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# 012 <1.12> Family Reunion
 
 
(revised 10/16/2023)
 
 


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

 
 
Tentative titles:
  • Reunion
  • Voices from the Past
 
Reunion.
 
Labeling name: Jacqueline (French origin) stands for "supplanter" — a very nice allusion to Jacqueline's ambitious fight against Angela; her attempts to overthrow Angela's strong reign over all family members living at Falcon Crest.
 
Real-life allusions: Chase mentions the Queen of England; Maggie mentions Prince Charles and Lady Di.
 
Gioberti House interior set — inconsistency: As this episode shows in detail, the two windows in the living room, which can be seen in the real Stags' Leap Manor's exterior shots, are missing (compare red marks).
 
Mistake: Cole first gets the power cable of the vacuum cleaner into the machine, but in the next few frames the cable can be seen again.
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.
 
Chase's employee number with AIA: 0129 72055.
 

Product placement: The logo of the Visa credit card company is visible near the cash register at the flower store.

 
Product placement: Vickie mentions the Concorde (nowadays no longer in service), which Jacqueline used to fly from Paris to New York.
 
SUZIE McCULLOUGH, wife of ROBERT L. McCULLOUGH (this episode's writer and this season's executive story consultant), plays the flower store clerk in this episode. She will also appear in # 020 — as Lance's love interest. She will be co-writing a couple of scripts for seasons 2 and 3 under her maiden name, SUZANNE HERRERA. She was also instrumental in helping her husband lay the groundwork for season 1 with experience from her own big family.
 
The street number of the flower store (scene with Vickie and Lance) is 1419.
This is the real street number. The hardly legible store name on the awning is real too: Wee Bonnie Flower. The location used to be a flower store on Mission Street in South Pasadena, CA in Greater L.A. That particular building has been used for different commercial purposes since filming.
 

Cameraman's mistake: In the scene in the Gioberti House master bedroom, the shadow of the boom microphone can be seen on the wall — first when Chase enters and later when Cole is lying on the bed.

 
Original script drafts called for a greenhouse near the Victorian Mansion on the grounds of Falcon Crest. The respective scene (Lance bringing Angela the roses), was filmed at the greenhouse at THE BURBANK STUDIOS (WARNER BROS. STUDIOS) first. For more details about this location, see # 014.
For unknown reasons, the whole scene had to be refilmed. The reshoot took place in the foyer of the Mansion, however, and was used in the final version of the episode.
 
Gioberti House exterior set — inconsistency: When Jacqueline arrives at the Gioberti House, it becomes obvious that the replica of the driveway on the sound stage fails to resemble the grade of the real driveway in front of the house. There are also far less stairs Jacqueline has to climb up in the set to the front door.
 
The limousine taking Jacqueline to the Gioberti House is a black stretched 1980 Cadillac Fleetwood.
 
The interior set of Vickie's bedroom in the Gioberti House is the same as the set of the guest bedroom — 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.
 
The bed in the Gioberti House guest bedroom is the same prop as the one from the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion guest bedroom used by Chase and Maggie in # 001. The reuse is not an obvious one though because # 001 never featured a long shot so much of the top end of the bed was visible in the mirror only.
For the further use of this bed, check out the Beyond the Show – Props – Set Dressing – Bedroom Furniture section.
 
According to Jacqueline, Jason spoke all the romance languages as though they were his own. Jason also loved music.
 
The scene with Jacqueline telling Vickie about Jason in the Gioberti House guest bedroom was originally staged at the Gioberti Family Cemetery in early script drafts.
 

In all her scenes (also in season 2), LANA TURNER wears an inconspicuous, very thin gold necklace with a cross, regardless if she is wearing any other necklaces in her Jacqueline rôle. The gold necklace is not part of her rôle's wardrobe and jewelry, but a personal piece owned by the actress.

 
Original script drafts included Apollo in the scene in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion when Lance returns to tell Angela about Jacqueline's reaction after receiving Angie's gift basket.
 
