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# 020 <2.02> The Arrival
 
 
(revised 05/06/2024)
 
 


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

 
 
Mistake in the aerial view of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion: The opening shot of the episode does not feature any persons nor the table on the southern veranda (yellow arrow) while the subsequent scene shows the family just having had coffee there. Chase's GMC High Sierra pickup truck, which is parked behind the house (as seen when the family moves from the veranda behind the Mansion), is missing in the aerial shot, too. — Post-production used an inconsistent establishing shot.
 
Mistake in the scene with Julia, Angela and Phillip behind the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion: While Angela talks to Julia, Chase is on his way to his truck in the background. During their conversation, Chase's truck is suddenly nowhere to be seen behind Julia in her close-up. It is only a moment later when, while the camera focuses on Angie, the engine is started in the background; in the next wide angle shot, the truck finally drives off in the background. — Julia's close-up was obviously from a different take when the truck was already gone.
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.
 
According to Phillip, Richard currently resides at the Nob Hill Regency in San Francisco — a hotel that will never be shown in the series.
 
Odd: To the right of the entrance of the Tuscany County Building, a sign saying Tuscany County Courthouse (screen capture 2) is installed now — only in the current episode (and in future episodes in which this establishing shot will be reused) though. In season 1, in contrast, there was a sign saying Tuscany County Building with a directory of authorities installed to the left of the entrance (screen grab 1).
It remains a mystery if the new prop sign was deliberately installed there because — as it will be revealed in # 026 (compare there) — the County Building complex also houses office space of the Tuscany County Court now or if this is simply a prop error, especially considering that the usual sign will be installed there again (albeit still on the right) from the following episode on (compare # 021). In # 030 and beyond, by the way, the usual sign will be back in its original position to the left of the entrance.
 
The establishing shot of the Tuscany County Building (second screen grab above), a clip that is used for the first time in this episode, features two cars known from # 001 (check there for details):
To the very left of the frame, the light yellow 1977 Ford Pinto Runabout is parked. Next to it is the brown 1975 Volkswagen Rabbit (series I, type 17). Both cars are used mostly for scenes in the Tuscany Valley now.
 
The filming location for the County Board of Supervisors Hall at the Tuscany County Building in this season and season 3 is the City Council Chamber in the Burbank City Hall. The photo on the right shows the assembly room nowadays; the mural was covered by the curtain on the show.
 
In # 013, the following members of the Tuscany County Board of Supervisors were mentioned: Max Hartman (Chairman), Carl Reed, Ed McKay / Chase Gioberti, John Costello and William Johnson. As Carl Reed and William Johnson meanwhile apparently left the board and were replaced by Nick Hogan and Dave Herrera, there must have been another election — probably between season 1 and 2.
 
Inside joke: Tuscany County Supervisor Dave Herrera is named after scriptwriter / actress SUZANNE HERRERA, wife of this season's supervising producer, ROBERT L. McCULLOUGH.
 
Series time frame: According to, Costello, Chase has been in the valley barely a year. — This is in accordance with the interpretation stated in # 018 and 019.
 
The filming location for the foyer of the Tuscany County Building (Costello's phone call with Angela) is the real foyer of the Burbank City Hall. The director used a close-up of the phone with the entrance in the background rather than the wonderful stairway in order to obscure the real Art Déco style of the building because it would not have matched the usual exteriors, the façade at THE BURBANK STUDIOS (nowadays WARNER BROS. STUDIOS).
 
Season time frame: Richard Channing has been in San Francisco for one week. This means at least more than one week must have gone by since the end of # 019, when he was still in New York City.
 
Parts of the grounds of the Wild Horse Valley Ranch outside Napa, CA portray parts of the grounds of the Agretti Vineyards.
Other parts of this filming location will also be used for other purposes, such as the Falcon Crest Stables (see # 025) and its nearby lake (see # 043), Greg Reardon's stables (see # 070), stables on the Agretti lands (see # 074) and the lake behind the Whitaker cabin (see # 101).
 

The scene with Chase and Nick in the car is a montage of several takes filmed on various streets. This becomes apparent because there is a black car behind Chase's pickup truck at first, which has suddenly disappeared in the subsequent close-ups; instead, a blue car passes Chase's truck later.

 

On-location filming: exteriors and interiors (dining room) of the Agretti Residence (first location, see # 014).

 
Real-life allusion: Carlo mentions the CIA as a possible former employer of Richard's.
 

The filming location for Zumwalt New and Used Cars, the automobile dealership where Emma buys her car is actually Zumwalt Ford Mercury in St. Helena, CA.

 
The main entrance of the (New) Globe executive building (propped with street number 1038) is seen for the first time. This episode also features the only scene ever filmed inside the building (foyer). It is actually The MacArthur (formerly known as Park Plaza Hotel) in Los Angeles.
 
Richard's limousine is a stretched silver 1980 Cadillac Sedan DeVille.
 
Mistake: In the close-up shot in the foyer of the San Francisco Globe, Richard and Diana have already moved further from the entrance towards the stairs than in the subsequent wide angle shot.
This is a mistake caused by the particular close-up filming technique — check # 001 (Chase and Maggie at the Gioberti Family Cemetery) for details.
 
