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# 208 <9.03> Flesh and Blood Tentative titles:
Score: Although, in this season, the mandate for each episode usually was to use a new music score (with the exception of certain recurring character themes), PATRICK O'HEARN reuses the music cue from the teaser trailer of # 207 for the current episode's recap before the main title.
Early script drafts contained two night scenes right at the beginning of the episode, which were omitted in rewrites: Charley sneaks out of the side of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion. In the darkness, he glances around, making sure he remains unseen and disappears into the night. After the cut, he is visible on the highway, trying to hitchhike to the Del Oro. The glare is ghost-like when a pair of a car's headlights projects upon the stark image of him on the side of the road. In his converation with Emma, Charley mentions the "Cinderella" fairytale. Charley plays the piano at the Del Oro at night and sings "Houston", a song written by LEE HAZLEWOOD and best known from DEAN MARTIN's 1965 performance. He slightly alters the lyrics, referencing "Tuscany Town". Strange: Ned Vogel's office is either in the Tuscany Valley or at least nearby. Pilar and Lance, however, left to see him the previous night (final night of # 207), but only meet with him on day 1 of the current episode. Early script drafts staged the scene with Lance, Pilar and Vogel in a nondescript hotel restaurant, having breakfast together. The script does not refer to the city they are in, but these original plans explain why the preceding episode hinted that Lance and Pilar would travel somewhere to see Vogel. When the scene was restaged for the current episode (apparently to avoid an expensive location shoot), the segment from # 207 with Pilar and Lance leaving for the night had already been filmed, so amending it was out of the question. Product placement: Ned Vogel mentions 7-Eleven (the convenience store chain) and Stridex (acne pads).   Mistake: When Ned Vogel mentions 7-Eleven in the scene with Lance and Pilar in his office, his left hand is in front of his stomach first. In the subsequent reverse angle, however, it is stretched out at Lance.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. Early script drafts contained in the scene in Vogel's office the information that Angela would be back from Greek before the "fall harvest". Vogel replies that, during her absence, he will not negotiate with Lance and Pilar, but with Frank. This conversation was changed. Even the incompetent season 9 writers seemed to have realized shortly before principal photography began that Frank never had anything to do with running Falcon Crest. It seems alarming how little understanding of the subject at hand the script showed — not only with regard to the storyline per se, but also with regard to wine because mentioning a "fall harvest" is extremely awkward since grapes (with the exception for ice wine) are not harvested at any other time than in the fall. Early script drafts suggested a scene on the driveway of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion in the morning right after Lance gets the phone call about Angela in Vogel's office: An ambulance, siren wailing, streaks away from the house, speeding past Emma's approaching car. Emma and Charley get out of the car, they exchange a look, and Emma runs into the house, sensing it must be about her mother. She finds Chao-Li performing a prayer ritual for Angela in the Mansion's living room. The scene outside the Mansion was dropped in rewrites since location filming was out of the question due to budget constraints, and the redress of the Walton House at THE BURBANK STUDIOS (WARNER BROS. STUDIOS) into the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion (as seen from # 209 on; compare there) had not been completed yet. The scene with Chao-Li and his rituals was changed to a night scene later in the episode (see below). Due to these changes, the final version presented Lance and Pilar's arrival at the Queen of the Valley Hospital right after the phone scene with Lance in Vogel's office.
Inside joke: The hospital announcement in the background calls for Dr. Cochran, Dr. Anderson, Dr. Parslow and Dr. Surnow — real names of crew members: ROBERT COCHRAN (story editor), SHERI ANDERSON (co-producer and writer of this episode), PHIL PARSLOW (producer) and JOEL SURNOW (co-executive producer).
