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# 160 <7.05> Dead End   Inconsistency: The replica of the Gioberti House is a lot more damaged than the sparsely dressed location after the explosion. In the scenes filmed on location at Stags' Leap, curtains were only placed through the open windows so that they would move in the wind and create the illusion the windows were broken.
 LESLEY WOODS (screen grab 1) was replaced by stunt double LESLIE HOFFMAN (in an appropriate wig; screen captures 2 and 3) from the moment when the stairs collapse under Alma Miller's feet and as the beam comes down from the ceiling in the Gioberti House. It is still the stuntwoman who, along with the baby (actually a baby doll), is pulled by DAVID SELBY (himself!) off the staircase.Before the scene was shot, the special effects department tested the beam falling, and when it hit the ground, it broke. Later when they were ready to shoot the actual stunt, the stuntwoman was told the beam had been repaired and no way it would break. But LESLIE HOFFMAN has a "gut feeling" about that beam and actually jumped to DAVID a few seconds earlier than she normally would have. The beam broke again, so the stuntwoman was fortunate not to have been severely injured.   Mistake: At the beginning of the episode, the camera pans up to the destroyed interiors of the Gioberti House towards the foyer, and two large ceiling beams are standing at angles against the inside of the front door (screen grab 1). Later, when Sheriff North and his deputy break in through the door from outside, one of the beams is placed at an angle against the sidelight of the door way behind Alma Miller (screen grab 2), and the other beam is nowhere to be seen. It remains a mystery how the beams were removed from the front door. They would have been too heavy for Maggie and Alma to remove them off-screen during the time Richard took care of Angela; even if the sheriff's forcing the door open had been strong enough for the beams to fall, they would rather have dropped to the floor than one of them being put against the sidelight.
In the usual process of making a movie or a TV show, scenes are shot at least twice from different angles, 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.  JANE WYMAN is also replaced by a stunt double when Richard helps Angela leave the Gioberti House. This is pretty obvious because the wig on the stunt double's head is different and is sort of reminiscent of Angela's hairstyle in season 5 (shorter and more straight) as opposed to Angela's now curlier hair in the current season.SUSAN SULLIVAN was also replaced by a stunt double in a few frames in the debris of the Gioberti House, by the way, although this is hardly noticeable. Spoiler: Again, Hopkins mentions Travis' name on the phone when telling him the explosion did not kill Richard.
The number of Emma's inmate photo is 1807680109 87. The last six figures are usually the date of the mug shot. The figures are on adjustable thumb wheels. Mistake: The prop master was negligent in preparing the date "0109 87" because it cannot be January 9, 1987 now. It is April — refer to the details about the season time frame below.
 D.A. Fred Wilkinson still drives the black 1984 Chrysler Fifth Avenue (on the left in the screen capture).By the way, it is the same picture car that was previously used as Frank Ryan's (compare # 128) car and as the vehicle of Saunders' henchmen (# 148). Both police cars on the driveway to the Gioberti House (one of them pictured on the right in the screen grab) are 1984 Plymouth Gran Fury models.
  The ambulance at the Gioberti House is a Ford Econoline E-Series model.As usual, this picture vehicle was provided by the Napa Valley based Piner company for filming. The shoulder patch of the paramedic taking care of Angela after the explosion reads "Riner". In contrast to the faux-pas in # 128, the prop masters did a better job adapting the shoulder patch of the real Piner company. Compare # 128 and 156 for more details. Product placement: Richard mentions Dick Tracy, a police detective from comic strips first published in the 1930's. Early script drafts contained an act 1 scene on a rural road in the Tuscany Valley: Al Darnell, the gas company repairman, is blindfolded and tied to a tree, dressed in his boxers only. Brian Hopkins arrives, throwing the gas company overall next to Al and tucking $ 500 in the waistband of Al's boxer shorts. This scene was omitted in rewrites, the basic information making its way to a later scene when Richard and Garth interrogte Al. Deleted scene: Before the scene when Maggie talks to Kevin about the little things she was able to save from the Gioberti House, the director's cut of this episode originally contained a scene between Maggie and Richard on the terrace of his house in which she says that, although she loves him, moving to his place now is difficult for her and that the destruction of the Gioberti House is a big loss for her. In the background, Michael and Kevin are playing with Garth and the nanny; Garth even lets the kids crawl on him. This scene was removed from the final version to stay in the one-hour time frame.