Angela's portrait (painted by Arthur Masefield in # 009) is no longer in the living room of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion, but in the foyer now.
 

Lighting inconsistency: Although it is dark outside as the nightly establishing shot of the Gioberti House shows, there is too much daylight shining through the window in the Gioberti kitchen.

 
The establishing shot of the club house at the San Franciscso golf course where Angela and Phillip are playing is old stock footage from a film library featuring the Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles. This Spanish style club house used to be at the corner of Rossmore Avenue and Beverly Boulevard in Hancock Park and was demolished in 1971; the new Mediterranean style club house, which is totally different from the previous one, was built in a different area on the vast grounds.
 
The filming location for the scene at the golf course itself is Kirkwood Golf Course (nowadays Weddington Golf & Tennis) in Studio City, CA.
 
Original script drafts did not include Phillip Erickson. A scene between Angie and a private investigator had been written instead. The writers decided only during the run of season 1 that MEL FERRER's character would become a recurring rôle (also compare # 001).
 
According to Phillip's research, Jacqueline remarried three times since her divorce from Jason in 1951: An oil tycoon in Monaco in 1958 and an art dealer from Belgium later. Her fourth husband is not mentioned in this episode. It is most likely shipping tycoon Alexander Nikoláou, who will appear in season 4.
Inconsistencies: Regarding to Alexander Nikoláou, see # 084 and # 085. Regarding to Jean-Pierre Charbone, another man Jacqueline was married to during WW II — i.e. during her marriage with Jason; making her a bigamist — see # 031.
 
Mistake: When Phillip informs Angela about Jacqueline's assets, her right arm is in different positions in subsequent frames filmed from different angles.
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.
 
The exterior set of the Gioberti Family Cemetery is slightly different from the one in # 001 and 004 (screen capture 1). As this episode is not shot in the Napa Valley, a site in Greater Los Angeles is now used for it: Malibu Creek State Park (formerly Fox Ranch) in Malibu Canyon (screen grab 2).
Click here for sketches of how the Gioberti Family Cemetery changed over the years.
 
The headstone of Jason's grave at the Gioberti Family Cemetery, which is presented in this episode, is a striking prop. The back of an identical headstone was already featured during Jason's funeral in # 001 (yellow mark). In that episode, it was placed a good distance away from Jason's new grave. In the current episode, three headstones of that kind can be seen; the one marked red is Joseph Gioberti's (although not legible on film, but only on photos from the set); the inscription of the one marked green is not visible.
 
All the scenes involving Jason's headstone in this episode do not feature a close-up of its inscription — fortunately! Because, as the photo of LANA TURNER and director LARRY ELIKANN from the set reveals, the prop department added "1912 — 1981" as the year of birth and year of death, which is not in accordance with Jason's age since he was younger than Angela, as it was revealed in # 008 among other episodes. Angela, however, was definitely not meant to be older than JANE WYMAN.
 
Jasper's gravestone looks different from the one in # 004. In the current episode, the headstone can be discovered between Joseph's and Jason's graves. The camera focus is never on the inscription though. The set photo, however, gives it away that it is Jasper's grave (turquoise mark).
 
According to the production report dated 01/12/1982, LANA TURNER caused a delay of approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes reporting to the set from her dressing room when the set and director were ready for shooting.
 
The scene with LANA TURNER, MARGARET LADD and JANE WYMAN at the Gioberti Family Cemetery is an example of a specific production technique on the set to make sure that the lighting is perfect, but that the actors are not continually exposed to the sunlight. A straight shadow is visible on the ground around the headstones in the screen capture. Since there are no straight structures (like a wall or a roof) nearby, but only trees and bushes, it is obvious that this is the shadow caused by the light reflector (visible on set photo 1), so the actresses are not exposed to the sunlight too long while they, as usual, do many takes for the same scene. That way, they can play in the shade. At the same time, mobile headlights from the studio make sure the lighting looks natural (set photo 2). This technique is used in most outdoor scenes, but usually can hardly be detected in the finished product.
 
