When did they film that scene for Friends?

In the episode "The One Where Eddie Moves In" which aired on Feb 22nd, 1996, I noticed that there was a Moon in the night shot, and there was a bright planet near it .. the brightness made me believe it was Venus. Suddenly I realized that I could calculate roughtly when they filmed that scene, based on the locations of the Moon, and Venus (and the viewpoint of the shot). After some struggling with maps, postcards from a trip to NYC, and frantic emails around to my family members, I pinned the picture down to the Brooklyn Bridge .. thus facing South West - this would put the timing of the picture as a little after sunset (there is some debate within my family as to whether we are seeing the glow of NJ, or the sunset - I vote for sunset. The age of the moon (a guess, based on the few pixels that make up the Moon in that image) is about 5-6 days old - that would put it about 4-5 hours after sunset. Applying astronomy calculations to the current configuration, I decided they filmed that footage on or about the 23rd-24th of January in 1996. About a month before it aired - seems reasonable!

Added Bonus : Just to show you that television really is an original medium .. take a look at these other two shots from Felicity and from Judging Amy (when a segment of the show was set in NYC). There aren't any moon/Venus sightings - but its the same bridge!

Is the Moon correct in that Newhart Clip?

In the episode "Seein' Double" of the Newhart show (the one in Vermont) which aired on Feb 15th, 1990, I noticed that the Moon looked a little weird. I have decided that it is fake. (I'm being very facetious here!) For several reasons: 1) It is huge! 2) If the Moon was that "old" (close to New Moon), then it should be much brighter outside (this would be sunrise .. but it is supposed to be night time according to the "action" in the sitcom. 3) It should be angled (tilted) along a line upper left to lower right (assuming this is Vermont).

Bonus Info : In the story (which is actually a story within a story .. a goofy sitcom with two "twins" both played by Stephanie .. notice that "Jody" always faces away from the camera here .. ha ha ha!) - mention is made of Lake Titicaca (implying that it was nearby). That would place this location on the border of Peru and Bolivia, below the Equator. In that case, the Moon should be even more titlted - almost perpendicular to its current orientation! I'm shocked to find that they may have used that Lake name just for humorous purposes - with no regard to the scientific principles involved!

Can metal regenerate itself out of thin air?

In the episode "Claire" of the Rockford Files show (currently airing on TNN!) which aired on Jan 31st, 1975, I noticed that a hubcap came off of the bad guy's car when he went around a turn. In later shots, yep, the hubcap really did come off ... until ... the last show where they pull up to the hotel - and the hubcap is back on the car again! Click on the image to the right to see the animation!

There could be several reasons .. one I indicate in the animated gif - the bad guys are so dumb that they stopped to get it fixed in the middle of the chase! But, upon reflection, I've decided that this might have been an example of the government having the technology to reconstitute hubcaps at will - think of the implications - and think of the improvements they could have made since 1975 .. could they be reconstituing lug nuts also? I shudder to think ...

Bonus info: There is a spelling mistake in the animation .. I'm too lazy to go change it right now!

Surely, "The Simpsons" won't make a mistake with the Moon?

Yes, they did, and stop calling me Shirley. In one episode (I don't remember exactly which one), we can see that Principal Skinner is having a romantic dinner with Selma (or Patty?) .. and the Moon is shown over their shoulders. (The bottom image is a blowup of the Moon. I added the red line to show the apparent diameter of the Moon.)

What's that .. a star is in the "shadowed" portion of the Moon?? Even though the Moon is "dark" there ... a star will not "bleed through"! (You might be tempted to write in and claim it is an airplane ... but it didn't move during the scene!)

Bonus info: Once again .. this particular phase of a Moon is a very "old" moon - very close to New Moon .. thus it will appear in the sky in the Morning! Thus, this is a pre-breakfast date?