TV Locations I'd Like to Frequent

It should come as no surprise that we, as television viewers, form relationships with the characters that we watch. Some viewers take these 'relationships', or parasocial interactions (something I actually learned about in college) further than others, but the point remains. For example, apparently the preeminent female hairstyle of the late 90's and early 00's was known as "The Rachel," a reference to the hairstyle worn by Jennifer Aniston's character Rachel Green on Friends. Along the same lines, how many of us (that's all twelve of you and me) would immediately think George Costanza upon seeing Jason Alexander? Also, does anyone think of the former Mr. Britney Spears when they hear the name Jason Alexander? Just me? Ok.

The 'relationships' that we form with television programs, are not exclusive to the characters. We also form 'relationships' with the locations our favorite characters frequent. Here are my personal top 5, with apologies to Beverly Hills 90210's Peach Pit, which I can not recall all that vividly.


5.) The Central Perk in Friends



My main reason for including this fictional location is because I would love to go in there and stake my claim to that grimy couch. I am by no means a Friends aficionado, but I don't recall the main area of the coffee shop to have ever been taken by anyone when one of the six main cast members wanted to sit there. Friends was one of those shows that for whatever reason I always thought had a feminine connotation. I wasn't an avid viewer when the show aired, but I appreciate the humor the more I watch the episodes in syndication.


4.) McClaren's in How I Met Your Mother



I hesitated to include this one because I don't know too many people that watch the show (I only started watching it in November). That being said, this location is a touchdown, because it's only steps away from Ted's (the main character) apartment. Now before any of you Friends fans go ballistic, I know the Central Perk was less than 100 steps away from their apartments as well, but McClaren's is a bar where you can get blitzed and the Central Perk is a coffee shop where you can fine tune the screenplay you've been writing for the last 8 years. (Sidenote- I may or may not have just made fun of my future self).



3.) Moe's Tavern in The Simpson's



Yes, it's a towny bar, but the fact that it's called a tavern is a big plus in my book. The seldom used terms like tavern, alehouse, and saloon make bars more appealing to me. This bar would be great because it has an old bartender with a chip on his shoulder in Moe, it's been through the Rex Banner led prohibition days (the bar transformed nicely into a pet shop), it has some shady regulars like Barney Gumble, and it has a signature drink; The Flaming Moe.


For those not in tune with Pop Culture,this is a clear reference to the Cheers theme song

2.) Monk's in Seinfeld



First let me say that Monk's barely edged out Reggie's and Mendy's, where I'd definitely order a soup and a salad. Monk's would be fun to go to for me because I love diners. After a night of drinking, there is nowhere else I'd rather be in the morning than a slop house diner. Monk's, although a crummy little coffee shop, is great because the management abides by the Hooters policy of only hiring well endowed women, they make a big salad and an egg white omelet, and you never know if you're going to run into a millionaire architect. I should note that another Seinfeld location, Dinky Donuts, was not considered because the locale is never shown on camera. By the way, Joe DiMaggio is definitely not a dunker.

1.) The Max in Saved By The Bell



The Max was the ultimate before, mid, and after school hangout for Bayside High students. Seemingly everything went down there. If memory serves, the seating style where one sits on a chair that is turned the wrong way, known in most circles as "A.C. Slater style" was made famous in The Max.

I'm sure highschool students across the country have their own versions of The Max. My friends and I went to a pizza shop near our highschool from time to time after school and whenever I didn't want to go, one friend would explicitly say, "Come on dude, you have to go. Johnnie's (the name of the pizza shop) is our Max."