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# 005 <1.05> Tony Comes Home
 
 
(revised 09/18/2023)
 
 


 
 
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Script | Credits | Filming Locations
 
 

 
 
Tentative title: Tony Comes Back.
 

License plate number of the red 1974 BMW 2002 Coupé, which is parked in front of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion and must belong to one of the other four guests (names unknown) at Julia's birthday party: 436 XEB.

 

License plate number of Tony's white / orange 1981 GMC Jimmy K-1500 pickup truck: Alaska A7R 141.

 
The reason for the GMC logo on the grille of Tony's car being covered with gray tape is probably that LORIMAR wanted to avoid commercial identification because GMC did not pay for product placement or furnish production assistance. It is inconsistent, however, that the GMC lettering on the vehicle's rear was not covered in the later scene at the lake.
 
On the southern part of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion driveway, a white 1969 Mercedes-Benz 250 E (type W114) is parked in the background. It is the same picture car that was in use as Carl Reed's in # 003 (see there). This might indicate that Carl himself is also a guest at Julia's birthday party although he is not visible in the scene. Also compare # 004 for the use of this picture car.
 
The picture in the upstairs hallway to Julia's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is "A Girl with a Watering Can", an 1876 Impressionist style painting (oil on canvas) by PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841 – 1919). Just shortly after that scene, the same painting is visible in the kitchen hallway during dinner — an inappropriate prop policy to save production cost. It will disappear from there later (compare # 017). The very same painting will be moved to the dining room later though (compare # 025).
As with all artwork in the Victorian Mansion, it remains unanswered throughout the series if they are originals or if they are meant to be reproductions. The original of the aforementioned new artwork is located at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
 
The tissue box in Julia's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is the same prop as the one that is usually placed on Angela's desk in the study (screen capture 2 is from a later scene in the current episode). It is part of Angela's distinct black / apricot colored desk set in this season.
 
The interior set of Julia's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is the same as the set of Angela's (compare # 002; also featured in this episode) and of the guest bedroom (compare # 001) — an easy way to cut down production costs. The set is just propped with different furniture and filmed from different angles to portray the various bedrooms.
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.
 

Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion interior set — inconsistency: The window in Julia's bedroom consists of casements. But all the windows in the real Villa Miravalle are sash windows only (except the study and dining room).

 

The establishing shot of the Golden Gate Bridge with the panorama of San Francisco in the background is stock footage from a film library. It is filmed from Conzelman Road (Golden Gate National Recreation Area) towards southeast.

 
Chase mentions to Maggie it is a one-and-a-half hour drive to San Francisco from the Tuscany Valley. In # 001, Maggie told Vickie San Francisco is one hour away. Do these different estimations refer to different traffic situations and vehicles?
 

Product placement: Julia wears a polo shirt by Polo Ralph Lauren.

 

The establishing shot of San Francisco — a view up west on California Street from the corner of Powell Street — is stock footage from a film library.

 
The shot of Maggie in Douglas Channing's Globe office in this season's 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).
 
The season 1 bible had slightly different plans for Maggie's storyline in this episode:
  • Maggie and Douglas are attracted to each other while working together. Angie makes Chase believe they actually have an affair. This idea was dropped.
  • Maggie's first job as a stringer for Doug's newspaper when she returns to the Tuscany Valley is investigating Jason's death. This idea was abolished also.
 

An old fire truck (1947 International Harvester KB-Series) is parked near the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion. It belonged to MICHAEL ROBBINS, the owner of Spring Mountain Vineyards in those days, in real life.

 
Angela mentions her holdings have doubled over the last twelve years. Since she does not refer to Falcon Crest only, this implies she must also have other businesses. It would be interesting to know which ones. A similar allusion will be made later in # 184.
 
The interior set of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion living room is much wider than the real living room in Spring Mountain's Villa Miravalle (compare the wall with the fireplace).
 
The establishing shot of San Francisco — a view over the bay towards the city from the Avenue of the Palms on Treasure Island in southeastern direction — is stock footage from a film library.
 
The filming location for the San Francisco street where Maggie calls the Globe office is the 13400 block of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, CA. The phone booth is not real, but merely a prop.
 
The picture in the upstairs hallway to Angela's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is "The Boy with Cherries", an 1859 Realism style painting (oil on canvas) by ÉDOUARD MANET (1832 – 1883).
As with all artwork in the Victorian Mansion, it remains unanswered throughout the series if they are originals or if they are meant to be reproductions. The original of the aforementioned artwork is located at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon / Portugal.
 
