"The Orville," Buster Keaton and "The Loyal Order of Riders" cross paths on a rocky hillside overlooking Chatsworth, Calif.

"The Orville" (2017-2022 and counting): "Star Trek" with a few more laughs

The "Star Trek"-inspired sci-fi series "The Orville" has been quietly shooting in an out-of-the-way corner of the San Fernando Valley that has a history of filming dating back more than a century.

 

Progressive Insurance's "Loyal Order of Riders" campaign, running since 2021

It's the same location that serves as headquarters for "The Loyal Order of Riders," featured in a series of Progressive motorcycle insurance commercials that's been in heavy rotation since about 2021.

 

"The Paleface": Buster Keaton surveys the same corner of Chatsworth in 1922

But filming in this location is nothing new. More than 100 years ago, Buster Keaton romped all over these same rocky hills as he tried to fit in with the natives in his silent comedy "The Paleface."

 

The Loyal Order holds a secret meeting in Chatsworth

The Progressive commercials show a group of motorcycle riders circled up at a club meeting on a rocky plateau. The filming location is in Chatsworth, Calif. — just across the street from the former Iverson Movie Ranch.

 

"The Orville" (2017): A space vehicle lands near the riders' meeting place

The same location turns up on "The Orville." In the show's season one finale, "Mad Idolatry," a landing craft parks right next to the "Loyal Order of Riders" meeting site.

 

Riders arrive at the meeting location

For people who appreciate rocky filming locations, the Progressive spots give us more than we might normally expect from an insurance commercial.

 

Flo tries to blend in at the secret meeting

One of the riders in the Progressive ads is "Flo," a familiar character from a long-running series of Progressive Insurance commercials.

 

The club president calls the meeting to order

In many of the shots, including those showing the club leader presiding over the meeting, we see a display of interesting sandstone rock formations in the background.

 

A distinctive rock looms in the background

Pay attention to this rock — we'll be seeing more of it.

 

The spacecraft landing site and Loyal Order of Riders meeting location in 2023

This stunning rocky area is located a short distance south of Santa Susana Pass Road, about a half-mile west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth, Calif.

 

Private location where "The Orville" and the Progressive spots were filmed

The meeting location and landing site is just off a private road identified on maps as "West Santa Susana Pass Road." This area is not open to the public, but it has been in steady use as a filming location in recent years.

 

Video link for "Snake," one of the Progressive commercials shot in Chatsworth

You can click on the image above to watch one of the "Loyal Order of Riders" commercials for Progressive motorcycle insurance, featuring the rocky Chatsworth location.

 

"The Orville" (2017): Same rocks, different mode of transport

When "The Orville" dropped in on the same location back in 2017, the show brought along a grab bag of special effects, starting with placing a futuristic landing shuttle among those same rocks

 

Zooming in on the space shuttle landing site and bikers' meeting location in 2023

Here's another look at the shuttle landing site and "Loyal Order of Riders" meeting location, using a current 3D view from Google Maps.

 

Location where the space shuttle parks

The approximate landing spot for the space vehicle is noted here. I believe the shuttle was created through a combination of props and digital effects — in other words, it didn't actually land at the location.

 

Loyal Order of Riders site (blue oval) and "Orville" landing site (red oval)

This shot identifies the secret meeting location for the "Loyal Order of Riders," which overlaps a little with the landing location for the shuttle from the starship Orville.

 

Kelly and Malloy (Adrianne Palicki and Scott Grimes) step out of the landing craft

Two members of a landing party from the Orville emerge from the small shuttle vehicle after its arrival on a previously unknown planet. This part of the landing craft appears to be a prop.

 

Kelly and Malloy explore the newly discovered planet

As the landing party ventures out into the unknown world, the shuttle starts looking more like something that may have been added digitally to the shot.

 

Chatsworth landmarks surround the location

Meanwhile, we can see the ridgeline of the Santa Susana Mountains in the distance, to the northwest.

 

A familiar rock is part of the landscape

Behind the shuttle is a rock we've seen before — in the "Loyal Order of Riders" commercial.

