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Monday, September 28, 2009

Los Angeles Plays Itself, "FlashForward" Edition


Now THAT'S what I call a Sig Alert on the 110.

As many have noted through the years, Hollywood loves to destroy Los Angeles. TV is getting into the act this season, starting with ABC's new sci-fi adventure "FlashForward," which launched last week.

"FlashForward" begins with the entire world blacking out for a little more than 2 minutes. When they awake, the world is in chaos: Planes have crashed, accidents are everywhere and fires have been started. Because the show takes place in Los Angeles, we get a close-up look at the aftermath in downtown, where the show's main characters had been staking out a suspected terrorist.

I'm excited to see how they use Los Angeles as a character in future episodes. For now, here are a few shots from the show's first episode. Above, here's the view looking south, down the 110.


Glancing north, above 110, with downtown on fire. Even a plume of smoke wafts out of City Hall.


FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes) attends an AA meeting held inside the old Fred Harvey restaurant at Union Station. And yes, for those of you playing at home, THIS is where Maria and I had our wedding reception in 2002!


Our heroes on a stakeout, right underneath the Gold Line tracks in Chinatown. And yes, that's a billboard for Oceanic Airlines -- the fictional airliner from "Lost" -- in the background.


Their location, from the other side. That's the stairs to the Gold Line's Chinatown station behind them.


Kent Shocknek?!?! This is bizarre for two reasons: (1) Kent is the morning anchor on CBS' KCBS-Channel 2. "FlashForward" is an ABC show. And (2) It's Kent Shocknek!! (BTW, check out Kent's IMDB page here -- the man has made quite a lucrative career out of moonlighting as a fake news anchor for TV and film.)


Things aren't looking good on Broadway, in front of the Orpheum and the Broadway Bar.


Yep, that's the Disney Hall on fire back there (and it looks like the Dorothy Chandler isn't faring much better, further to the right). For all you jury junkies out there, that's the parking garage, in front of the Disney, where you store your car before reporting for duty.
But what's the deal with the fake skyscraper behind Disney Hall? Some set designer decide the view wasn't exciting enough?


The City of Los Angeles' Department of Water and Power gets a logo makeover for the purpose of "FlashForward." Here's the real logo below:



MEANWHILE, you say you enjoyed watching Los Angeles get destroyed on "FlashForward," but you want more? Here's a promo shot from ABC's upcoming "V," in which massive alien ships hover over the world's biggest cities -- including L.A. (And if that's still not enough, NBC's upcoming post-apocalyptic "Day One" also takes place in L.A.)

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