Admit it: When you watched the opening of that “Simpsons” episode where Bart played out the introduction of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” using Homer as the giant boulder, you wished your house were as privy to such shenanigans. Over the years, several fictional domiciles have captured our hearts. Here’s just a few of them.
The Simpsons’ house
Once you heard it for the first time you could never forget: 742 Evergreen Terrace. That’s where a family of five rescued a neglected racing greyhound, where a 10-year old accidentally burned a plastic Christmas tree and ran a fake charity scheme that would make Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel cry foul and where an old man and his questionably flamboyant assistant attempted to steal a little girl’s teddy bear. In 1997, Fox constructed a scale replica of the house as a promotional stunt for that year’s season premiere — it still stands at 712 Red Bark Ln. in Henderson, Nev. — and you were never more jealous of anyone else’s house.
Rachel and Monica’s apartment
How great would it be to have a full-time job that allowed you to late mornings and afternoons at your apartment or the coffee shop conveniently located downstairs? Monica and Rachel’s apartment may have hosted some of the greatest shenanigans ever shown during “Friends” 10-year run. Remember the quiz game they lost to Joey and Chandler in season four (of course there’s no such thing as a “transponster,” Rachel)? What about the mob of angry neighbors demanding homemade candy outside the door two years after Chandler moved in? Now that you mention it, every friend save for Ross lived in that iconic apartment with the purple door at some point during the show’s run.
The backyard from “The O.C.”
Fun fact: The pool in the Cohens’ backyard was little more than three feet deep, save for the on-location one seen in the show’s pilot. That means Seth, Ryan, Marissa and the gang had to kneel whenever there was a scene shot in the backyard that required the cast to hang out in the water. Most of the best stuff happened in that backyard in Newport Beach. Most of us remember the upside-down Spider-Man kiss Seth and Summer shared before that fateful Chrismukkah. And remember how Ryan had a pool house all to himself, detached from the main building? Yeah. Give the delinquent from Chino his own digs. Nothing but good can come of that.
The Munsters’ house
There’s something to be said for a house that acts as a home for a version of Frankenstein’s monster and a vampire who somehow procreates to introduce a werewolf into the world. The Munsters’ house was an eyesore in an otherwise normal neighborhood. While neighbors likely struggled with bugs in flower beds and kids out after curfew, the Munsters had to worry about bats in the grandfather clock and a trap door to the basement where Grandpa would conduct all sorts of kooky experiments. Try bringing a date over to meet the parents with all of that going on.