 

Riders arrive at the secret meeting location

This is that same rock, seen as the bikers arrive for the "Loyal Order of Riders" commercial.

 

Another view of the meeting location and landing site

In a wider shot of the same area, it's pretty easy to once again spot the same rock.

 

"The Orville": Kelly explores the rocky area near the landing site

As the "Orville" episode continues, more of the new planet is revealed. Much of this world is set in the rocky bluffs surrounding the landing site and the "Loyal Order of Riders" meeting location.

 

A wide shot of the area as it appears in 2023

The area Kelly is exploring can be seen again in this Google Maps shot from 2023. The star marks the approximate location where Kelly is seen in the previous photo.

 

Zooming in on the rocky cove (Google Maps, 2023)

Taking a closer look at the location, we can identify the rocky cove that Kelly explored six or seven years earlier during the "Orville" shoot.

 

Some of the cove's distinctive rock formations

A number of the key rocks surrounding the cove are noted here, as they appear on Google Maps in 2023. The same rocks are identified below in the shot from "The Orville."

 

"The Orville" (2017): The same rocky cove

Here are those same key rocks as Kelly explores the cove. The outlines are color coded to match the outlines in the 2023 shot above.

 

A familiar "face" towers above Kelly in "The Orville"

As Kelly continues to poke around in this area, we again see some familiar rocks. Notice the unusually shaped rock tower highlighted here.

 

The same quirky rock figure also turned up at the riders' meeting

Remember this shot of the club president calling the "Loyal Order of Riders" meeting to order? There's that same oddly shaped rock, from a slightly different angle.

 

"The Orville," with the odd-shaped rock noted

The same rock tower is also visible in shots of the landing craft's location in "The Orville," with the space vehicle parked below a wide outcropping that includes the weird rock.

 

"Premature Electrification" spot for Ram Trucks

Filming continues today at this location, with car and truck commercials among the most common shoots. This photo comes from a Ram Trucks spot that's currently airing for the all-electric Ram 1500 REV.

 

Another appearance by the "weird rock," in the Ram Trucks spot

In another shot from the Ram Trucks commercial, we can easily identify, once again, the "weird rock."

 

Google Maps: The unusual rock continues to tower above the filming area

Taking another look at the bluff area as it appears on Google Maps, it's not too hard to find the weird rock, which is turning out to be a reliable identifier that pinpoints the filming location.

 

The location of the odd-shaped rock (January 2023)

We can place the filming area in a broader context by moving east and examining a shot taken earlier this year from Santa Susana Pass Road, looking southwest.

 

Another famous movie rock anchors a nearby butte

This area has been used as a filming location for more than a century. If you live anywhere near Chatsworth, you've probably seen this large, almost square rock, known to some locals as "Parachute Rock."

 

"The Paleface" (1922): Buster Keaton is thrown from Parachute Rock

The name comes from the rock's appearance in a Buster Keaton stunt from the silent film era. In his 1922 comedy short "The Paleface," Keaton is thrown from the top of the rock by an Indian.

 

Keaton "parachutes" to safety off the massive sandstone butte

Keaton avoids death by using an Indian blanket as a parachute. I don't know how the stunt was filmed, but it's a good bet that Keaton didn't really go over the edge of Parachute Rock. Even so, it looks good in the movie.

 

Unusual side view of Parachute Rock, looking north

The "Paleface" sequence features a compelling — and rare — side view of the formidable Parachute Rock.

 

Parachute Rock looking north again, in modern times

Parachute Rock still looks much the same a century later, although we hardly ever see it from this angle. You can match up the holes in the rock with the "Paleface" shot if that sort of thing interests you.

 

Western edge of the Iverson Movie Ranch in the early 1920s

Something else of interest in the "Paleface" sequence is the background. The sequence is filmed looking north, and captures the western expanse of the Iverson Movie Ranch in its early days.

 

The former Iverson Ranch in modern times, after going condo

In the modern era, this part of the former Iverson Ranch is filled with condos. Built in the late 1980s, the Cal West Townhomes complex today occupies much of the former Lower Iverson.

