Thursday, January 17, 2019

Saved By The Bell: Wedding In Las Vegas (1994)






Bayside High School sweethearts Kelly and Zack are tying the knot, much to the chagrin of Mr. Morris. Tight on cash, the gang, sans Jessie, head to Vegas for an economy wedding.  They stay at The Stardust, where hijinks ensue.  The wedding is almost called off when Zack gets a wild lap dance from up and cumming stripper Nomi Malone.  I kid, I kid.  The Morris' show up as Zack and Kelly are about to marry at a chapel and have a change of heart.  A proper ceremony is held  a few days later.  Jessie arrives from New York in the nick of time (and in Versayce ;-) for the "I do's."  Then Zack and Kelly head off into the sunset.

When Saved By The Bell: The College Years was so expectedly cancelled during the 1993-1994 season, things were still left hanging with Zack & Kelly's nuptials.  A tv movie was greenlit to wrap up the Saved By The Bell (1989-1993) saga.  I had grown out of my devotion for the show at this point and never even saw the movie until last year.  I found it unremarkable and would've rather just watched the high octane mall episodes again.  But it was nice to see different universes gather together.  I guess Miss Bliss and Tori's invitations were lost in the mail. 

Saved By The Bell: Wedding In Las Vegas was filmed in Pacific Palisades and Burbank, CA and Las Vegas, NV


Location: Bayside High School
Address: 15777 Bowdoin Street, Pacific Palisades, CA























Location: The Morris House
Address: 510 Frontera Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA

This is also the first time we see where Zack resides...




















This was also the Yardley's House in Ghost In The Machine (1993).


Location: Zack & Kelly's Wedding Ceremony
Address: 1001 W Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA  Pickwick Gardens

Thanks to Stanley Foss for sharing this information.  These beautiful gardens may be turned into apartments soon, so I highly suggest visting soon if you're a SBTB fan...











Locations Visited: October 2018, February 2023

Related Locations:

Good Morning, Miss Bliss (1988-1989)Saved By The Bell (1989-1993) Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style (1992)Saved By The Bell: The New Class (1993-2000)



Saturday, January 12, 2019

Ghost In The Machine (1993)





Karl Hochman steals address books and kills those listed inside them, hence the moniker The Address Book Killer.  After Karl dies in auto accident, his soul lives on in the computer and a scanned page of Terry Munroe's address book is the first thing on his list.  Soon her friends and acquaintances begin to die in freak accidents and no one seems to believe her.  Enter Bram Walker, computer hacker extraordinaire, who, along with Terry's grouchy son, help her to destroy Karl with a computer virus.

Ghost In The Machine is a forgotten sci-fi thriller from the early 90s that didn't scare up much at the box office upon its release but happens to be a guilty pleasure of mine.  It deserves a respectable dvd release.  Scream Factory, are you reading this?  There wasn't much info in terms of filming locations, but luckily some shows from my youth help clue me in.

Ghost In The Machine was filmed in Pacific Palisades, Encino, Van Nuys and Los Angeles, CA


Location: The Yardley's House
Address: 510 Frontera Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA

The Address Book Killer's first victims in the film reside at this beautiful All American home that is located this affluent town overlooking the Pacific Ocean...










This was also The Morris House in Saved By The Bell: Wedding In Las Vegas (1994).

Location: Karl Hochman's Apartment Building
Address: 722 Hartford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

The Capulet Apartments sign saved a few hours of google map searching... 











Location: Frazer's House
Address: 16711 Bosque Avenue, Encino, CA








This was also Steve Sanders' House on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000).


Location: Elaine Spencer's House
Address: 6332 Orion Avenue, Van Nuys, CA







This was also The Parker's House on Melrose Place (1992-1999).  I didn't realize at it at the time, so these are not exact matching shots.


Still Need To Locate:

Josh's Gym
The Munroe House
The Church
Ohio Tech
Ohio First National Bank


Saturday, January 5, 2019

Swans Crossing (1992)





I've been a lover of soap operas since I was a kid.  I started watching Days of Our Lives with my mom when I was young.  Teens on soaps were seen but rarely heard so when Swans Crossing made its debut in the summer of 1992, it was nice to see them front and center.  The affluent town with the same name was filled with romance, fun and adventure for its youthful residents.  Unfortunately, it was short-lived, eventually moving from its 5pm timeslot to some ungodly hour.  There was a chance to save the show as the very last episode had a "We want to hear from you!" message but there was no address or phone number...or google.  At least Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000) and Melrose Place (1992-1999) helped fill the void.   

