Apr 5, 2009
UK Television Series Map
Inspired by Dan Meth’s US sitcom map, which places a load of sitcoms on a map of the US, I’ve knocked up a UK-centric version, which covers sitcoms, soap operas, drama and comedy/drama serials and a few children’s TV series.
Now, this list has just been drawn up off the top of my head. It’s not exhaustive, either - I ran out of room in the South East, so I might have to do another one for that area.
In the meantime, if you can think of any others which are set in specific places, then please do share names and locations in the comments below, or as a note on the image on Flickr.
Updated to make it bigger and to include many of your fine suggestions. And Catweazle.
Implementing the thing as a Google Map thing would be an obvious solution…
Well, maybe - but it wouldn’t be as pretty, and besides, Google Maps requires you to be very specific with location, whereas most of these series are set in fictionalised places - “a village somewhere in the Yorkshire dales” is kind of hard to plot on a google map!
The real town of Midsomer is somewhere near Bath, but I’m not sure if that’s the same as the town represented in the TV series.
This is amazing - great project! I think that Dads Army was actually set on the South Coast (even though it was FILMED in Thetford, Norfolk) - I’m assuming you have put the setting of the programme, not the filming location…
Ah yes - but Midsomer Murders is apparently filmed in Buckinghamshire and south Oxfordshire, which is why I plonked it there (or as near as I could) on the map.
Thanks, Matt - I’d always assumed it was set on the S. coast, but Thetford was the only geographical reference I could identify, so I went for that in the end. I’ll change it in the next version.
Eastenders appears to be in Rochester rather than on the E17 side of the Waterworks Roundabout (WALthamstow/woodFORD), but space constraints are hampering you a bit so fair enough.
But Germany (Auf Wiedersehn Pet) is quite a long way from Spain/France/Canada, where your arrows are pointing.
Well, Auf Wiedersehen Pet’s second series was set in Spain, and the third series in Cuba.
I didn’t put on the fourth series (Middlesborough/Arizona), but that arrow on the right of the title is supposed to be pointing towards Germany…
You’re right about the space constraints, though - The Bill occupies much the same territory as EastEnders inside the M25 and it was a toss-up between making the font unreadably small or covering it with arrows, or getting it vaguely close.
I went for the latter.
Here’s a few more…
The Lakes - Lake District
I’m Alan Partridge - Norwich
Cold Feet - Manchester
No Angels - Leeds
Two Pints… - Runcorn
I wasn’t going to put in a relocation request, but others have, so: Lovejoy should be in Suffolk, near the Essex border, not Norfolk. Handily, this will give you room for Alan Partridge.
OK, updated with the amendments and suggestions made here. Keep ‘em coming!
Cutting It was set in Manchester, IIRC.
“Footballers’ Wives” would also deserve a mention, but I can’t find anything about it.
According to IMDB, “The IT Crowd” is filmed in Teddington, Middlesex.
Ignore my last post :)
Add to Bristol The Young Ones, Only Fools and Horses, Softly Softly, Shoestring. Cheltenham for Butterflies.
Ali - I confess I’m puzzled about the Bristol/Young Ones & Only Fools connections. Both set in London, I thought?
Haven’t heard of Shoestring, but I’ll add Butterflies to the map later.
Only Fools was set in Peckham… so the location is pretty much right.
The Young Ones were at Scumbag College - which I always assumed was in London, but I guess may have been pretty indeterminate.
Can we have an entry for the marvellous Van Der Valk? Set in Amsterdam… and Minder for the already crowded London?
Fascinating project still!
Matt - Minder’s in there (in West London, because I’m not sure where exactly it was set, but the garage bits were filmed in W10).
According to the always-reliable Wikipedia (!), The Young Ones was set in North London (though some exterior scenes were filmed in Bristol - aha! The Bristol connection revealed!) which is why I put it there on the map.
Haven’t heard of Van Der Valk, and not sure whether it’s wise to add continental things to the map (apart from Duty Free, Blackadder Goes Forth and Allo Allo, which were somehow definably British, despite being set in The Foreign).
Hmmm… shows how attentive I am to Balamory that it’s in two places at once!
Seeing how crowded London is means there’s no room for The Ghostbusters of East Finchley. But then perhaps I’m the only person who remembers that show at all!
Any room for The Crow Road (Oban / Glasgow) and Pie in the Sky (Hemel Hempstead)? Oh, and Dalizel & Pascoe for Yorkshire. Thankfully you’ve not signposted Eldorado in a “noises off” way…
Peep Show in South London? But the opening sequence is Crouch End!
Perhaps, but they live in Croydon
[...] My USA Sitcom map has inspired someone on the other side of the pond to draft up the UK equivalent. I have never heard of 99% of these British shows, but it’s nice to know they are couch potatoes like us. Cheers, meish.org! [...]
[...] the idea that our everyday world is overlaid with (or better yet, haunted by) a vibrant, fictive universe of characters and storylines, spin-offs and syndications. And so, apparently, does Dan Meth, whose [...]
Jam & Jerusalem > North Tawton.
The Young Ones was based on North London Poly.
My Family is Chiswick, not North London (you seem to have it set in Muswell Hill), though I acknowledge that space is tight.