Episode 66 - "Viking Bikers From Hell"


miamijimf

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:DGreat pictures thanks - showing a relatively unchanged MV location from 1987!

Agree- good job Rich.
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Agree- good job Rich.

Thanks, guys.I did examine my DVD a little more closely, and found the "Miami Jai Alai" building sign is clearly visible, but not until the face to face battle between the 2 men on the ship, just prior to the fall into the river. I see this ship yard has also made a comeback, as the photo on page 2 from 3 years ago shows an empty yard, which is now crowded with boats in 2010.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Photos of Boatyard at 3900 NW North River Drive, Miami taken on 05/16/2010, scene of battle between Reb Gustafson and Sonny CrockettIn this scene, the 2 men travel west on NW North River Drive, having passed the railroad crossing, and approaching the boatyard entrance:Eingefügtes BildThis is how this spot looks today, without the benefit of a crane for a view from above the road:Eingefügtes BildThe men have now reached the boatyard entrance, and the fake Testarossa driver has completed his J-turn (note the lack of a center divider in the road):Eingefügtes BildThis is this spot today, with the addition of a center divider in the road (don't try to recreate that J-turn today):Eingefügtes BildOnce inside the boatyard, Crockett stops the Testarossa, and exits the vehicle:Eingefügtes BildThis is the location today, with several buildings and other structures inside the boatyard now missing. It appears that the boatyard now may be for storage only, as the buildings and tanks, etc., used for repair are gone:Eingefügtes BildAs the fight escalates, the Miami Jai Alai sign is visible, on the opposite side of NW North River Drive:Eingefügtes BildToday, the sign is the same. I took this photo standing on the railroad, as it was the closest I could get to the spot on the ship (with the boatyard closed and padlocked):Eingefügtes BildThe red X on this map shows the place where the 2 characters fall into the water at the conclusion of the fight. The evidence that reveals this spot is shown in the previous photos, and also that the railroad bridge at 3870 NW North River Drive is clearly visible in the background as the men fall into the river:Eingefügtes BildRailroad bridge is visible directly east on the river, at the time it was gray, now painted green:Eingefügtes BildThe spot in the river where the fall took place is visible in the left center of this photo, which was taken from the railroad bridge, as this was the closest spot I could use to take the photo (short of jumping into the river):Eingefügtes Bild
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Thanks Matt.I have enjoyed this episode so much, and the trip to Miami would not be complete without visiting the VBFH sites.

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Thanks for posting. When I watch this episode I wonder if the stuntman was suppose to hit the side of the dock on his way into the water or if it was an accident. Hope he didn't get hurt much.

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Thanks for posting. When I watch this episode I wonder if the stuntman was suppose to hit the side of the dock on his way into the water or if it was an accident. Hope he didn't get hurt much.

That looked real painful and would surely have caused a head injury of some sort.:cry:
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  • 6 months later...

I may have found a previously unidentified filming location in Viking Bikers From Hell, one of my favorite episodes. I think the dark and violent opening scene of the teaser was filmed at or close to Jose Marti Park, 351 SW 4th Street. A really nice park in downtown Miami, it was used frequently by Vice. I looked for a match at Watson Island, Brickell Key, the Port of Miami, and North Bay Village but Jose Marti Park looks most promising. Here is a Bing Maps capture of the area, marked with letters on key locations. The Park is point A.Eingefügtes BildThis below capture from the teaser shows the Bikers riding in to meet Reb. You see the River behind the bikes and the streetlights on I95 (point B). The red lights are probably channel warning lights for the safety of water traffic sailing under the overpass. Eingefügtes BildThe next capture shows a building with an illuminated sign at the top. I think this is the Bank Atlantic Building (point C) that is about the right height at 14 stories high with an illuminated lettered sign at the top. I’m not sure of the name of the building at the time but it was refurbished in 1985. The taller illuminated building to its left matches the Dade County Courthouse (point D) which used to be lit at night. I don’t believe the tall building to the left of the Bank Atlantic Bldg you see on the Bing Map was there at the time. Consequently there would have been a clear sightline to the Courthouse. Eingefügtes BildThe last capture shows the Bank Atlantic Bldg on the left. The taller building in the center looks like the Federal Building (point E) which I know existed in the 80s. In some shots, as we have seen, the TV camera makes objects in the background look closer than they are in reality. Eingefügtes BildLet me know what you think. Thanks.

