The big Trivia, Facts, Mistakes etc thread!

[Mutajon]

In this thread lets try and collect every interesting observation or fact regarding the show in general, and certain episodes in specific. The point is to have all those interesting tidbits, that are scattered in many different places, in one place.

I know there are a ton more that I missed, but I figured if I'll wait until I'm finished collecting these trivia facts to open the thread it'll just never happen. So here goes! These are facts from the 2007 DVD booklet and commentary, as well as a few original observations I made.

Feel free to add anything, I'll update the main post accordingly.

Enjoy!


General
• In the credits, you can see that there's an "assistant to co-executive producers" called Jenifer Catalano. (I'm guessing her surname was the inspiration for Jordan's).

Episode 1 – Pilot
• This episode was shot in march 1993, almost a year and a half before broadcast (and a year before "dancing in the dark" was shot)
• In an early draft for the pilot Jordan's full name was Jordan Veneziano (thank the lord it didn't stick).

Episode 4 – Father Figures
• Patty's father (chuck) is played by Winnie Holtzman's husband.

Episode 6 – The Substitute
• When Patty and Graham first find out about and read the "haiku for him" poem, Patty mentions that they "don't even have a basement", yet in the beginning of episode 11 we see her, Graham and Daniel standing around in what definitely looks like the Chases' glorious basement.

Episode 10 – Other Peoples Mothers
• The glasses-wearing gameboy-playing young girl at Angela's grandparents' 45th anniversary party is in fact Winnie Holzman's daughter.

Episode 11 – Life of Brian
• After Brian vows to never again show at Angela's house with a lame excuse, yet he does, we see Graham holding a bunch of wallpapering equipment including a blue bucket. He then drops the bucket and asks Brian to help him get it for him. A millisecond later we see Graham miraculously holding the bucket again (without Brian handing it to him), and yet another millisecond later he again doesn't hold the bucket…(this scene must have had a lot of takes or something  ).

Episode 12 – Self Esteem
• After Jordan asks Angela to keep their meetings a secret we see Angela coming out of the boiler room wearing a different shirt than the one she just wore.
• When Graham comes home from the first cooking class and is talking to Patty in the kitchen, you can glimpse a tiny bit of a recording microphone popping from the top of the frame.

Episode 13 – Pressure
• Once again a recording microphone can be seen (for a split second) at the top of the frame when Angela speaks to Sharon when the latter comes to return some cooking dishes.

Episode 14 – On the Wagon
• When the drummer and bassist (?) of frozen embryos first argue it's evident that they're just moving their lips and the voice was added later. I'm sure this happened in plenty of other instances in the show, but here it was so obvious I had to mention it.
• When Patty notices the whisky glass (and suspects that Rayann has been drinking again) we hear in the background the song "Fountain and Fairfax" (by The Afghan Whigs). Aside from being a song about the struggles of drinking addiction, Fountain and Fairfax is a crossroad in LA where there's a church which held (holds?) AA meetings.

Episode 15 – So-Called Angels
• After suggesting to take Angela to see Rickie in the warehouse, we can see Jordan and Angela walking down the school hallway HOLDING HANDS! (obviously I am mentioning that since they broke up in episode 13, and since the breakup they didn't seem to keep touching each other other than occasional "rubbing". In fact, Angela clearly stated in episode 14 that she's looking for any excuse just to touch him again).
• The actor that plays the police clerk is actually Jason Katims' (show executive story editor) father.

Episode 16 – Resolutions
• When Angela sits down for a minute to talk to Jordan during the first tutoring session, yet another recording mic is visible at the top of the frame. Plus you can see a hair or something which is stuck on the camera lens (the one that shoots Angela).

Episode 17 – Betrayal
• The tough guy Brian video types at the bar is actually his own real-life brother.

[Jody Barsch*]

Wow, what a list! How many threads did you reread to compile all of that?

(Not sure about the song, but pretty sure the street is Fairfax. Fountain intersects with Fairfax.)

[Mutajon]

Wow, what a list! How many threads did you reread to compile all of that?

None, actually Like I wrote, those are either my own observations (the last time I've watched the show I made a list of quirky observations) or from the 2007 DVD commentary/booklet. There are ton more facts to add though, I'll add a few every once in a while (like right now I've added a Father Figures fact!)...plus I'll update any that other people will write.

(Not sure about the song, but pretty sure the street is Fairfax. Fountain intersects with Fairfax.)

Whoops! My mistake, corrected.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

There's some trivia in the episode guide (and you could also check the episode discussions for more trivia):

Episode 1: Pilot
Behind the scenes: A high school in San Pedro, California, initially served as the backdrop for Angela's classes and friends' dramas in this first episode in early 1993, the high school scenes in later episodes were filmed at University High School in West Los Angeles (aerial view).

Ever wondered about the "pirates"-images and stickers in the episodes ? Well, the Basketball Team of San Pedro High School is called "Pirates" and the production designers decided to use those images constantly all over the season, although 18 episodes were shot at the University High School.

All scenes in the house of the Chase's in the first episode were filmed in a real house in Los Angeles. The rest of the 19 episodes were shot at a soundstage in Los Angeles. Production designer Cate Bangs based the home floor plan on the house originally used, but incorporated a few changes. (Just compare the fittings of the kitchen between episode 1 and 2.

