TV Locations – Page 74 – IAMNOTASTALKER

April 13, 2008February 13, 2009

The Hills are Alive!

I must say this season of The Hills is so much better than I ever could have hoped! Is it sad that I get a little depressed every Monday night at around 11pm because I have to wait a whole week until a new episode airs? LOL Anyway, on the show, Lauren (and now Stephanie Pratt) attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, and after last weeks’ episode, I decided I just had to go out and stalk it!

FIDM is located in Downtown Los Angeles, just off the 110 Freeway. The Fashion Institute looks much like it does on The Hills, except that it is much smaller in person than it looks on TV. The campus is attached to a newly rennovated park named Grand Hope Park. It is a beautiful little park complete with fountains, trees, walkways, and benches to sit on and enjoy the sunshine. I was highly bummed that while we were there, I didn’t have any LC or Stephanie sightings. 🙁 Maybe next time!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: FIDM is located at 919 South Grand Avenue, on the corner of West 9th Street and Grand Avenue, in Downtown Los Angeles. Grand Hope Park would be the perfect place to enjoy a summer picnic. You can visit FIDM’s website here.

April 10, 2008February 13, 2009

Big Brother

Last summer I was COMPLETELY obsessed with the reality show Big Brother 8 – like absolutely on-the-edge-of-my-seat hooked on the show! I loved me some Dick and Danielle! So when I found out that the Big Brother soundstage was located on the CBS Studio Center lot in Studio City and that it could actually be seen from the road, I ran right out to stalk it.

The Big Brother set is immediately recognizable from the tennis court like fence surrounding the set’s “backyard” area. According to Joe “the Barkeeper” from “The Barkeeper” shop at Sunset Junction, who was the one who first told me where to find the Big Brother set, the area where the set is located was formerly the lagoon from Gilligan’s Island. The lagoon was demolished several years ago to make room for new soundstages, one of them being the Big Brother “house”.

Unfortunately, other than the tennis court like fence, not much can be seen of the Big Brother house from the road. But, thankfully, cyberstalking at Live Search Maps provides a better view of the set. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Big Brother set is located at the CBS Studio Center at 4024 Radford Avenue in Studio City. Unfortunately the studio is not open to the public and does not offer tours at this time. But you can get an up close and personal view of the lot on the CBS Studio Center website. For the best views of the Big Brother set, head on over to the Studio Village Apartments located on Colfax Ave., just off of Ventura Boulevard. Enter the apartment complex on Chiquita Street and walk to where Chiquita dead ends for a view of the Big Brother soundstage.

April 10, 2008February 13, 2009

Without A Trace Update

Just a quick update that the Without a Trace episode that was filmed at La Salle High School in Pasadena back on March 21st will be airing tonight on CBS at 10pm.

You can read the full Without a Trace post about the filming at La Salle here.

Happy Stalking! 🙂

April 4, 2008February 13, 2009

7th Heaven

My aunt Lea recently asked me to find the location of the Glen Oak Community Church from the TV show 7th Heaven. This location was featured in my go-to stalking book and I ran right out to stalk it this past weekend. Reverend Eric Camden’s church, which was shown prominently throughout 7th Heaven’s ten year run, is actually called the First Christian Church of North Hollywood. Even though I have only watched a few episodes of 7th Heaven over the years, I immediately recognized the church as we drove up to it. Both the interior and the exterior of the church were used in the filming of 7th Heaven. Unfortunately a wedding was taking place while I was stalking it, so I couldn’t venture inside to take pictures. 🙁

The church is a popular filming location and has been featured in countless productions including The Office, What About Bob, Crossing Jordan, Hart to Hart and The Birdcage, among others. It’s not hard to see why the First Christian Church is used so often for filming – it is a really cute little church and looks like it could be found in any small town in America. You can learn more about the church’s filming history on its website.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The First Christian Church of North Hollywood can be found at 4390 Colfax Avenue, in Studio City, not North Hollywood – go figure! It is right at the corner of Moorpark Street and Colfax Avenue. The church is open to the public and (if a wedding is not taking place) you can easily venture inside and take a look around. It is just a few short blocks away from The 40 Year Old Virgin apartment.

April 2, 2008December 14, 2010

The “Malcolm in the Middle” House

This weekend while I was in Studio City, I did a little stalking of the Malcolm in the Middle house. I must admit that I have never watched a single episode of Malcolm in the Middle – I know, I know, I must have been living under a rock for the past eight years or something – but since it is the favorite show of my good friend back in Switzerland, I just had to stalk it for him.

The house is a very tiny, little California bungalow, with two bedrooms and two baths. According to my fave stalking book, the owners of the home were paid between $3000 and $4000 a day to film at the house and earned more than $100,000 overall while Malcolm was on the air! When the home was up for sale a few years back, the real estate agent told Entertainment Weekly that the “house has its own income!” Only in LA! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Malcolm’s house is located at 12334 Cantura Street in Studio City. The Brady Bunch home is fairly close by at 11222 Dilling Street.

March 31, 2008July 22, 2014

What Would You Do If I Sang Out Of Tune . . .

