NBC Films Rescue Scene in Nomahegan Park

Between the rescue helicopter hovering just above the treetops, all the emergency vehicles with their lights flashing, and the platoons of police officers and firefighters making their way into the woods on Tuesday at Union County's Nomahegan Park in Cranford, it sure looked as if something big was happening.

And on some Wednesday night weeks from now, it probably will look very real when the episode of the hospital drama, "Mercy," airs on NBC. The new medical drama focuses on the staff at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of the hospital's nurses.

While areas in Union County's parks and Cranford's downtown have been used for commercials and some movies, the shooting of a TV episode does not happen all that often, according to parks and town officials.

But given what was required to set the stage for this television episode—a little boy wanders off in a woods and falls into an ice-covered pond—an area on the eastern side of Nomahegan, just off Park Drive, provided the perfect location.

While the scene was expected to take upwards of 10 hours to shoot, once edited the park scene may run less than three minutes. Yet even for that , there was a production crew of nearly 75 on hand, with an additional 70 actors and others involved in the production.

"Mercy" is shot on a soundstage in Secaucus. However, location shoots have also included sites in Jersey City, Newark, Passaic and West Orange. 

The Nomahegan shoot will likely be one the crew long remembers as they bundled up to make it through the frigid day. While the thermometer was reading 31 degrees, the sustained 18 mph winds made it feel like 19.

At one point, one staffer carried a box filled with cups of soup around to the crew to help them warm up. A tour bus stood by so some could occasionally retreat to escape the cold.

While the weather presented a challenge, Union County Freeholder Chairman Daniel Sullivan said he was pleased that the television show chose a location in one of the county's parks.            

"Union County's parks are just so stunning and so diverse. It is always nice to be able to showcase them," Sullivan said. "It is kind of neat that Nomahegan Park will have a cameo in a prime time television series."

While Union County's Warinanco Park was used as the backdrop for a Celebrex commercial, some years ago the Deserted Village in the Watchung Reservation was used for scenes in two movies, "Silent" and "Spring Forward."

"Silent," released in 2008, was a fairly low-budget movie while "Spring Forward" starred Liev Schreiber,  Ned Beatty and Campbell Scott. "Spring Forward" received a third-place mention for best first feature at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival.

Cranford's downtown was used as an idyllic snow scene for a Dunkin' Donuts commercial in September. Click here to watch the video.