* This episode has been shot in March 1993 in Los Angeles, USA. (more than 17 months before the first airing)

* The second episode was produced more than 12 months later because ABC couldn't find a appropriate time slot in the fall'93 lineup.

* goof: hard to find: Just take a close look at the seating plan in Ms. Mayhew's class (English). It changes during the scene and some people dissapear ... (The scene with Angela looking back to Sharon was inserted later)

* On TV in Patty's room: It's a Wonderful Life (1946), where Zuzu gives George the petals
(The production company "Bedford Falls" got its name from the movie)

* Angela's hair color is called crimson glow

* Early in the production, Claire developed a broken blood vessel in her eye which had to be digitally color-corrected frame-by-frame -- at considerable expense.

* One episode cost $1.2 Million.

* On the set, Claire Danes was referred to by fellow actors as "Claire Bear." As Angela Chase, she was known as "Angeleeka", "Angelfood", and "Chaseface".

* Literature:"The diaries of Anne Frank" [The book Angela is reading in her english class]

* other people mentioned: Chelsea Clinton, Jody Barsch

* Themes of the yearbook: Graduation, Final Frontier, Apple: Fruit of Knowledge, Year 2000

* Food mentioned: Chili con Carne

* Graham was supposed to go chef school, but he never did.

* This is the only episode where we can see the Liberty Cafeteria. All the extras were quite expensive.

* Who the hell is Jody Barsch ? "Oh please. That's like *so* known."

* Graham and Patty went to the same high school, but they never knew each other, then.

* Patty's appendix has been removed.

* Patty is adopted

* As originally written, the show was called "Someone Like Me." And, as originally written, the pilot's prologue was a bit different. From the script it ends like this:

(Scene
INT. ANGELA'S HOUSE -- BATHROOM -- DAY

Angela's bent over the sink, Rickie wraps her head in a towel as Rayanne checks out the
medicine chest for interesting prescriptions...

ANGELA'S VOICE
So when Rayanne Graff told me my hair was holding me back, I was actually...glad. Because, normally...?

Angela straightens, looks into the mirror...

ANGELA'S VOICE
Someone like her won't say something like that. To someone like me.

END PROLOGUE

* And since it's so famous, here is the original script from the final scene of the pilot.

(Scene 51)
INT. HIGHSCHOOL HALLWAY -- DAY

Monday morning. THAT WACKED OUT BELL. Angela moves through the KIDS down the hall, suddenly Jordan is coming towards her...

JORDAN
Hi.

ANGELA
(in shock)
Hi.

They kind of stop. To talk. Maybe. Kind of.

JORDAN
Out on bail?

ANGELA
(smiles)
Yeah.
(shy)
So how was your weekend?

JORDAN
Sucked.
(leans against the wall, closes his eyes. Opens them)
Gotta go.

He almost looks at her...almost smiles. He takes off.

Angela turns, sees

Rayanne, Rickie and THREE OF THEIR PALS, approaching. They don't see her yet. Rayanne HOLDS FORTH AT HIGH SPEED...

RAYANNE
Oh please!! Ask Rickie, it was wicked, it was --
(sees Angela)
Hey, girlfriend --!

The group moves in, surround Angela, as...

RICKIE
Angela...!

RAYANNE
(overlapping)
Ask Angela, she was there...
(to Angela)
Angela, tell them what --

RICKIE
(overlapping)
We hung out, and these guys, they tried to pick them up...

RAYANNE
It was totally wicked, am I right?

RICKIE
And the cops came...

RAYANNE
I'm telling you! We had a time.
(to Angela)
Didn't we. Didn't we have a time.

All turn, to hear Angela's verdict.

ANGELA
We did. We had a time.

FADE OUT:
THE END

Cast Ages
Lisa Wilhoit was 11 years old during the shooting of this episode.
Claire Danes was 13 years old during the shooting of this episode.
Devon Gummersall was 14 years old during the shooting of this episode.
Allison Joy Langer was 18 years old during the shooting of this episode.
Devon Odessa was 19 years old during the shooting of this episode.
Wilson Cruz was 19 years old during the shooting of this episode.
Jared Leto was 21 years old during the shooting of this episode.

Episode 3: Guns and Gossip
Because this episode was preempted in some parts of the USA during the first airing of this episode on ABC, the episode got repeated on Tuesday, 4 October, 1994, at 10 p.m. (old spot of "NYPD Blue"). This showing earned MSCL its highest ratings.

Episode 11: Life of Brian
A.J. Langer had the chicken pox in "Life of Brian." Inadvertantly, she contaminated all the makeup which had to be thrown out. In addition, many scenes with her couldn't been filmed because she was so sick. The original shooting script differs in many details from the filmed version.

Episode 18: Weekend
The "Pleasure Center" was originally written as "The G-Spot," but was nixed by Standards and Practices as inappropriate for the family hour.

Devon Odessa's line, "high, high, lower lower, finger, finger..." was not originally written in the script. It was ad libbed by Devon Odessa on the set. This was one of the few times that "spoken lines" veered from the written script.

[Mutajon]

Cool. I'll try and fish out the trivia stuff and add them to the main list sometime soon.
I really think that combining it all into one list would be a great resource for fans