Peacock series imagines Topeka with palm trees and ferris wheel in post-apocalyptic world
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The main bad guy, Agent Stone, maintains his headquarters in Topeka in "Twisted Metal," a series streaming on the Peacock service.
Peacock recently premiered the 10-episode series, which combines action with comedy. It stars Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Thomas Haden Church, Neve Campbell, Will Arnett and Samoa Joe.
Subscriptions to Peacock cost $5.99 a month.
What is the 'Twisted Metal' series — and how does it include Topeka?
"Twisted Metal" is based on a video game. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, about 20 years after a virus shuts down all the world's computers, downs power grids and ends the Internet.
Viewers learn that cities put up walls and threw out the criminals, with some intrepid souls — including "John Doe," an amnesiac played by Mackie — risking their lives by delivering cargo from one sanctuary city to another.
Doe is en route to New Chicago, where he has agreed to pick up an unspecified cargo and deliver it to New San Francisco in exchange for his being allowed to live in New San Francisco.
"Quiet," played by Beatriz, is riding with Doe as far as Topeka. She secretly hopes to kill Stone, played by Church, who caused her brother's death and leads a brutal law enforcement organization that operates outside city walls.
The series' fifth episode includes the arrival in Topeka of Quiet and Doe, whom Quiet has misled into thinking Topeka is a sanctuary city.
The show also features a homicidal clown driving an ice cream truck, although he doesn't come to Topeka.
Here are seven fun facts about the way the series portrays Topeka.
1. City of Topeka flag, adopted in 2019, appears
A city of Topeka flag, identical to the one adopted by the mayor and city council in November 2019, stands off to one side of Stone's office desk in Topeka in the fifth episode. A state of Kansas flag stands off to the other.
2. Show portrays Topeka as having palm trees
The fifth episode shows palm trees as being present in Topeka. Actually, Kansas is too cold for palm trees to survive here.
3. 'Tuh-pee-kah' or 'Toe-pee-kah'
Stone and Quiet correctly pronounce the capital city's name in the episode as "Tuh-pee-kah." Doe pronounces it "Toe-pee-kuh" while humorously calling it "the fabled Topeka."
4. Kansas Statehouse appears
The word "TOPEKA" appears on screen in front of an image of the Kansas Statehouse. The shot pans upward but ends before reaching Ad Astra, the statue of a Kansa warrior that stands atop the Statehouse.
5. 'I want their bodies hung from the rotunda'
Stone orders two police officers to look harder for Quiet and Doe, saying: "I want their bodies hung from the rotunda by this weekend. Provide the people of Topeka with some light Friday night entertainment."
6. Thrills, spills and attempted kills
The fifth episode ends with a shootout inside a Topeka amusement park, "Thrills and Spills Park," which includes a ferris wheel and at least two tall roller coasters.
7. Stone identifies himself as a Topeka police officer
The series' third episode includes a flashback to 2002 showing a younger Stone identifying himself as a Topeka police officer to two young women, who treat him with disrespect at an outdoor mall similar to Legends, in Kansas City, Kansas.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka portrayed in 'Twisted Metal' post-apocalyptic series on Peacock