  Richard has a new black stretched 1985 Lincoln Town Car limousine, first visible in the scene in front of his house with Garth and the New Globe issue (screen capture 1). The later scene with Darnell from the gas company (screen grab 3) will reveal the license plate number as 3G97906.This vehicle is portrayed by two different picture cars: Although they are both based on 1985 Lincoln Town Car models, the stretched versions were modified by different manufacturers. For all the scenes filmed on distant location in this episode, # 161 and 162, LORIMAR rented a Napa Valley based limo modified by Classic Limousine of Fountain Valley, a California based coachbuilder; this vehicle is easily recognizable by the broad brushed stainless steel element on the B1-pillar (actully a roof band; yellow arrow on screen capture 2) and the two thin chrome trim strips on the doors (red arrow on screen grab 2). This picture car is, by the way, the same vehicle that also posed as Nicole's rental limo in # 157. The second picture car portraying Richard's limo is used over the span of this entire season in all scenes filmed in Greater Los Angeles, particularly the ones at CBS-MTM STUDIOS (now RADFORD STUDIO CENTER); this car, in contrast, has a broad black B1-pillar with only a small decorative element in silver color (yellow arrow on screen capture 4) and some broad chrome lining on the bottom of the doors (red arrow on screen grab 4). It was not a wise decision to mix these two picture cars in the scenes towards the end of this episode — the segment in Channing Nevada, which is the beginning of Richard's ride to Travis in Tahoe, is filmed with the latter limo (screen grab 4) whereas Richard's arrival at Travis' estate is shot with the Napa based rental (screen grab 2).
 Inside joke: Al Darnell, the employee of the gas company, is named after CYNTHIA DARNELL, this season's story editor.The backlot of CBS-MTM STUDIOS (now RADFORD STUDIO CENTER) — corner of My Three Sons Street and Gunsmoke Avenue — is used for an exterior scene with Richard, Garth and Darnell. That area was already used as the Del Oro driveway in # 155. Note building 8, which was also used for the Ridley County Police Department in # 143. In the background, the back of office building 5 of CBS-MTM (RADFORD STUDIO CENTER) can be seen, which is also often used for various exterior shots (refer to # 091 and 094 in particular). LORIMAR's original blueprints of this set and many others are available for DFCF members in the Show – Production Office – Filming Locations – Movie Studios – Exterior Sets section. Richard's house is "next door to Angela". So his property and Falcon Crest are neighboring estates.  Peter Stavros' yacht in which Tony is traveling somewhere near Kallos / Greece in the Aegean Sea is a 1972 custom built motor superyacht (one of the 200 largest yachts in the world). Designed by RINALDO GASTALDI, it was built by the NUOVI CANTIERI APUANIA shipyard in Marina Di Carrara / Italy for WILLIAM LEVITT, a U.S. American real estate developer, with an overall length of 25,036 ft (76.31 m) and a steel hull with an aluminum superstructure. The yacht's original name was La Belle Simone (named after the owner's wife), but was changed several times, including the names Lady Sarah I, Sarah and (currently) Lady Sarya. Two funnels are set aft in the superstructure, and a large swimming pool is positioned between them on the upper deck. Her tenders include a Venetian taxi. The owner's suite has a door in the hull's side that provides direct access to the water. Despite the size of the yacht, she had only three guest cabins in her original design. The last time it was refitted was in 1993, and she can now accomodate up to eleven guests in six cabins and houses room for up to 28 crew members.The establishing shot of the yacht is stock footage from a film library, which originated on the production of "The Greek Tycoon" (1978); the exact shot, however, remained unused in that movie. The clip was filmed in the Ionian Sea. The tongue of land the yacht passes by is Ákra Kefalóypsos on Corfu Island / Greece; Mount Pantokrator is visible in the background. The interior shot of the yacht is a set on the sound stage at CBS-MTM STUDIOS (RADFORD STUDIO CENTER). Series time frame: According to Melissa, she and Lance remarried one year ago. That was towards the end of May 1986 (# 132). Giving respect to the facts that not too much time has gone by since this season started and that Michael's birthday — May 6 — will be celebrated in # 162, it must still be April 1987. Melissa's statement cannot be taken literally, but as a quite close estimation only.  The establishing shot of San Francisco featuring a southeastern view of the Golden Gate Bridge with the city in the background was shot from Conzelman Road in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area during the shooting of # 165 (compare there for details about Liz's faked ninja story). Another clip from this shooting is used on DAVID SELBY's main title card (see # 156).
After visiting Emma at the San Francisco Police Department, Angela runs into Fred in the hallway. He comes out of the Forensics. In # 151, it became obvious that Wilkinson's office is in Tuscany (Angela dials only seven digits — i.e. no area code — to call the Falcon Crest Winery from there) as was the Forensics Department. What is Fred doing there? Is there no longer a Forensics Department in the Tuscany Valley, or was there a specific test they could not do in the Tuscany Valley?   The pictures hanging on the wall in the hallway of the San Francisco Police Department are carefully chosen historic b & w photos of the city, in particular one of a Cable Car. These pictures are the same props that were used to dress the hallway in front of Chase's office at Gioberti Enterprises (first visible in # 149).