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I am going to have to watch this episode again' date=' MiamiJim. It's not one that I know well but from the screen caps it looks as though they match[/quote']Yes please check it out. Bing Maps works but I'm having trouble with the latest version of Google Earth. I probably do not have enough computer memory.
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Wow, you really threw me with that one. I had always assumed it was either Watson or Dodge Island but had not yet really dug into it. After seeing your post I watched it, several times and for the first several times I was thinking you were right as I tried to ID the buildings. After taking a screen capture though, and increasing the adaptive lighting ( increasing light only in the shadow areas) I was able to get a shot I could see the buildings well enough to recognize. The bridge we see in the background is the port bridge to Dodge Island. This is almost the exact same location (within feet) as used in Golden Triangle where Castillo meets the General. They are on the southwest corner of Dodge Island. The white sign reads Intercontenental (hotel), red arrow in capture below. Next to that (white arrow) is the Miami Center building, then the Wachovia Financial Center (blue arrow). The green arrow is pointing at 117-199 SE 3rd Ave, this building stands out because we can see the stairway lit up.Eingefügtes Bild
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Wow' date=' you really threw me with that one. I had always assumed it was either Watson or Dodge Island but had not yet really dug into it. After seeing your post I watched it, several times and for the first several times I was thinking you were right as I tried to ID the buildings. After taking a screen capture though, and increasing the adaptive lighting ( increasing light only in the shadow areas) I was able to get a shot I could see the buildings well enough to recognize. The bridge we see in the background is the port bridge to Dodge Island. This is almost the exact same location (within feet) as used in Golden Triangle where Castillo meets the General. They are on the southwest corner of Dodge Island. The white sign reads Intercontenental (hotel), red arrow in capture below. Next to that (white arrow) is the Miami Center building, then the Wachovia Financial Center (blue arrow). The green arrow is pointing at 117-199 SE 3rd Ave, this building stands out because we can see the stairway lit up.[/color']Eingefügtes Bild

That's neat Charlie. What program do you use to increase the adaptive lighting (increasing light only in the shadow areas)? Thanks
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It's Hewlett-Packard Image Zone. The program can be downloaded on internet but mine came on the computer. I do not use this program for allot but it is really good for cropping pictures easily and for "seeing into the dark" to find locations. I am often amazed what I find hidden in the dark areas of screen captures. BTW I am going to start work on #24 today.
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  • 1 year later...

That looked real painful and would surely have caused a head injury of some sort.:cry:

