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Arts & Entertainment

NYC On TV: Revisiting <em>Felicity</em> (And Her Unrealistic NYC Living Spaces)

By
Jen Carlson

Published Nov 10, 2011

Modified Nov 10, 2011

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Recently we gleefully discovered that Felicity is now on Netflix Instant, and have since settled in to revisit the show in its entirety. The show originally aired from 1998 to 2002, and ages quite well. For those who need a refresher, or who never watched it to begin with, the show stars Keri Russell as Felicity, a freshman at the University of New York (which is basically NYU), and the four seasons cover all of her years there. The show was created by J.J. Abrams, who later went on to work on Lost and Fringe, so there are some elements (especially later in the series) that one doesn't get from the current "young people in New York City" shows like Gossip Girl. However, the dorm and apartment portrayals couldn't be more fictional, so, we've given it the NYC As Seen On TV treatment. Click through for photos, and here are some fun facts:The University of New York was supposed to be in Greenwich Village.Go figure: the show was mostly filmed at USC.During season 2, Felicity's voiceover narrative says these words: "For some reason, which of course turned out later to be the world's biggest irony, I was thinking just then, how amazing the subway system is. How reliable, how perfect." (HA.)She then gets stuck on the subway for six hours due to a person getting hit by the train (during this time, she spots mole people on the tracks).During one episode, she goes to a photography exhibit at The Modern, which presumably is MoMA.The amazing loft apartment that Sean and Ben live in is given the address of 170 Wooster StreetJunior year, some of the girls move in to a "student apartment" which seems to have at minimum three living rooms, an eat in kitchen, a large foyer, and a fireplace.Ben and Felicity very briefly live in an apartment in Brooklyn, but they never mention which neighborhood. It is, of course, filled with large bugs, layers of dirt, and a bathtub in the living space. They last one episode here before heading back to Manhattan.Some credit: the characters take the subway a lot, which rarely happens on television shows.And did you know the voice of Sally, Felicity's pen pal via cassette tape, was done by Janeane Garofolo?Here's a selection of apartments from other television shows, for comparison. And click through for more photos from Felicity. Here's some video of the "student apartment" (cut to the 3:55 mark):
Gothamist
By
Jen Carlson

Published Nov 10, 2011

Modified Nov 10, 2011

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Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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