Word comes today from Anna Bloom of the NewYork Timeseses‘ Bay Area Blog about how production of NBC’s horrible Trauma TV series will shut down tonight.
Certainly, Trauma has been traumatic for NBC, but what about San Francisco? Would we have been better off without subsidizing this inchoate production? Did we really pay SFPD officers to just hang out around the set for the filming of twelve episodes instead of having the cops do their regular jobs?
Duboce Park as seen by Troy McClure SF. Click to expand:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
How does the Scene in San Francisco scheme work? The TV people pay for the cops but then we turn around and give the TV people all the money back?
“What costs are eligible for refund?
- Fees paid to City Departments for the use or rental of City property, equipment or employees including: Port, MUNI, SPFD [SFPD?], SFFD, DPT, DPW, Treasure Island, Recreation and Parks, and all City buildings
- All daily use fees paid to the San Francisco Film Commission
- All payroll taxes paid to the City and County of San Francisco.”
So after Unfortunate, Innocent-Looking Whore In Tube Top and Flip Flops #5 cashes her minimum-wage paycheck for two days of temping (no benefits obviously) and we pay the cops full salary (or full salary plus?) to not do their jobs, what are we left with?
Certainly, Trauma was good for certain people in San Francisco, but was it good for San Francisco and San Franciscans overall? Is this the kind of thing we want to do again? Are there any Lessons to be Learned here?
Mmmmm….
