TV shows messing up highway shields

[rickmastfan67]

I was just watching the end of Cold Case tonight.  And at the end, they show a "special" mileage sign that they must have created for that shot.

It was a mileage sign for South I-95.  And it included a really fuggly I-95 shield in it.  And it was hideous.  If Jake saw it, he might have a heart attack. lol.

So, has anybody else seen fuggly highway shields (Interstates; US Highways; or State Highways) on any other TV shows lately?

[agentsteel53]

another good reason for me to not watch TV 

[Bryant5493]

One of the local Atlanta news stations, when doing the morning traffic report, used a U.S. 400 shield for Georgia 400.


Be well,

Bryant

[SP Cook]

I'm surprised we have never had a thread on that.  You see signage screw ups all the time in TV or movies.  Either prop people getting a sign wrong, or just an unintentional shot of, say, an Alabama state route marker when they are filming a show there but its set in Tennessee.

We had a movie shoot a few years ago.  In McDowell County, WV of all places (middle of nowhere place where the depression has never ended).  Anyway, they had the DOT make up some circle route markers (WV uses a square for state routes, a circle for county ones) and resigned a stretch of highway because the movie was set in Kentucky (which uses a circle for state routes).  All for a 90 second scene where the route signs were just in the background.  I dare say half of the people that would have noticed post here.

The worst one I ever saw was not really in a show.  It is on a ride at Disney World.  Duplicate of one in California.  Has California style route markers with "Florida" for the state name. 

[algorerhythms]

Every once in a while on South Park, they show an Interstate 285 shield somewhere in the desert in the southwestern U.S.

[leifvanderwall]

I have actually seen shows that take place mostly on car chases on highways that never show one sign, not even a state road or US marker. Smokey and the Bandit and CHIPS are primary examples. I imagine Ponch and Jon did their patrol on I-5 but there was no sign to state that.

[corco]

Every once in a while on South Park, they show an Interstate 285 shield somewhere in the desert in the southwestern U.S.

At least they got the 285 part right- South Park is on US-285 (er- I guess technically SH-9, but 285 is the road right outside of town!)

[huskeroadgeek]

This has always been one of my pet peeves about TV shows and movies-fake shields and signs. It seems like fake signs are more common than real ones. I realize sometimes the real signs aren't in the right place for what they need and the road they are shooting on isn't the road it's supposed to be, but why is it so hard to just go down the real highway and get the real sign? Any movie or TV show that uses real signs gets a thumbs up from me.
What probably bugs me even more is when the place they shoot scenes at is so obviously not the place it's supposed to be. The worst example of this I can think of this was a very short-lived series called "Drive" a few years ago which had to do with a road race around the US. The main character is said at one point to be driving on I-75 somewhere around Gainesville, FL-and there are very clearly mountains in the background. It was obviously shot in California, but couldn't they at least find a shot that didn't make it so obvious it wasn't in Florida?

[leifvanderwall]

Ha, Ha, Ha. Perhaps there is a reason why "Drive" was short-lived.

[realjd]

This has always been one of my pet peeves about TV shows and movies-fake shields and signs. It seems like fake signs are more common than real ones. I realize sometimes the real signs aren't in the right place for what they need and the road they are shooting on isn't the road it's supposed to be, but why is it so hard to just go down the real highway and get the real sign? Any movie or TV show that uses real signs gets a thumbs up from me.
What probably bugs me even more is when the place they shoot scenes at is so obviously not the place it's supposed to be. The worst example of this I can think of this was a very short-lived series called "Drive" a few years ago which had to do with a road race around the US. The main character is said at one point to be driving on I-75 somewhere around Gainesville, FL-and there are very clearly mountains in the background. It was obviously shot in California, but couldn't they at least find a shot that didn't make it so obvious it wasn't in Florida?

If I remember correctly, that show had a 1 or 2 mile stretch of freeway in California that they filmed the entire show on. Even the route between Key West and Miami was a 4-lane freeway in the mountains!

[national highway 1]

Every once in a while on South Park, they show an Interstate 285 shield somewhere in the desert in the southwestern U.S.

At least they got the 285 part right- South Park is on US-285 (er- I guess technically SH-9, but 285 is the road right outside of town!)

And also, South Park has I-570!!

[Bickendan]

^Methinks South Park does it deliberately.

Another bit that shows and movies do that really irks me: Routing.

This example is from Untraceable, set and shot in Portland. The main character works downtown, lives in the Irvington neighborhood (NE Portland, just north of the Lloyd District), crosses the Broadway Bridge to go home. Ok, fine. Why then would you get onto I-84 east when the next exit on I-84 is east of Irvington?

[RustyK]

It's usually bad enough that when shows or movies get it right, I really appreciate it. The fact that they got the US 66 / I-40 thing "basically right" in Cars only added to my enjoyment of that movie. 

[hm insulators]

I have actually seen shows that take place mostly on car chases on highways that never show one sign, not even a state road or US marker. Smokey and the Bandit and CHIPS are primary examples. I imagine Ponch and Jon did their patrol on I-5 but there was no sign to state that.

