Saturday, August 14, 2010

First look at "The Big C"

The first episode of Showtime's "The Big C," where Stamford stands in for Minneapolis, is now available online. You can watch it on YouTube or IMDb.

The only local spot I recognized was this one, when Cathy Jamison (played by Laura Linney) dines at Saltwater Grille, with Harbor Plaza in the background.


If Stamford Harbor is supposed to be one of Minnesota's 1000 lakes, shouldn't it be frozen year-round?

Here are a few views of Cathy's house on the show:




It looks like a nice little Shippan-type house, but I'm not sure where it is (and I'm not about to go stalking the nice people down there to find it).

As for the show itself, I didn't really care for it. Cathy is a high-strung, risk-averse cross between Ed Norton's character in Fight Club and Ben Stiller's character in Along Came Polly, and she's not particularly likable or sympathetic, even after you learn she has cancer. Her annoyance with her estranged husband seems forced, as if the writers felt the need to throw one more complication into her life, so they said "Let's have her kick her husband out for no reason!" Her relationship with her son is also oddly annoying. It's like they tried to take Weeds and replace a 40-something mom dealing pot in the suburbs with a 40-something mom dealing with cancer in the suburbs, but they forgot to make the characters interesting.

Anyway, that's just my take. Check out the show and see if you can spot any other hometown localities!

13 comments:

Poems in Search of Pictures said...

Interesting! Thanks for doing the due diligence, SOS.

Anonymous said...

off topic, does anyone know what's going on at the UConn parking garage? i thought they where suppose to announce a redevelopment plan for the garage site. i dont recall seeing anything, did i miss it?

thanks!

Rob said...

I believe the neighbor's house, Marlene, is on St George Ave. In the preview for next week, the school bus is driving on Merrill Ave and Westover Pizza and the Stillwater Ave street sign are in clear view in the backround.

Streets of Stamford said...

I also saw a clip from another episode where Cathy runs into her brother in front of Stamford Ford on Magee Avenue, though it has a different name, of course.

Rob said...

The pilot was shot in California. So the Harbor Lights scene must have been added in. The houses might look a little different in the rest of the episodes as they switch to Stamford ones. The back yard with the pool in the previews is definately bigger then the one in the pilot. Stamford Ford was used for the Car Dealer scene and LaBretange is in the preview for a restaurant scene.

LVTfan said...

I recall seeing a crew setting up for a shot at the corner of North Street and Hubbard Avenue sometime in July; a bus stop bench and Minneapolis trash can were briefly placed there.

Anonymous said...

fyi minnesota is land of 10,000 lakes, not 1,000. and it is very nice and beautiful (not frozen) more then 6 months of the year! :)

Rob said...

Call the cops there's a naked man at Stamford Ford. Lots of familiar sites in episode 2. Besides Stamford Ford on Magee Ave, there was Merrill and Stillwater Ave for the Bus scene, and Forrest and Bedford St for a scene with a white USA Taxi cab in the shot.

Rob said...

So in episide 3 there was the bottom of Shippan Ave where she was riding the bike and sitting on the wall with the view of LI Sound in the back. Where would that be in Minneapolis? Then there was the ice cream shop on Shippan Ave and Bedford St near Telluride for the city scenes. Don't know where the scene with her brother was but that was a City Carting dumpster.

Rob said...

If you missed any episodes the first three will all be repeated next Monday night. No new episode next week due to Labor Day.

Streets of Stamford said...

So Rob, are you digging the show overall? The first episode didn't do it for me, so I haven't watched the others.

Rob said...

It's OK. If it wasn't for the fact it was shot here I would have never watched it in the first place though. At this point I'm probably more intrigued to see the sights more then the story.

Lakesidepottery said...

Try Pottery for Free - for children and adults this weekend - Arts & Crafts on Bedford event is Stamford CT.

This year, as in previous years, Lakeside Pottery is participating in Arts & Crafts on Bedford, in Stamford. This coming weekend, our instructors will demonstrate the potter's wheel and will let you or your children try it. We would love to see you there, try the potter’s wheel or just say hello. Previous years craft fair pictures

Sat & Sun, Sept 25 & 26, 2010. Sat: 11 am-8:30pm, Sun: 11am-6pm

Arts & Crafts on Bedford includes 85 craft and artisan on Bedford St. in Stamford which will be closed to traffic.

Lakeside Pottery, Ceramic School & Studio
543 Newfield Avenue
Stamford, CT 06905
203-323-2222
www.lakesidepottery.com