Studio City: The Impossible Mission Part 2 of 2

Studio City, North Hollywood, Encino: Pilot episode continues

Last we saw our heroes, they were driving east on Moorpark from Tujunga. But they must have turned around and headed back the other way as they end up west of Laurel Canyon.

That apartment building behind them is every 1960s apartment building in the Valley. 

Two reasons why exact locations can be hard to pinpoint: The 1960s Valley looked very much the same [cue Micky Dolenz singing "another Pleasant Valley Sunday, charcoal burning everywhere"] and so much of it has been torn down to make room for Hideous Monster Boxes. Mind you, 60s architecture wasn't any too attractive either, but it tended to be low to the ground and not oversized.

Then they come to the 12200 block of Landale at Laurelgrove in Studio City. Thank you highly visible, unaltered street sign! Whose artistic vision to shoot through the telephone pole and the tree?

If you look through the back window, the curb matches the modern view from Google Maps. Or maybe it's the opposite corner. The curbs have since been carved out to comply with the ADA.

1959 Buick in 1967 Studio City

Big bold street signs. Do more of that! Pay close attention to the windows of the homes visible to the right of the stop sign. More modern view below, prior to the tear-down. There's trees and bushes in front of the one on the right, but the one on the left is clear.

Now THIS is the Los Angeles I know. Older single-family homes? Demolish them! The future is multi-unit monster boxes. Pack 'em in. Strain on the sewer system and electrical grid, what? More traffic? Lower quality of life? Low quality Chinese materials to get this eyesore up as soon as possible? Think of the property taxes the city can rake in.

On my Google Drive I found this nice little home from 1923. Also found a couple others from the 20s. I did not know any 1920s homes could be found in the Valley, not really. Not on Adam-12, but in this same area where they were driving. 

Were you wondering how that Monster Box turned out? 

Los Angeles Eyesore # 4,862

Doesn't it look homey? And this is why you can't find most of the things seen on Adam-12.

Back to 1967:

Liquor store on Moorpark at Laurel Canyon. 

I like this episode because they call out the actual streets they're on. None of that random LA street names stuff. Pete's shouting Moorpark and indeed they are on Moorpark. The white building behind the liquor store sign survives. Modern evidence follows. I love the mailbox. It's painted like the Fisher Price toy one I had long ago.

The Buick they're chasing turns north into Moorpark Park and manages to get down into the LA River. My family always called it the storm drain, but I guess most other people called it the wash. On occasions Los Angeles will have a flash flood and it will actually fill up with water. Some fool teenagers always manage to get swept away and make the news. Most of the time the LA River is non-existent and the storm drain ("the wash" yeah yeah yeah) is full of gang graffiti, trash, and now homeless camps.

The Tujunga Wash as it heads down to meet up with the LA River. Or a concrete channel where a river would be if we had any water.

They wrecked that beautiful car. They didn't just crash it (you can only do that shot once!) but it's on FIRE. That beautiful car....

Here is the confluence (that Y-shaped thing) from the air, right next to the CBS lot. 

Finally they go to the station they should have been based out of, North Hollywood. 

Pete requests their 7 at Burbank and Lankershim. THIS is the kind of Monster Box Horror you'll now find at Burbank and Lankershim. THIS is what happened to all the little houses, courtyard motels, and liquor stores you saw on early 70s TV.

And during their coffee we learn Reed has been married 3 years and has a pregnant wife, while Malloy "never found anyone who'd put up with me." [His reason changes every time Reed pushes the issue during the series.]

Adam-12 being largely good PR for the LAPD, they shamelessly have a story of Pete saving the life of a black infant. Of course, Pete would have written "Negro" in his report, and nobody would have flipped out. 

My question is how could Malloy administer CPR to anyone given his smoker's lung capacity is, what, 25% of a normal person's at this point? 

The baby's parents are played by two actors who had appeared in the 1967 Dragnet episode "The Missing Realtor." Gene Boland:

and the impossibly pretty Ena Hartman, who I first saw on Bonanza and said, "Wow, that girl is pretty!"

And amusingly enough, Scatman Crothers in a piece!

Mr. Crothers had an Adam-12 spot in Season 5. 

But from this Adam-12, more of the lovely Ena Hartman:

She looked great even in emotional agony thinking her baby had died. She went on to have a regular gig alongside Burt Reynolds, Richard Anderson, and oddly Norman Fell (Mr. Roper as a cop!) on the show Dan August.

Back to our original storyline with this being Malloy's last day:

Time for one more big adventure, this time in Encino. Of course there's a "Nazi" who punched a woman and killed two dogs (horrible!) because every show had to have a "Nazi" villain. 30 shiftless youths have descended on an Encino neighborhood and 3 of them are shooting. 

Reed or Malloy?

The correct answer is Mac! 