Although not written in the script, DAVID SELBY spontaneously decides to add the remark that Maggie had hired a nanny for the boys because she did not get along with Garth in Richard's conversation with Julius. It is great that DAVID tries to add a little history to the episode, and it is equally symptomatic that the new producers are too uninterested in giving the show a minimum of continuity. Early script drafts contained three courthouse scenes in act 1 with Richard and Julius trying to find out where Michael and Kevin were taken: First, Richard tries to persuade a female court clerk to let him see his children's file, but she shrugs him off, saying the file has been sealed for the protection of minor children. Julius tries to convince Ellen, the judge's secretary, in the otherwise empty courtroom to let him know where the boys were placed. In the next scene, he exits and tells Richard in front of the courthouse the location. These scenes were dropped in rewrites. The final version only contains the hint that Julius knows the judge's secretary.
 The Meridian Children's Shelter located in East Bay (two hour drive from Tuscany) is portrayed by office building 5 at CBS-MTM (now RADFORD STUDIO CENTER) — a heavily used building on the show; last season, it posed as Tuscany Interstate Bank (compare # 187).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. The interiors of Stan Wess' office, however, are filmed in the administration of the Mulholland Tennis Club in Los Angeles.
  The log house used as the Daniels home was used as Kit's Carmel hiding place in season 6 (see # 148). This season, interiors are filmed here, too. The filming location is in Topanga Canyon in Los Angeles.Another mystery of this season is where the Daniels live: in the Tuscany Valley or somewhere near San Francisco Bay? Deleted scenes: The director's cut of this episode contained two more scenes at the Meridian Children's Shelter, which were filmed, but removed in post-production:
Lance mentions Falcon Crest has been doing business with Ned Vogel, the wine distributor, for over ten years. But in season 3, Calvin Kleeger was the distributor, in season 5, Jack Steubling was the West Coast distributor, and in season 6, Kibbler Beverages was the distribution company. So why is Ned Vogel so important to Falcon Crest now? It also remains a mystery why there was need for another distributor; after Angela reconciled with Peter in # 155, there was obviously no need to terminate their distribution contract (Peter had bought out Richard from Kibbler Beverages). Early script drafts contained an act 3 scene with Pilar arriving at Ned Vogel's reception for her "date". Judy, the secretary tells her Ned is expecting her, indicating for her to enter his office. This scene was omitted in rewrites. With the elimination of this scene, JUDY HOY, who plays Judy, is not visible in the episode; her voice is audible in some segments though.   The close-up of Lance standing at the shower in his and Pilar's Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion bedroom as seen in this season's current main title (right screen capture) is from an unused version of the scene in this episode (compare the left screen grab for the version used this episode).Early script drafts contained an act 3 night scene in Richard's house: He is sitting in the dining room, eating dinner alone, feeling the emptiness around him. He goes into Kevin's room, which is still filled with signs of the boy — toys, books, etc. Richard flops on the bed, grabs one of the stuffed animals and holds it to his chest. This scene was omitted in rewrites. It also would have contradicted earlier scenes which showed that Michael and Kevin shared one bedroom. Real life allusions: Charley mentions CLAUDIUS, CAESAR, TIBERIUS und CALIGULA from ancient Rome. Early script drafts contained an act 4 scene in which Lance returns from a meeting with Vogel, asking Chao-Li in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion foyer where Pilar is. Chao-Li replies that she is in Lance's winery office, and Lance runs out. This segment was omitted in rewrites, so Lance comes straight to the winery office.   Mistake: In the scene in the Falcon Crest Winery office, the close-ups of Lance and Pilar are from various takes that were combined in the editing process. This becomes apparent when Pilar's hands are on Lance's chest or shoulder in one moment (filmed towards Lance), but on Lance's collar in the subsequent frame (filmed towards Pilar).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. Deleted scene: The director's cut contained a scene with Chao-Li and Emma in the glass-covered patio of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion. While Emma sits with a cup of coffee, reading a magazine, Chao-Li comes to her and informs her that some things from Angela's bedroom are missing and that somebody must have been in there. Emma realizes he suspects Charley. Confronting him, Chao-Li says he does not know, bows respectfully and leaves. This scene was followed by another segment with Emma entering Angela's room, peeking into the closet and opening a few drawers until she finally sits down on the edge of Angela's bed. In post-production, the patio scene was deleted, and the beginning of the scene in Angela's bedroom was edited. The scene in the glass-covered patio of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is the only one to ever have been filmed in that part of the set. It remains a mystery why this addition to the Mansion set (compare # 193 for details) remained otherwise unused. LORIMAR's original blueprints of this set and many others are available for DFCF members in the Show – Production Office – Filming Locations – Movie Studios – Interior Sets section.  The painting by CLAUDE MONET entitled "Le Pont Japonais à Giverny" ("The Japanese Bridge in Giverny"), which was in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion living room between # 172 and 183, hangs now on the wall across from the door to Angela's bedroom in an upper hallway.For details about the picture itself, compare # 172.  The script suggested that Charley come back with two hunted quails. Preparing the prop list for this episode, the producers decided — in accordance with Charley's particularly tasteless storyline — he will be shown bringing home two dead falcons. They were actually presented in the final version. The props are mock cadavers of peregrine falcons.
