn't reflect at all well on the US.

Cristofle

LOL, NCIS is a routine egregious offender re: DC. Although Bones was the funniest single example, because at one point Booth walks off from a monument, and literally would have been playing in traffic in a traffic circle if the people had any idea how the city actually works.

I just love it when shows actually film in NYC like SVU and Blue Bloods, and I get to see the parts of the city that I know and love. Also, a lot of NY based shows film at my grad school. SVU was there all the time.

Gemma_H

Yeah, it's always great when you see somewhere on screen and can say "I've been there!"

Cristofle

Sometimes I feel like something happens to shows in LA, too. The X-Files was never the same after it stopped filming in Vancouver.

lather

Americans often do have a strange and stereotyped view of the UK. To many in the US, people in the UK are either ultra-posh or Cockneys, and anyone with any other accent is often mistaken for an Australian! And there's the other myths as well, such as the beer being warm and weak, everyone stopping for tea every few minutes, etc. I guess that, in a way, it's not that surprising, given how insular a nation the US is when it comes to things like the media, and the fact that a much smaller percentage of the population travels abroad compared to many other developed nations. So, as a result, many people in the US only have the images as portrayed on the media to fall back on when it comes to other nations around the world.

And yes, it's always fun when you see places you know appearing on TV. I used to work in a museum based in an old historic mill, and we were always being visited by TV crews filming various programmes. I even had to act as the historical or technical adviser on some of them, which got me a credit on the show, which is how I also ended up with my own IMDb entry.

Cristofle

It is unfortunate that not enough of us Americans travel, particularly because it makes too much of the population hyper-national, outright refusing the see the world as a global community.

Gemma_H

I'm so glad I've had the chance to travel to and live in other countries, as it's shown me what wonderful people there are all around the world. It's really a shame that so many don't do that, and so end up forming opinions of the wider world based on the often skewed image projected by their own media and governments.

Cristofle

I've always really made an effort to learn about other countries and cultures and faith traditions, and it's unfortunate that's frowned upon in too much of the United States.

Gemma_H

I think the problem there is the way that it's drummed into people from a young age that America is undoubtedly the best country in the whole world, that everyone else wants to be like us, and those who don't, or are somehow different in other ways, must always be regarded with suspicion. That naturally breeds a level of xenophobia and arrogance, which has now led to the horrible concept of "American exceptionalism".

Cristofle

Two of our most fundamental concepts- American exceptionalism and American individualism- are also two of our most dangerous concepts. We as individuals aren't any more valuable than a Syrian citizen or a Nigerian citizen. And no country can survive as an isolated island in this global world.

Gemma_H

So, after a real drought, we finally have a whole load of new Mischa pictures, including an event from a couple of days ago. And they prove that she's still in NYC.

Cristofle

Looks like she's still with the boyfriend?

Gemma_H

Yeah, based on the latest pictures, it does look that way. And I've got to say that I'm still not sure about him. There's just something about him that makes me a bit uneasy. And, although I'm not sure how accurate and reliable the stories are, I've seen stuff about how Mischa's friends are suspicious of his motives. It's possible that those stories could be made up, but there's something that's setting off the alarm bells for me... (Or maybe I'm just really worried for her after her recent experiences? )

Cristofle

I mean, what's gone one with her last couple boyfriends is enough to make anyone suspicious. And even going back years, Cisco has ridden on her name to get some press more than once.