Eight Is Enough (1977-1981)

 

Tom Bradford lives in Sacramento with his wife Joan and their eight children - David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy and Nicholas.  Working as a columnist at The San Francisco Chronicle must have paid quite well to feed all those mouths and reside in a spacious house.  Sadly, Joan passed away after the first season (actress Diana Hyland died of cancer) and love eventually blossomed for Tom and his son's tutor, Abby.  A steady stream of romances for the kids soon followed, culminating in a double wedding for David and Susan.

Eight is Enough was based on the life of newspaper writer Tom Braden.  Cast changes occurred after the pilot: Grant Goodeve replaced Mark Hamill as David following a car accident, after which he would soon film Star Wars; Dianne Kay and Willie Aames replaced Kimberly Beck (Trish from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) as Nancy and Chris English as Tommy respectively.  A saccharin theme song was sung by Grant Goodeve and while the show was similar in tone, behind the scenes was the stuff E! True Hollywood Stories are made of.  Cast squabbles and drug use plagued production and since ratings had plummeted by 1981, it turned out five seasons was enough and the show was canceled.  Two reunion movies followed in 1987 and 1989, neither which Betty Buckley participated in.

Location: The Bradford House

Address: formerly at 10733 Chiquita Street, Studio City, CA

The Bradford house was torn down in 1996...

Several episodes showed cars pulling up to the house.  You can still make out the slight decline in the road...

Location Visited: June 2021

Locations Master List

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

Unhappy housewife Evelyn Couch befriends Ninny Threadgood at an Alabama nursing home while her husband visits his aunt.  With each visit, Ninny enthralls Evelyn with tails of the abandoned town of Whistle Stop.  Fried Green Tomatoes was based on the 1987 novel of the same name.  Much of filming took place in and around Juliette, GA, which was practically abandoned itself.  After the film was released, locals opened The Whist Stop Cafe.  The film saw success at the box office, was well-received by critics and remains a popular appetizer in the South.

Fried Green Tomatoes was filmed in Juliette, Newnan, Senoia, Williamson, Fayetteville and Zebulon, GA

Location: The Whistle Stop
Address: 443 McCrackin Street, Juliette, GA

Location: Threadgoode Family Home
Address: 204 Bridge Street, Senoia, GA

Location: The Church
Address: 69 McCrackin Street, Juliette, GA  

Juliette Methodist Church

Location: The Bridge & Train Tracks
Address: Bridge Street & Travis Street, Senoia, GA

Location: Winn Dixie
Address: 931 Glynn Street, Fayetteville, GA

Location: Train Depot
Address: near 443 McCrackin Street, Juliette, GA

Location: McCollum Grocery Co. 
Address: 430  McCrackin Street, Juliette, GA

Location: The Courthouse
Address: 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon  Pike County Courthouse 

Locations Visited: April 2020

Locations Master List

Doctor Sleep (2019)

 

Dan Torrance is still reeling from the events of his youth at The Overlook Hotel.  The ghost of Dick Halloran, the former cook, guides young Danny to use his telepathic powers, or his shining, to capture ghosts.  Dan hits the bottle to suppress his powers and moves to New Hamphire, where he works as an orderly.  Years later, The True Knots, a somewhat immortal group with psychic powers, are weakening and begin torturing young children for their steam.  He aligns himself with Abra Jones, who clues Dan into what's going on.  They return to The Overlook to battle Rose, the leader of The True Knots, in an epic showdown.

Doctor Sleep is an adaptation of the 2013 novel with the same name and is a sequel to Stephen King's The Shining.  The film was stuck in development hell for almost five years while financing was secured.  Doctor Sleep had a somewhat decent run at the box office and received good reviews, though it loses a bit of steam ;-) occasionally with its 2.5 hour running time.

Doctor Sleep was filmed in Stone Mountain, Covington, Fayetteville, Ball Ground and Atlanta, GA

Location: The True Knots Kill Violet

Address: Covered Bridge Lane, Stone Mountain, GA

This spot is at the end of Covered Bridge Lane in the West Lake section of Stone Mountain Park...

Location: The Theatre

Address: 1049 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA

Location: The Stone House

Address: 1692 Friar Tuck Road NE, Atlanta, GA

Location: Frazier, NH Bus Stop

Address: 1132 Floyd Street NE, Covington, GA

Location: Frazier, NH Town Square

Address: Floyd Street NE & Clark Street SW, Covington, GA

This area is a Times Square of filming locations, including The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) and Halloween II (2009).

Location: Ethanol Plant

Address: 6310 Ball Ground Highway, Ball Ground, GA

Location: The Supermarket

Address: 12160 County Line Road, Fayetteville, GA

Eden Fresh Market

Location: The Motel

Address: 6255 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, GA

Scottish Inns

Location: Pure Gas Station

Address: 50 Morningside Drive, Stone Mountain, GA

Locations Visited: May 2020, October 2020, August 2022

Locations Master List