Albany in pop culture! (New York, Troy: transfer, buying, college)

[juppiter]

So we're very often an ignored city. Until today, we didn't even have our own sub-forum! Whenever Albany is mentioned on TV I go, "OH MY GOD!" What instances can you think of?

The Simpsons:

"22 Short Films About Springfield"
Principal Skinner says that "steamed hams" is an Albany expression for hamburgers. My college friends asked if this was true and I said yes

Unknown episode
Abe "Grandpa" Simpson says that, as a child, he was named most handsome boy in Albany, New York.

The Office:

Several episodes mention the Albany office, with people wanting to transfer there.

60 Minutes
Andy Rooney, a native son, mentioned that "Albany International Airport" only had international flights to Canada.

[MrBiggz]

Simpson references ok, Andy Rooney of course he know what and where to pick on. The Office reference not buying it. Here are all the other states that have an "Albany"

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon , Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Take your pick! Only other shows that I know of that directly refer to Albany NY is Law and Order and CNN. Both usually referring to the criminal element that lurks oh so frequently with in this city in some form or another. Oh and I think I saw it in some old skool Life Movie Network film that my wife forced me to watch. Must have been really old or at least the footage. The trees in front of the capital bldg wheren't remotely as tall as they are now.

Pop culture .. No. Criminal culture .. Plenty. Embarrassing to look at .. Ci!

[juppiter]

lol yeah smallbany with its 90,000 people definitely has a national reputation of a criminal element *eye roll*.

[MrBiggz]

jup,

Did you ever see that lifetime movie? Can't remember the exact name of it I fall asleep on them when my wife makes me endure them. But capital hill looked strange!

[contentedfool]

Ok, the thread is named "Albany in pop culture" and I figure this would include films, right?

So, the only one I can think of right off the bat would be Iron Weeds. It's the adaptation of William Kennedy's book (for which I beleive he got the Pulitzer!). It was shot here around the mid 80's and included Jack Nicholson in the lead, as well as Meryl Streep and Tom Waits. Many of the original buildings of the film's era, 1920's, were still up at the time (although many films now end up being shot in Troy since they kept many of their historic buildings from being demolished to make way for beautiful parking garages as Albany did!).

Now, don't go looking for this film since it's not out on DVD here. You have to go up to Canada to get a copy

I personally think that someone should shoot a remake of the sci-fi movie Alphaville with the Empire Plaza as the backdrop (or maybe a new version of 1984 - those buildings are truely Orwellian/Totalitarian).