Short Circuit (1986)

After a NOVA Laboratory robot is struck by lightning, it starts to experience human emotions and intelligence.  Number 5 escapes to Astoria, Oregon and meets Stephanie Speck, who takes her discovery home to care for.  NOVA eventually tracks Number 5, but unsuccessfully capture him.  Stephanie and Number 5 go on the run in search of Newton Crosby, one of the creators of the rogue robot.  It appears Number 5 is destroyed after a military attack, but it turns out a decoy was assembled.  Crosby decides to take Number 5 to a ranch in Montana for some peace and quiet Stephanie joins them.

Short Circuit is a fun, goofy 80s comedy.   It was a box office success met with mixed reviews from critics.  Several versions of Number 5 were made for the film, eating up a good portion of the budget.  The film was criticized for having a Jewish actor portray an Indian character in brownface.  El DeBarge scored a hit with "Who's Johnny?" which plays at the end of the final scene.

 

Location: Stephanie Speck's House

Address: 197 Hume Avenue, Astoria, OR

Location: Ben & Newton Eat

Address: 40700 Historic Columbia River Highway, Corbett, OR

Location: The Gas Station

Address: Near 710 W Marine Drive, Astoria, OR

Location: The Bridge

Address: Astoria-Megler Bridge, US 101, Astoria, OR

Location: Number 5 Is Captured

Address: 299 SW Portrage Road, Cascade Locks, OR

Location: Nova Ambush

Address: 10700 Escondido Canyon Road, Agua Dulce, CA

Vasquez Rocks

Locations Visited: May 2025, November 2025

Locations Master List

Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator (1989)

 

Love In An Elevator was the lead single off Aerosmith's Pump album.  The song was based on a real life experience of Steven Tyler's.  For the video, the band is seen roaming a department store intercut with a stage performance.  Former Playboy model Brandi Brandt is seen as the elevator operator.  The video was filmed at The Wilshire Bullocks, an Art Deco building which once operated as a department store until the mid-90s.  It is now home to Southwestern Law School.

Location: The Department Store/Elevator

Address: 3050 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA

This was also Marshall Fields in Christmas Vacation (1989)

Location Visited: August 2025

Locations Master List

The Brady Girls Get Married (1981)

 

What's groovier than a Brady girl getting married?  Two Brady girls getting married in a double wedding!  Jan has found love in uptight college professor Philip Covington III and is ready to trade in her black wig for a veil.  Marcia is living single but is soon courted by the fun-loving Wally.  Trying to recoup on broken vases, broken lamps and damaged earrings, a double wedding is announced.  But things start to fall apart when Jan and Philip's conservative plans clash with Marcia and Wally's modern ideas.  The foursome soon learn to compromise and incorporate a little of both.  The rest of the Brady clan is reunited including Alice, who finally got hitched to Sam.  A rainstorm forces the nuptials to be relocated to the Brady residence in a heartwarming ceremony where Carol gets to sing once again.

The Brady Girls Get Married was originally conceived as a TV movie but at the last second, NBC decided three thirty minute specials would be better before spinning off The Brady Brides (1981), which would explore the further adventures of the newlyweds living under the same roof.  The Brady Girls Get Married marks the only time all nine cast members would reunite.  

Location: The Brady Residence

Address: 11222 Dilling Street, North Hollywood, CA

Locations Master List

Location Visited: December 2024

Related Locations:

The Brady Bunch (1969-1974), The Brady Brides (1981), A Very Brady Christmas (1988), The Bradys (1990), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), A Very Brady Sequel (1996), The Brady Bunch Convention (2014)