The End of the Beginning

Quite awhile back I tracked down some locations of the first episode of Walker, Texas Ranger in Dallas.  I thought we could have a look at some Fort Worth locations of that episode and end with a bang (ha! Get it?  Because there's an explos...oh never mind).

But I found myself stymied but the ever changing nature of downtown Fort Worth.  For example, in the climax of the first episode, the bank robbery scene took place at what was the offices of the Fort Worth Star Telegram which they made up to look like this:

A few years back, when I was taking pictures, it looked like this:

The newspaper moved their offices a block over and we are left with a location that just doesn't match up with a screen grab from a 20 year old TV show episode.  There's just no justice in the real world.

However, in TV world there's plenty of justice delivered from the gun barrel and boot heel of Mr. Chuck Norris.  In the episode he starts of across the street from the "bank."  That side of the road was also completely unrecognizable from the episode but if you look behind Chuck there's a definitive "marker" that can still be seen today:

The Texas Historical Marker commemorates the Neil P. Anderson Building which has an interesting history, the highlights of which include being a cotton exchange and being featured in the background of an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

My problems with documenting the shooting locations of this episode continued with the attempt to capture the parking garage behind the exploding truck:

This was the best I could do but I'm assuming this building has been through some changes as well since the windows don't seem to quite match up with the shot from the episode:

 

So the bad guys then try to make their getaway along Taylor St. but I'm confident the Rangers got 'em.

You can see that there has been some cosmetic changes to the buildings in the background but the same basic architecture is still in place:

Change eventually comes to every man and every street corner but thankfully freeze framing old movies and TV shows will never go out of style. 

Walker's Fort Worth HQ

Previously:

Downtown Dallas Car Chase  - -  Mad About Walker

All right Chuck Norris fans, it's time to delve into more Walker, Texas Ranger!  Even if you were just a casual viewer you probably noticed the HQ of Walker and his pals.  In real life it's the Tarrant County Courthouse:

You can find it in downtown Fort Worth and recognize it by its Texas pink granite...the same kind of stone you'll find making up the facade of the state Capitol Building in Austin.  For you history buffs, here's the building's Texas Historical Marker:

It reads:

     "Designed by firm of Gunn & Curtis and built by the Probst Construction Company of Chicago, 1893-1895. This red Texas granite building, in Renaissance Revival style, closely resembles the Texas State Capital with the exception of the clock tower. 
     The cost was $408,840 and citizens considered it such a public extravagance that a new County Commissioners' Court was elected in 1894. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1969"

In one of the earlier episodes the courthouse got some good exposure during an action scene.  The episode's bad guy, played by character actor Leon Rippy, kidnaps Alex in broad daylight while dressed as a cop with the help of some flash grenades and tear gas:

This all goes down in front of the courthouse:

Walker's partner Trivette does what he does best and opens fire into a crowded street:

Looks like he had made it across the street to the bank but the bad guy still gets away.

Don't worry though, they get him at his nondescript cabin in the woods whose location I am not about to try and track down.  And roll credits...

J.R. Jr. on the Town in Big D

Previously:

TNT'S Dallas Episodes 12-14  - -  TNT's Dallas Episode 15

TNT's Dallas Episodes 16-18

TNT's Dallas remake from a few years back was a great continuation of the legendary franchise.   Unfortunately, the series just couldn't recover from the death of its star Larry Hagman.  But it was fun while it lasted and while it lasted it made great use of several Dallas filming locations.

Episode 2 showed off a few different places in Big D.  Let's jump in starting with the Ewing cousins favorite hangout: The Cedars Social:

This bar and restaurant on the south side of Dallas is where Christopher hangs out to drown his sorrows.  The producers must have liked this location because John Ross returns in a future episode.  It's also right next door to the South Side apartments where both John Ross and Rebecca (respectively) live and it's next door to the Jack Evans Police Headquarters which was featured in a couple of other episodes.

I haven't eaten here yet so I don't have any meal recommendations but they were very nice to me when I showed up to take pictures and as the saying goes "If it's good enough for the Ewings..."

