hell hath no fury like elizabeth stoddard scorned!

[michael c]

i have been watching the laura collins storyline and i'm reminded of why i loved it so much.

there is one scene for instance that stands out as an all time favorite for me.

elizabeth,fed up with the aura of mystery that has surrounded laura since her return to collinsport,heads down the the cottage for a showdown.

talk about a clash of the titans!the scene crackles,both actresses are spot on,and a virtuosity of bitchiness is achieved perhaps not seen again until julia's palm makes contact with cassandra's cheek.

genius!

liz was such a pistol in these episodes(even though you just know she's toast as soon as she leaves the cottage).it's a shame she gets watered down so much later on.

[Jackie]

liz was such a pistol in these episodes(even though you just know she's toast as soon as she leaves the cottage).it's a shame she gets watered down so much later on.

Those were the good times for powerful women. 

I think several of the women became "watered down" later on the show... Vicki & Maggie to name the first two that come to mind.  Both women were strong figures in the pre-Barnabas episodes and then.. well, then... they just became clueless.  Vicki more so then Maggie but Maggie also became meek after she became governess.

[Devlin66]

yes indeed, Liz Stoddard stood tall a proud...a real matriarch of the Collins.........until Barnabas showed up and then things went downhill....i thought she recovered the best she could after the phoenix debacle but after she gutted out Jason her character went from impressive and confident to paranoid and sad. 

[Joeytrom]

[spoiler]Liz still proved that she could be resourceful by overcoming Cassandra's spell and having the special mausoleum designed for when she would be buried alive.  That was her way of fighting back in that instance and she fought off everyone's urging her not to do that and she turned out to be right.

She also confronted Cassandra right away after seeing her with Tony Peterson and demanded an explanation, though she obviously wasn't aware what was to happen to her. [/spoiler]

[Jackie]

[spoiler]Liz still proved that she could be resourceful by overcoming Cassandra's spell and having the special mausoleum designed for when she would be buried alive.  That was her way of fighting back in that instance and she fought off everyone's urging her not to do that and she turned out to be right.

She also confronted Cassandra right away after seeing her with Tony Peterson and demanded an explanation, though she obviously wasn't aware what was to happen to her.[/spoiler]

I agree, those are two part of the subplot that were good but it dragged on tooooo long, IMO.

[michael c]

i'll post a few more thoughts about these episodes without starting a new thread.

i so love this storyline!it's such a treat to see it again after a long time.

the first time i saw it i didn't have anything else to compare it to.so there's a slightly odd sensation watching it again after seeing(most)of the rest of the series and the three characters that ended up dominating the plot(barnabas,julia,angelique)for the rest of the run are not present.

at the same time it's a fully developed plot with very well written dialogue and excellent characterization.all of the main characters are at their best here.later on they seem a bit worn out by the preposterous situations they get put in but here they bring alot of energy to it.as someone pointed out this was an excellent time for strong women.later on the show becomes a bit of a boys club.but laura,liz,carolyn,maggie and vicki carry this for me.

in addition to the scene with liz laura has a cat-and-mouse scene with carolyn(with some hilarious business with a scarf)that is an absolute all time favorite.i'm reminded here of why i first fell in love with vicki.she's not just an "ingenue" but very "nancy drewish".very "victoria winters girl mystery solver".it's a nice take on the character.later on the plot dictates that she become "fond" of barnabas and that changes her nature completely.there is a great opening sequence with carolyn nervously pacing the room while vicki plays solitaire.it doesn't mean anything to the plot but it's just some nice attention to detail that gets a bit lost later on.

it's also sweet seeing the beginings of joe and maggie's courtship.great all around.

[Brandon Collins]

I agree that the above were certainly fine times for the pre-Barny episodes. And I still can't stand how wimpy Vicki, Maggie, Carolyn, Liz, et al became after Barnabas showed up. I'd have LOVED LOVED LOVED to see Barnabas try to stroll into the Collinsport Inn and put the ol' "You look just like my dead lover" speel on Maggie in that blonde wig! I know just what she'd say! "You're a jerk! J-E-R-K, JERK! If you think I'm gonna fall for that nonsense you might as well go down to the corner and pick up one of those dock women!"

 

[Gothick]

I love Liz's various showdowns with Laura.  The two women have a few excellent, sharply written and directed scenes in which Liz works that vein of icy gentility of which she was a past mistress--"the freeze," Luciaphil calls it in her brilliant commentaries.  And, it's almost as fun watching Vicki be devious and mordant with Laura when Vicki's cottoned on to Laura's game with David.  Great stuff.

Liz's scenes with the Mitchell Ryan Burke Devlin in the 1966 storyline are fabulous stuff, too.  One of the things I love about the Leviathan storyline is the return of the armor-plated matron in the person of LeviaLiz.  I just love the scene where she "welcomes" Willie upon his return to Collinwood.  Bennett and Karlen played that one with brilliant panache.

G.