 

"The Paleface": A rare early look at key Iverson Movie Ranch features

The western border of the Iverson Ranch in the early '20s included a row of trees running north and south along the boundary line, and a road just outside the Iverson property line, along the west side of the trees.

 

"Williams/Johnson Road," along the western boundary of the Iverson Ranch

This road is sometimes referred to as "Williams/Johnson Road," a reference to two pioneer Chatsworth families whose homestead properties were situated along the road.

 

A view of the same road looking in the opposite direction (H.F. Rile photo, ca. 1912)

Another view of this historic road can be found among postcard photos taken in the early 1910s by H.F. Rile, a photographer who documented much of early Los Angeles.

 

A car travels south on Williams/Johnson Road

The H.F. Rile image may be the best photo in existence of Williams/Johnson Road in its early days. The shot is taken looking south, and includes an old car headed south on the road.

 

Looking south toward the filming location

While it's impossible to see in any detail, the photo also captures the "Orville" and "Loyal Order of Riders" filming location in the distance.

 

Filming site for the "Orville" episode and the Progressive ad

Zooming in on the old photo, we can identify the approximate site where the shuttle landed in "The Orville" and where "The Loyal Order of Riders" met — and we can even find the "weird rock," yet again.

 

Chatsworth Grade Road through Santa Susana Pass (photo by H.F. Rile, ca. 1912)

The H.F. Rile photos, which have been compiled and studied by researchers Ann and Ray Vincent of the Chatsworth Historical Society, also capture early views of the Santa Susana Pass, among other areas. We've featured Rile's work on this blog before — please click here to learn more about this photo.

 

A rare look at the gate, fence and trees along the Iverson side of the road

Rile's Williams/Johnson Road photo contains a number of interesting historical tidbits, including what appears to be a barbed-wire fence and gate separating the road from the Iverson Ranch.

 

Garden of the Gods, ca. 1912 — just as filming was starting up

The photo also provides an early glimpse of the Iverson Movie Ranch's Garden of the Gods to the southeast. The photo dates to around the time the rocky Iverson Ranch property was just beginning to be used for filming.

 

Garden of the Gods and the western edge of the Iverson Ranch (H.F. Rile, ca. 1912)

Another H.F. Rile photo from the same period — probably taken the same day — provides an even better view of the Garden of the Gods, and another look at the Williams/Johnson Road area. This shot is taken looking east.

 

Zooming in on the Garden of the Gods and the line of young trees

The photo presents the entire western profile of the Garden of the Gods, along with a better look at the trees along the property line. As they should, the trees look about 10 years younger here than they do in "The Paleface."

 

Today's Chatsworth Park South, looking east across the San Fernando Valley (H.F. Rile, ca. 1912)

A detailed presentation on the H.F. Rile postcards, put together for the Chatsworth Historical Society by Ann and Ray Vincent, can be found by clicking here or by clicking on the image above.

 

"The Paleface": Buster Keaton on the western edge of the Iverson Ranch

About 10 years after H.F. Rile's photos were taken, we again catch a glimpse of the Williams/Johnson Road area and the western boundary of the Iverson Movie Ranch in "The Paleface."

 

The western profile of the Garden of the Gods

We mainly see one tree and a small section of the barbed-wire fence in this sequence, including a single fencepost. We also get another look at the Garden of the Gods in the background.

 

Keaton is approached by Indians near the western edge of the Iverson Ranch

While the bulk of the action takes place on Iverson Ranch property on the east side of the fence, for these shots the camera would have been positioned on the west side of the fence, off Iverson property.

 

The same location from the other side, with the camera shooting west

Parts of the sequence are shot in the opposite direction, with the camera now back on the Iverson Ranch. In these shots we catch glimpses of the Williams property to the west.

 

Williams/Johnson Road, on the west side of the fence

We also again see Williams/Johnson Road, just on the other side of the Iversons' fence.

 

Buster Keaton climbs the tree in "The Paleface"

At one point during the shoot, Keaton climbs up into the leafy part of the tree and we get a look at the foliage. Based on the limited shots we have, I'd say it looks a lot like a eucalyptus.

