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# 067 <3.27> The Avenger
 
 
(revised 04/08/2024)
 
 


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

 
 
The song Julia sings for Joseph while driving in the Giobertis' Mercedes-Benz 300 TD is a version of the traditional American lullaby "Hush-a-bye" (a.k.a. "All the Pretty Little Horses").
 

A unique aerial view of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion (as seen from the back) is featured in this episode only.
It is footage, which was taken during the Wine Country filming of this season, but remained unused in the final versions of the first twelve episodes.

 
Music score: In many scenes involving Julia or related to her, composer DANA KAPROFF uses "Julia's Theme"; the first time in the scene with Angela reading Julia's old letter to Angela she wrote during her time in college. The composer will reuse that music in several future episodes in scenes with Julia or related to her, such as # 068, 088, 099 and 103.
 
After an establishing shot of a view over the Gioberti Estate and the street, which will later be known as River Road (# 132), Emma is seen on a public phone telling Lance she found Chase's car, which was stolen by Julia, hidden "off route 29 just beyond the Old Tuscany Highway".
Two conclusions can be drawn from that statement: The only (current) highway through the Tuscany Valley (compare # 050) is road number 29. The Old Tuscany Highway is only a minor road now. The Spring House where Julia is hiding must be located nearby. Due to the establishing clip of the view towards the tree-lined main driveway to Falcon Crest right before the scene, this implies the Old Tuscany Highway must be the Silverado Trail in the Napa Valley in real life and highway 29 from the show must be identical with the real-life highway 29.
 
The scene with Emma on the telephone obviously fails to create an outdoor illusion. The lighting technique on the sound stage is rather poor in this scene.
 

The stalls at Tuscany Downs are portrayed by the stalls of the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, CA. For previous cases of use of this filming location, see # 047 and 049.

 
Inside joke: Peter Dafelmair, the Tuscany Downs racing secretary, is named after PAUL DAFELMAIR, the set costumer for men.
 
License plate number of Emma's blue 1983 Ford Mustang III Convertible: 1JMG239.
 
The filming location for the Old Tuscany Highway and the trail nearby where Emma and Lance discover Chase and Maggie's Mercedes-Benz 300 TD is Griffith Park Drive at the southern corner of Mineral Wells Road (first shot filmed towards east) with a footpath forking off southwest in Griffith Park in Los Angeles.
 
Mysterious: How could Julia cover Chase's car with these big tree branches? Did she have an ax?
 
The scene with Sheriff Robbins receiving the phone call that Julia is hiding at the Spring House was staged at the Sheriff's Office in early script drafts, not at the Gioberti House.
 
Terry receives a registered letter from Miami, FL. In front of the post office, she is upset and calls a guy named Eric, who appears to be her (ex-)husband: "We were never married. That was your little fantasy, not mine. It's a forgery."
This is apparently the groundwork for Terry's previous marriage which has never been divorced. Inconsistencies: In season 4, Terry's first husband will be introduced as Joel, not as Eric. It will be revealed they were married, but their divorce has not become final.
THe reason behind the Joel / Eric name inconsistency will be discussed in # 070.
 
The red Volvo 242 DL sedan (compare # 055 for details) is used again; this time, it is parked in front of the post office at a Tuscany shopping mall (red arrow).
 
Also, the usual black / beige Buick LeSabre, a well known car, appears on that parking lot; first when Michael and Terry arrive, parked right next to the Volvo; later when Terry leaves the post office, in a parking space further back on the opposite side (yellow arrow). Compare # 013 for this vehicle.
 
The filming location for the shopping mall with the post office is the building in front of the Equidome at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, CA; the post office is actually the Calamigos and Los Angeles Saddlery nowadays.
 

License plate of Cole's brownish-gray 1984 Jeep Cherokee Chief: 2ENO894 (a new California plate with a stylized sunset).

 

The Spring House, which has been in use since season 1, burns down in this episode. Compare # 004 for this set.
For LORIMAR's further use of this set, check out the Beyond the Show — Exterior Sets section.

 

The ambulance standing by at the Spring House is a 1971 Dodge Ram Wagon 350.

