(Above) Bronson caves… hard to believe that this remote looking cave\canyon combo is just a few minutes from the Paramount main gate.  (Above) Bev and Picard egress the Trek side of the cave.

LA trip – day four

My last day in LA. My plane would leave at 2.30 PM so I had until noon to visit one more shooting location. Originally, I had planned to visit the MTA building and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Monday morning, but as I had squeezed that in on Sunday, I had some spare time for yet another location. But where to go? In comes Larry Nemecek to save the day. He offered to take me to Bronson Canyon to see more than just Batcave. I had always thought Bronson was too far away and that I wouldn’t have enough time to go there, so I never took any screenshots with me. I would have to do this one without any research – this made the experience much more memorable, though.

(Below) This location has literally appeared in hundreds of movies and TV shows.

(Below)) ATOMIC BATTERIES TO FULL! TURBINES TO SPEED! Jorg about to learn not to loiter in the high speed egress of a superheroes cave!

(Above) The iconic 60’s Batcave.

Larry picked me up at about 9 and we headed off to Griffith Park again. If there is nothing else going on up there, you can drive your car right up to the Canyon in front of the cave. That day, however, something was going on up there, the canyon was used as a shooting location for some TV series. So, we wandered up the hills, past a bored security guard, to the entry of Bronson cave. The entry to the canyon was graced by camera dollies and porta potties. Crew people were standing around, cable was lying on the ground, winding right through batcave and more security guards were present. I thought they’d never allow us to see Bronson Canyon proper, especially as I was carrying around my camera. Turned out it was no problem at all, so we approached the man-made side of the tunnel and I posed for some photos in front of this opening of the tunnel, the side used in the old Batman TV series (“POW!”, “BAM!”, “ZOKK!”)

(Below) Ensign Ro, Picard, and Data on Valo II, and the real deal in Griffith Park today.

Emerging on the other side of the tunnel (the Star Trek side) was quite an eye-opener. Maybe because I hadn’t prepared any screenshots and done research on the location, it seemed all so much cooler. After leaving the cave, you immediately get the feeling that you are again in Star Trek land, as every corner of the valley seems familiar from some episode. Right in front of you is the place where Picard and Dathon were fighting the invisible monster from “Darmok”, you expect some rocks to tumble down the cliffwall any second now, just like in that great episode.

If you turn to the right, you see the Bajoran camp on Valo II in “Ensign Ro”, or Shakaar’s farm on Bajor in the eponymous episode. If you take a few steps forward and look back at the other side of the tunnel, you immeditately see the cave on Kesprytt III that Picard and Beverly leave in “Attached”. It is the same cave where Seska finds some mushrooms for Chakotay and secretly establishes contact with the Kazon in “State of flux”.

(Above) Location for “Inner Light” and “The 37’s”.  In the distance, the Hollywood sign smiles down upon frequent film production in the canyon.

If you look at the cave, take a few steps back and then turn to your right, you see a very famous rockwall. Picard stood in front of the same wall, looking down on Ressik in “The inner light” and next to this wall, Voyager landed in “The 37s”. In both episodes, the view of the landscape was extended using matte paintings and digital tricks, no doubt, because otherwise the Hollywood sign would have been seen on those alien planets…

I took countless photos trying to remember some camera angles from the various episodes, hoping they would match with some screenshots I would do back home in Germany (I was lucky in some cases, as can be seen )

(Above) Jorg and Larry stumble upon a current shooting crew plying their trade. (Left) Fake rocks and Hollywoodland. (Right) “We’re losing the light, people!”

I had lots of fun scouting the valley with Larry, climbing up the sloped canyon walls as far as possible to get just another shot of the valley, or two, or three… Only then I realized that this part of the valley had also just been used as a shooting location by the camera crew on the other side of the tunnel: at the bottom of the canyon, fake rocks were lying around – ahh, the Hollywood magic! It was fun seeing those rocks up close – they look just as fake in real life as on TV

I also only then noticed a smashed car halfway up the rockface, it must have been put there by a crane to simulate a car accident for the TV show that was filmed in the canyon that morning. So, if you ever see that smashed car in some upcoming TV show, let me know! I would love to find out on which TV set I was stumbling around that morning, I only hope it’s something cool and not 90210 or Melrose Place, ugh.

