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# 178 <7.23> Flying Blind   The dream sequence at the beginning of the episode (Maggie walking down the hallway looking for Vickie) was filmed in this season's Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion upstairs set, which was repainted brown just for this scene; they are usually white this season.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 establishing clip of the prison in Geneva / Switzerland is actually a stock shot from a movie library, which originated when the 1985 movie "Love on the Run" was shot. It features the former Ohio State Penitentiary, actually the corner of West Spring Street and Neil Avenue in Columbus, OH where the prison's hospital wing was located. The historic building was operated between 1834 and 1984. It was demolished in 1998 to make room for the building complex of the Nationwide Arena, a large multi-purpose arena.Episode writers CYNTHIA DARNELL and HOWARD LAKIN developed some of the scenes with Vickie and Eric in prison in Geneva / Switzerland as a little homage to the 1978 movie "Midnight Express". Vickie's inmate number in prison in Geneva / Switzerland is 639.
 Uncredited extra PAUL VAN appears in his usual rôle as the mustached Tuscany Valley doctor again — this time at the San Francisco Metropolitan Hospital (like in # 127 already). It remains a mystery if he is working temporarily there or if he actually changed his place of work before returning to the Queen of the Valley Hospital again (where he will be seen at a later time again).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 # 001.  Dan drives a black 1978 Ford LTL-9000 truck he calls Wendi.Original script drafts had Dan's truck carry radioactive waste. It was changed to nitroglycerin for the final version. In the segment with Dan maneuvering the truck through the obstacle course, BRETT CULLEN is replaced by stunt double STEVE CHAMBERS.
  The sneak preview for this episode shows a part of the phone conversation between Melissa and Dan (from Red's car phone) that is missing in the respective scene: The director's cut of the episode contained the complete phone call as it was written in the script, including a short dialog about both their more or less dangerous activities. When Dan says that it is a big deal what he's doing with Red's shipment, Melissa replies: "So is the one I'm working on with Richard." This part was completeley dropped from the final version. In contrast, however, Dan's reply, "You're working with Richard?!", and Melissa's sarcastic remark, "Guess we're both playing with matches, right?", are just missing in the actual scene, but at least made it to the sneak preview. In the script, Melissa's original line was: "Guess we're both playing with a little dynamite, huh?" The scene had to be shortened to match the usual one-hour program schedule (including commercials).
Early script drafts included Clarisse Porter in the scene in the Falcon Crest Victorian Mansion study in which Nellie tells Angela about how her work at Maggie and Richard's ranch was terminated. Angela fires both women. Lance enters the Mansion just when Clarisse and Nellie are leaving. Clarisse was removed from the script shortly before filming began. The termination of Nellie's contract was rewritten as a mutual decision. Lance's appearance in the scene was omitted.   Different camera angles in the sneak preview and the scene itself: In the conversation between Lance and Angela during Lance's workout, the sneak preview shows a wide angle shot (left screen grab), but the particular segment of that scene itself is a close-up. In contrast to the sneak preview, the wide angle parts of the scene are from a different take as it can be concluded easily because the waistband of Lance's shorts is visible in the scene (yellow arrow).The bat guano "make-up" apparently accommodates the need to cover LORENZO's tattoos perfectly now. This scene in the Falcon Crest workout room was originally staged in the yard of the Victorian Mansion in early script drafts; the original idea was to shoot on the lawn behind stage 4 at CBS-MTM (now RADFORD STUDIO CENTER) as in # 173.   The pictures in Garth's room at Richard and Maggie's ranch — drawings of windows and a corridor in black and white — are the same props that were used in Kathryn Anderson's office in # 175.When Melissa first sees Wendi as Dan arrives at his cabin, he says: "Speak softly and drive a big stick." This is an allusion to U.S. President THEODORE ROOSEVELT's foreign policy: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
Eric's inmate number in prison in Geneva / Switzerland is 504. JOHN CALLAHAN's French pronunciation (Eric talking to the Swiss doctor in jail in Geneva) is amazingly good. DANA SPARKS' French pronunciation is all right, but she still has an American accent.
