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5/21/10

The Top 12 Movie and Television Sets I Wish I Could Visit or Live On

I spend way too much time daydreaming about this topic. Sometimes my plan involves winning the lottery and faithfully recreating the sets myself. Other days I hotly debate the idea of an illegal break-in to a studio lot or private location that was once used as a set.

Having been on hot sets, I know they're full of tape and wires and lights and teamsters. So I guess more so what I'm talking about here would be more like a private playground of movie sets.

While none of those are practical, a gal can still dream. Believe it or not, narrowing it down to twelve was difficult. You may notice some overlap from my "Movies That Should Be Theme Park Rides" list from a month or so ago. What can I say? When I get obsessed with something, I stick with it.

In no particular order, they are...

1.) The New U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701 Star Trek (2009)

The new ship has a lot left to explore. Granted, it looks suspiciously like a beer factory, but I'm okay with that. We have yet to see the living quarters, and that alone would be well worth the experience. Until this is possible, I'll just keep visiting my local Apple store and throwing myself around the room as though I'm experiencing turbulence.

2.) The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701-DStar Trek: The Next Generation (television series) 

As excited as I am about the new ship, nothing beats the comfort of the traveling hotel that is the plush ship from Star Trek: TNG. You get environmental controls for your own room, a replicator, your very own paper thin shiny blanket, a very docile color scheme and the holodeck. It's practically a flying luxury suite.

3.) Croft ManorTomb Raider 

You may not have liked the movie, but you can't tell me you wouldn't love to live in the expansive Croft Manor. Wanna bungee swing from the chandelier? Go ahead and do it. How about playing with your own robot, or enjoying a plethora of hidden passageways? The only caveat would be you would really need someone to come in every year or so and create puzzles for you to solve inside the house to keep the thrill alive.

4.) The Well of SoulsRaiders of the Lost Ark 

Okay, snakes and desiccated corpses aside, this is one very cool set. It's less intimidating than the home of the Kali cult, there's plenty to explore, and you'd be following in Indy and Marion's footsteps. Honestly, if you had the money to recreate this, you should probably go ahead and hire John Rhys Davies to be your Butler while you're at it. Honestly, the whole aesthetic of the Indiana Jones universe is something I could get on board with like...today. I guess I have the artful eye of Steven Spielberg and Doug Slocombe to thank for that whole look and feel.

5.) The Millennium FalconStar Wars 

Do I even need to explain this one? I didn't think so.

6.) Xavier’s School for the GiftedX-Men 

Exercise in the danger room, stroll the giant grounds and enjoy the James-Bond like underground lair. (Custom fitting leather action hero costumes stored in the basement would be optional.)

7.) The Cavern with One-Eyed Willie’s Pirate ShipThe Goonies 

First of all, you could get to this massive cavern by waterslide. Waterslide! It would be like having your own water park with treasure. Constructing the attack-octopus may not be advisable though. Just think of the cocktail parties you could throw on that bad boy...

8.) The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

While it's true this sort of already exists at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, you don't get the full experience. I'm thinking get your own island and do it the right way. Working water wheel, all that business.

9.) Isla Nublar (Pre-Incident) - Jurassic Park 

Tropical weather, unique exhibits, a very large kitchen, and some rides to boot. If you could be sure the fences would stay intact, this would be one seriously amazing vacation. Did I mention I would want the dinosaurs too? Because I would.

10.) Hogwarts Harry Potter 

I really got to thinking about this one after playing some of the Harry Potter video games. The grounds are extensive. Not to mention the fact that the castle gives the Enchanted Castle from, "Beauty and the Beast" a real run for its money. (Though the dancing silverware would honestly sway me toward choosing it, I don't think animatronics have come quite that far yet.) "Who said anything about this castle being enchanted?" Again, you'll have the theme park version of this as an option shortly. But I'm sure that wouldn't be as cool as an actual castle filled with magical (or fake magical) what-not.

11.) The Haunted MansionThe Haunted Mansion 

Sans the zombies, this would be a dream come true. It would take the cake as far as atmosphere goes and there's no real danger as most of the ghosts here would be both grim and grinning. The best part about recreating this movie set would be the fact that you could live out your own plot.

12.) The Golden Girls House

Don’t judge me. I know you wanna lounge on the lanai in the Miami heat with a big glass of Florida orange juice. With the exceptions of Croft Manner and the NCC 1701-D, this is the place where I could honestly actually live. I'd probably do away with the wicker and add a pool, but I could honestly settle here.

What about you? What movie or TV locations would you visit if they were real? What do you wish really existed?

1 comment:

  1. 0. Don't forget the bass hum that would welcome you home after every away mission or shore leave while serving onboard the NCC 1701D.

    1. In a similar vein of Croft Manor, I would choose the house from Resident Evil 1. Wow. I was blown away by the layout and spent many an hour exploring her endless hallways, secret fountains containing staircases once the amulets were put in place, etc.

    2. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's farm - always loved the layout of that house/complex. Taking oil baths and shutting down the power to your house seemed like a great way to end each day. This is perhaps the structure that started me on an obsession with underground houses.

    3. Desmond's Bunker - I've always been fascinated with chaos controlled in geometry or geometry holding chaos at bay. A large apartment hidden in a hill on a tropical island is pretty boss in my book, even if I don't quite understand WHY there is/was a bunker, or when it was built, or where it wen…I digress.

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