I live near San Francisco and had read “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” in which the author mentions having read Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City”. I mentioned it to a coworker who promptly handed over 3 old VHS tapes recorded off Showtime. I spent the next two weekends watching snippets whenever I had the time. I enjoyed it immensely, despite its more bizarre/unrealistic moments.