The choice of location is key to any film, TV show or radio broadcast as it sets an atmosphere, not only for the show, but also to give the audience an understanding of what may be to come.
Peep Show (2003) series 1 and 2 were filmed on location in an apartment flat in Zodiac Court on London Road in Croydon. (Davies, 2015) Davies writes that one of the creators of the show, Jesse Armstrong, “speaks fondly of “real, affordable London… where people live relatively normal lives”. This is what Croydon signifies.” but the other choice for Croydon was Jeremy Wooding’s, director of series 1, desire for trams on the show but Channel 4 decided against it with Robert Webb, one of the stars, saying “Trams aren’t funny.” (Anthony, 2015) The use of the everyday flat was a brilliant move on the creators’ decision as it helps to imply that the two main characters of the show are just ordinary, regular people with an ordinary, regular flat in an ordinary, regular town, establishing the show’s premise of it being about two people’s ordinary, regular lives. The rest of the show, the remaining 8 series, were filmed in a studio with as much of the flat being recreated as “the landlords, according to local legend, banned them because they thought it was harming the building’s reputation.” (Inside Croydon, 2015)
The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes (2017) is a series that travels the globe in search of the most interesting and intricately designed houses in the world. In the first episode, the crew visit houses built in mountains across several locations such as Arizona, Santa Monica, New Zealand and the Swiss Alps. My personal favourite in this episode was the house on the Rigi in the Alps. The house itself was impressive but what was more impressive was watching the show as the clouds cleared and seeing the the breath taking surroundings of the Alps. (Shown below)
The main use of location for The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes is to show off the rich landscape that the houses are surrounded by and creating an awe factor with the audience.
Overall, bith shows utilise their respective locations in order to bring more personality to themselves, wether it be for the jaw dropping scenery or emphasising characters’ personality.
Armstrong, J., Bain, S. & O’Connor, A. (Creators). (2003). Peep Show. [Television Programme]. Croydon: Channel 4.
Davies, G. (2015, 23 November). Take our Peep Show tour of Croydon and bid farewell to the El Dude Brothers. Croydon Advertiser. Retrieved from https://www.croydonadvertiser.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/take-peep-show-tour-croydon-429861
Inside Croydon. (2015, 16 December). How Croydon was the perfect comedy fit for Peep Show. [Weblog] Retrieved from https://insidecroydon.com/2015/12/16/how-croydon-was-the-perfect-comedy-fit-for-peep-show/
Anthony, A. (2015, 01 November). Mitchell and Webb on Peep Show: ‘We just wanted to milk it’. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/nov/01/david-mitchell-robert-webb-on-peep-show-we-just-wanted-to-milk-it-interview
Giles, E. (Director). (2017). The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes. [Television Programme]. UK: BBC Two.
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