 

The Indians contemplate what to do with Buster Keaton in "The Paleface"

While the Indians were gathered in this flat, grassy area, located west of the Garden of the Gods, they were also filmed from another angle. Here the camera is facing south.

 

Filming area south of Santa Susana Pass Road

In this shot we can again see the "Orville" and "Loyal Order of Riders" filming area in the distance, on the south side of Santa Susana Pass Road.

 

A familiar rock

If we want to, we can once again find the weird rock.

 

Another familiar rock, and another unusual angle

Parachute Rock also works its way into this shot, from another rarely seen angle, looking south.

 

"The Paleface" (1922): Another glimpse of the Iverson Movie Ranch

The Iverson Ranch continues to pop up in "The Paleface." In the sequence in which Keaton is thrown from the top of Parachute Rock, we catch a glimpse of another section of the movie ranch.

 

Historic photo showing Chatsworth's "Railroad Cut" area

This same part of the ranch also tends to turn up in old photos of trains rumbling through Chatsworth's "Railroad Cut." The sweeping curve of the tracks through this area makes it a popular spot for railroad photography.

 

Southeast corner of the Iverson Movie Ranch

Train shots taken looking north from this section of the railroad often include this corner of the Iverson Movie Ranch. The railroad tracks also pass just below the "Orville" and "Loyal Order of Riders" filming area.

 

Kelly surveys the newly discovered planet from high atop a rocky hill

Another high vista point surfaces in "The Orville" as part of Kelly's sojourn outside the landing craft. She eventually works her way up to the top of a mountain, giving her a wide view of a mysterious new civilization.

 

Kelly's location as it appears today, photographed looking west from Topanga

We can identify the exact location where Kelly stands on top of the mountain, although it's impossible to match the "Orville" shot without access to the site.

 

Kelly's view of the unknown planet, as it appears in the "Orville" episode "Mad Idolatry"

This is what Kelly sees, looking east from the mountaintop. It's described in the episode as a civilization that has evolved to the equivalent of the Earth's Bronze Age.

 

A familiar Chatsworth landmark

Here again, readers who are familiar with Chatsworth, Calif., may recognize a landmark or two. The most familiar of these is Stoney Point, a massive butte situated along the east side of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

 

The same location as it appears in the real world (Google Maps, 2023)

In the real world, the shot is taken looking east across the full expanse of the northern San Fernando Valley, with the town of Chatsworth in the foreground.

 

Key features of the shot, as they appear in 2023

Along with Stoney Point, Topanga Canyon Boulevard is one of the most prominent features of this corner of today's San Fernando Valley.

 

Topanga Canyon Boulevard as a river,  in "The Orville's" Bronze Age world

In the show, Topanga has been digitally transformed into a river.

 

Primitive villages added to the landscape for "The Orville"

"The Orville's" version of the Bronze Age includes small hut villages on both sides of the river.

 

Riverfront villages of "The Orville's" Bronze Age

Zooming in on this part of the shot, we can take a closer look at those Bronze Age villages along the river. We can also make out a small bridge across the river, along with a couple of boats.

 

Where the villages would be added in post-production

This 2023 shot shows the approximate location where the hut villages would be placed for "The Orville." Needless to say, this was all done in post-production, with no actual construction taking place at the site.

 

The real-world location (2023)

Zooming in on the 2023 landscape, we can see what the village area looks like in today's world. Almost everything in this shot was removed digitally to make room for the hut villages.

 

Kelly returns to the hilltop hundreds of years later, with a second landing party

Various members of the Orville crew return to the hilltop location throughout the episode, and each time, due to the mysterious planet's existence in an alternate universe, centuries have passed on the planet.

 

Kelly and Ed look east from the vista point to a much more evolved planet

What the crew sees this time is a planet that has evolved to the equivalent of the 14th century on Earth. Once again, the shot is taken looking east across the northern San Fernando Valley.

