San Francisco in popular culture
Encyclopedia
Depictions of San Francisco in popular culture can be found in many different media.
) were actually shot in studios in the Los Angeles
area. Since the mid-90s, many productions supposedly set in the City by the Bay are actually filmed in Canada
, most notably in Vancouver, British Columbia, a frequent double for the cities of San Francisco and Seattle, Washington
on the small screen. Canadian provinces often offer attractive tax incentives and more flexible union regulations for production companies. Monk
was shot in Vancouver before moving to Los Angeles
, and only a few exterior shots involving San Francisco landmarks are actually filmed in the city. Similarly, recent short-lived series such as Presidio Med
, The Evidence
or Killer Instinct
were actually shot in the Los Angeles or Vancouver areas. The city of San Francisco has tried to counter this trend over the past few years by reducing filming fees and streamlining the permit approval process.
San Francisco is also a vital part of the Star Trek
science fiction
media franchise
. It hosts the headquarters and council chambers of the United Federation of Planets
, as well as its military/exploration arm, Starfleet
. In addition, the Presidio hosts Starfleet's primary service academy, Starfleet Academy
. A major Federation shipyard named after the city, site of the construction and refit of several starship
s named Enterprise
, resides in geosynchronous orbit of Earth.
The TV Shows Trauma
, Midnight Caller
, The Streets of San Francisco
and Nash Bridges
were filmed entirely in the San Francisco Bay Area.
.
The City of San Fierro in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
is largely based on San Francisco, though significantly smaller and with slightly more of a focus on rural
areas.
San Fierro features Rockstar's interpretations of the Haight-Ashbury district ("Hashbury"), the Castro district ("Queens"), Chinatown, and the Golden Gate Bridge
("Gant Bridge"), as well as the city's prominent cable cars and hilly terrain. Several other familiar landmarks have been recreated, from the Ferry Building
and the Transamerica Pyramid
("Big Pointy Building") to Lombard Street ("Windy Windy Windy Windy Windy Street"), and Scottish landmarks such as the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge
. There is a district known as "Garcia", a tribute to Grateful Dead
frontman and San Francisco native Jerry Garcia
, and San Fierro's City Hall closely resembles San Francisco's ornate city hall.
In the Carmen Sandiego
computer games, the headquarters of the ACME Detective Agency is always located in San Francisco.
The Rush racing series is largely based in San Francisco, especially San Francisco Rush and Rush 2049.
It's one of the four playable cities in Driver
and the main setting of Driver: San Francisco
.
Literature
San Francisco's diversity, eccentric characters, and geographic scenery have provided a backdrop for many works of fiction, including:- Altered CarbonAltered CarbonAltered Carbon is a hardboiled science fiction novel by Richard K. Morgan. Set some five hundred years in the future in a universe in which the United Nations Protectorate oversees a number of extrasolar planets settled by human beings, it features protagonist Takeshi Kovacs...
by Richard K. Morgan - Angels in AmericaAngels in AmericaAngels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...
by Tony KushnerTony KushnerAnthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
- In the play and the 2003 television miniseries, it was disclosed that HeavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
was located in San Francisco
- In the play and the 2003 television miniseries, it was disclosed that Heaven
- Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
- Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
- Bone by Fae Ng
- The Bridge Trilogy by William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
- The Crying of Lot 49The Crying of Lot 49The Crying of Lot 49 is a novel by Thomas Pynchon, first published in 1966. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, it is about a woman, Oedipa Maas, possibly unearthing the centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies, Thurn und Taxis and the Trystero...
by Thomas PynchonThomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature... - Dharma Bums by Jack KerouacJack KerouacJean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
- The Golden Gate by Vikram SethVikram SethVikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoirist.-Early life:Vikram Seth was born on 20 June 1952 to Leila and Prem Seth in Calcutta...
- The Joy Luck ClubThe Joy Luck ClubThe Joy Luck Club is a best-selling novel written by Amy Tan. It focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families in San Francisco, California who start a club known as "the Joy Luck Club," playing the Chinese game of mahjong for money while feasting on a variety of foods...
by Amy TanAmy TanAmy Tan is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. Her most well-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages... - The Kite RunnerThe Kite RunnerThe Kite Runner is a novel by Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it is Hosseini's first novel, and was adapted into a film of the same name in 2007....
