Humor on Dark Shadows

[Julian]

This came up on another thread, but I was thinking about humor on Dark Shadows (not the blooper kind, but situations or dialog that struck me as funny)  The other day I saw on DVD the scene where poor Willie has been gunned down outside Maggie's door and is believed to be the kidnapper.  Barnabas has a scene with Julia where he is really behaving badly and is very put out with Willie for lingering on even after being plugged by several bullets.  He makes some sort of comment about how he expects any minute to hear that Willie is sitting up and writing his memoirs.  That line and the way Frid delivers it always cracks me up.  Then there is another Frid moment when he's out at Widows Hill with Julia when Vicki comes along.  Barn wants Julia to leave so he can be alone with Vicki, Julia is dragging her feet, and Frid says - I think you'd better go inside before you catch a cold - you know how concerned I am about your health.  The way he says the part about being concerned about her health and the look on his face is another moment that makes me laugh.  Can anyone think of any other moments or dialog like this  that struck them as funny?

[boykading]

What a great idea for a thread, Julian! My own favorites tend to involve Mr. Frid also, no surprise there.

In fact, in that first scene you mention I think Barnabas says something about Willie "clinging to life like a leech". LOL!

And I love the scene where Tony Peterson is accusing Barnabas of having an affair with Carolyn. Tony, not being taken very seriously by Barnabas, says something like, "I don't enjoy being laughed at, Mr. Collins."

And Frid delivers the line so perfectly: "Then you shouldn't go around being so amuuuusing, Mr. Peterson."
Oh, that cracked my s*** right up!

One more: Love it when Julia and Barn are locking up Chris in the mausoleum during those moonlit nights and she worries that if the police find out that they may be accused of "harboring a werewolf" or words to that affect. That, IMHO, is one of the funniest ideas on the show ever!

[Gerard]

For me, it's the scene (one of my favorite DS scenes) when Judith reads Grandmamamama's will to her brothers.  Quentin can only find ironic humor in sister getting all the goodies, while the brothers get virtually nothing.  When Edward reacts in his typical incensed anger, that only eggs Quentin on.  When he does that wild, exaggerated:  "Why, I think I'm going to cry!" I just fall on the floor myself.

Gerard

[ProfStokes]

The scene with Barnabs complaining about Willie writing his memoirs cracks me up too. 

Another memorable scene between Willie and Barnabas occurs while Tom Jennings is preying on Julia.  Barnabas frets about how her weakened condition will affect the experiment. "Is that all you're worried about?" Willie presses.  He proceeds to egg  Barnabas on, trying to get him to admit to his feelings for Julia, but the man is either too dense or too stubborn to pick up on the hints.  Finally, exasperated, he demands, "Are you trying to be profound, Willie?"  That particular interaction--the dramatic irony, the dialogue, and the nature of the characters struck me as being funny.

As has been mentioned, Roger's sarcasm could be very humorous.  When parapsychologist Dr. Guthrie was called in to help a stricken Elizabeth, a dubious Roger suggested, "Why not do a voodoo dance around her hospital bed chanting semi-gutteral noises?"

Prof. Stokes could also be very witty and sarcastic.  His first visit to Barnabas at the Old House, his showdowns with Angelique/Cassandra, and his semi-pompous, matter-of-fact reaction to the general weirdness at Collinwood always make me smile.

Carl Collins's practical jokes offered welcome comic relief.

Some scenes come across as humorous to me just because of the situation, the timing, and the presentation by the actors.  I found the interactions between screw-up sidekick Aristede and Count Petofi to be funny, as well as some of the scenes between Bruno and Jeb.  (e.g. "Don't worry--you've got Bruno!)  Seeing anybody outwit Angelique or one of the Trasks makes me laugh.  Even if these instances weren't written with the purpose of being humorous, the execution of the scenes or the poetic justice made them that way.

ProfStokes

[Connie]

"Edward, I think I'm going to cry!

[tripwire]

"He clings to life with a leech like persistance" was a good one, and willie writing his memoirs was good also.  It is also ironic that B would complain that Willie clings to life, when he himself would do about anything to stay "alive", including knocking off an innocent although meddling David.

[Janet the Wicked]

Yeah. How about when Sam Evans, while in the Blue Whale, drink in hand, looks out the window and exclaims, "Look! A bat!!!"

Janet

[Janet the Wicked]

How about the time that Barnabas came to check up on Willie at the hospital and he's standing in front of a Red Cross poster that says "Give Blood"? Har har har har!!!

Janet

[Luciaphile]

For me, it's the scene (one of my favorite DS scenes) when Judith reads Grandmamamama's will to her brothers.  Quentin can only find ironic humor in sister getting all the goodies, while the brothers get virtually nothing.  When Edward reacts in his typical incensed anger, that only eggs Quentin on.  When he does that wild, exaggerated:  "Why, I think I'm going to cry!" I just fall on the floor myself.

And of course the immortal line, "Maybe later we can all watch you write a check."

Heh.

[dom]

I'm thinking that perhaps one reason 1897 (and perhaps Quentin Collins - his good looks not withstanding) became so popular and really propelled DS in the ratings was because the injection of purposeful humor into the show. Though there were several humorous (intentional or not) moments on the show prior to 1897, it was, IIRC, primarily very serious and heavy-hearted (not to mention preposterous - think 1968, IMHO). And again, IIRC, the show never went to that humorous place again.

Adding to my list of favorite humorous moments posted in the other topic, I would add several moments between Magda and Sandor, and pre-werewolf Quentin in the 1897 eps.