 

The planet as it appears on this visit has evolved to roughly the 14th century

This view of the mysterious planet again includes Chatsworth's Stoney Point and the "Topanga River" version of Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

 

Zooming in on the 14th century civilization

By the 14th century, an elaborate structure, apparently a temple, has been built at the base of Stoney Point. This more evolved version of the civilization also has a sturdier bridge than the one it had in the Bronze Age.

 

The villages now resemble Medieval Europe

The hut villages along the river have grown into something that more closely resembles Europe in the late Middle Ages, with dense residential housing on both sides of the river.

 

The Orville landing party heads to town

On this visit to the mystery planet, the crew dresses up in period-appropriate costumes for a trip into town.

 

A scene reminiscent of the crucifixions in ancient Rome

In one of "Mad Idolatry's" most disturbing scenes, the Orville crew encounters some unfortunate souls who have been tied to stakes along the side of the road, the apparent victims of a barbaric form of justice.

 

A farmer driving a haywagon arrives from the other direction

When a farmer approaches on a haywagon, the crew flags him down, hoping he can tell them what these people did to deserve their fate.

 

The space travelers gather intel on what's going on in the mysterious new world

The farmer reveals why certain individuals in this society wind up in such dire circumstances.

 

Notice the background features highlighted here

The road sequence takes place a short distance from the shuttle landing site. The key to finding this road was matching up rocks and hills seen in the background.

 

The same background features (Google Maps, 2023)

Both of the highlighted background features can be found again in this 3D Google shot looking northeast from the filming location. Both highlighted areas are on the former Iverson Movie Ranch.

 

A Garden of the Gods rock peeks into "The Orville"

We have to zoom way in on this rock before we can see that it's a match, and even then, I get it if you still don't see it. But it checks out — it's the same rock, part of the Iverson Ranch's Garden of the Gods.

 

Filming location for the road sequence, southwest of the Iverson Ranch

After matching up the background features, we can identify a dirt road in Chatsworth where the sequence was filmed for "The Orville." For now, let's call it "Crucifixion Road."

 

"Crucifixion Road" and the Church at Rocky Peak

The road was built in the 1980s, around the same time the sprawling Church at Rocky Peak began moving into the neighborhood.

 

The infamous "Spahn Movie Ranch" location

But if the terrain looks familiar, it may be for an entirely different reason. One of the most famous places in this part of Chatsworth — for all the wrong reasons — is the former site of the Spahn Movie Ranch.

 

Isaac, the Orville's science officer and android, arrives at the vista point

After witnessing the mistreatment of local citizens, the Orville crew decides to drop off the ship's android, Isaac, on the mystery planet. Isaac begins by taking in the view from the usual vista point.

 

Isaac observes what is now a 21st century civilization

By this time the planet has caught up to Earth's 21st century, and the view from the top of the mountain includes not only an updated version of the temple, but also a number of modern skyscrapers.

 

At least one bridge has been relocated in the last 700 years

A new bridge has replaced the 14th century bridge, this one at the real-world intersection of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Santa Susana Pass Road.

 

A famous filming location to the northeast

The shot also captures a section of what was once the southeast corner of the Iverson Movie Ranch.

 

A modern city rises above the northern San Fernando Valley

The bulk of the planet's "21st century" development towers over what in the real world would be Granada Hills, Northridge and Porter Ranch.

 

The northern San Fernando Valley of the real world

The tall buildings and other "21st century" structures seem so familiar that it's easy to believe they might really be there — but in today's northern San Fernando Valley, no such structures can be found.

 

The Orville returns to the mystery planet in the age of quantum drive

The starship Orville visits the planet one more time, but by then the planet has caught up to the age of quantum drive — the same period in which "The Orville" is set. In this era, location footage is no longer needed.

 

"Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes": Another season, another unknown planet

"The Orville" does return to the Chatsworth filming location in season two, and again it's for a visit to an unknown planet. It's another planet with a lot of rocks — but it's not the same planet the crew explored in season one.

 

Seth MacFarlane and Michaela McManus, stranded on the unknown planet

This time the Orville's captain, Ed Mercer (series creator Seth MacFarlane), is stranded on the planet's surface with Teleya, a member of the Krill and a bitter enemy of Capt. Mercer and the Earth-based Planetary Union.