(Above) DS9 made frequent trips to the canyon. Bajoran troops make their way down the treacherous incline.

Even though I had been looking forward to Vasquez Rocks and Tillman most, Bronson Canyon really is the location that has left the biggest impression on me. More episodes were shot here then at Vasquez Rocks or Tillman. The canyon is also really small, so you just have to walk for a few meters to see the canyon from a different angle and immediately recognize the rock formations from a different episode. Also, entering the canyon through the dark tunnel and then emerging on various alien planets at the same time had a profound effect on this one Trekkie. Bronson Canyon rocks! (I know, I took two small stone samples – Bajoran stones – back home with me )

(Below) “Shaka, when the walls fell.“, from “Darmok”

After taking some more photos, we headed back to Larry’s car and I left behind my last shooting location, knowing for sure that I would be back one day, prepared with lots of screenshots to find all the right spots.

I said goodbye to Larry and thanked him again for helping out. I had 30 mins left until my shuttle service picked me up and then I boarded my plane back to St. Louis.

My long weekend in LA was a blast, I definitely have to return there as soon as possible to visit all the other shooting locations and get a closer look at the ones I’ve already seen. All of this was made possible by three people: Jeff Zucker and Larry Nemecek who took me to all those places and Antonia Wortelboer who invited me to join her on the exchange to St.Louis as second chaperone. If it weren’t for them, I would have never made it to Vasquez Rocks, to LA or to the US, for that matter. Big thanks again!

Well, except for spending two great weeks with two very nice families in St. Louis, what other Star Trek related things did I do during my 2 ½ week stay in the US? Let me think:

1. I saw the new Star Trek movie on my flight from Frankfurt to Chicago for the ninth time, on a tiny screen.

2. I saw the new Star Trek movie in a St. Louis IMAX theatre for the tenth time, on a massive screen (my very first time in an IMAX theatre – just awesome) and turned somebody into a fan – Hey Colleen!

3. I bought the new Scene It? ® DVD board game which cannot be found anywhere in Europe. I thought I would have to buy a region-free DVD player to actually play the game but it turned out the DVD is region free 

4. I met the Krumrey family who had hosted one of our German students and had just returned from Archon 33. We had lots of fun discussing all kinds of Trek-related stuff at the BBQ. Hey Krumreys!

5. I learned that “Arena” is a favorite for some Chemistry teachers, Kirk creating an explosive device the McGyver way in that episode Hey Joel!

(Above) Jörg’ at Madame Tussaud’s in London.

Okay, finally, 5 Star Trek related things I didn’t do during my 2 ½ weeks in the US:

1. I didn’t see one single episode of Star Trek on TV, except for the final moments of “Elementary, dear Data” which I caught in my hotel room in LA.

1. Even though I had taken my tribble with me – whenever I am abroad, I take it with me to take photos of the Tribble at all kinds of famous and strange locations – I didn’t take a single shot of the tribble at any shooting location. I guess a Tribble on Betazed or Vulcan is just too unspectacular, or maybe I completely forgot about the furball in my backback

1. Although I encouraged my students to try root beer to experience something new and different in the US (quoting Quark: “so bubbly and cloying, and happy… just like the Federation”), I didn’t take a single sip.

1. I passed the toy aisle at Wal-Mart’s and for a brief moment, thought about buying an action figure from the new movie.

1. Even though I stayed in St.Louis, hometown of Budweiser, and came pretty close to the Budweiser plant in Van Nuys, I never felt the urge to visit one certain shooting location – the engine room of the new Enterprise…

I hope you had some fun reading about my shenanigans in the US, and I can say for sure, in my best Austrian-English accent: I’ll be back! 