This episode marks the first appearance of uncredited extra JULIE SALLES. She is an American background actress who played in many TV shows and movies in the 1980's and 1990's.
She primarily plays a brunette Tuscany Valley socialite in her 20's in a number of episodes. In this episode, she is at her first place of work as an editorial staff member of The San Francisco Globe. She will appear twice in a different rôle, too, though.
Compare # 167 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
 
Uncredited extra ROBIN BLAKE participates again as the middle-aged blonde Tuscany Valley socialite — this episode at her place of work, as a staff member at The San Francisco Globe.
Compare # 222 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 015.
 
Mistake: While Richard starts chatting with the Globe employees in the wide angle shot, Herb Talmadge is seen in the background in his office talking on the phone with his legs up on the desk. As Richard continues talking, Talmadge swings his legs off the desk and hangs up the phone. In the subsequent close-up of Richard, Talmadge does the same thing in the background again.
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 filming location for the Globe offices is the Los Angeles Law Center in Downtown L.A. near the Los Angeles Times. From Talmadge's office, the historic Higgins Building is visible (filmed towards east).

 
The San Francisco Globe has a circulation of 1 million copies per edition.
 

MARGARET LADD was pregnant and will be seen only in short scenes with her belly hidden behind books, bushes, flowers and a parasol, etc. This becomes really obvious in this episode. Her pregnancy is also the reason for her being absent in parts of this season.

 
License plate number of Phillip's metallic green 1979 Jaguar XJ6 (Series III): 327 WED. — It was a different number in # 019 (see there).
 
Montage: Before Melissa's Porsche comes ripping past Phillip's Jaguar, Phillip's car is actually only a few feet away from the Falcon Crest main gate (screen grab 1; gate still out of the camera angle). It is only the combination with the subsequent frames in the editing that creates the illusion that he turns left to drive along the walnut tree-lined driveway (screen grab 2). The producers' trick, however, is that, from his starting point in the second screen grab, he actually drives along the same section of the driveway up to the gate again, just as in the first shot. The segment when the Jaguar drives through the gate for the first time (without the Porsche in sight) was cut away in the final editing of the episode, but will be used later in # 032 and 036 (compare there).
 

ANA ALICIA's picture on his main title card comes from a scene in this episode.

 
Editing mistake: On the way to Lance and Melissa's baby shower at the Gioberti Estate, Angela's Mercedes-Benz 600 drives from the mansion through the main gate on the walnut tree-lined driveway. Then the car arrives at the Gioberti limestone home. This is apparently wrong because the Gioberti House must be located between the Victorian Mansion and the main gate. Therefore, it makes no sense that the limousine seems to leave the Falcon Crest grounds in the first place. A map of the vicinity of the Gioberti Estate is available here (for members only).
 

The guests surprising Melissa and Lance with a baby shower come out of a French door next to the Gioberti House front door. — Inconsistency: Inside the house, these French doors are missing; there is only the dining room wall there. The designers building the interior sets paid less attention to details of the real house.

 
This episode marks the first appearance of uncredited extra KATHRYN BRYAN HAMPTON. She is the daughter of the family owning Sycamore Vineyards in Rutherford, CA and — through this estate — a share of Freemark Abbey in the Napa Valley. She was oftentimes present during location filming in the Napa Valley and took many photos on the set. She appeared as an extra in some episodes.
She plays a Tuscany Valley resident named Kathy on the show; her name is audible in the current episode when Maggie greets her at Melissa's baby shower. Maggie's kiss and her saying hello was not in the script, by the way, but spontaneously added by SUSAN, as was the following line: "So nice that you could come!" This line, however, is drowned by all the guests' howl of joy.
Compare # 165 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
 
Saving production costs: ANA ALICIA, as Melissa, is dressed for the baby party in the same outfit that CRISTINA RAINES wore as Lane Ballou in # 06 of "Flamingo Road" (1981-82 season).
In that LORIMAR series, SHIRLEY CUNNINGHAM also served as the women's costume supervisor.
 

Despite LORIMAR's "new wardrobe for new season" policy, this episode, Angela wears the same blouse she already wore in season 1 (# 014).

 

SUZIE McCULLOUGH a.k.a. SUZANNE HERRERA, ROBERT L. McCULLOUGH's wife, plays Lance's date in this episode. She already had a supporting rôle in # 012 (check there for details).

 
Despite LORIMAR's "new wardrobe for new season" policy, this episode, Vickie wears a dress she already wore in season 1 (# 016).
 
The art print in the anteroom to Richard's New Globe office is a reproduction of a historic lithographic print of the Sutro Baths in San Francisco. They used to be a saltwater swimming pool complex on the Pacific Coast below the famous Cliff House. The baths were commissioned by German-Jewish immigrant and San Francisco mayor ADOLPH SUTRO. At their opening in 1896, they were the world's largest indoor swimming pool establishment. The building was destroyed by fire in 1966; some of its ruins are still visible.
While the use of this prop in Richard's anteroom on "Falcon Crest" made sense due to the topographical connection with San Francisco, LORIMAR had previously used the same picture in a different frame to simply decorate Cliff Barnes' office at Wentworth Tool and Die in "Dallas". For more details, check out the Beyond the Show – Props – Set Dressing – Decoration section.
 
The view of San Francisco from Richard's New Globe office is a photographed backdrop (translight) taken obviously from the Bank of America Building, as the perspective indicates. — Inconsistency: This perspective does not match the location the series establishes as the New Globe building complex. The New Globe is not located in the Bank of America building and the New Globe building complex is not nearly as high as the Bank of America either.
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.
 
Richard mentions he kept his father's old chair. — Inconsistency: The armchair looks totally different from Douglas' chair in his Globe office as seen in # 005.
 
 

 
 
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