 

Santa Susana Mountains looking west from Chatsworth (Google Maps)

Much of the planet's surface is based on this section of the Santa Susana Mountains, south of Santa Susana Pass Road looking west from the Chatsworth filming location — a short distance west of Topanga.

 

A smooth plateau among the rocks

Notice the plateau area highlighted here in the blue rectangle. It's a little hard to see because the smooth terrain of the plateau blends in with the much rockier area in the bottom half of the frame.

 

"The Orville": The same plateau forms much of the background

The plateau becomes a sunlit slope when we see it in the show. If you wanted to you could match up any number of individual trees, as the landscape hasn't changed much in the five years since the episode was shot.

 

None of these rocky buttes are really there

Most of the rocky buttes rising above the terrain were created by special effects. In the old days this effect would have been achieved using a matte painting, but today it's a routine task handled by computer nerds.

 

A rocky real-world canyon

The bottom half of the frame consists of a rocky canyon that exists in the real world, and this entire area, including rocks, trees and other features, can also be seen in the Google Maps shot.

 

The same canyon on Google Maps

The canyon area is highlighted here in the Google shot, where the rocky terrain pops out more. The yellow rectangles identify the same area in the two photos above.

 

"The Orville": One of the area's landmarks can be found here

To highlight one of this area's most distinctive rock formations, note the part of the frame inside the rectangle.

 

Zooming in on Chatsworth's rocky Pinnacles area in"The Orville"

This shot zooms in on that part of the frame, and adds some light to make it easier to see the rocks. This especially rocky part of the Santa Susanas includes a number of large vertical sandstone spires.

 

The same rock formations on Google Maps

Here's the same area as it appears in a 3D view on Google Maps.

 

One of the area's most recognizable landmarks

The formation is topped by a group of rocks I call the Pinnacles.

 

"The Orville": The Pinnacles help identify the landscape of the unknown planet

One of the key landmarks of the Santa Susana Pass, the Pinnacles have been appearing in movie backgrounds since the silent film days.

 

"Roaring Rails" (1924): An early movie appearance by Chatsworth's "Pinnacles"

The silent railroad movie "Roaring Rails," starring Harry Carey, featured this shot of the Pinnacles almost a century ago, in 1924.

 

"The Terror of Tiny Town": A view of the Pinnacles from the Iverson Movie Ranch

This shot of the Pinnacles from the offbeat 1938 Western "The Terror of Tiny Town" was taken with the camera shooting southwest from the Iverson Ranch.

 

"They Died With Their Boots On" (1941): Garden of the Gods and the Pinnacles

In another scene filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch, this striking shot features the ranch's famed Garden of the Gods on the left along with the Pinnacles, to the southwest, on the right.

 

"They Died With Their Boots On": Two neighboring landmarks

The camera's telephoto lens makes the Pinnacles appear closer to the Garden of the Gods than they really are, but even so, the shot emphasizes the proximity of these two dramatic rock formations.

 

"The Adventures of Spin and Marty" (Disney/ABC)

Another interesting shot of the Pinnacles, again taken from the Iverson Movie Ranch, can be found in the Disney TV series "The Adventures of Spin and Marty."

 

"Spin and Marty" episode "The Secret Ride" (1955)

In addition to the Pinnacles, the shot also contains a glimpse of the main set area at Spahn Movie Ranch. Both features are southwest of the Iverson Ranch, with Spahn Ranch just across Santa Susana Pass Road.

 

Toyota truck commercial (2022): The Pinnacles at top right

The Pinnacles continue to work their way into productions in modern times. Here's an example from a commercial for Toyota trucks that ran last year.

 

The Pinnacles, looming over the truck ad

You can't miss the Pinnacles in the background. But just in case, there's a big red arrow pointing them out.

 

The Pinnacles (2023): Huge sandstone pillars top the formation

I was able to get up close to the Pinnacles on a recent hike, and snapped this shot of the large rocks forming the landmark's distinctive peak. It's an impressive formation, but be warned that it's surrounded by poison oak.

