Minerva Trask

[Gothick]

A few evenings back, I treated myself to some 1897 episodes.   Among them was the notorious scene of Minerva visiting Collinwood, jar of damson plum preserves in hand.  I must say, Clarice Blackburn took my breath away in that scene.  She was so incredibly nuanced and wonderful a performer.  After Mrs J, Minerva is my favorite CB role.  Even though she has fewer scenes than did Abigail in 1795, I think Minerva's jealousy makes her more interesting psychologically and allows CB to show more of her range.

One of my regrets about the later years of DS is that they never gave Mrs J another storyline comparable to what she had during the Bill Malloy period.  Clarice is one of my personal favorite actresses on the show, and she's definitely getting a vote in the prenoms for the Emmies from me.

G.

[Heather]

I agree... Loved the no-nonsense Mrs. J, and the wicked characters she portrayed in the other time periods. Well done... fun to watch time and again. 

[Sandor]

I felt sorry for Minerva when [spoiler]she was poisoned to death by a hypnotized Tim Shaw, but if I had to go the way of all flesh, I'd like the last person I see to look like Tim (Don Briscoe).[/spoiler]
Clarice Blackburn was meant to be on DS - she brought a Mrs. Danvers-meets-Granny Clampett attitude to Mrs. Johnson: creepy and cantankerous, and yet funny and vulnerable all at the same time.
You loved watching her characters get their comeuppance, yet you felt just as scared as she did.

[jennifer]

I felt sorry for Minerva when [spoiler]she was poisoned to death by a hypnotized Tim Shaw, but if I had to go the way of all flesh, I'd like the last person I see to look like Tim (Don Briscoe).[/spoiler]

yes that would be a pleasant way out sandor

jennifer

[Patti Feinberg]

Gothick , I just watched that ep last week myself!!!!

Clarice v. Trask....any takers??

Patti

[Julia99]

she brought a Mrs. Danvers-meets-Granny Clampett attitude to Mrs. Johnson:

what a way to put it.  ..

[michael c]

i'm a great fan of ms.blackburn as well.she was one of the show's great underused actors.as abigail collins she really brought something special to the role.her final scene with barnabas was a highlight of the story for me.

and what can be said about mrs.johnson...i love that in a few of her early episodes the character smokes!

[Philippe Cordier]

i'm a great fan of ms.blackburn as well.she was one of the show's great underused actors.as abigail collins she really brought something special to the role.her final scene with barnabas was a highlight of the story for me.

and what can be said about mrs.johnson...i love that in a few of her early episodes the character smokes!

With a series that covers five years, it's easy to forget a lot about characters and events and things ... such as Mrs. Johnson smoking!

Although the early Mrs. Johnson was perhaps a more interesting character, I'm glad she became so loyal and devoted to the Collins family.  Wish I could remember when her n'er do well son Harry appeared in the series, though it must have been early on ... don't THINK we ever heard much of Mrs. Johnson's personal life later on in the series ...

Abigail Collin's discovery of Barnabas in his coffin in 1795 is one of the great scenes (among many) in the series, was glad to be reminded of this ... Clarice Blackburn was irritatingly good in this role.

[michael c]

i was thinking of harry johnson lately.he appears at various points in 1968.he's one of the strangest and for the most part useless characters on the show.the actor first appears as noah gifford in 1795...then i get the impression that he was introduced to the present day for the sole reason that vicki would freak-out when encountering him for the first time.then the character sort of disappears for weeks(months?)and periodically becomes a half-baked co-conspiritor in the adam plot.

mrs.johnson's "wayward son"(sortof early-willieloomisish)might have been made a major storyline earlier on in the show's run but by 1968 the show had moved on to more baroque plots.the character was doomed from the start.