Later in the episode the Ewing clan heads to the Cattle Baron's Ball which is being hosted at the American Airlines Center (where the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars play):

Interested in the AAC's unique architecture?  You better say "yes" because our resident, award winning geologist Devin Dennie is going to break it down for you:

Remember in the first episode when John Ross had his "secret meeting" on the 50 yard line of Cowboy's Stadium?  Well in this episode he picks an even less subtle for his secret meeting...the State Fair of Texas:

The actual State Fair begins in a few weeks and Big Tex will be debuting new boots and a new outfit.  Here is a little bit about the old man:

Bar Necessities

The 1991 film "Necessary Roughness" was a part of a wave of "ragtag misfits come together" sports movies that were hugely popular in the 80s and early 90s.  It fit right in with movies like "Major League" or "Wildcats" and works for our purposes because it was filmed in Texas.

The majority of the movie was shot at the University of Texas in Denton which filled in for the fictional Texas State University (go Armadillos!) and there are are few other north Texas locations, but what brings us all here today is a bar room brawl at the World's Largest Honky Tonk.

Scott Bakula, Sinbad and the rest of the gang decide to blow off some steam at Billy Bob's Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards.  Billy Bob's is a world famous bar and entertainment venue that attracts some of the biggest musical acts in the world.  So of course, I had to stop by and see if I could find some of the specific areas where they filmed.

The problem, of course, being that the movie is a couple of decades old and the bar has been remodeled a few times since then.  Gotta get the saw dust off the floors and keep it fresh!  So consider this an exercise in seeing how the place has changed and updated over the years.  For example, you can see that the light fixtures over the pool tables are different.

Seems like some of the neon has been moved around or replaced too.  Normally I try to match up shots as closely as I can but I had to settle for just getting close on this trip.  There are a few other shots in Billy Bob's rodeo area and out front but the main action happened where the drinking gets done.

There's a lot to see in the bar, like the concrete hand imprints of the musicians who have performed there and several celebrities who have visited.  But there's also an interesting prop from a forgotten movie above the dance floor.

The duded-out saddle from the movie "Rhinestone" serves as the disco ball above Billy Bob's dance floor.  The movie stars Dolly Parton as a singer who makes a bet that she can turn Sylvester Stallone into a country music sensation...which sounds like a totally made up movie parody but it was real...and the proof is in Fort Worth!

Jobe to the Future

Previously:

Top 5 at the Alamo Gift Shop  - -  Pee-Wee Visits the Alamo

"Amazing Stories" was an ambitious mid-80s attempt to capture a little Twilight Zone lighting in a prime time bottle.  As with any anthology, there were hits and misses but it's widely regarded as a show that was "pretty good."

The third episode of the series caught the attention of a young "me" since it featured a world famous landmark I had recently visited...the Alamo!  The legendary Texas battle site was having a bit of a Hollywood renaissance with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Cloak & Dagger making use of the location and now it was time for a small screen adventure.

The elevator pitch for the episode is: a fifteen year old volunteer from the Battle of the Alamo is transported to present day (A.K.A. 1985).  And that's also pretty much a summary of the episode too.  It's not what you would call a very plot heavy entry into the time travel genre.

The story begins during the battle (and uses footage from the John Wayne Alamo movie from 1960) and our hero Jobe (Kelly Reno from the Black Stallion movies) name checks fellow Alamo heroes William Travis and Davey Crockett and is given instructions to take a note to "General Lefferts" on "Shuttlecock Road."

While this is going on, Jobe keeps seeing 1985 tourists pop up in the mission, seemingly unaware of the carnage surrounding them.  He even hears some unfortunate news about the ultimate fate of the Alamo defenders from a tour guide (who probably hasn't gotten to the part about adobe or corn yet).

Sure that's a freaky thing to see but Jobe's a total pro and is determined to deliver the note.  But now it's his turn to time travel on his way out of the Alamo.  After a quick visit to the 1985 gift shop he's kicked out by one of the staff.

If I were to ask you, does that door look familiar?  You'd probably say, "Yeah, that's the door to the Alamo."  But you'd be wrong.  And I'd really stick it in your face in the smuggest way possible.  And then you would walk away from me and I'd be left alone once again with my useless trivial knowledge.