ProfStokes reminded me just how wonderfully humorous Professor Stokes quips could be. One of my faves being when he arrived in 1840 via the Stairway through time. Julia was talking about a female involved in the mix of things at Collinwood (I can't recall who) mentioning her Victorian "presence" and Stokes made some comment that knocked me out of my chair. I'm sorry I can't remember it other than to say it was flawlessly delivered by Thayer David. As a matter of fact Thayer's delivery of his lines throughout this scene were quite priceless, most of them funny as heck.

Another of my fave Thayer scenes was of Daniel Collins and Sandor in the cottage. Sandor scares the crap out of Daniel with a cryptic warning of some sort, finishing off his threat with a creepy laugh - Daniel flees in terror. And Sandor laughs to himself at the thought of it all. Am I recalling this correctly? Surely someone has a more precise memory of this scene. It's one of my (many) all-time faves.

And lastly, though it was not meant to be funny at all, just about every scene between Eve and Adam split my sides. Marie Wallace's delivery of her lines concerning Adam and her proposed relationship with him just killed me. Being perhaps the only thing that got me through that (IMHO) wretched storyline. If I had the know-how and software to do so, I'd love to create a comedic music "video" of Eve's & Adam's scenes together (muted) with the Carpenters song For All We Know for the audio.

Great topic, Julian!

[dom]

Two more - 

There is a scene during the Bill Malloy period in which I believe Bill Malloy and Roger (or was it Sam) meet up in the diner. They start bantering, with Maggie practically situated between them, and she starts to say something and she's cut off by Malloy, I believe. Maggie's reaction to being dismissed like a child is both flawless and priceless and had me rewinding the video and laughing out loud with each viewing.

The other is a scene that takes place in the drawing room of Collinwood. Roger has Viki cornered ready to grill her about Burke Devlin as Liz protests vehemently. The scene has to be seen to be appreciated but basically we see Liz and Roger fighting tooth and nail about it and then all of a sudden Liz relents and offers a polite "good night" to Miss Winters and strolls out as if she were walking past Kay Jewelers on her way to Tiffany's . The turnabout was so abrupt and ludicrous that it made me roll. It has to be seen to be believed.

Okay, I lied. One more humorous constant in the earlier eps is Liz's cure-all for tense situations - tea! The one scene I remember is one where Carolyn is in hysteria and depressed about her life and Liz offers to make tea - it's another scene that has to be seen to be appreciated for it's outrageousness and humor.

Sorry I can't remember the specific dialog for all these scenes I'm mentioning in this thread. But it's these moments that make me dearly love this show, compelling me to participate.

[Josette]

The early (RT) Flora Collins was often humorous.  As the story progressed, she became caught up in the tragedies occurring, and became a more "normal" character, but in the first part of the story she was so much fun.  I'm sure there were a number of specifically humorous lines, but I can't recall anything at the moment.

[Cassandra]

Yeah. How about when Sam Evans, while in the Blue Whale, drink in hand, looks out the window and exclaims, "Look! A bat!!!"

LOL! That's funny you should mention this because I was watching this very same scene while I was reading this!  Talk about coincidence!!    That scene in particular struck me funny as well because moments before Sam said that line he and the sherrif were sitting in the Blue Whale when they suddenly heard a woman screaming frantically outside.  The sherrif ran outside to investigate then came back in and said "nothing to worry about, just some woman afraid of a bat!!"    Sam made some comment like "oh, is that all??"  Then two seconds later as they proceed to leave, a bat appears outside the window to which Sam yells, "Look, a bat!!!"  He had such a look of fright on his face.

Dom Wrote:

Another of my fave Thayer scenes was of Daniel Collins and Sandor in the cottage. Sandor scares the crap out of Daniel with a cryptic warning of some sort, finishing off his threat with a creepy laugh - Daniel flees in terror. And Sandor laughs to himself at the thought of it all. Am I recalling this correctly?

Dom, That was Jamison you were talking about.   And you're right, that was a good funny scene.  I think any scene in which Sandor was in was pretty hysterical! He was a hoot!!


Another scene I thought was funny happened a couple of weeks after Maggie had returned home after her kidnapping & Wyncliff ordeal and had returned to normal.  Joe had come to visit and mentioned to her and Sam that the sherrif was still out searching for Maggie's kidnapper.  Sam replied, "and as usual he didn't find anything."   Then Maggie replied, "I just don't understand that sherrif, he's always out there searching and searching and never comes up with anything!"  LOL!!!  I have to agree with her on that one!

And who can forget that famous "incestor/ancestor" line by Roger in the Masoleum!!

I also enjoyed alot of the scenes between Jason Maguire and Willie.  One scene in particular stands out for me although it was meant to be far from humorous.  Jason was nagging Willie about his nightly activities involving the Collins Masoleum and wanted to know what he was up to.  He then accused Willie of "stooping so low as to rob a stiff!"

Cassandra

[dom]

Dom, That was Jamison you were talking about.   And you're right, that was a good funny scene.  I think any scene in which Sandor was in was pretty hysterical! He was a hoot!!

Duh! Thanks for the correction. You know, I had originally written David instead of Daniel, and was so glad I caught the error before I posted it. LOL. Not only can I not remember the dialog, I can't even remember the names!

It never occured to me until now, is Jamison of 1897 Liz's and Roger's father?

[Julia99]

There is a scene between Carolyn and Julia. . I don't know if it was early in the show or during Leviathan when Carolyn is talking about something being "divine" but Julia retorts. . it doesn't sound all that deeeeVINE. . .and another scene with Willie and Julia where she is admonishing him for being late or not doing something. . i can't recall her exact words but her lines to him about "nowhere being a large place" or something along those lines were pretty funny