UPDATE – The Wonder Years is coming to DVD for the first time ever in October! The 26-disc boxed set includes all six seasons of the show, plus a cast reunion segment, over 15 hours of bonus footage, a collectible metal locker, two production booklets packed with behind-the-scenes information, a replica yearbook, and Wonder Years magnets. Sets can be pre-ordered here.

While I was growing up, my mom was completely obsessed with Kevin Arnold and the TV show The Wonder Years. I remember sitting down together as a family to watch the show every week and lamenting over the trials and tribulations of Winnie Cooper and Kevin Arnold’s teen romance. So when I found the address of the Arnold family home in my favorite stalking book, I just had to stalk it this weekend while I was in the area.

I was shocked by the fact that Kevin’s house looks EXACTLY as it did back in the 80s during the filming of The Wonder Years. Nothing has changed – not even the paint color! I think it’s awesome that the owners of the home have chosen to leave it as it was in The Wonder Years days for all of us stalkers to appreciate. 🙂

You can watch the intro to The Wonder Years where the house is shown several times here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Kevin Arnold’s house is located in Burbank at 516 University Avenue. Downtown Burbank is just a few blocks away on San Fernando Road. It’s a really cute area to walk around in and grab some iced lattes on a nice day! 🙂

March 27, 2008February 13, 2009

Warner Brothers Ranch, Here I Come!

I am literally pinching myself right now because tonight I got to go on a private tour of the Warner Brothers Ranch Lot in Burbank. The Ranch is normally closed to the public, but my friend works on the lot and agreed to take me on my very own private stalking tour. I was in heaven! Even though I have been on the lot once before for an acting class, at the time I had no idea what exterior sets were located on the lot and I didn’t really take advantage of being there. The only thing I stalked on that day was the Friends fountain. Today, we parked right in front of the fountain and it was actually turned on!! I was literally ready to jump in and start dancing, but my friend got a little worried that he might get fired over something like that. 🙂

Advisory 🙂 – cameras are taboo at the Ranch and we had to take pictures on the down low while we were walking around, so the pictures aren’t the greatest.

Before the tour, my friend told me that would try to find his map of the Ranch which listed all of the productions filmed on the lot and which exterior sets they used for filming. I told him that Lindsay needed no map, and that most likely I could show him a thing or two that wasn’t on that map! 🙂 Our first stop was the Life Goes On house – which I was SO excited to see. I grew up watching Life Goes On and wanted nothing more than to be Tyler Benchfield’s girlfriend! LOL I absolutely could not WAIT to see the Thatcher family house.

I was shocked that the house looked almost exactly as it did back in the Life Goes On days. Sometimes the Ranch changes the facades of the set homes, making them almost unrecognizable. But that was not the case with this house – I recognized it immediately. This house was also featured as Gladys and Abner Kravitz’ home on Bewitched.

The next house I was DYING to see was Clark W. Griswold’s home from one of my all time favorite movies National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Even though the facade of this house has changed considerably since filming, I could still picture Clark in the front yard yelling expletives at his plastic Santa Claus and eight tiny reindeer when his Christmas lights refused to turn on. What I wouldn’t give to have been able to see this house all lit up with Clark’s Christmas lights during the filming of Christmas Vacation!! 🙁

Next door to the Griswold’s house is Danny Glover’s house from the Leathal Weapon movies – and no, it was not blown up during the filming of Leathal Weapon 4. A replica house was built and blown up for the filming of the movie, and Roger Murtaugh’s house is still standing strong on the Ranch. This house was also used in American Beauty and as Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ house in Christmas Vacation. “Why is the carpet all wet, Todd?” “I don’t know, Margo!” The exterior of this house has also changed considerably since being used in both Lethal Weapon and Christmas Vacation.

The Bewitched house is also located on the Ranch. I was surprised that virtually none of its exterior has been changed since the Bewitched days. It looks exactly as it did back when Samantha and Darren lived there. It was surreal how much it looked like the Santa Monica home that the studio set was modeled after.

Lastly we hit up the Pushing Daisies house. This house was also used in the movies Small Soldiers and Pleasantville. The facade of this home was vastly changed for each production it has “starred” in. For a more in-depth view of the lot, check out Adam R. Jones’ website, entitled “1164”.

Stalk It: The Warner Brothers Ranch Lot is located at 411 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank. While it does not offer tours at this time, you can take the “VIP Studio Tour” at Warner Brothers Studio, which is just down the road at 3400 W. Riverside Drive. I’ve heard the VIP tours are excellent and tickets can be purchased for $45 per person.

March 26, 2008November 8, 2010

Sandy and Kirsten’s Berkeley House from “The O.C.”

Thought I’d do a post tonight on another Craftsman style house – one that was featured on the series finale of The O.C. On the last show of the series, after the Cohen home is destroyed in an earthquake, Seth and Ryan hatch a scheme to buy their parents back the Berkeley house they spent the early years of their marriage in. The Berkeley house cannot really be found in Berkeley, though – it is actually located in South Pasadena, just a few blocks from the 13 Going On 30 houses.

