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# 043 <3.03> Conspiracy
 
 
(revised 05/06/2024)
 
 


 
 
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Cameraman's mistake: In a few scenes at the beginning of this episode, especially the establishing shot of the Tuscany Valley Hospital and the wide angle shot in the emergency room, sort of a black frame seems to be around the film. Apparently, the lens of the portable camera is not open completely. This mistake is visible in the original TV airing only (screen captures 1 through 3).

For the season 3 DVD release, the original picture negative was repositioned when scanned in the remastering process, eliminating the flaw from the visible frame (screen grabs 4 through 6).

 
Uncredited extra PAUL VAN appears in his usual rôle as the mustached Tuscany Valley doctor again — in fact, he is visible in scrubs at the Tuscany Valley Hospital this time, giving away that he is a surgeon.
Compare # 227 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of all his appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 014.
 
Uncredited stand-in MARTHA MANOR appears as an extra again — continuing to play her most recent rôle from # 042, a Tuscany Valley Hospital nurse (in a curly brunette wig).
Compare # 213 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about MARTHA MANOR, compare # 001.
 
The Women's Correctional Facility in the Tuscany Valley — obviously, like the Tuscany County Jail, also for the purpose of remand and short terms of imprisonment — is portrayed by the back of the eastern wing of the Clement W. Miller Memorial Medical Treatment Center of the Yountville Veterans Hospital outside Yountville, CA.
 
In early script drafts, the scene with Cole in Joseph's room at the Tuscany Valley Hospital was initially longer: Before Melissa enters, Cole is so entranced by the opportunity to be this close to his son that he fails to notice a nurse entering behind him until she speaks, assuming he is the little guy's father. Cole reacts to being called his dad and is pleased that it shows. This part of the scene was removed in rewrites.
 
Early script drafts contained two scenes with Richard visiting Julia in jail this episode, one of them with Richard (with ulterior, malevolent motives) suggesting that he can talk Melissa into seeing Julia so that Julia can apologize to her, something she desperately wants to do. In rewrites, Richard's visits were trimmed down to one, and Richard's malevolent idea was moved to discussing his scheme with Melissa.
 
Early script drafts contained the following act 1 scenes, which were omitted in rewrites:
  • Angela and Lance, coming from the hospital, arrive in front of the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion in his Porsche 944. She demands Lance convince his mother to prepare her defense with Phillip in the upcoming murder trial.
  • The original act 1 ending was Maggie sitting beside Chase's hospital bed as he fitfully sleeps. She tries to tell him what is in her heart, a confession of love and that she will not let him go. The act closes on her mounting concern.
 

When Cole and Linda meet on a knoll near a street we will later (# 132) get to know as River Road, he looks out to the west: "From up here, all you can see is Falcon Crest, some of the finest vineyards in the world." But giving respect to later episodes, there must also be other growers' vineyards there, e.g. Agretti (# 046 and 100; also see # 021), McKay/Ranson (# 049 and 051) and Gianinni lands. By the way, the knoll is the one where Jacqueline's grave is located (a little more to the east). In this scene, it is out of the camera POV. Filming location: Shafer Vineyards, neighboring to Stags' Leap.
 
A vintner named Harris from Arbor Vineyards in the Tuscany Valley is mentioned. But neither he nor his vineyards will ever be seen on the show.
 
In early script drafts, Richard asked Chase during his hospital visit if Jacqueline ever mentioned him. Chase replies that Jacqueline only told him of a younger brother who was stillborn. This part of the dialog was omitted in rewrites.
 
Early script drafts contained an act 2 scene with Lance visiting Julia in jail. While he tries to convince her to cooperate with Phillip, she wants an attorney of her own. This segment was omitted in rewrites. However, a reference of Lance's visit remained in dialog in a later act 2 night scene with Lance and Melissa in their bedroom in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion.
 
The Gioberti Estate Guest House is the real main guest cottage at Stags' Leap Winery. It will be used as Chase's office from season 5 on.
 
John Osborne, Jacqueline's attorney, drives a red 1980 Lincoln Continental Mark VI.
 
Early script drafts had John Osborne say, should Michael decline to become the executor of Jacqueline's estate, she named the Banque de France (Bank of France) as the backup executor. This line was dropped in rewrites. Not only would it have been inappropriate to have a real entity involved in this kind of storyline, but the reference would have had no point in the storyline at all.
 
Doubts: In a conversation between Phillip and Richard, Jacqueline is said to have stepped in front of Richard in order to save his life when Julia fired her gun in # 040. This explanation is not very convincing as Jacqueline was in the foyer of the Victorian Mansion behind Chase and Fong; Richard, however, was on the opposite side in the living room — quite close to the southern wall. It remains a mystery if and why Phillip possibly tried to deceive Richard because Julia shot both Chase and Jacqueline, who were standing in front of her and facing her. Despite Nick's and the others' attempts to take the gun away from her, nobody else flanking Julia on either side was hurt. Also, it seems out of character for Jacqueline to run from the foyer into the living room and to step in front of Richard or even try to grabble for Julia's gun, particularly because season 6 will reveal Jacqueline is not Richard's natural mother.
 
