TV Series That All Take Place On One Set?

On a IMDB message board there is a discussion about TV Series that are
limited to at most one set while filming. It looked like "Barney Miller"

Steven L....

Game shows.

For example, "Jeopardy" takes place all on one set.
Unlike sitcoms, which occasionally take the cast away from the standard
set, game shows almost *never* leave the one set.

zeomc...

Game shows (as well as news and talk shows) don't belong in this list,
that's why I didn't mention them to begin with.

Steven L....

Actually, news shows don't film all on one set. Quite the contrary.
They include news reports filmed from news bureaus worldwide; and today
there is satellite TV and videophone from those remote locations too.

Anim8rFSK...

How about children's shows?

Captain Kangaroo

Various Romper Rooms

Steven L....

Now that you mention it, "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" also took place on one
set. It started out as a children's program, but more and more adults
started to enjoy it too.

wins. If you watch the show 95% of the show takes place in the main
squad room where the detectives work and their desks are. Once in a
while the filming moves to Barney's office, which I guess counts as a
separate set. Another is "The Jefferson's". Almost all the show takes

Stan Brown...

The plural of Jefferson is Jeffersons.

Your mention of /The Jeffersons/ makes me think of /All in the
Family/, which if memory serves took place almost entirely in the
Bunkers' living/dining room and kitchen for the first few seasons.

bklyntv...

Not an entire series, as the series had no sortage of sets.

But "Seinfeld" did the one famous episode set entirely in the lobby of
a Chinese restaurant.

I believe at least most of one episode was set only in a parking lot
too.

karl...

That depends. The Parking Lot episode did have one scene in the security
office. and both - if you want to be picky - had the nightclub intro scenes.

Thinking about one set shows... I wonder if Three's Company had episodes
that only took place in the apartment set. Usually they would have a few
scenes that at least had the Roper/Furley apartment set.

Barry Margolin...

They also often had scenes in the bar that they frequented.

place in the main living room. Once in a while they move to the kitchen
or the Bar in the lobby, but very infrequently. On "Cheers" most of the

Barry Margolin...

It's been a long time since I've watched it, but didn't they sometimes
go to the neighbors' apartments?

show takes place in the main bar, but they move around enough (Sam's
office, the pool room) and they will go outside the bar if the storyline
calls for it, but not often. "Night Court" takes place on at most three
sets: the courtroom, the cafeteria, and Harry's office. There are likely
many candidates over the years (limited budgets, etc).

123432...

There was an old Norman Lear series called "Hot L Baltimore" that took place
exclusively in the lobby of an old rundown hotel. It was based on a stage
play, which explains the single set, and it didn't last long on tv, so it
never had the change to explore that alot of other series did.

Anim8rFSK...

Did The Honeymooners ever leave their apartment?

me...

yep. Sometimes they showed Norton's apartment (or his bedroom, though
I don't think we ever saw Ralph's bedroom). Sometimes they were at the
bus depot, or the pool hall, or even out on the street. Also in various
other
offices/places of business.

ctopper...

Did "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" ever take the characters outside
of the Seaview?

Anim8rFSK...

Most episodes, if only to swim around and fight the seaweed monster, or
fly around in the Flying Sub.

Seriously, you do have a good point though; there are probably some of
the later Voyage eps where they don't leave the ship.

et472...

Yes.

If nothing else, there was the Flying Sub, and they'd hardly have something
like that if they never left the Seaview.

Walt Tucker...

Yes.

Lobster Man...

Some episodes of the classic "I Love Lucy" took place almost exclusively
in the Ricardo's living room. And in the later seasons, they traveled a
lot, but I remember several episodes that took place entirely in the
hotel room in Hollywood, or in a train cabin, or some other isolated
single location.

A couple episodes of Star Trek (original) took place only on the bridge
set. I can think of several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show that took

Anim8rFSK...

Uh - can you name either of them?

Anim8rFSK...

Even 'ship only' shows are hard to come by.

Charlie X is ship only, but all over the ship.
Doomsday Machine takes place on TWO ships, and a shuttle.
I think The Changeling is ship only, but all over the ship.

Wouter Valentijn...

Yes.

Others I think may be ship only:
Immunity Syndrome (ship and shuttle)
The Ultimate Computer (multiple ships)

GeneK...

Ultimate Computer has shots of Commodore Wesley
on the bridge of the Lexington that are "live," i.e., not
framed by the Enterprise's viewscreen.

Ellan of Troyis
Is There in Truth no Beauty?
The Tholian Web (multiple ships)

Wouter Valentijn...

But only Enterprise interiors.

Anim8rFSK...

They go to the Defiant don't they?

Yeah, sure they do, that's why they're in space suits.

Wouter Valentijn...

Yes, you are correct!

Wink of an Eye

Wouter Valentijn...

Takes place on the planet as well.
Remember Compton drinking some of the water and 'disappearing'.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

Wouter Valentijn...

Takes also place on the surface of that planet in the end. The two guys
chasing each other.

Anim8rFSK...

I was thinking about that, but the planet footage is all in their
imaginations isn't it?

GeneK...

Yes. They each imagine images of their planet in destruction.
Then Spock observes through his scanner that they're back
on the planet. There are no scenes of actors off the ship.

Wouter Valentijn...

Again you are correct... I was too quick mentioning that one.
When we see those images they are running through the corridors of the
Enterprise.
BTW, this episode had also a really great no budget starship! ;-) The one
with that cloaking device we never saw decloak.

None of them are confined to the bridge though.

Wouter Valentijn...

Nope...
None of them are.

As for confined to one set episodes...
'The Empath' (in part) and 'Requim for Methusalah'.
But those have been mentioned I think.

Anim8rFSK...

The Menagerie framing sequences take place on the Starbase, in the
shuttlecraft, in the briefing room, and the bridge. Bridge is fairly
minimal.

place only at the courthouse. Likewise, a lot of the episodes of Wings
took place only in the lobby of the airport.

Alice took place largely at the diner, but did venture to the
character's various apartments and other locations occasionally. Mary
Tyler Moore usually took place in the bullpen or Mary's apartment. A lot
of the Bill Cosby show took place in the Huxable living room or kitchen.

I really can't think of a single show that had only one single set.
Barney Miller was occasionally at other spots, but it did take place
largely in the squad room. It probably is the winner. Just goes to show
you that with decent writing and good stories, you don't need a lot of
window dressing.