Mistake: When Emma speaks with Jacqueline at the Gioberti Family Cemetery, she is holding the twig (which she broke off from the tree shortly before) downward, so it cannot be seen in the long shot behind Jason's headstone. In the subsequent close-up, Emma is holding the twig right in front of her torso though.
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.
 
Original script drafts called for subliminal flashbacks of # 001 ("both moments" of Jason's death) during Emma's conversation with Jacqueline at the Gioberti Family Cemetery. The final version as aired, however, only contained Emma's reference to Jason's dying "twice" in dialog.
 
Real-life allusion: Cole mentions baseball legend JOE DiMAGGIO.
 
The meadow at the Gioberti Estate (scene with Chase and Vickie) is filmed in Malibu Creek State Park, too.
 
Mistake: In the scene with Chase and Vickie, his right arm is on the tree first, but no longer there in the subsequent frame filmed from the back.
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.
 
Mistake in the scene when Angela calls the Gioberti House from the antique phone in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion dining room: She dials five digits on the rotary only, which does not make any sense because U.S. phone numbers (excluding the area code since this is a local call) consist of seven digits, a three-digit prefix plus a four-digit number. # 139 will reveal that the phone number of the Gioberti House including the area code is (707) 855-6322.
 
Mistakes in the scene with the final dinner preparations at the Gioberti House: The Tuscany Valley catering service employee with the dark curls (played by uncredited extra DEE DEE YOUNG) is carrying a tray from the dining room to the foyer or living room (screen grab 1). But when the scene cuts to the kitchen (where Cole eventually arrives from the dining room), the same woman is now cooking something on the stove (screen capture 3) although she never came back from the living room between these two frames. It is also awkward that, from the moment when Cole starts walking from the dining room towards the kitchen (screen grab 2), it takes him more than six seconds to arrive in the visible frame filmed from the kitchen although the dining room and pantry are just a few steps away from the kitchen.
 
Uncredited stand-in GORDON HODGINS appears as an extra again — this time as a Tuscany Valley catering service employee who has an assignment as a servant at the Gioberti House during Jacqueline's dinner party.
Compare # 182 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about GORDON HODGINS, compare # 001.
 
Falcon Crest also produces sherry.
 
Strange: In her conversation with her grandmother, Vickie says that Jacqueline obviously still loves Jason "after three marriages". Apparently, she means after three more marriages because Jacqueline had — at least as far as the family knows (compare the entry about Phillip's research above) — not just three marriages in total, but three more marriages after Jason.
A complete analysis of the family relations is available here.
 
While LANA TURNER's French pronunciation is not too convincing (Jacqueline has actually French roots), the few French words spoken by JAMIE ROSE sound quite impeccable.
 
Fictional entities: Two airlines are mentioned: Western Jet Airlines and AIA.
 
The establishing shot of San Francisco International Airport (filmed in northeastern direction) is stock footage from a film library. This building has undergone major changes since an extensive remodeling in 1994.
 
The San Francisco International Airport V.I.P. terminal is actually a lounge in terminal 3 of the Los Angeles International Airport; at the time of filming, it was exclusively used by TWA.
 
Jacqueline's AIA flight from San Francisco International Airport to Washington, D.C. (from where she will have a connecting flight to Paris) is number 207.
 
This episode marks the first appearance of uncredited extra BENJIE BANCROFT. He is an American background actor, who appeared in many TV series and movies between the 1940's and 1980's.
On the show, he plays a tall and rugged Tuscany Valley inhabitant, who changes his places of work quite a few times. In this episode, he works as a San Francisco International Airport employee standing at the gate when Jacqueline is boarding her flight.
Compare # 187 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
 
This is MICHAEL FILERMAN's last episode as executive producer for the next six years. He will resume his executive producing duties in season 8, but will receive credit for the remaining season 1 episodes as well as during seasons 2 through 7. He will even be paid for these years due to a certain clause in the contract between LORIMAR and his company, MF PRODUCTIONS.
 
 

 
 
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