 

"The Orville": Teleya and Mercer take refuge in a cave

Getting back to "The Orville," at one point in "Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes," Mercer and Teleya hide out in a cave, mainly to protect the sunlight-sensitive Krill warrior from the planet's intense daylight.

 

Cave set appears to combine a soundstage interior with location footage

The cave interior, presumably a soundstage set, is made up largely of fake movie rocks. But outside the cave entrance the Chatsworth location provides the rocky hillside and daylight conditions needed to make the plot work.

 

Capt. Mercer stands outside the cave entrance in "The Orville"

When Mercer steps outside the cave, we get a look at some of the rocks in the background.

 

A rock formation that might help pinpoint the shooting site

We can identify the location of the background by zeroing in on specific rocks. Notice the cluster of rocks highlighted here.

 

"The Orville's" background location for the cave sequence (Google Maps)

The same rock cluster can be found on Google Maps. We're still in the same general location where "The Orville" has been filming all along, in both season one and season two.

 

Once again, the filming takes place just east of the Pinnacles

Also turning up again in the Google Maps shot are the Pinnacles, although they're not visible in the cave shots from "The Orville." The Google shot is taken looking approximately west.

 

"The Orville": Mercer climbs the rocky hill to signal for help

When the time arrives to leave the cave area, Mercer climbs to a high point on the rocky hill to send a distress signal to the Orville. During this sequence the episode prominently features the area's sandstone boulders.

 

The character is dwarfed by the massive sandstone rock features

Mercer's position atop an enormous butte — the same butte that also contains Parachute Rock — is just a short distance from the original shuttle landing site and "Loyal Order of Riders" meeting location.

 

The filming location, looking approximately southwest (Google Maps)

This 3D shot from Google Maps pinpoints where Mercer is seen in the previous shot.

 

A busy filming area, today and 100 years ago

The same Google Maps shot also includes both Parachute Rock and the location we previously identified where the shuttle landed in season one of "The Orville" and where the Progressive Insurance ads were shot.

 

Mercer sizes up the logistics of a rocky hilltop

After a little more climbing, the captain arrives at a location that's high enough to begin setting up the equipment needed to send the distress signal.

 

A wide shot of Mercer's location — however, it's not the same location

The show engages in a little "movie magic" here. We need to see a wide enough shot to know that Mercer has reached the top of the hill. However, this shot is not taken in the same place as the previous shot.

 

This is probably not Seth MacFarlane

In fact, it's probably not really Capt. Mercer in the shot. This hill stands on the north side of the road, across from the main filming location, and it's likely that the show just sent over an extra or stand-in to pose for the shot.

 

Back at the filming location, Mercer sends out the signal

Meanwhile, they filmed the real Seth MacFarlane, as Capt. Mercer, sending out the distress signal back at the main filming location, on the south side of Santa Susana Pass Road.

 

Looking south toward the filming location (Google Maps)

I was able to pinpoint the location where Mercer sends the distress signal, which can be seen in this satellite shot taken looking south with the Santa Monica Mountains in the distance.

 

Other landmarks in the shot

Mercer's position is uphill from the Progressive Insurance filming location and shuttle landing site from season one of "The Orville." The shot also includes the well-known landmark Saddle Peak to the south.

 

A closer look at Mercer's position

Zooming in on the location, we can identify the specific rock where Mercer stands as he sends the distress signal.

 

The Chak'tal come after Mercer and Teleya

Ratcheting up the intensity as the episode approaches its denouement, a contingent of Chak'tal soldiers is hunting down Mercer and Teleya, and works its way up the rocky hill.

 

The Chak'tal close in on Mercer's position

Before help can arrive, the Chak'tal reach Mercer's signaling post, bent on killing both Mercer and Teleya.

 

Mercer shoots it out with the Chak'tal

A firefight breaks out between Mercer and the Chak'tal. We may think of Mercer mainly as a goofball, especially by starship captain standards, but it turns out he's a way better shot than the average Chak'tal soldier.