by Khaled HosseiniKhaled HosseiniKhaled Hosseini , is an Afghan-born American novelist and physician of ethnic Tajik origin. He is a citizen of the United States where he has lived since he was fifteen years old. His 2003 debut novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, selling more than 12 million copies worldwide.... - Little BrotherLittle Brother (Cory Doctorow novel)Little Brother is a novel by Cory Doctorow, published by Tor Books. It was released on April 29, 2008. The novel is about several teenagers in San Francisco who, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and BART system, defend themselves against the...
by Cory DoctorowCory DoctorowCory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books... - Maltese Falcon by Dashiell HammettDashiell HammettSamuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
- Martin EdenMartin EdenMartin Eden is a novel by American author Jack London, about a proletarian young autodidact struggling to become a writer. It was first serialized in the Pacific Monthly magazine from September 1908 to September 1909, and subsequently published in book form by Macmillan in September 1909.This book...
by Jack LondonJack LondonJohn Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone... - McTeagueMcTeagueMcTeague is a novel by Frank Norris, first published in 1899. It tells the story of a couple's courtship and marriage, and their subsequent descent into poverty, violence and finally murder as the result of jealousy and avarice...
by Frank NorrisFrank NorrisBenjamin Franklin Norris, Jr. was an American novelist, during the Progressive Era, writing predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include McTeague , The Octopus: A Story of California , and The Pit .-Life:Frank Norris was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1870... - On the RoadOn the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
by Jack KerouacJack KerouacJean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic... - Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz LeiberFritz LeiberFritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
- SoMa (novel)SoMa (novel)SoMa is the bestselling debut novel of American author Kemble Scott. It was first published on February 1, 2007 by Kensington Books as a trade paperback original...
by Kemble ScottKemble ScottKemble Scott is the pseudonym for fiction used by American journalist Scott James , writer of a weekly column about the San Francisco Bay Area that appears in The New York Times and The Bay Citizen. His debut novel SoMa became a bestseller in the spring of 2007... - Tales of the CityTales of the CityTales of the City refers to a series of eight novels written by American author Armistead Maupin. The stories from Tales were originally serialized prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the San Francisco Chronicle, while the fifth appeared in...
by Armistead MaupinArmistead MaupinArmistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:... - The Time of Your LifeThe Time of Your LifeThe Time of Your Life is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened 25 October 1939 at the Booth Theatre in New York City...
by William SaroyanWilliam SaroyanWilliam Saroyan was an Armenian American dramatist and author. The setting of many of his stories and plays is the center of Armenian-American life in California in his native Fresno.-Early years:...
(play) - Valencia (novel)Valencia (novel)Valencia is a 2000 Lambda Literary Award-winning novel by Michelle Tea. It is a autobiographical and picaresque detailing the narrator's experiences in San Francisco's queer subculture...
by Michelle TeaMichelle TeaMichelle Tea is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, prostitution, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts and currently lives in San Francisco... - Love Aaj KalLove Aaj KalLove Aaj Kal is a 2009 Bollywood film starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone in lead roles with Rahul Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and Giselli Monteiro in supporting roles. The film is directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan...
by Imtiaz AliImtiaz Ali (director)Imtiaz Ali is an Indian film director, actor and writer. His 2007 film Jab We Met was a huge success in India. His 2009 film Love Aaj Kal was a bigger success and was declared a super-hit by Box Office India.His recent movie Rockstar has been declared successful at the box office.- Early life... - You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
- The High Ground: A Novel of Terror in San Francisco by Mark P. Cotter
Non-fiction
- The Electric Kool-Aid Acid TestThe Electric Kool-Aid Acid TestThe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe, published in 1968. Using techniques from the genre of hysterical realism and pioneering new journalism, the "nonfiction novel" tells the story of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters...
by Tom WolfeTom WolfeThomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:... - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering GeniusA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering GeniusA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is a memoir by Dave Eggers released in 2000. It chronicles his stewardship of younger brother Christopher "Toph" Eggers following the cancer-related deaths of his parents....
by Dave EggersDave EggersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,... - The Mayor of Castro StreetThe Mayor of Castro StreetThe Mayor of Castro Street is a book written by Randy Shilts telling the story of Harvey Milk. It was first published by St. Martin's Press in 1982.- Adaptations :...
by Randy ShiltsRandy ShiltsRandy Shilts was a pioneering gay American journalist and author. He worked as a freelance reporter for both The Advocate and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as for San Francisco Bay Area television stations....
Film
As in the case of fiction novels, San Francisco has served as a backdrop to a large number of films, including several deemed classic or influential. Many movies with car chases primarily take place in San Francisco. Films set in the city include:Documentary
- The BridgeThe Bridge (documentary film)The Bridge is a 2006 documentary film by Eric Steel that consists of the results of one year's filming of the Golden Gate Bridge in 2004, which captured a number of suicides, and additional filming of family and friends of some of the identified people who had jumped off the bridge...