  The sneak preview for this episode shows two frames that are missing in the respective scene: The director's cut of the episode contained a conversation between Angela and Lance after Angie's meeting with Rosemont in which Lance warned his grandmother not to underestimate how dangerous Rosemont is. This scene had to be shortened to match the usual one-hour program schedule (including commercials). A part of the "superfluous" footage was used for the sneak preview — Angie to Lance: "You have lived with me all of your life, and you still don't know how dangerous I can be!"Early script drafts contained a totally different concept for Angela and Lance's strategy to find out more about Richard and his connection to The Thirteen. Instead of Angela's meeting with Rosemont (as it was finally filmed), Angela and Lance go on a business trip to Chicago to see Henry Murdock, a former member of The Thirteen, who was forced to leave the organization when he went bankrupt; he is the only living member ever to have left The Thirteen. First, Angela and Lance meet Patrick Finn, Murdock's brother-in-law from Ireland, at the viewing of his deceased sister's (Murdock's wife, Dorcas') open casket at Murdock's old home. They learn from Patrick, who is drunk, that Murdock killed his wife to inherit her fortune (act 3). During a later meeting, Angela tricks Murdock into confessing the murder, which Lance secretly records on a cassette tape. Angela and Lance now blackmail him into providing them with the computer entry code to The Thirteen's headquarters and file system. When, in another scene in act 4, he actually provides them with the access code and Angela and Lance leave his house, Rosemont appears from a side door. He obviously has Murdock in his hip pocket. When Angela later departs from Chicago, she has no idea that Lance, who wants to travel to the Thirteen's headquarters to finally break into their inner sanctum, is in grave danger as Rosemont is already fully aware of their plans. This storyline with all its supporting characters was abolished in the final version. Early script drafts contained the following act 3 scenes, which were omitted in rewrites:
Season time frame: This episode opens Tuesday, 03/15/1988. Compare # 173 and 178 for details on how to find out this date. Rosemont's meeting with Angela (day 4 of the current episode) takes place on Friday, 03/18/1988 as Angela and Lance discuss when they make an entry in Rosemont's calendar. In # 179, Chase's third codicil will be opened, which will be exactly three months after Maggie and Richard's wedding. The wedding took place on 02/21/1988 (see # 171). So the reading of the codicil will be on 05/21/1988. Therefore, two months must have gone by between Rosemont's meeting with Angela and the following scene (i.e. Dan starting his transportation job with his truck — he wants to be back in one week, which will be in # 180) in the current episode. This results in the current episode closing on Thursday, 05/19/1988. On the one hand, this seems odd because this interpretation results in Vickie's letter given to the Swiss prison nurse on the morning of 03/18/1988 being delivered on 05/19/1988 to Emma. But maybe it took the nurse a while to get the letter out of the prison. On the other hand, a period of two months for Maggie's alcohol withdrawal (beginning 03/15/1988 and ending on the final day of the current episode) seems realistic.
Fictional entity: Courier Express is the courier service delivering Vickie's letter to Emma. Vickie addressed her letter "Maggie Gioberti, c/o Emma Channing". Vickie still calling her mother "Gioberti" seems to be her sarcastic way of ignoring Maggie's wedding with Richard, the man Vickie cannot stand at all. RICK DEATS is listed in the end credits as a featured actor in the part "First Guy" although the player does not appear in the episode. Original script drafts contained a scene with this character and another man, both Red's henchmen observing Dan driving his truck. The scene is missing both in the final shooting script as well as in the final version of the episode. There is no information available at this time if the scene was shot and deleted from the episode or if it was never filmed. In any case, post-production should have removed the actor's credit or never added in the first place. ← Previous episode... → Next episode... |
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