VOYAGERS!
VOYAGERS! WAS FILMED IN AND AROUND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES.
Since 1932, Universal Studios had suffered backlot fires. In 2008, the biggest and most expensive fire destroyed many of the beloved familiar sets as seen in the photos below.
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According to Wikipedia:
The most damage was done on June 1, 2008, when a three-alarm fire broke out on the backlot of Universal Studios. The fire started when a worker was using a blowtorch to warm asphalt shingles being applied to a facade. The Los Angeles County Fire Department had reported that Brownstone Street, New York Street, New England Street, the King Kong attraction, some structures that makeup Courthouse Square and the Video Vault had burned down (not to be confused with the actual Film Vault, The Video Vault contains the duplicates of the films). Aerial news footage captured the Courthouse building surviving fire for the third time in its history, with only the west side of it being slightly charred.
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Since 2008, Universal rebuilt bigger and better than ever. On top of that, they've kept the integrity of some original sets intact and they're recognizable from Voyagers! and other favorite Universal TV shows.
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When Voyagers! was filmed, Universal Studios still gave public tours, but the backlot was not polished, SFX laden tourist attraction it is today. Many areas were shoddy and in disrepair. James Parriott and his crew were given free rein to use whatever props and sets they liked on the lot…no charge! Over the years the policies changed and rental fees were collected from production companies.
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The images presented in the Gallery are between the late 1960s and mid-2000s. Thanks to fans Dennis, Debbie, and Dayna for sharing from their collections.
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For updated info and gorgeous new pictures, click the Universal Studio Lot button.
THE BACKLOT
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SET FACTS AND LOCATIONS
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THOMAS HIGGSON OF THE AIRWOLF GUIDEBOOK
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In the pilot ep, the baby floats down Santa Clarita River, at the base of Grapevine Mesa at Indian Dunes.
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In the pilot episode, Boggs launches the hang-glider from the top of Airport Mesa, about .5 miles north from Magic Mountain, also at Indian Dunes. Sadly, this location has recently been under development for new suburban development. Airport Mesa is the first area for development as construction moves from east to west, parallel to the 126. If you use Google Maps on a desktop, you can scroll the timeline bar to imagery prior to the most recent bulldozing. (34.4317692 -118.6123688)
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In "Sneak Attack," most of the horse chasing sequences were shot in Chiquita Canyon. The area is completely destroyed now and is a landfill.
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In "Bully and Billy", most of the horse riding scenes were shot at Indian Dunes (near the same location where the baby floats down the river) and out at Vasquez Rocks.
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In "Sneak Attack", the waterfall scenes were shot at Nagana Falls, on the Universal Backlot. I have no idea where that island/peninsula is from the establishing shot used in Sneak Attack.
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In "An Arrow Pointing East", the Lindbergh hangar sequences were filmed at Whiteman airport in Los Angeles. The hangar is demolished today.
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In the ep "Rebs Took Lincoln", the rebel camp is a well-used prop camp in the 1980s film and television. It was originally built for the Chuck Norris film "Octagon". Parts of the set survived the filming and were later incorporated into additions added for the Richard Pryor film "Some Kind of Hero." The set was owned by Newhall Land, which also owned Indian Dunes. It was known as the "Mexican Village" set. As far as I can tell, this set was last used in an episode of China Beach and Tour of Duty before it was permanently struck.
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Many scenes in "The Travels of Marco Polo" were shot at Point Dume, Malibu beach.
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One of the bad-guy Russians in the episode "Buffalo Bill and Annie Play the Palace" is Ron Stein. The Russian dubbing is looped and hardly relevant to the scene at hand.
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One of the prop vintage portraits hanging on a wall in "Barriers of Sound" was later used as a portrait in the cabin set for the hero of "Airwolf." That portrait was hung next to Stringfellow Hawke's dining table in the "Airwolf" cabin set.
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Another painting (small and not very clear in the episode) from "Merry Christmas, Bogg" was also borrowed for use in the Stringfellow Hawke cabin set. You see that little painting hanging by the door in the episode.
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For detailed names and information visit this very cool archive for Universal Studios on Flickr. They have 20 albums of large Voyagers! set screen-captures.