(2006) - CrumbCrumb (film)Crumb is a 1994 documentary film about the noted underground comic artist Robert Crumb and his family. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and produced by Lynn O'Donnell and David Lynch, it won widespread acclaim, including both the Grand Jury Prize and best cinematography prize at the Sundance Film Festival...
(1994) - JonestownJonestownJonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
(2006) - ThothThoth (film)Thoth is a documentary film by Sarah Kernochan and Lynn Appelle about the life of New York-based street performer S. K. Thoth. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2002....
(2001) - The Times of Harvey MilkThe Times of Harvey MilkThe Times of Harvey Milk is an American documentary film that premiered at The Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and then on November 1, 1984 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco...
(1984) - The Wild Parrots of Telegraph HillThe Wild Parrots of Telegraph HillThe Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is a 2005 documentary film directed, produced, and edited by Judy Irving. It chronicles the relationship between Mark Bittner, an unemployed musician who is living rent-free in a cabin in Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, California, and a flock of feral parrots ...
(2005) - Klunkerz: A Film About Mountain BikesKlunkerz: A Film About Mountain BikesKlunkerz: A Film About Mountain Bikes documents mountain bike history during its formative period in Northern California and examines the relationships of the Marin County hippies, athletes, and entrepreneurs who were directly responsible for popularizing off-road cycling...
(2007) - Fog City MavericksFog City MavericksFog City Mavericks is a 2007 documentary film directed by Gary Leva. It chronicles the San Francisco Bay Area's most well known filmmakers through interviews and rare archival footage.People featured in the film include:George LucasBrad Bird...
(2007) - 24 Hours on Craigslist24 Hours on Craigslist24 Hours on Craigslist is a 2005 American feature-length documentary that captures the people and stories behind a single day's posts on the community-focused, classified website Craigslist...
- Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (film)Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (film)Where Have All the Flowers Gone? is a documentary film directed by Arturo Perez Jr. and produced by Arturo Perez Jr., Joel Sadler and Billy Troy. Perez, Sadler, and Troy travel to San Francisco to recapture the Summer of Love more than 40 years previously...
(2008) - "Straight Outta Hunters Point" (2003)
Television
Although the city is a frequent backdrop for many television shows, many 80s sitcoms set in San Francisco (such as Full HouseFull House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
) were actually shot in studios in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area. Since the mid-90s, many productions supposedly set in the City by the Bay are actually filmed in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, most notably in Vancouver, British Columbia, a frequent double for the cities of San Francisco and Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
on the small screen. Canadian provinces often offer attractive tax incentives and more flexible union regulations for production companies. Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
was shot in Vancouver before moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and only a few exterior shots involving San Francisco landmarks are actually filmed in the city. Similarly, recent short-lived series such as Presidio Med
Presidio Med
Presidio Med is an American Television series which aired 2002–2003, centering around a San Francisco hospital. It was created by John Wells and Lydia Woodward, who also created ER.-Series premise:...
, The Evidence
The Evidence (TV series)
The Evidence is an American police procedural drama that debuted on March 22, 2006 on ABC. The series starred Rob Estes, Orlando Jones, and Martin Landau.-Summary:...
or Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct is a fighting game developed by Rare and published by Midway and Nintendo. Initially released in arcades in 1994, and rumored to use an "Ultra 64" hardware engine, in reality the proprietary arcade hardware was co-developed by Rare and Midway. The game received a high profile launch...
were actually shot in the Los Angeles or Vancouver areas. The city of San Francisco has tried to counter this trend over the past few years by reducing filming fees and streamlining the permit approval process.
San Francisco is also a vital part of the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
media franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
. It hosts the headquarters and council chambers of the United Federation of Planets
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
, as well as its military/exploration arm, Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
. In addition, the Presidio hosts Starfleet's primary service academy, Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future's recruits to Starfleet will be trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded...
. A major Federation shipyard named after the city, site of the construction and refit of several starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
s named Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
, resides in geosynchronous orbit of Earth.
The TV Shows Trauma
Trauma (TV series)
Trauma is a television series which originally ran on NBC from September 28, 2009 to April 28, 2010 and focused on a group of paramedics in San Francisco, California....
, Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio...