Early script drafts staged the scene when Richard threatens and attacks Sharpe in Sharpe's office. It was restaged into the elevator in rewrites. The episode is totally vague about the setting — the elevator is in the building where Sharpe had sex with Celeste; according to the script, this is supposed to be a condo Sharpe owns. Sharpe's assets are $ 700 million.   The scene with Richard being desperate and sitting at Maggie's grave when Emma apppears (screen capture 2), was written and filmed for # 207. This is recognizable from the cast members' identical wardrobe. In post-production of # 207, the part with Richard and Emma at Maggie's grave (which was the beginning of the scene the way it was photographed) was cut away and lifted into the current episode; only the walk-talk segment (which was the later part of the segment as filmed) was kept in # 207. The questions about Richard's home (also check # 206 and 207) become more and more mysterious:Richard's desk is in a room with a blue-gray wall and a fireplace; it seems to be a corner in the later newly decorated bedroom (first seen in detail in # 217). But its style does not resemble any room at the ranch. On the other hand, when Michael sees the boys' bedroom at Lauren and Walker's log house the first time, he tells them Kevin's and his room at home (at Richard's) is much bigger; that size might be a hint for Richard's home being the ranch.
The family relation between Sharpe and Maggie or Richard is rather mysterious — thanks to the new writers' negligent way of handling the show's past: In # 207, Sharpe mentioned to Richard he is a second cousin; in # 206, there was also a hint for a relation to Richard. In this episode, Sharpe refers to Lauren as a distant relation to Maggie. It might be concluded from the line in the current episode that Michael and Lauren must be Maggie's second cousins — or else, Michael Sharpe's lie about the reason for Lauren being given custody for Michael and Kevin would not be plausible for his sister. In that case, however, it remains a mystery if the Sharpes are relatives to Maggie's biological parents (Charlotte Pershing and Oliver Donovan) or to her adoptive parents (Paul Hartford and Margaret Griffith); the latter is most likely the case giving respect to the plausibility of Sharpe's lie. Given Richard were Sharpe's second cousin, it would remain unanswered if the relationship is via the Channing or the Gioberti line. This interpretation is confirmed by the seasonal bible written by JOEL SURNOW and SHERI ANDERSON where the character description for Lauren explicitly states that she is "Maggie's second cousin".
Early script drafts suggested the scene with Sharpe and Lauren in the park as the episode finale. The segment in the underground garage was added in rewrites. Post-production mistake: In the end credits, MICHAEL DMYTRYK is listed as the first assistant director, which is wrong. He and JOSEPH PAUL MOORE are taking turns, the latter being assigned to the odd-numbered episodes and DMYTRYK being assigned to the even-numbered ones (as per seasonal episode count). Production documents, in particular the current epsiode's shooting schedule, give away that it was actually JOE MOORE who did this episode, but missed to get on-screen billing by error. ← Previous episode... → Next episode... |
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