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# 048 <3.08> Solitary Confinements
 
 
(revised 11/13/2023)
 
 


 
 
Shortcuts to this episode's
 
Script | Credits | Filming Locations
 
 

 
 
The scenes at the Tuscany Valley Airport are filmed at Sonoma Airport in Northern California's Wine Country.
 
N523R is the license number of the white vintage plane (de Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth II — serial T-7602, built in 1935) Chase buys this episode.
The plane is actually owned by CLIFF ROBERTSON, who has a collection of several World War II and older planes (compare # 055).
 
In early script drafts, Richard's servant, chauffeur and masseur was named Dirk. In their first scene together, DAVID SELBY spontaneously called him David just for fun. MITCHEL EL-MAHDY, the actor who previously appeared only once before as a waiter at the Tuscany Valley Country Club in # 041, is actually the set medic (seasons 2 through 4) and will have a few more appearances as David in this and the following season.
 
Uncredited extra GEORGE SASAKI appears as Dr. Fong at the Tuscany Valley Hospital again in this episode.
Compare # 222 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 026.
 
 

Uncredited stand-in MARTHA MANOR appears as an extra again — this time as a patient at the Tuscany Valley Hospital (in a curly wig).
Compare # 202 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about MARTHA MANOR, compare # 001.

 

Maggie gets a vintage blue 1957 Ford Thunderbird roadster from Chase. Its license plate is EOB 940 (a black vintage California plate with yellow lettering).

 
The nightly establishing shots of the Women's Maximum Security State Penitentiary at Fairlawn — a distinct octagonal guard tower — in this and the following episode are stock footage of the Federal Correctional Institution Terminal Island in San Pedro, CA from a film library. After remodeling in the 2000's, that particular watch tower is now gone; it used to stand on the northeastern corner of the low security prison.
Note that the night shots do not feature the same location as the daylight establishing clips from # 047.
 
Richard's new home (see # 049 for the address), which offers a breathtaking view of the valley from its balcony, was a private residence in Yountville, CA in real life. It was owned by friends of MEL FERRER, who made contact for the negotiations concerning the shooting. The owners basically agreed, but only on the condition that filming took place on the deck only; they also demanded no detailed shots of the house itself. The estate was also used for yard shooting for # 047 (see there). The house was demolished in 2009.
 
The original name for Terry Hartford was Terry McGovern in the season 3 bible.
It was shortly before the scripts were developed when the producers became aware of two facts: First, there is a male American actor by the name TERENCE ("TERRY") McGOVERN so that there was a risk of confusion due to the same name. Secondly, some staff members correctly remembered that Maggie's maiden name was already established as Hartford in # 011 so the writers made the necessary correction.
 
Rumor has it that the original choice for Terry Hartford was SELA WARD. The actress had been turned down in 1982 when she auditioned for the rôle of Melissa Agretti (see # 014). This time, LORIMAR's negotiations with her failed because the actress preferred to star on the short-lived series "Emerald Point N.A.S.". In the end, LAURA JOHNSON won the rôle.
 
Labeling name: Terry (Germanic origin) means "ruler of the people"; other sources claim a Latin origin with the rather insecure meanings "soft" and "tender". Just as Terry Hartford is going to manipulate the residents of the Tuscany Valley with her seductive and tender style in future episodes, this first name is really a character description.
 
The original name for Paul Hayworth, Terry's old lover, was Paul Linson in early script drafts.
 
The picture of a gaggle of geese on the wall behind the bed in Terry and Paul's New York City hotel room is the same prop that was hanging in the upstairs hallway of the Gioberti House outside Cole's bedroom in season 1 (screen grab 1 is from # 015). It is even still in the same frame.
 
Mistake: In the scene with Angela and Corene in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion study, Angela's letter opener and the money (the bribe) are in different positions in various frames, depending on the direction of the camera angle.
This is a mistake caused by the particular close-up filming technique — check # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for details.
 

License plate number of Terry's black 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am: New York 656 RLV. When Terry arrives at the Gioberti House at the end of the episode, she has already changed the car's registration, which now has a Californian plate — the number will be legible in # 049 only (compare there).

 

Product placement: Terry's tire (seen flat in this screen grab) is made by Uniroyal.

 
Editing mistake: When Terry stops at Wrights Corner, the abandoned gas station, because of her flat tire, an early wide angle shot was inserted — with the car of the guy, who will help her, still being parked on the road and waiting for the director's sign to start driving towards the camera.
 
The filming location is a — meanwhile renovated — building at the northern corner of Old Sonoma Highway, filmed from Old Sonoma Road. This area is situated between the Napa Valley and the Sonoma Valley.
 

The car of the helper, who changes Terry's flat tire, is a green 1968 Plymouth Sport Satellite.

 
Caproni's Italian Bakery filming location — inconsistency: While the exterior shots are from Sonoma (see # 043), the interiors are shot in a real bakery in Arcadia, CA (Greater Los Angeles). This becomes apparent because the door and windows look different from the ones in the exterior scenes (compare the screen capture from # 049).
 
This episode marks the first appearance of uncredited extra WALTER M. SPEAR. He is an American actor, who appeared as an extra in many TV series and movies between the 1970's and 1990's. He was the real-life partner of another "Falcon Crest" extra, KATHRYN JANSSEN (compare # 021).
He plays a bald and bearded Tuscany Valley gentleman in the series and is a patron at Caproni's Italian Bakery in this episode.
Compare # 148 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
 

A poster with an artwork by American artist SUSAN PEAR MEISEL (born 1947) — "The Washington Monument" — can be seen in another corridor at the Tuscany Valley Hospital.
The same prop was already used in the waiting area at the Tuscany Valley Hospital in # 041.

 
The scene with Lance and Angela on the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion terrace was longer in the original script draft: Act 3 was to close on Lance bluntly asking Angela about Phillip possibly doublecrossing her; it was suggested that Lance, to Angela's dismay, also compare her and Phillip's relationship with his and Melissa's.
 
Editing mistake: When Dr. Hooks enters the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion study, Chao-Li closes the two pocket doors. In the close-ups of Phillip, however, the door is open; in the later wide angle shot, it is closed again — obviously put together negligently from various takes.
In the usual process of making a movie or a TV show, scenes are shot at least twice — as a wide angle shot and in close-up, which bears the risk of inconsistencies. Compare # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for the advantages and disadvantages of this shooting procedure.
 
Fictional entity: The East - West Moving Company is handling Michael's move from Baltimore to the Tuscany Valley.
 
Richard's favorite food: calamari fritti.
 
Pamela and Richard mention a Tuscany restaurant named Paroli's, which will never be seen on the show.
 
 

 
 
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