The actual Southern California locations where Steven Spielberg's sci-fi series was filmed.
Season One - Page 4
Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6
Episodes 7 & 8 - Episodes 9 & 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13
Episode 4: “Shelter”
0:02:18: Molly and her family are on the lam, running from the ISEA, after Molly discovered
the company was conspiring against her, and escaped from an agency car.
We see Molly & John driving along a dockside road, past a long warehouse.
They park their car, get out and (carrying Ethan) head out on foot.
Molly tells John that she just wants to give herself a DNA test,
to confirm the ISEA's story that they implanted John's child in her.
They shot this scene at the Los Angeles Harbor, in San Pedro.
Their car is headed south on Signal Street, nearing that street's southern end.
Signal Street is an industrial port road running past several huge warehouses.
They turn left (east) and park at the northeast corner of Signal Street and
a small side road named Admiral Higbee Way.
In the scene, the producers altered the street sign at that corner, changing
the name from Admiral Higbee Way to "Marina Service Road B".
They stop right in front (just north) of the historic Warehouse #1,
which is at 2500 Signal Street, in San Pedro, CA.
( That warehouse should be familiar to Dexter fans - it's where the
Trinity Killer forced a woman to jump to her death. )
Here is a photo I shot of that warehouse (and that street sign), looking southeast:
Here is Bing StreetSide view of the corner.
( At 3:41: there is another establishing shot of the Yasumoto Corp. )
(Click on the photo to read about that location.)
0:6:29: We see Molly, John and Ethan get off a boat on Vaspar Island, and walk up a
gangplank, where they are greeted by Molly's father, Quinn (Lou Gossett Jr.).
The foursome then walk together past a seaport village, while talking. Her father says that he
originally planned only stay on the island for a short while, but ended up being stuck there
for 40 years. It's clear that Molly harbors some latent animosity towards her dad.
This scene was shot at Fisherman's Village, in L.A.'s Marina Del Rey.
Fisherman's Village is a seaside tourist attraction, filled with shopping & dining spots,
situated at the end of the marina's main channel, to take advantage of the ocean view.
At it's western edge are slips for numerous pleasure & tour boats.
You'll find it at the far southwest end of Fiji Way.
The Village's official address is 13755 Fiji Way, in Marina del Rey, CA.
In the scene where they are walking & talking, they are walking north
along the main walkway on the west edge of the Village,
towards the lighthouse we will see later.
Here is a photo I shot of that Village walkway:
( At 8:04, there is another establishing shot of the ISEA headquarters. )
0:9:49 ( and later at 30:54): We see the island home of Molly's Dad, a large, rustic log cabin.
This scene was shot at a somewhat obscure spot, but one well known to movie-makers:
a nine-acre mini-movie ranch / filming location known as Kelly Gulch.
(It's also now known as Blackberry Creek Farm.)
That big log cabin you see was built by hand in the 1970's from a “Real Log Homes” kit.
It was discovered as a filming location by the producers of "Friday the 13th, Part IV",
who were looking for a log cabin. It has since been used for a filming number of TV
productions, including "Falcon Crest", "The Rockford Files" & "Parks & Recreation",
as well as the movies "Eraser" and "Murphy’s Law".
It's located at 1801 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd, in Topanga, CA.
Topanga is situated amidst the Santa Monica Mountains, mid-way between
Malibu (on the south) and the San Fernando Valley (on the north).
[ Warning: Although the Kelly Gulch is available for rental as a movie location
and for weddings, it's also someone's private home, so don't violate their privacy. ]
For info on renting the property, go to kellygulch.com.
Here is what the cabin looks like in real life:
Here is a Google StreetView of the entrance.
0:14:32: We see Molly's dad and her android son, Ethan, walking on the beach of "Vaspar Island".
He shows Ethan how to skip rocks across the water. The kid doesn't do well on his first try.
But he's a very quick learner, and does incredibly well on his second attempt.
While there, they are approached by a sinister stranger, but nothing comes of it.
This scene was shot at Cabrillo Beach, in San Pedro, CA.
They actually jump between two different spots on that beach, during the scene.
At the start (above), when we see the two walking next to a long rocky breakwater,
they are on the beach just to the east of the historic Cabrillo Beach Bath House.
But a second later, when they are seen near a pier (below), skipping stones, they
have abruptly moved almost half a mile farther north on that beach, and are now
behind (east of) the Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Sports Center.
(In reality, you can't just walk down the beach between those two points - there's a
water inlet (the San Pedro Salt Marsh) in between that blocks your way.
Here is a photo I shot of the south end of Cabrillo Beach:
Here is a distant Google StreetView of the beach, from the north side.
0:23:56: Ethan dines with his grandfather at an outdoor cafe next to a tall,
blue & white lighthouse, while the old man grills the kid about his family.
A friend of Quinn's, a Mr. Griggs, stops by to tell him that there are some
fishermen at the local bar whom, he believes, are ripe for a wager.
Fisherman's Village, in Marina Del Rey.
The lighthouse is a decorative landmark at the center of the Village. It houses
a fast food restaurant in its base. The dining scene seems to have been filmed
on the dining patio just a few feet north of the lighthouse. If so, that is
the patio of Sapori Italian Restaurant, at 13723 Fiji Way.
( This is the same village that houses Whiskey Red's restaurant, at the south end of the village,
where they filmed the episode 2 scene of John waiting alone for Molly at Andre's restaurant. )
Here is a photo I shot of the lighthouse and Fisherman's Village:
Here's a Google StreetView of the lighthouse.