Hi all. Just wondering a couple of things about this ep; 1 - The stunt above looks really good. Do we know who was doubling Don for that? It really looks like him but I'm sure there was no way they'd let him do a fall into water like that. 2 - Just before the fall Crockett shoots Reb. We hear two shots but when he steps back there are three wounds. Is this due to a cut or a continuity error? 3 - In the opening scene when Reb shoots the guy for his bike, the version I saw (UK R2 DVD) we do not see the guy get shot, or even go down. One shot he's there, the next he's not. Does that sound as it should be? I know the UK discs have some cuts for animal cruelty and ear claps but would appreciate any info on the above. Thanks :)
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Hi all. Just wondering a couple of things about this ep; 1 - The stunt above looks really good. Do we know who was doubling Don for that? It really looks like him but I'm sure there was no way they'd let him do a fall into water like that. 2 - Just before the fall Crockett shoots Reb. We hear two shots but when he steps back there are three wounds. Is this due to a cut or a continuity error? 3 - In the opening scene when Reb shoots the guy for his bike' date=' the version I saw (UK R2 DVD) we do not see the guy get shot, or even go down. One shot he's there, the next he's not. Does that sound as it should be? I know the UK discs have some cuts for animal cruelty and ear claps but would appreciate any info on the above. Thanks :)[/quote']Crockett hit him from below with a shot that knocked him down but not out. This allowed Crockett to run up to and on to the boat. Then Reb comes around, climbs higher and throws a barrel on Sonny. I assume he must have dropped his gun down somewhere with this first hit or maybe he was just being sporting and wanted to go hand to hand to aid in his earning a trip to valhalla. I suspect he just droped the gun and could not readily regain it but it could be the valhalla thing. When Sonny shoots him with his backup, those are the second and third hits. There was something important cut from the scene. Notice that when Sonny runs by Reb's bike it is pristine, Seconds later he is getting on the boat and the bike is scene in the background a smoldering, burning mess. Why? We do not see as it was cut. I recall reading that the stuntman was hurt in this stunt but I do not remember who it was.
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Thanks, hadn't noticed the bike thing. Any ideas on the shooting right at the beginning of the episode; why don't we see the guy get shot? We just see Reb fire and then the guy vanishes???

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Thanks' date=' hadn't noticed the bike thing. Any ideas on the shooting right at the beginning of the episode; why don't we see the guy get shot? We just see Reb fire and then the guy vanishes???[/quote']There is probably a story behind it but I don't know it. Maybe felt it was not important. Maybe it was getting late/short on time. Maybe they forgot the squibs. Trying to save money and felt it was not critical. Out of Blanks and only had real bullets and the guy did not really want to get shot without bonus money, lol. Could be lots of reasons but they all fall into the catagory of they felt it was not that important to the scene. Interesting that you asked about this ep. as I just finished working on it for my location site and it should be finished uploading in about 10 minutes. If you don't read the first page too fast (it has finished loading) the second page may be ready when you get to it. http://www.sffl.comcastbiz.net[
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Much appreciated :)

My pleasure' date=' there will likely be someone here who will be able to add more information than I could provide. My site has fully uploaded this ep so it is ready to view.[/color']
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Looks great. I bet the sister's place was in studio, garret rooms like that are hell to film in (that high angle is a giveaway that they're not crammed into a roof) and it would have been a pretty basic build :)

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Very nice job with Viking Bikers, one of my favorite episodes. The unknown hospital location reminds me of the way Jackson Memorial Hospital used to look but the only early photos I can find are of the original building known by its nickname the Alamo. Thanks for agreeing with my comment earlier in this thread that Rab's sniper shot from from the Rickenbacker was just about impossible at that distance with his equipment. With today's technology, a tripod, a .50 cal sniper rifle, a spotter, laser rangefinder, a wind measuring device, and an expert who had attended a sniper school run by the Marine Corps or Army it is quite possible yet a first round hit would still be tough.http://www.gunsandammo.com/2011/09/27/longest-sniper-shots-in-history/

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The distance from the Rickenbacker to the rear of the Atlantis does not look that far over open water when you are standing there but when I measure it on GE it is over 800 yards. I trust the GE measurement and though there are several weapons today that could be used to make the shot, there were limited options in those days and to me it looks like he had a Remington 742 hunting riffle or similar (I did not really study it but thats what it looked like to me). Nothing like he would have needed. A good hunter sitting on a motorcycle, I would give the benefit of the doubt to out to 200 yards but certainly no way at 800 yardsRE: the hospital. Reminds me of a 1970's tv show filmed around LA so that is my guess. Check out the nurses uniforms. My bet, w/i the Hollywood 30.
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Interesting about Viking Bikers from Hell - as I thought the church on Barry Rd near Mount Senai / Alton Road entrance was the church used . Did we see the Barry Rd church at all in an episode ?:D

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