, The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
and Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges
Nash Bridges is an American television police drama created by Carlton Cuse. The show starred Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit. The show ran for six seasons on CBS from March 29, 1996 to May 4, 2001 with a total of...
were filmed entirely in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Reality
- 30 Days
- Animal Cops: San Francisco
- Color SplashColor SplashColor Splash is a television show on the U.S. cable network HGTV, hosted by David Bromstad.The series was created for Bromstad after winning season one of HGTV Design Star. It debuted March 19, 2007, on HGTV...
- Dirty JobsDirty JobsDirty Jobs is a program on the Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television, in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the typical employees. The show premiered with two pilot episodes in November 2003...
- MythBustersMythBustersMythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
- The Real World: San FranciscoThe Real World: San FranciscoThe Real World: San Francisco is the third season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships...
- Top ChefTop ChefTop Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
- What Makes it TickWhat Makes it TickWhat Makes it Tick is a TV series on Fine Living that takes a behind-the-scenes look at cities and events. The series is produced by NorthSouth Productions; Executive Producers are Charlie DeBevoise and Mark Hickman. Co-executive Producer is Blaine Hopkins...
on Fine LivingFine LivingFine Living Network was an American specialty television network owned by Scripps Networks Interactive...
Miniseries, specials or individual episodes
- Angels in AmericaAngels in America (miniseries)Angels in America is a 2003 HBO miniseries adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name by Tony Kushner. Kushner adapted his original text for the screen, and Mike Nichols directed...
- Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
- Stewie Griffin: The Untold StoryStewie Griffin: The Untold StoryStewie Griffin: The Untold Story is a 2005 direct-to-DVD animated comedy film set in the Family Guy fictional universe. Released on September 27, 2005, the film's main plot point concerns Stewie Griffin trying to find his real father...
- Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
- The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
- Bart Mangled Banner
- I'm Spelling as Fast as I CanI'm Spelling as Fast as I CanI'm Spelling as Fast as I Can is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode aired on February 16, 2003. Twenty-two million people watched this episode, making it the second-most watched episode since 2002.-Plot:...
- South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
- Smug Alert!Smug Alert!"Smug Alert!" is the second episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 141st episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 29, 2006...
- Smug Alert!
- Tales of the CityTales of the CityTales of the City refers to a series of eight novels written by American author Armistead Maupin. The stories from Tales were originally serialized prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the San Francisco Chronicle, while the fifth appeared in...
- "PsychPsychPsych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
"Who Ya Gonna Call?" - "Criminal MindsCriminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
"The Fight"
Video games
In Sim City, there is a scenario re-creating the 1906 San Francisco earthquake1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
.
The City of San Fierro in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
is largely based on San Francisco, though significantly smaller and with slightly more of a focus on rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas.
San Fierro features Rockstar's interpretations of the Haight-Ashbury district ("Hashbury"), the Castro district ("Queens"), Chinatown, and the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
("Gant Bridge"), as well as the city's prominent cable cars and hilly terrain. Several other familiar landmarks have been recreated, from the Ferry Building
Ferry Building
The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. On top of the building is a large clock tower, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city...
and the Transamerica Pyramid
Transamerica Pyramid
The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline and one of its most iconic. Although the building no longer houses the headquarters of the Transamerica Corporation, it is still strongly associated with the company and is depicted in the company's logo...
("Big Pointy Building") to Lombard Street ("Windy Windy Windy Windy Windy Street"), and Scottish landmarks such as the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge
Forth Road Bridge
The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge, opened in 1964, spans the Firth of Forth, connecting the capital city Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry...
. There is a district known as "Garcia", a tribute to Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
frontman and San Francisco native Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, and San Fierro's City Hall closely resembles San Francisco's ornate city hall.
In the Carmen Sandiego
Carmen Sandiego
Carmen Sandiego is a media franchise of educational computer and video games, television programs, books and other media featuring a thieving villain of the same name. The basic premise of the franchise lets the user or protagonists become agents of the ACME Detective Agency, who attempts to thwart...
computer games, the headquarters of the ACME Detective Agency is always located in San Francisco.
The Rush racing series is largely based in San Francisco, especially San Francisco Rush and Rush 2049.
It's one of the four playable cities in Driver
Driver (video game)
Driver is a series of mission-based driving video games developed by Reflections Interactive , and originally published by GT Interactive and later by Atari. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, driving, and third-person shooting in open world environments...
and the main setting of Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco is a sandbox-style action driving video game developed by Ubisoft Reflections and published by Ubisoft. The game formally was unveiled at E3 2010 and was released in Australia on September 1, 2011, Europe on September 2, 2011 and North America on September 6, 2011 on...
.