What Line Is That?
I am quite enjoying the new Fox show New Amsterdam. The premise is that John Amsterdam is an immortal. As a Dutch settler he defended the honor of an Indian girl and was killed for it. The Indians magically revived him and gave him the gift of eternal life. At least until he finds his "one true love" who inexplicably could exist anywhere in time. Amsterdam follows the time honored comic book trope of having the immortal fake his own death and return as his own son over the years, no new ground there. In his current life Amsterdam is an NYPD detective and uses his intimate knowledge of New York City (where he has lived for the 400 years he's been alive) to solve crimes. This includes things like secret doors to rooms in hotel suites that have been sealed, the location of 30's speakeasies and the like. I've enjoyed the thre episodes that have aired so far.
In the first episode Amsterdam has a heart attack on a subway platform after brushing past someone who may be his "one." Unlike most shows set in NYC this one actually films here and has done a great job of using locations. The subway platform in question (which he has returned to every episode so far) is supposed to be the 137th St./City College stop on the 1. I was convinced that it actually was. Mark pointed out to me that the columns were the wrong shape and that they had to have dressed another platform to look like that stop. In the next episode when he returned I snapped the above picture. Can you look at it and tell me what stop they are actually using to film? (Don't cheat and look at the next pic yet...)
If you look at A above you'll see the false signs that were put up. One of the reasons I was convinced in the first episode that they were using a real stop is that the sign still includes the 9, (which for those of you outside the city no longer runs). I was convinced that no art director would put up a sign with inaccurate info, but the MTA sure would.
When this scene starts in the episode there is a train in place and everything on the right of the screen is blocked. The left of the screen, behind the main character is all properly dressed, but when the train pulled out I could clearly see where they were filming. In B you'll see that you can transfer to the 4, 5, 6, and 7. That should make it clear enough. In C you can still see the 42nd St. signage, and in D you can see that the train that is waiting is an S train (you can see that best in the reflection in the tile). That could only mean that they are filming at the Grand Central end of the 42nd St. Shuttle line.
God bless HD, huh?
Anyway, just a little fun with scenic design and the subways. If you aren't watching the show, check it out. It's not at all deep or meaningful, and the NYC "facts" that they've used so far have been sort of unimpressive, but it is still an enjoyable show.
In the first episode Amsterdam has a heart attack on a subway platform after brushing past someone who may be his "one." Unlike most shows set in NYC this one actually films here and has done a great job of using locations. The subway platform in question (which he has returned to every episode so far) is supposed to be the 137th St./City College stop on the 1. I was convinced that it actually was. Mark pointed out to me that the columns were the wrong shape and that they had to have dressed another platform to look like that stop. In the next episode when he returned I snapped the above picture. Can you look at it and tell me what stop they are actually using to film? (Don't cheat and look at the next pic yet...)
If you look at A above you'll see the false signs that were put up. One of the reasons I was convinced in the first episode that they were using a real stop is that the sign still includes the 9, (which for those of you outside the city no longer runs). I was convinced that no art director would put up a sign with inaccurate info, but the MTA sure would.When this scene starts in the episode there is a train in place and everything on the right of the screen is blocked. The left of the screen, behind the main character is all properly dressed, but when the train pulled out I could clearly see where they were filming. In B you'll see that you can transfer to the 4, 5, 6, and 7. That should make it clear enough. In C you can still see the 42nd St. signage, and in D you can see that the train that is waiting is an S train (you can see that best in the reflection in the tile). That could only mean that they are filming at the Grand Central end of the 42nd St. Shuttle line.
God bless HD, huh?
Anyway, just a little fun with scenic design and the subways. If you aren't watching the show, check it out. It's not at all deep or meaningful, and the NYC "facts" that they've used so far have been sort of unimpressive, but it is still an enjoyable show.
I'm really enjoying the variety of your daily posts, Cully. They're fun to read, and it's impressive that you're posting so often.
Very nice detective work Cully. I accidentally stumbled across this when I was researching GC190GN - the 42nd Street Shuttle is sometimes referred to as the '8' by MTA folks so I dabbled with it for a bit.
It's extremely difficult to find a platform in New York that doesn't run 24 hours, and so because the shuttle doesn't run late nights it's really become the "go to" station for TV and movie filming.
(Another "station" to look out for in NYC subway shots is the 42nd Street stop on the ACE line. There is an abandoned platform underneath the downtown track that is for all intents and purposes a sound stage today. They've even varied the station names on the walls all throughout the area so that you can use the same platform for multiple location shots.)