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# 212 <9.07> Doctor Dollars Tentative title: Doctor Dollars! The main title is revamped with a return to the elegant Benguiat Book typeface from seasons 5 through 8 and some new portraits — a half-hearted effort to compensate for the lack of consistency in the series.   The shot of Angela raising her glass in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion dining room in this season's current main title (right screen capture) is from an unused version of the scene from # 169; in that episode, she was never seen toasting (compare the left screen grab for one of the shots actually used in that episode).
  The shot of Chao-Li in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion dining room in the current version of this season's main title (right screen capture) is from an unused version of the scene in # 208 (compare the left screen grab for the version used in that episode).Fictional entity: Sharpe mentions the Bateman deal. Product placement: Sharpe gets a phone call from a certain Gary Exley from the American Express company because his credit card bill is three weeks overdue. Season time frame: The SEC's 30-day suspension of Sharpe's trading seems to be over on day 1 of the current episode. This means that at least 30 days must have gone by since day 1 of # 210, and it must be at least the end of November 1989 now. Some time must have gone by both during # 211 (right before the Bacchus festival) and between # 211 and 212.
Fictional entity: Savanna's move is taken care of by Mancini Bros. Moving Company.   The filming location for the home of Michael and Savanna Sharpe is Arden Villa in Pasadena, CA, which was also used as Johann Riebmann's house in Buenos Aires / Argentina in season 4 (compare # 069 — in a rust-brownish color then).The pond near Maggie's grave (see # 207) is also located on the Arden Villa property. The scene with Michael, Savanna and her lawyer, Martin, in front of the house was originally intended to be part of # 207 (compare there), but was later edited and put into this episode.
  The ending of that scene — when Sharpe gets into the limo, tells Ed to get off and then speaks to Nick — was not lifted from # 207, but had to be reshot to slightly adapt it to the current episode. It was not filmed at Arden Villa again though, but on the backlot of CBS-MTM STUDIOS (nowadays RADFORD STUDIO CENTER) in Studio City, CA. The different ground and vegetation are noticeable though. The original footage from # 207 ends when Sharpe turns away from Savanna to get to the car (screen grab 1); the circle drive at the end of the driveway to Sharpe's house is not paved, but dry-laid brick, which is why the ground in front of Arden Villa appears reddish (green arrow), and in the center of the circle drive is a big tree. After the cut to the close-up of the limo, the newly filmed segment begins; gray asphalt is visible through the door of Sharpes limousine (yellow arrow on screen capture 3), and the vegetation is totally different. What most certainly gives the studio location away, however, is when Sharpe shuts the window of his limo, and the reflection of the beigeish exterior wall of sound stage 4 is visible (screen grab 4). That part was filmed on Gunsmoke Avenue at CBS-MTM (RADFORD STUDIO CENTER), quite near the brush and access road to the former lagoon area. The suggestion of Charley's interior designer, Sergio, to remodel the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion living room into a hedonistic parlor in Roman décor is just one symptom of the new writers' and producers' bad taste. Their apparent love of those trashy ideas gives evidence of the gap between their narrow minds on the one hand and the classic years of the show and the audience on the other hand.  The filming location for Chalo Mendez's home is a (nowadays remodeled) outer building on the property in Topanga Canyon (Greater L.A.) that has been in use as the Daniels' log home since # 208.Product placement: In Chalo's house, building blocks by Lego Duplo, the popular construction toy, are visible (yellow mark on screen capture 2).
  Mistake: In the scene at the Del Oro Spa Restaurant, the close-ups and wide angle shots of Richard and Lauren are from various takes that were combined in the editing process. This becomes apparent when both of Richard's hands are seen near his chin in one moment (close-up), but his left hand is seen on the table in the subsequent frame (wide angle).Again, this is the typical mistake caused by the particular close-up filming technique — check # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for details.
Real-life allusion: Sharpe mentions The Wildlife Society. Product placement: Sal mentions clothes designed by SERGIO ARMANI.
 The mystery about Richard's house (see # 206, 207 and 211 already) continues: When Sal breaks into Richard's house, white framed casement French doors can be seen — they do not resemble the ranch windows and French doors in any way because those frames were in brown color although, in season 8, the study interior set at the ranch had such a French door (compare # 185)...  Mistake: Sal looks through the kitchen window from Richard's terrace. The editing of the scene, however, implies that Sal can see Richard in the bathroom from that point of view. But the bathroom is situated behind the bedroom at the end of the hallway next to the kitchen.  The Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion guest bedroom where Sydney and Ian stay is the same interior set as the one used for Jane Callendar's room in Betsy's Motel in # 206 and for Emma's Del Oro suite in # 207 (see there). Only slight changes (repaint and new furniture) were made for budgetary reasons.Inconsistency: When Charley enters the guest bedroom through the French door, a brick wall can be seen next to the door. There is no such exterior wall in the second floor of the real Villa Miravalle.   This episode features the upstairs hallway to Lance and Pilar's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion from a different angle: the other part leading past Angela's bedroom can be seen (left screen grab). The hallway continues towards Lance and Pilar's bedroom as usually shown (compare right screen capture from # 208).
Deleted scene: Act 4 was initially introduced with a scene with Emma persuading Sydney in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion foyer to go shopping. Emma says that she likes Sydney's sweater and that she used to have one just like that. Her dog at that time, a Pekinese named Phil, bit into it. Two years after that, when Phil died, she buried the dog with that sweater. This scene was removed in post-production.
  The downtown Tuscany shopping area where Emma and Sydney meet Chris is between 4363 and 4375 Tujunga Avenue in Studio City, CA in real life.The store Chris comes out is James Thomas Stained & Leaded Glass, one of the real life stores along that street, which was already featured in # 197 (see there). Jace mentions the "Les Misérables" musical.   The clip of Sharpe's limousine on the streets of San Francisco (first part of the drive-by) is stock footage from a film library. It features the intersection of South Grand Avenue and 6th Street in Downtown L.A. The camera's position was on the sidewalk of South Grand, first filming towards southeast, then following the limo, which drives by the Pacific Center of the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance (building at corner) and its garage ("Parking" sign); both buildings were used as filming locations before — the Pacific Center (its 6th Street front though) in # 042 and 144 (Helios Club); the garage as the New Globe parking structure in # 041. The final frame shows the western entrance of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, which was featured in # 041 as a side entance to a New Globe annex. When the clip was filmed, South Grand Avenue was still a two-way street while it is nowadays a one-way street in the opposite direction of the limo drive-by.  Editing mistake: The first exterior shot of Sharpe's limousine at night (see above) shows an older model — a 1967 black Lincoln Continental Executive — whereas he has a stretched Lincoln Town Car (compare # 206 for details) in all the other scenes. The establishing shot of the limo is old footage from a movie library, which was not carefully chosen.
  Illogical: During the car chase (the police following Sharpe's limo), it remains a mystery why the police car stops when the truck crosses the street. There would be enough room for the car on the left to pass by the truck.The white garbage truck in the car chase is a 1968 Ford C-Series Tilt Cab with a GarWood LP-900 Rear Load Body.
Strange: Why does Michael Sharpe have Sal killed with his limo? Is he not afraid of any evidence on the car (like scratches, rests of blood and tissue, etc.). But the police apparently does not think of that kind of evidence either? — Unrealistic writing! ← Previous episode... → Next episode... |
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