The Literal Definition of ”La Brea” and What It Refers to in the Show Aren't the Same

Folks who watch NBC's La Brea certainly don't need to know what the title means in English to enjoy the show, but there are some who are genuinely curious. So, what does "la brea" mean?

In Spanish, "la brea" literally means "the pitch." And no, not the kind of pitch a used car salesman tries to make, nor the act of hurdling a baseball at 95 miles an hour towards a dude with a wooden stick.

It means a pit or divide in the land, and "brea" is actually a Spanish word for tar. But for the NBC Sci-Fi drama, it specifically refers to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, Calif.

The mysterious and naturally wondrous nature of these pits sets up the strange premise for the series.

For thousands of years, tar has been fomenting to the surface, and tons of animals have been trapped and killed by the stuff inside of these pits.

Because our species is weird, a park was built around the pits and a bunch of animals get caught and preserved in the black, ancient mass.

The George C. Pace Museum studies the remains of the animals discovered in the pits and even puts some of the creatures on full display.

If you enjoy visiting movie set spots and famous TV locations in real life, then you'll have to be careful when checking out the La Brea Tar Pits. Not because you might fall in and become a museum specimen yourself, but because the place is fenced off as its a registered national natural landmark.

The premise of the TV show focuses less on biological organisms drowning in tar and more on a strange rift that sends people to the equivalent of The Savage Land in X-Men.

Actually, it's more of a modern day Land of the Lost when you think about it, except, you know, its set in Los Angeles.

The La Brea sinkhole is actually a time rift that the show's characters fall into. Now, they must fend for themselves in their wild new atmosphere. Hopefully along the way, they learn something about themselves and overcome new challenges and obstacles that make them all the stronger.

You can catch new episodes of La Brea on NBC, Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST. Will you be tuning in?