Season 2, Episodes 28-30 (A Man Called Smart)

What was supposed to be a movie, that got shrunk to a 3-part TV show. Originally supposed to be filmed on location in San Francisco, instead we got a lot more exterior shots of the KTLA Studios buildings.

Episode 28: A Man Called Smart, Part 1

The opening chase scene was filmed atop one of the studio buildings. A water tower can be seen in the distance, quite possibly the famous Warner Brothers water tower.

I believe this might be looking northwest, toward the Hollywood Hills.

A slightly different angle reveals some different buildings.

Meanwhile this shot shows some of the skyscrapers of downtown LA.

Episode 30: A Man Called Smart, Part 3

Once again the Bronson Avenue gate is used as a filming location, this time for Panamint Studios. As Otto Hurrah drives up to the gate, we get a terrific look at the real-life businesses located next to the studio. Here you can see two different businesses with Coca-Cola privilege signs. Privilege signs were given to stores around the country by Pepsi, Coke, 7-Up etc - free advertising in exchange for them buying a sign. In the 1960s they were still very common across the country, but by the end of the 1970s they started being seen as old-fashioned and most of them disappeared. We can also see Dan's Radiator Service, which I identified using old LA phone books that are online. The only mention I can find of Dan's Radiator Service online is that they were used by famed racecar designer Carroll Shelby.

The location looks very different today.

From this angle we can also see a car wash.

Here we get the best look at the bungalows further south from Sunset.

It looks like at least one of those bungalows was still standing in 2007, from the first round of Google Streetview images.

However, it is gone today.

This angle reveals another business: VJ's Cocktails.

This is another one I found with old phone books. The only online mention I found of the bar is this matchbook on eBay.

It does look like the building is still standing, probably the only one left that dates back to 1967.

We get another view of Power House No. 1 here. I also like the Joe's Catering Service sign on the truck, with the alpha-numeric phone number.

Finally, a bit of "special effects". When Max shoots the overhead light by Otto Hurrah in the final battle, the exploding light bulb was drawn onto the film.