Actually a lot of the freeway scenes on "CHIPS" were shot on a finished but not-yet-opened stretch of I-210 (right by where it meets California 118) near Pacoima and Sylmar, California, in the San Fernando Valley.

[rickmastfan67]

It's usually bad enough that when shows or movies get it right, I really appreciate it. The fact that they got the US 66 / I-40 thing "basically right" in Cars only added to my enjoyment of that movie. 

And they had a button copy US-66 shield!

[mightyace]

It's usually bad enough that when shows or movies get it right, I really appreciate it. The fact that they got the US 66 / I-40 thing "basically right" in Cars only added to my enjoyment of that movie. 

The highway junction scene early in the movie, just after leaving "Speedway of the South" which is based on Bristol Motor Speedway, shows IIRC I-24 and I-40 and a lot of other highways that are in or around Nashville (US 41, 231, 431).   Not 100% correct, but still a "cartoon" has better signage than most live action shows/movies.

[rickmastfan67]

It's usually bad enough that when shows or movies get it right, I really appreciate it. The fact that they got the US 66 / I-40 thing "basically right" in Cars only added to my enjoyment of that movie. 

The highway junction scene early in the movie, just after leaving "Speedway of the South" which is based on Bristol Motor Speedway, shows IIRC I-24 and I-40 and a lot of other highways that are in or around Nashville (US 41, 231, 431).   Not 100% correct, but still a "cartoon" has better signage than most live action shows/movies.

Yeah, I do recall I-24 and I-40.  Not sure of what US routes.  Anyways, I have the DVD and I'll check it out later and see exactly which ones they show in that section of the movie.

[mightyace]

^^^

I watch it on BluRay recently and looked over that section, but since I did not write it down, I may be mistaken.

I also seem to recall that the US 41 BGS also had a "WEST" on it instead of a North or South.

[agentsteel53]

don't forget the US-8/US-395 multiplex in Back to the Future! 

[hbelkins]

I'm surprised we have never had a thread on that.  You see signage screw ups all the time in TV or movies.  Either prop people getting a sign wrong, or just an unintentional shot of, say, an Alabama state route marker when they are filming a show there but its set in Tennessee.

We had a movie shoot a few years ago.  In McDowell County, WV of all places (middle of nowhere place where the depression has never ended).  Anyway, they had the DOT make up some circle route markers (WV uses a square for state routes, a circle for county ones) and resigned a stretch of highway because the movie was set in Kentucky (which uses a circle for state routes).  All for a 90 second scene where the route signs were just in the background.  I dare say half of the people that would have noticed post here.

Do you remember what movie? I'd rent it just to see.

"Fire Down Below," the Steven Seagal movie, was set and filmed in Eastern Kentucky. One of the aerial shots shows Seagal driving along KY 15 in Knott County, beside Carr Fork Lake.

There's a scene in the movie that shows someone driving through a set of highway markers. They aren't real Kentucky highway signs but were a reasonable approximation. The signs were for KY 80 and KY 476 and if you pause the movie just right, you can get a good look at them as they tumble over. The scene was shot at the intersection of those two routes in Perry County.

[topay]

don't forget the US-8/US-395 multiplex in Back to the Future!  

In 1955 AND in 1985!

[BigMattFromTexas]

Usually highway shields are pretty much the least of the director and producers worries, sad but true...
BigMatt

[algorerhythms]

don't forget the US-8/US-395 multiplex in Back to the Future! 

In 1955 AND in 1985!

Does it show up in 2015 as well? I don't remember seeing it in that scene, but I may have to watch the second Back to the Future movie again to make sure...

[brownpelican]

In this past Sunday's "Treme" episode, Sonny was making was way to Houston. The show took I-10 east at the 610 split and changed the "New Orleans Business District" sign to "Baton Rouge". The "I-610 East Slidell" sign was not altered.

Then in "Deja Vu", producers changed all signs in New Orleans saying "I-10 West Baton Rouge" to "I-10 West Bayou Bouef".

[Removed unnecessary markup. -S.]

[florida]

This has always been one of my pet peeves about TV shows and movies-fake shields and signs. It seems like fake signs are more common than real ones. I realize sometimes the real signs aren't in the right place for what they need and the road they are shooting on isn't the road it's supposed to be, but why is it so hard to just go down the real highway and get the real sign? Any movie or TV show that uses real signs gets a thumbs up from me.
What probably bugs me even more is when the place they shoot scenes at is so obviously not the place it's supposed to be. The worst example of this I can think of this was a very short-lived series called "Drive" a few years ago which had to do with a road race around the US. The main character is said at one point to be driving on I-75 somewhere around Gainesville, FL-and there are very clearly mountains in the background. It was obviously shot in California, but couldn't they at least find a shot that didn't make it so obvious it wasn't in Florida?

If I remember correctly, that show had a 1 or 2 mile stretch of freeway in California that they filmed the entire show on. Even the route between Key West and Miami was a 4-lane freeway in the mountains!

Only if sea levels drop drastically!