Take a good look at the structures behind them. 

You already know what's there now, don't you? The Monster Boxes of Paso Robles north of Ventura. Because of course. 

Spoilers if you've never seen it, or saw it and forgot:

And Malloy tells Reed to stay put until he tells him to move. 

"Repeat it back, Junior!" 

But Junior of course takes the initiative to do what he wants and head toward the gunfire, scaring the hell out of Malloy, who fears he's lost a second young married-with-baby fool within the space of a month. But Reed captures all the bad guys single-handedly and offers an innocent "what?" for why he disobeyed orders.

Bring on the predictable ending that writes itself:

"When I give you orders, boy, you obey 'em, understand!" 

Reed has his own ideas of what will work. Malloy tells the lieutenant the kid doesn't do anything right except wear the uniform well. Lieutenant reminds Malloy he was the same. Malloy decides to stay on the force.

Originally aired Saturday, September 21st, 1968, 7:30 pm on NBC as the lead-in to Get Smart.

Part One of Studio City: The Impossible Mission

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Studio City: Repeat it back, junior! Part 1 of 2 The Impossible Mission

 Valley Boys in Blue: The Impossible Mission, pilot episode

The great thing about the pilot is that it was shot in the fall of '67, so it captures parts of the Valley a bit earlier than the other first season episodes.

Make sure you watch the three videos with Adam-12 producer, the late Tom Williams, and mega fan Dave Skyler. Sadly his blog has disappeared into the void. (Any info, please share!) Invaluable work he did on recording locations then and now. 

The pilot episode is a must for Dragnet fans, with Jack Webb directing and actor Art Gilmore having a large role. 

Marty Milner does his best Sgt. Friday style delivery when explaining the features of the police car. I like that his name was Marty because mine is too. I don't share the MC1R mutation.

My favorite location shot in this episode is that glimpse of Henry's Tacos on Tujunga. 

Favorite lines: "Repeat it back, Junior" and "When I give you orders, boy, you obey 'em, understood?"

So let's back up to the whole story and throw in some location shots.
Having just lost his previous young partner, 7-year veteran and senior man on the watch Pete Malloy plans to hand in his resignation the next day. 

But today the surly walking ashtray starts off being as condescending and sarcastic as possible to the downright doe-eyed new rookie he'll be riding with. Young Jim Reed looks about 16, despite being 25, playing 23. In reality, "Malloy" is 35 at this point, but chances are he joined the force before 28, so I presume viewers are supposed to shave off a few years. 

Officer Surly and his victim, Officer Doe Eyes

Take a quick look at the car and then close your eyes and repeat the license plate number. I get "California Exempt... um...." Very impressed by people who can remember a plate at a glance.

Prevent Theft

Lock Your Car

Seems like the "DARE to keep kids off drugs" bumper sticker was on every patrol car forever. 

Innocent Reed thinks maybe he's supposed to drive. Officer Surly's eye acting:

Reed the Innocent:

The car and the view going out the driveway.  

So many gorgeous cars on the road. About now half the female viewers at the time were asking, "What happened to Buz? Is Buz finally coming back in this one?"

Then I lost it. Reed pulls out the THOMAS GUIDE!  

The Bible of Southern California drivers. Or it was until GPS and Google Maps on your phone. I still have Thomas Guides under my seat. 2019 I got turned around in El Monte -- the street signs are in Chinese! -- and I pulled over and pulled my 2002 Thomas Guide out from under the seat. Rotten thing is you can't enlarge it. Reading glasses in the glove box. Alas! 

Seriously. The Thomas Guide. I would love to have a 60s edition. Most of us used them until the pages were falling out.

At this point the show turns stupid. Will viewers declare, "Oh how dumb!" and switch over to the "Dating Game" on ABC? 

This was the first of silly women with pet snakes. Okay, it's her son's pet and it's a salamander, but same thing. A few shots of the stupid part. 

If you were trying to identify that spot, I guess the circular driveway would be your focus. I would rather edit this whole scene out.

I caught the dissolve. That motel is STILL THERE! Shout out to my dear friend Valley Haunts. See her modern pic here. Follow her Instagram of midcentury survivors around the San Fernando Valley.

I'm curious about that red barn there on Tujunga. Was it a restaurant? It reminds me of the Malibu Feed Bin on PCH at Topanga. That Shell station corner is now  Moorpark Plaza mini-mall.  There's still a gas station on the southeast side of the intersection, but the liquor store was demolished. 

Did a 1955 Chevy Bel Air just come around the corner??? Is that what that beautiful blue car is? Notice the Starlite sign is lit up back there behind Henry's Tacos (just off screen). The Starlite is still there, but not the cool sign. 

Blink and you'll miss the Dairy Queen. 

And with that, I shall start Studio City Page 2, so the page might load faster.

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