While I was in college, I had internships at The Bold and the Beautiful and All My Children, the latter having some of the directors who had previously worked on Swans Crossing, in addition of course to having Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shane McDermott in the cast.  Unfortunately they were both off the show at that point, with Sarah recently starring in the horror hits I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Scream 2 (1997) but I did take the opportunity to ask one of the directors about his experience on the show. Apparently Swans Crossing had been renewed for another 65 episodes and they even had a party to celebrate but the receipts from the doll line were less than expected and money was suddenly scarce.

The show was taped at Kaufman Astoria Studios is Queens, home to The Cosby Show (1984-1992) and Sesame Street.  I always wondered if Swans Crossing ended up using the same studio as The Cosby Show, which went off the air just as production would've started on the teen sudser. They did venture out on location occasionally but unfortunately no information was available online. Luckily I grew up in nearby Westchester County and recognized a few old stomping grounds.  Co-creator Ned Kandel was kind enough to clue me in on some of the others.

Swans Crossing was filmed in Rye, Central Valley and Astoria, NY and Hialeah and Coral Gables, FL

Before the show debuted and before even a few of the actors were cast, a commercial was filmed in the Miami area to try and sell the show...

Location: The Swans Club
Address: 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables, FL  

The Biltmore Hotel doubled as The Swans Club.  The luxurious resort was built in the 1920s and is a national historical landmark...






























Location: Main Street
Address: 6751 Main Street, Hialeah, FL
















Location: The Rutledge Mansion
Address: 350 Purchase Street, Rye, NY

The mansion is set back from the road and around a bend so I couldn't get a clear photo, but I was able to catch a glimpse of it through the trees.  The property is quite massive.  The grounds in the back of the mansion are visible from the street. Much thanks to Ned Kandel and PaulH for info on this location...















Location: The Swans Crossing Town Square
Address: 498 Red Apple Court, Central Valley, NY  Woodbury Common Outlets

The Woodbury Common Outlets stood in for the town square.  All of the action took place in the "Hudson Valley" section where Michael Kors is located.  The Market Hall tower can be seen in the background.  Some remodeling has been done to the outlets, but the area is still very recognizable...










The Market Hall seems to have undergone the most reconstruction since 1992.  Here is a photo before the modifications...























Location: The Swans Crossing Pier
Address: 1 Playland Parkway, Rye, NY  Playland Amusement Park

I instantly recognized the pier seen in the 4th of July episodes as the Playland Amusement Park, a popular filming location used in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)Fatal Attraction (1987)Big (1988) and Mariah Carey's Fantasy (1995) music video was filmed...







The ticket booth is still there!


















Location: The Swans Crossing Tool & Die
Address: 34-12 36th Street, Astoria, NY  Kaufmann Astoria Studios

An establishing shot of the Tool & Die is never actually seen, but you do see the guys head out from what looks like a stage door to crash Mila's slumber party.  I figured it was Kaufman Astoria Studios, where the show was filmed, and it turned out it was.  This door is at 35th Street & 34th Avenue...








Location: J.T. & Neil's Rocket Launch
Address: 1 Playland Parkway, Rye, NY  Edith Read Natural Park & Wildlife Sanctuary

Just beyond the Swans Crossing Pier is where J.T. and Neil conduct their failed rocket launch in the first episode...



And what should I spy in the lake but a swan!  Perhaps Captain Walker's sub was surfacing...





Location: The Swans Crossing Baseball Field
Address: 10 Osborn Road, Rye, NY  Osborn School

Thanks to Ned Kandel for providing this info...







Location: Callie & Jimmy's Park
Address: Ditmars Boulevard & Shore Boulevard, Astoria, NY  Astoria Park










Some of the motorbike scenes were filmed in Whitestone Bridge Park...




Locations Visited: December 2018, March 2021