Mistake: Melissa says it is Joseph's birthday. First, compare the confusing statements in # 053, 061, 074 and 089. According to Melissa in the current episode, he is seven (although he is just five actually since he was born in # 025). Melissa also explains Cole rented an elephant for Joseph's 4th birthday. When was that supposed to be according to this strange time frame? — Concerning Joseph, the show suffers from a common soap opera phenomenon, the "rapid age syndrome" of children. The second inconsistency in that context is that, according to season 2 (compare # 025), Joseph was born around the beginning of August 1982. But it is April 1987 now (see above).
Early script drafts contained a scene with Tony suddenly appearing in a vineyard where Lance is working. Tony tells Lance that Angela called him. They embrace and head for the lake to have a beer. This scene was dropped while the following scene at the lake remained in the final version of the episode.   For the scene with Lance and Tony, the pond located at the former Inglewood Estate Winery (nowadays Sinegal Estate) in St. Helena, CA is used. In previous episodes — # 073 (details there), 076, 105 and 109 — the Agretti gazebo was seen near the lake; the lake was featured in # 131, too; in # 137, it was also seen as Richard's lake.See # 027 for general information about this filming location. Tony comes back from the Aegean Sea without any mention of Kit. He just says he did not mean to leave so suddenly. The scene with Tony and Lance at the pond, however, originally contained Tony's explanation that he has been living happily with Kit on "his" (or rather Peter's) Greek island. This part of the dialog was omitted when the final version of the episode was edited.   Angela and Wilkinson have lunch at the Coit Café. As usual, the northern terrace of the CBS-MTM (RADFORD STUDIO CENTER) administration building is used for filming (compare especially # 074). In the course of this season, the Coit Café will be seen over and over again: in # 162 (Maggie and Alison), # 164 (Richard and Liz), # 166 (Emma and Curtis), # 170 (Maggie and Richard), # 171 (Melissa with Arthur Haberman) and in # 180 (Maggie with Peter Ryder).LORIMAR's original map of this part of the studio lot is available for DFCF members in the Show – Production Office – Filming Locations – Movie Studios – Exterior Sets section. DAVID GUST, the tall, black-haired and mustached uncredited extra, who is best known for his rôle as an assistant district attorney (# 091, 092 and 154), but who also plays different characters in the series, appears on the terrace of the Coit Café this episode (yellow mark on the above screen capture). Compare # 187 for a list of appearances throughout the series. For details about the extra, compare # 063. Fictional entity: The other 14 parcels of land around the lake in Nevada where Richard's ghost town is situated are owned by subsidiaries of the Magnum Development Corporation (CT Management in early script drafts). Inside joke: The name is partly "borrowed" from MAGNUM PRODUCTIONS, JEFF FREILICH's production company. Inside joke: The last name of Curtis Estabrook's character is "borrowed" from SUSAN ESTABROOK, HOWARD LAKIN's assistant, who will later co-write # 176. Inside joke: Curtis Estabrook suggests casting MERYL STREEP as Emma and LANA TURNER (!) as Angela for the biographical movie about Emma. Just think of how JANE WYMAN and LANA TURNER felt about each other... But this is what makes "Crest's" tongue-in-cheek years so very special!
Allusion to the movie industry: Richard is compared with "The Lone Ranger" (like the radio and TV show) by Maggie and later by himself. Early script drafts contained a scene at the beginning of act 4 in which Melissa tells Tony in the study at the Agretti Residence how worried she is about Lance; she asks him to take care of his son while she travels to Australia. This scene was omitted in rewrites. Edited scene: The scene at the Gioberti House when Maggie remembers her life with Chase was a lot longer in the director's cut. Maggie started to go through the kitchen and made her way to the living room with a voice over of memories of the past years. In order to stay within the one-hour time frame, the scene had to be shortened in post-production. Maggie's memories of New York and what she said to Chase about starting over are presented in a short soliloquy when Maggie stares at the wall in the Gioberti House where the crest hung above the fireplace. These words were never heard by the audience in # 001 before the Giobertis moved to the Tuscany Valley. However, it seems she remembers a dialog with Chase that probably happened off screen.
Historic allusion: Richard compares Hopkins with JESSE JAMES (1847 – 82), the American outlaw of the Wild West.   The filming location for Travis' house near Lake Tahoe is situated in the Napa Valley foothills in real life. Both exterior and interior shooting for the current episode as well as for # 161 through 163 will be done there.In real life, the 1910 Victorian was built by Henry Hagen, one of the Napa Valley wine pioneers (also compare # 162). The estate changed hands several times and now belongs to the Palmaz family, who made it the home of Palmaz Vineyards in the late 1990's. Carlton Travis was originally called Carl Travis in early script drafts. It was only when the writers came up with the idea of his alias that they decided to change his first name to Carlton (the alias) and keep Carl as his real first name.  Angela's rental limousine in Tahoe, NV is a burgundy / gray stretched 1984 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Its license plate number is 2895238 (not a prop, but real).It is, by the way, the same picture car as Connie and Antoine's rental limo in # 103 and 104. It is actually a car rented by LORIMAR in the Napa Valley. ← Previous episode... → Next episode... |
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