Part of "Gum" Episode filmed in NYC?

I saw the rerun of the Gum episode on Thursday, Mar 21. (That's the one in which Kramer's friend, who recently had a nervous breakdown, helps Jerry buy some Chinese chewing gum.) What amazed me was that some of the outdoor scenes were location shoots in NYC. I thought that "Seinfeld" was shot entirely in California, except for a few stock shots of Monks Restaurant and the like.

Was this a fluke, or are there location shoots in other episodes? Any info on this would be appreciated. Of the three shots I list below, one had no cast on location, and another (George driving his car) could have had the exterior shots color-keyed in on the West Coast.

What impressed me the most was, believe it or not, the editing. They intercut scenes filmed in NYC and in California seamlessly. Even the lighting was matched fairly well; usually, the light in southern CA and in NYC look very different.

The scenes in that episode that look like they were filmed in NYC were:

• George driving his car (brief) (1st Avenue between 14th & 20th St; look for row of brick buildings with green awnings on left)

  - Argument on street regarding his car (23rd St. near 1st Avenue,
    cleverly intercut with scenes on the West Coast set; look for
    "Love Pharmacy" awning)

• Exterior shots of movie theater (looks like the Greenwich on Bleecker Street, in the Village) (No cast in shot)

No, I don't go through the episodes freeze-frame by freeze-frame; I don't even tape them. I just recognized the locations from my neighborhood.

---Alvin H. Nichter

On Mon, 25 Mar 1996, Joan Glenn wrote:

"Seinfeld" is taped (or filmed) in California. They use a few exterior shots that were taken in New York. (For example, "Monk's Restaurant" is actually Tom's Restaurant at 112th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.) However, even the street scenes are shot in California.

Other people in this group have told the rest of us that the show is shot on the West Coast. This jibes with the way that the exterior shots look to me, a native New Yorker: the architecture looks a little wrong, the streets don't have that "gritty" look, the extras don't look like New Yorkers, and the natural light doesn't look right.

Actually, many shows that supposedly take place in New York are shot on the West Coast. Unlike "Seinfeld", however, the exterior shots of most shows are shot on location here. This is especially true of police shows because you just can't get that New York "look" anywhere else. (Is that good or bad?) A few shows, such as "New York Undercover", are shot entirely in NYC, including the interiors.

Location shoots are very common in New York. I've run into three of them in the last week alone. Usually, they don't even attract bystanders.

---Alvin H. Nichter