The picture above the fireplace in Angela's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is "The Daughters of Paul Durand-Ruel", an 1882 Impressionist style painting (oil on canvas) by PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841 – 1919). The artwork will be in the dining room from # 016 on though.
As with all artwork in the Victorian Mansion, it remains unanswered throughout the series if they are originals or if they are meant to be reproductions. The original of the aforementioned artwork is located at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA.
 
The director's cut of the episode contained more scenes, which were deleted or edited in the final version to stay within the one-hour time frame (including commercials):
  • Deleted was a scene with Julia and Tony at a café (filmed at the commissary at THE BURBANK STUDIOS / WARNER BROS. STUDIOS), speaking about his various jobs in the oil industry in the last twelve years.
  • Drastically shortened was the scene in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion study with Angela playing a game of chess with Chao-Li during which she realizes how quiet the house is with Julia, Tony and Lance being away at the lake.
 
The lakeside cabin where Lance, Julia and Tony spend the night is located at the lagoon on the backlot of the THE BURBANK STUDIOS (nowadays WARNER BROS. STUDIOS). It was also used on many other TV shows, including "Flamingo Road" (several times); it was originally built for "The F.B.I.", a TV series running between 1965 and 1974, which is why it is still often referred to as "FBI cabin" until this day.
 
Lighting inconsistency: Maggie gives Chase a call from the Globe at 8:12 PM. There is too much daylight shining through the window in the Gioberti kitchen for this time of the year; it is fall.
 
The vineyard Tony and Julia would like to buy is 20 acres of Zinfandel and Gamay. It is located near Hot Springs. Inside joke: Hot Springs is the previous name of Calistoga, a real town in the Napa Valley.
 
The filming location for this vineyard is on the grounds of Spring Mountain, west of the winery quite close to the beginning of the first dense foresty area. The establishing clip introducing the scene is also filmed there, the camera facing northeast towards the Mayacamas Mountains in the background.
 
The realtor drives a 1981 brown Ford Granada Station Wagon with exterior wood trim.
 
The phone number of Delano Real Estate, the estate agency offering Julia and Tony the vineyard, is (707) 555-3923.
This number does not exist in real life. The "555" prefix was invented by the movie industry in association with the telephone companies exclusively for the use on TV productions and motion pictures as a way to prevent film makers from accidentally publicizing real phone numbers — which could have led to fans calling and harassing the real phone subscribers, who then might have sued the production companies for violation of their privacy.
 
Maggie's office at the Globe is room number 305. It is near Mr. Lambert's office — another staff member, who — just like Ed Nichols, an editor mentioned quite often this episode — is never shown in person.
 
The picture next to the window in Julia's bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion is "The Belfry of Douai" (1871, oil on canvas) by JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT (1796 – 1875).
As with all artwork in the Victorian Mansion, it remains unanswered throughout the series if they are originals or if they are meant to be reproductions. The original of the aforementioned artwork is located at the Musée du Louvre in Paris / France.
 
Tony's address: 9611 Highgate Hill, Anchorage, AL.
 
Early drafts had slightly different plans for Angela and Lance's scheme to get rid of Tony:
  • The season 1 bible planned for Tony to nearly seduce Vickie — an incident initiated by devious Angie; Tony finally flees in the face of Chase's rage when the Giobertis find out. This idea was abolished because the producers felt this might be too immoral in that era. When the story outline was developed, the writers discussed the idea of Tony hitting on Maggie.
  • As an alternative, a $ 10,000 bribe and ticket to the French Riviera from Angie were discussed so Tony would leave.
  • When the episode came into the writing stage, original script drafts called for Lance, on behalf of Angie, tricking Tony into coming to the Route Six Motel in Tuscany to see a "friend" — where actually Barbara, with lots of make-up, was supposed to seduce Tony while Lance would secretly take incriminating photo shots of the scene. These plans were altered in the revised final of the shooting script.
  • A later revision included an erotic scene between Lance and Barbara where Barbara's performance as Tony's alleged girlfriend should have been addressed directly. That scene was finally omitted so the viewers had to remember Barbara had been seen as one of Lance's sex partners before.
  • In the original episode finale, Julia only learnt from Angie that Tony left after he realized he became the victim of Lance and Angela's dirty scheme with Barbara. Julia then swore never to drink again because alcohol would only help her forget. The final version of the episode's end also erased the direct confrontation with Julia's alcoholism — a topic the series always rather hinted in its final version instead of approaching directly.
 
CHAO-LI CHI's on-screen credit as a guest star is missing from the end credits by mistake.
 
 

 
 
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