Uncredited extra JULIE SALLES participates again as the brunette Tuscany Valley socialite in her 20's — this episode as a nurse at the Tuscany Valley Hospital again.
Compare # 167 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 020.
 
Uncredited extra DOUGLAS MAIDA appears as Dave in this episode again — as usual, at his place of work as an orderly at the Tuscany Valley Hospital.
Compare # 224 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 034.
 

Uncredited extra ROBERTA STORM appears in this episode again as nurse Winslow at the Tuscany Valley Hospital.
Compare # 219 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 035.

 
In the conversation between Maggie and Michael about Chase's treatment (beginning of act 3), early script drafts included Maggie's line that Michael has not practiced as a doctor since his wife's death. Not only was this complete backstory shifted to later episodes, but in particular the first name of Michael's late wife will not be mentioned earlier than in # 055: Ann; the original name in the current episode was JoAnn.
 
As in the previous episode, a part of the Tuscany Valley Hospital is portrayed by the Recreation Center of the Yountville Veterans Hospital (compare # 042).
 
Despite LORIMAR's "new wardrobe for new season" policy, this episode, Richard wears the sports coat ("Prince of Wales" style) he already wore in season 2 (# 038).
 

Uncredited extra JACK DOUGLASS appears in this episode again — this time as a patron at the café at the Tate Hotel.
Compare # 130 for a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 032.

 
The café at the Tate Hotel in San Francisco where Richard and Melissa meet is actually the mezzanine level of what used to be Rex Il Ristorante in the James Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles — nowadays the Cicada Restaurant.
Early script drafts staged that café scene with Melissa and Richard at an outdoor Fisherman's Wharf restaurant in San Francisco. In the end, it became this interior scene.
 
Early script drafts included Joseph in the breakfast scene at the Falcon Crest pool (at 3). When he grabs Chao-Li by the leg, the majordomo says he will teach him the secrets of tai-chi someday. When Melissa replies she does not want her son to learn martial arts, Chao-Li states tai-chi is the art of life. Rewrites eliminated Joseph and all references to him from this scene.
 
Caproni's Italian Bakery on Market Street in downtown Tuscany is actually located in the Sebastiani Building in Sonoma.
In the previous season, Caproni's Bakery was located in a different building on Main Street in downtown Tuscany (compare the screen capture from # 030 and the preceding establishing shot of Main Street in that episode). Apparently, the bakery must have moved since then.
 
The white coat Emma "borrows" for her visit with Chase in the ICU has a name tag of one of the Tuscany Valley Hospital doctors on it: S. Fairchild, M.D. This character will never be seen in the series though.
 
In a flashback scene, Carlo Agretti's murder can be seen completely for the first time. The newly filmed clips of Julia are combined with old clips. Inconsistency: Whereas the costumers dressed ABBY DALTON in the murderer's pullover and the hairdressers restyled her hairdo exactly as it was in season 2, the set decorators paid less attention to detail: When Julia grabs for the statue to kill Carlo, a wall with a picture can be seen in the background. But there has never been such a wall in Carlo's study.
 
The lake where Julia watched Carlo with another mistress (flashback), is a little lake on the grounds of the Wild Horse Valley Ranch outside Napa, CA in real life. It is close to the Falcon Crest Stables. For the heavy use of Wild Horse Valley Ranch as a filming location, compare # 020.
 

Carlo's lover's car in the flashback is a light beige 1979 Fiat Spider 2000 CSO Turbo (type 124CS).

 
The barrel rooms of the Falcon Crest Cooperage in this episode and # 045 are not portrayed by rooms in the Spring Mountain Winery Building, but by the barrel building at Inglenook in Rutherford, CA. That particular building (erected in 1973) was situated across the historic Inglenook Stone Château and demolished in 2008 (compare season 2).
Despite the lighting crew's efforts to hide the building opposite the open door — the Inglenook Stone Château, which will pose as the Cooperage in # 071 — by creating artificial sunlight, the building can still be recognized in that scene.
 
Despite LORIMAR's "new wardrobe for new season" policy, this episode, Richard wears the same white double-breasted sports coat he already wore in season 2 (# 025); see there for more information on where this piece came from with no effect on the show's budget.
 

The ambulance at the Tuscany Valley Hospital entrance is a 1975 Dodge Van.
 
The black / beige Buick LeSabre (check # 013 for details), a well known car, is parked to the left of the hospital entrance.

 
Uncredited extra GEORGE SASAKI appears as Dr. Fong at the Tuscany Valley Hospital again in this episode.
Compare # 188 for biographical details about this minor rôle and a list of appearances throughout the series.
For details about the extra, compare # 026.
 

Early script drafts staged the scene with Richard and Phillip in downtown San Francisco at a fountain in the Golden Gate Park.
The location was changed, however. It is actually Pershing Square in front of the Biltmore Hotel (nowadays Millennium Biltmore Hotel) in Los Angeles.

 
Earl script drafts contained an act 4 scene, in which Emma visits Julia in jail (outdoor exercise area of the Women's Correctional Facility). Emma is convinced her non-stop chatter will help Julia letting herself go, letting out all her suppressed emotions. This scene was omitted in rewrites.
 
 

 
 
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