 

Uncredited extra JACK DOUGLASS appears in this episode again — this time as a Tuscany Valley County Deputy near the Falcon Crest Spring House.
Compare # 130 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 032.

 
Mistake in the scene at the Spring House: Approximately half a minute after Melissa and Cole left the scene with Joseph in Cole's car, Melissa is visible, for a split second, carrying Joseph away in the background in a reaction shot of Chase and Maggie.
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. In this case, post-production was negligent. The editors could have easily avoided this problem by cutting the frame on the right side of the pretty wide original picture negative (instead of the left).
 
Different footage: In the sneak preview, Angela is visible from the outside through the Spring House window, saying to Julia: "Are you just going to stand there? I thought the idea was for you to shoot me." In the scene itself, however, the words "for you" are dropped from Angela's line, and the segment is shot from inside the Spring House with switched positions of both women. The footage comes from various takes of the scene.
 
Interesting prop: The rock formation Deputy Duffy climbs up to point at Julia in the Spring House is an artifical rock on the backlot of THE BURBANK STUDIOS (now WARNER BROS. STUDIOS). It was unofficially called Devil's Gulch, was on wheels and primarily used in the jungle / lagoon area. It was said to have originated on the set of "Bonanza" and was in use for many different productions until the mid-1990's. It was dismantled when the northern part of the lagoon area was sacrificed for a new parking structure in 1995.
 
Mistake: From Deputy Duffy's point of view when he points his gun at Julia in the Spring House from the mountain, her and Angela's positions — in comparison to the window — are different from their positions in the interior shots. Their positions in exterior and interior shots do not match during the whole scene.
This is a mistake caused by the particular close-up filming technique — check # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for details.
Also, Duffy's point of view from the ridge would have to be much steeper than the camera angle of the exterior shot towards the Spring House suggests. This is also the reason why — inconsistently — Duffy cannot be seen through the window from inside the Spring House because the rock formation is too tall.
 
Different takes: In the sneak preview, a wide angle shot of Angela is shown; the end of her line (addressed to Julia) is: "Julia! Help me!" — In the scene in the episode itself, however, Angela's line ends in a close-up with: "Julia! Julia, get up!"
 

JANE WYMAN is replaced by a stunt double when Chase helps Angela leave the Spring House and while she is running from the house in the subsequent wide angle shot.

 
Strange: When Lance picks up Julia during the fire in the Spring House, the beam falls on him and knocks her out of his hands as he falls. When he loses consciousness, Julia's feet are seen just behind him by his right shoulder. But when Chase comes in to get him only a few seconds later, Julia is no longer behind Lance, but seems to have crawled to a different spot across the room.
Considering that Julia never died in the fire, she was probably never unconscious and started to crawl towards the trap door (compare the entries in # 069 and 075). Although the producers never envisioned at the time that they would resurrect her character in season 4, this "error" might even mysteriously make sense after all.
 
Mistake: After Chase rescues Lance from the fire in the Spring House, Angela reaches out to her grandson and holds onto his arm. In the subsequent frame, cutting to their backs, Lance is further away from Angela, but embraced by Chase.
This is a mistake caused by the particular close-up filming technique — check # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for details.
 
The identification code of one of the patrol cars of the Tuscany Valley Sheriff's Department near the Spring House is 3630.
Both police automobiles are 1982 Dodge Diplomat patrol cars.
 
Mistake: In one of the scenes filmed towards the Spring House, the identification code was put upside down on the patrol car (yellow mark). The prop guys were negligent: In scenes like this, there is usually only one magnet plate used to prop the patrol car. Depending on the camera angle, it is either put on the one side of the car or the other. When that plate was exchanged hastily between takes, it ended up on the car upside down.
 
Mistake in the Spring House fire: The flames are quite heavy on the outside wall on the left side of the doorway and also inside the doorway just to the right. When Chase heads towards the Spring House a few moments later to rescue Lance, most of the flames are mysteriously gone.
 
Post-production mistake: The close-up of Chao-Li in the scene near the Spring House was accidentally flip-flopped. The second screen grab demonstrates an amended version in contrast.
 
 

 
 
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