 

Help arrives — and we get a weird shot of the planet

The rescue shuttle finally arrives, and through the windshield — although I'm sure "windshield" isn't the right word — we get a different sense of the planet's landscape, consisting of pointy rock columns all over the place.

 

Rocky hill, meet computer graphics

The money shot for the effects team comes when the "pointy rocks" part of the landscape is spliced together with the actual hill across the road — as the firefight rages and the shuttle shows up at exactly the right moment.

 

That hill across the road is the Garden of the Gods

If you're wondering about that lovely rocky hill on the north side of Santa Susana Pass Road, it turns out to be the Garden of the Gods, on the former Iverson Movie Ranch.

 

In this corner, an Iverson Movie Ranch landmark

One of the better clues to the location is the distinctive ragged profile of Nyoka Cliff, one of the most heavily filmed rock formations on the former Iverson Movie Ranch.

 

And in this corner ... more landmarks

Other Iverson Movie Ranch landmarks also appear in the shot. You can learn more about Nyoka Cliff, the Sphinx and the Phantom by using the long index on the right side of the page or by clicking on the links in this sentence.

 

The firefight continues even as the shuttle arrives

Zooming in on the shot, we can see that the Garden of the Gods was bustling with extras, including Chak'tal fighters at lower left along with stand-ins for Mercer and Teleya holding the high ground at top right.

 

Across the road, the Chak'tal breach the signaling post

Meanwhile, any closeups or medium shots, such as this shot of a menacing Chak'tal soldier attacking Mercer and Teleya's position, were done in the main filming location on the south side of Santa Susana Pass Road.

 

Back in the Garden of the Gods, the rescue shuttle maneuvers into position

The action swings back and forth between the two locations, but all shots of the Garden of the Gods are taken with the camera crew shooting across Santa Susana Pass Road from the main location to the south.

 

To the south, the shuttle rescues Mercer and Teleya

The last few shots of the battle take place on the south side of Santa Susana Pass Road, where Mercer continues to shoot it out with the Chak'tal even as he and Teleya board the shuttle.

 

A final look at the Chatsworth filming location

One last deadly shot from Mercer takes down a Chak'tal fighter just as the shuttle door begins to close.

 

"Mad Idolatry" ("The Orville," season one): "Crucifixion Road" and an important rock

Remember that rock that helped identify what I called "Crucifixion Road" in the season one "Orville" episode "Mad Idolatry"? Now we have a new reference point and can further identify it.

 

The Sphinx, surfacing in two different "Orville" episodes

Thanks to its reappearance in "Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes," we now have a positive ID: The helpful rock is none other than the Sphinx, one of the most famous movie rocks on the Iverson Ranch.

 

"Stagecoach" (1939): An iconic shot of the Sphinx

You may be more familiar with the Sphinx from shots like this one from the classic John Ford Western "Stagecoach," showing the Sphinx from almost the opposite angle, looking south.

 

"Rockridge" filming operation, owned by the Church at Rocky Peak

Sometimes referred to as "Rockridge" or "Rock Ridge," the filming area where "The Orville," the Progressive Insurance ads and many other productions have been shooting in recent years is run by the Church at Rocky Peak, which owns the land where the filming takes place.

 

The San Fernando Valley's "hot corner" for movie ranches

This corner of Chatsworth and the Santa Susana Pass has long been, and remains today, a busy filming area, with movie ranches old and new practically bumping into each other.

 

Spahn Ranch in 1969 — click on the photo for more about its movie history

Much of what's been published about the movie history of Spahn Ranch has been grossly exaggerated. If you're interested in the real story, click here (or click on the photo) to read our previous posts about it — including its relationship with its closest neighbor back in The Day, the Iverson Movie Ranch.

 

Rebuilding Spahn Ranch in 2018 (Jerry Condit photo)

You may also be interested in director Quentin Tarantino's remarkable re-creation of Spahn Ranch at Corriganville in Simi Valley for his 2019 movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." Click here or on the photo to see a series of posts chronicling that chapter of the Spahn Ranch story.