Walnut Grove Goes BOOM!!! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

hawaii five-o · 09-21-2003, 03:55 PM

On the episode where they blow up Walnut Grove, are they blowing up the actual buildings used on the show or are these just false fronts built for these scenes. The buildings that get blown up look different to me.

Mijada · 09-21-2003, 06:39 PM

They did destroy some of the actual buildings in that ep. I heard it was because Michael Landon didn't want them to be used for anything else.

TV Guy · 09-22-2003, 11:07 PM

Michael Landon had a 10-year lease on the property (I believe it was located in California's Simi Valley) used for the series. The terms of the lease stipulated that the land be restored to its original appearance when the lease was complete (i.e. no buildings). So Landon figured that since he had to tear the buildings down anyway, he might as well use the destruction for dramatic purposes.

rlm1626 · 09-24-2003, 08:00 PM

Yes, i believe you are right about the location being Simi Valley.

Schmoopie · 04-05-2020, 03:13 AM

Allison Argrim stated in an interview that they blew up the sets so that no one would use them for other things. They thought it might be traumatizing for fans of the show to see the Mercantile used for a horror movie or something like that. I thought that was very interesting and it makes the whole last episode make more sense.

09-21-2003, 03:55 PM	#1
hawaii five-o Book 'Em, Dano Senior Member Join Date: Jun 27, 2003 Location: At home, eating cereal straight out of the box Posts: 1,406	Walnut Grove Goes BOOM!!! On the episode where they blow up Walnut Grove, are they blowing up the actual buildings used on the show or are these just false fronts built for these scenes. The buildings that get blown up look different to me.

09-24-2003, 08:00 PM	#4
rlm1626 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 14, 2003 Location: 704 hauser st. Posts: 50	Yes, i believe you are right about the location being Simi Valley.
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04-05-2020, 03:13 AM	#5
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	Allison Argrim stated in an interview that they blew up the sets so that no one would use them for other things. They thought it might be traumatizing for fans of the show to see the Mercantile used for a horror movie or something like that. I thought that was very interesting and it makes the whole last episode make more sense.
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09-21-2003, 06:39 PM	#2
Mijada Spencers mom Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 02, 2001 Location: eastern US Posts: 4,093	They did destroy some of the actual buildings in that ep. I heard it was because Michael Landon didn't want them to be used for anything else.

09-22-2003, 11:07 PM	#3
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	Michael Landon had a 10-year lease on the property (I believe it was located in California's Simi Valley) used for the series. The terms of the lease stipulated that the land be restored to its original appearance when the lease was complete (i.e. no buildings). So Landon figured that since he had to tear the buildings down anyway, he might as well use the destruction for dramatic purposes.