Television
- On the May 18, 1991 episode of Saturday Night Live, a sketch featured Bill Swerski's Superfans discussing the prospects of the Chicago Bears entering the Indianapolis 500 with Mike Ditka driving the team bus. On the December 12, 1998 episode, a "Bill Brasky" sketch starring Alec Baldwin, John Goodman, and Will Ferrell included dialog by Goodman's character (Ted): "Did I ever tell you about the time he taught his son how to drive? He did it by entering him in the Indy 500. The kid wrecked and died. Brasky said it would've happened sometime."
- The sitcom Home Improvement had many references to the Indy 500 during its eight-season run. During DVD Audio commentary for the Pilot episode, co-creator David MacFadzean revealed that the Indy 500 and racing was a key theme to the show. His father-in-law worked for Thomas W. Binford, who at the time was the chief steward for the 500. MacFadzean thought that the name "Binford" was a perfect fit for a tool company, and decided to use it for the fictional Binford Tools.
- During a 1995 episode, a friend of Tim Taylor announces he's planning his wedding for Memorial Day weekend. A stunned Tim quickly whispers to him that's the weekend of the Indy 500, and the friend quickly corrects himself, and scheduled it for the following weekend.
- In many other episodes, Tim's garage features an authentic "Gasoline Alley" street sign, an official Indianapolis Motor Speedway souvenir.
- Indy drivers including Mario & Michael Andretti, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Sr., Al Unser, Jr., and Robby Gordon, along with broadcaster Jack Arute, have all guest-starred on the program at one time.
- On the Season 4/episode 15 of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Mr. Peabody takes Sherman in the WABAC machine to "meet the man who won the first Indianapolis auto race," Barnaby Victor.
- On the December 10, 1964 episode of The Flintstones, Fred and Barney enter the "Indianrockolis 500" with Fred driving under the name "Goggles Pisanno."
- The Indy 500 was referred to at least twice in the television series M*A*S*H. In one instance, Corporal Klinger is driving Major Winchester to the Kimpo Airfield. Winchester demanded to know if the Jeep they were riding in could go any faster. Klinger replied, "There's a reason you don't see these things racing at Indianapolis". In another episode, an ambulance overturns when it is leaving the compound too quickly. When Radar informs Col. Potter about the incident, Potter exclaims "When are these boys gonna realize this isn't the Indianapolis 500!"
- In an episode of The Brady Bunch ("The Wheeler-Dealer," October 8, 1971) where Greg gets a car, he says it's the ".. the hottest set of wheels this side of Indianapolis!"
- On an episode of The Jeffersons, a friend, who is interested in automobiles, states he desires to be the "first black driver in the Indianapolis 500."
- Three 1999 episodes of COPS were filmed in the city of Indianapolis during race weekend of 1999. Footage of the 500 Festival Parade was shown, as well as police action outside the track the days leading up to the race.
- On the March 27, 2001 episode of That '70s Show ("Eric's Naughty No-no"), Eric's aunt Paula tells about how she was "waving the starting flag at the Indy 500."
- On the November 19, 1999 episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the fastest finger question was "Put the following races in order according to their length, from the shortest to the longest." The Indianapolis 500 was one of the four answers. The correct player with the fastest time was John Carpenter, who would go on to become the first player on the U.S. version of the show to win the $1 million prize.
- At least 23 episodes of Jeopardy! have featured Indy 500-related clues, including two episodes which featured an entire category related to Indy, and one episode that featured an Indy-related Final Jeopardy clue.
- On the November 12, 2006 episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, host Ty Pennington was shown on the mainstraight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the opening sitting in an Indycar.
- The pilot episode of Show Me the Money which aired November 14, 2006 featured the question: "Who finished 4th in the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, her rookie year in the Indy Racing League." The correct answer was Danica Patrick, and the contestant responded correctly.
- In 2006, the Food Network hosted a Food Network Challenge cake decorating contest at the track. It was held in the infield the morning of the race. The winner was invited to compete in a later episode.
- 2001 and 2002 Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves was a contestant on and won Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars. That ensuing May, his professional partner, Julianne Hough, sang the National Anthem and Season 6 champion Kristi Yamaguchi was the starter of the 2008 race.
- On the series Roswell, the character Michael has a sign in is apartment, reading "Indy 500 fan parking only."
- In the Jem episode "Intrigue at the Indy 500", rock star Jem races in and wins the Indy 500.
- On the Beavis and Butt-head episode "Bus Trip," the school bus driver becomes angry when he is cut off by a reckless driver, and yells "this isn't the Indy you moron!"
- Reality shows which include scenes filmed or featuring the race include: Man v. Food ("Indianapolis, Indiana"), American Chopper ("Window World Bike"), and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
- Indy Racing League and Indianapolis 500 decals and souvenirs, and related content, have appeared in the background on shows including According to Jim, Grounded for Life, Everybody Loves Raymond, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, and Family Foreman
- During the 2010 season, the opening credits for NBC Sunday Night Football featured an image of Indy cars racing down the mainstrech at Indianapolis.
- On the January 10, 2011 episode of Million Dollar Money Drop, the couple's first question was "Traditionally, winners of the Indianapolis 500 drink what kind of beverage in victory lane?" The choices were: A) "One made by Anheuser-Busch," B) "One made by Dom Pérignon," C) "One made by an Atlanta soft drink company," D) "One made by cows." The couple put all $1 million on "B," and lost all their money on the first question.
Read more about this topic: Indianapolis 500 In Film And Media
Famous quotes containing the word television:
“It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more television addicts, more baseball and football addicts, more movie addicts, and certainly more alcohol addicts in this country than there are narcotics addicts.”
—Shirley Chisholm (b. 1924)
“Television ... helps blur the distinction between framed and unframed reality. Whereas going to the movies necessarily entails leaving one’s ordinary surroundings, soap operas are in fact spatially inseparable from the rest of one’s life. In homes where television is on most of the time, they are also temporally integrated into one’s “real” life and, unlike the experience of going out in the evening to see a show, may not even interrupt its regular flow.”
—Eviatar Zerubavel, U.S. sociologist, educator. The Fine Line: Making Distinctions in Everyday Life, ch. 5, University of Chicago Press (1991)
“In full view of his television audience, he preached a new religion—or a new form of Christianity—based on faith in financial miracles and in a Heaven here on earth with a water slide and luxury hotels. It was a religion of celebrity and showmanship and fun, which made a mockery of all puritanical standards and all canons of good taste. Its standard was excess, and its doctrines were tolerance and freedom from accountability.”
—New Yorker (April 23, 1990)