That being said, the Alamo doesn't allow people to film there.  So any time you've seen a movie or TV show at the Alamo, you've seen a sound stage.  This particular faux Alamo door was built for the film "Cloak & Dagger":

And at this point, just as Jobe must come to the realization that he's in another time (which he never really seems to do), we must realize that this episode is passing off Los Angeles as San Antonio.  But at least they make an effort to hide it.  Check out this matte shot:

Well now it's time for some fish-out-of-water shenanigans as Jobe hijinks his way across pseudo-San Antonio in the 80s, while encountering tons of sights and sounds that should freak him out but never really do.    It wasn't too long before it was time for a a classic trope:

Yep, out-of-towner guy meets hip guy.  In this instance the "hip guy" is a break dancer who tells Jobe that he digs his "funky cap."  Just as Jobe seems mildly curious yet mostly uninterested in the future things he see, the people he meets seem to feel relatively the same way.

I guess seeing somebody walking around San Antonio dressed in buckskins is like seeing someone dressed as a Disney princess in Anaheim.  After awhile it just becomes a fairly common part of your work week.

After some additional fun involving bus rides, pay phones, a stolen horse and a police chase, our hero finally gets to his destination.  There was no "General Lefferts" involved with the real Alamo and the real San Antonio doesn't seem to have a "Shuttlecock Road" so don't feel obligated to go on your own Jobe-esque quest the next time you're in town.

The fictional Leffert had a fictional descendant who runs a fictional antique shop where Jobe finally ends up to deliver the note.  Mission Accomplished!  With that done he returns to the Alamo and presumably his own time.  But before he gets there he gets directions from this helpful citizen:

So does this mean that Jobe survived the Battle of the Alamo and had kids?  It's not really clear and I'm not anticipating a follow-up any time soon so we'll all just have to write our own Amazing Stories fan fiction...as usual.

So once again our beloved Alamo has made its presence felt in popular culture and we all plan our next family road trips to the real San Antonio.

Good to Go Part 1

"The Good Guys" was a short lived 2010 Fox comedy cop show about two Dallas detectives that starred Bradley Whitford and Colin Hank.  It's a shame that it was cancelled because it was a lot of fun and it really took advantage of the north Texas scenery.

It was during a mini golden era of TV shows filming in DFW including Prison Break, Chase and TNT's Dallas continuation.   So today we take a look back and some of the location highlights of the show starting in Deep Ellum:

Behind our heroes Dan (Whitford) and Jack (Hanks), you can see St. Pete's Dancing Marlin (I recommend the Cobb Salad, it's awesome...and HUGE) with the big American flag painted on it and the Angry Dog (get the hot dog...hold the onions). You can also see part of the downtown skyline.



In this episode the boys investigate a pawn shop and shortly before it explodes, they hit the street. Now, the bulk of this section of the street is vacant but the windows with the blue trim belong to Buzz Brews (I haven't eaten there yet so I don't have any recommendations. Although they serve breakfast and I definitely like that).



In episode 8 the boys run afoul of some psuedo-mobsters and wacky hi-jinks ensue. The episode starts off at "The Thirsty Coyote" which is just a re-dress of the Dancing Marlin again. (They didn't even bother to take down the giant marlin from the sign.)



So later in the episode we see that the pseudo-mobsters hang out at "Mama Mia's Italian Restaurant" which in real life is "Mama Mia's Italian Restaurant." Convenient, huh? They didn't even need to change the sign. I've never eaten there and it seems like a good thing because a quick Google search did not reveal very positive information about the establishment.



So when Jack has to stake out the restaurant he parks his car across the street at "Rudolph's Meat Market" which in real life is, you guessed it, "Rudolph's Meat Market." It's a great example of incorporating the actual physical area into the scene/story because this place really is across the street from Mama Mia's.


In another episode the guys are on the trail of bank robbers in downtown Dallas. Jack and Dan have the place staked out (Thanksgiving Tower) and as Jack waits in their sweet Trans Am, you can see the Press Box Grill behind him.

A lot of times in TV shows and movies they don't shoot different angles of the same scene in the same location but this place really is across the street from Thanksgiving Tower.




Once the bank robbery is foiled you can notice the unique tiles that are in front of the building:



You can also see that they put up their own signage for the show ("Dallas Trust & Loan") which is, of course, not there in real life:




There are plenty more DFW filming locations used by the show which I'll dive into in Part 2 of our look back at The Good Guys...to be continued!