I found this location thanks to my fave OC Stalking Guide and ran right out to stalk it this weekend. The house is very pretty in person, and is a great example of Craftsman style architecture. Although the house was only featured in one episode of The O.C., it played a pretty significant role and was shown many times throughout the finale. If you walk south past the house, you can even see partially into the backyard where Summer and Seth got married. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! : )

Stalk It: The “Berkeley House” is located at 1617 Marengo Avenue in South Pasadena. It is just a few blocks south of the Fair Oaks exit off the 110 Freeway. After stalking be sure to stop into Fair Oaks Pharmacy at nearby 1526 Mission Street for a homemade cherry coke. They make the best! Fair Oaks Pharmacy played the role of the soda fountain in Winona Ryder’s hometown in the movie Mr. Deeds.

March 25, 2008February 17, 2009

The Numb3rs House

Ever since the pilot episode of the TV show Numb3rs aired back in 2005, I was totally obsessed with finding the location of Charlie’s large Craftsman style house. American Craftsman Style architecture became popular towards the end of the 19th Century and usually combines huge front porches, handcrafted woodwork and clean lines. Craftsman houses are a favorite of movie producers and location scouts and you will often see them popping up in your favorite TV shows and movies. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, The O.C., and You, Me and Dupree have all used Craftsman style homes as residences for some of their characters. Ever since moving to LA, I have been a huge fan of Craftsman style homes. So, of course, Charlie’s house was at the top of my stalking list!

At first I was convinced the house was located in Pasadena, as Pasadena is famous for its historic Craftsman homes and Charlie’s house resembled another famous Craftsman located in Pasadena – the Gamble house which was featured as Doc Brown’s home in the movie Back to the Future. But, try as I might, I could not find the Numb3rs house anywhere in Pasadena.

Then, one day, while cyber-stalking, I stumbled across Zillow’s Famous TV Homes website – and the Numb3rs house was featured as the second link on the page. I immediately grabbed my camera and dragged my boyfriend to go stalk it. I was not disappointed when I saw the house in person – it is absolutely beautiful and looks almost exactly like it does on TV. I would not be at all surprised to see the house show up again in future TV and movie productions.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Numb3rs house is located at 2515 4th Avenue in the historic West Adams District of Los Angeles. I highly recommend driving around West Adams after stalking the Numb3rs house as the area is home to one of the largest and most beautiful collections of historic homes on the West Coast. You can read more about West Adams here.

March 23, 2008February 13, 2009

Ah, How the Mighty Have Fallen!

This weekend for my boyfriend’s birthday I took him on a surprise little weekend getaway to Newport Beach. He was especially excited because I wasn’t aware of any filming locations in Newport and hadn’t planned any stalking for the weekend. But fate stepped in! While in our hotel room, I happened to open up a tourist book about Orange County which had a section on – you guessed it! – filming locations! And there was one location I wasn’t leaving Newport without stalking!

While The O.C. supposedly takes place in Newport Beach, none of the show was ever actually filmed anywhere near Orange County. (You can view detailed information on every single O.C. filming location on my fave stalking site Seeing Stars.) But apparently fans of the show come to Newport in droves hoping to spot some of their favorite locales from the show. Thanks to the vast increase in tourism due directly to the show, on October 28, 2004 the mayor of Newport gave several of the cast members keys to the city and proclaimed the day “O.C. Thursday.” The cast members also had their hands immortalized in blocks of cement, for what was to be the beginning of Newport Beach’s very own Walk of Fame.

For some reason, the Walk of Fame idea never took off and the cement blocks sat in the lobby of the Newport Beach Conference Center and Visitors’ Bureau for a few years, but were eventually relocated. In an ironic twist, the handprints of the actors who depicted Newport’s most elite residents can now be found at the local Newport RV park. Yes, you read that right. After visiting the Newport Conference Center today and having no luck spotting the handprints, my boyfriend found this article which lead us to the Newport Dunes RV Resort.

The cement blocks are hanging on a display on a wall in the main office of the RV park. When we arrived the display was actually hidden behind a large sign with a map of the park. The front desk clerk let me move the sign out of the way to take pictures. I asked him how in the heck the handprints had wound up in the rarely trafficked office of an RV park and he replied, “No one else wanted them, so we took them.” lol I can’t believe no one would want the handprints!! Heck, I would have taken them and put them in my room had I known they were up for grabs! 🙂 The front desk clerk did tell us that hundreds of people come by to see the handprints each month, though. I think Newport really missed the ball on this one – how cool would it have been to have a Walk of Fame right on the beach for all of us fans to visit? This is actually one location I wouldn’t really recommend making a special trip to stalk – unfortunately, there just isn’t that much to see. 🙁 I was super excited to be there, though, nonetheless – especially since I got to put my hands in Ben McKenzie’s handprints. I love me some Ben McKenzie! 🙂

Happy Easter and until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The O.C. handprints are located in the main office of the Newport Dunes RV Resort and Marina, which is located at 1311 Back Bay Drive in Newport Beach, just off Jamboree Road. I suggest parking on Back Bay Drive and walking into the RV park – otherwise you’ll have to pay to enter the area with your car.