Holidays for Collinsport

[Mysterious Benefactor]

on DS was actually a cause for celebration? ... Not much happiness there.

That's not very different than any other soap.  I remember the Luke and Laura wedding was a big deal and she was getting married to her rapist.

No, no, no - in the GH PTB's view of things, that was never a rape - it was a seduction. But regardless of who's view is the correct one, there's no disputing the fact that by the time they married, Luke and Laura were deeply in love with each other and neither was keeping a secret from the other. So, their marriage was a cause for celebration.

On DS, was there ever any couple (other than perhaps Vicki and Jeff) where at least one member was NOT keeping secrets from the other? And as hard as I find it to accept, at least Carolyn and Jeb were in love. But, my God, HE was keeping so many deep, dark secrets from her that it's hard to keep count of them all!

[onyx_treasure]

on DS was actually a cause for celebration? ... Not much happiness there.

That's not very different than any other soap.  I remember the Luke and Laura wedding was a big deal and she was getting married to her rapist.

No, no, no - in the GH PTB's view of things, that was never a rape - it was a seduction. But regardless of who's view is the correct one, there's no disputing the fact that by the time they married, Luke and Laura were deeply in love with each other and neither was keeping a secret from the other. So, their marriage was a cause for celebration.

On DS, was there ever any couple (other than perhaps Vicki and Jeff) where at least one member was NOT keeping secrets from the other? And as hard as I find it to accept, at least Carolyn and Jeb were in love. But, my God, HE was keeping so many deep, dark secrets from her that it's hard to keep count of them all!

     What I meant to show by the Luke and Laura example was to show that all soap weddings have some weird, twisted angle.  I am not a soap watcher but every once in awhile I catch a glimpse or two.  For example,  the stage is set for a lavish wedding and the doctor  runs in to announce the couple are actually half-siblings, or the ex-husband shows up to announce they are still married, etc. etc.  The upshot is that all other soaps have lavish weddings regardless of the circumstances.  I just think DC was a short-sighted tightwad and blew a ratings and advertising bonanza.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I just think DC was a short-sighted tightwad

Ya think?

[Dr. Eric Lang]

I would have dearly loved to see a Halloween episode with all the DS characters attending a costume party. Can't you just see Nicholas Blair, dressed as the devil? Angelique with a traditional pointed witch hat and broom? Carolyn dressed up as Little Bo Peep and Jeb dressed up as a Sheep? Maggie, dressed as Little Orphan Annie? Sabrina dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and Chris dressed up as the Big Bad Wolf? Heck Chris wouldn't even need a costume.

[Stuart]

Yeah, all that stuff would have been fun once in a while - at times, I think "Dark Shadows" really needed to be more of a conventional soap.  The fantasy stuff was great when it worked, but it was a mistake thinking that it was the be-all and end-all.

One of the sad things for me was the way increasingly they lost a sense of the day-to-day stuff for the characters - I think it's a massive failure that the show never really did a death that counted.  I can't think of a single time where I got a sense of the grief and pain that situation should bring, or the long-term effect it should have on the people it touches.

When it worked, the fantasy element really did enhance the drama and underlying themes of the stories, but as time wore on it seemed to anaesthetize the emotional side, leaving it unrewarding  by default.  Never confuse incident with drama, I guess.

At times, just simple things like giving gifts at Christmas, or sharing a family meal could have done a lot to remind you that this was a (mostly) normal family, and brought some identification for the audience.

[Gerard]

Boy, I couldn't agree more, Stuart.  They did make things look more "homey" in the first season regarding the everyday things normal people do.  That, to me, constituted some of the best scenes.  Such as the ones set in restaurants with people dining in the background, waiters coming and going.  Or Carolyn cuttin' a rug to rock'n'roll with hordes of other twisting cats and moondoggers at the Blue Whale packing the dance floor.  And just seeing them in the kitchen at the breakfast table, the toaster right over there on the counter.  Don't forget seeing - who was it? Carolyn, I think - ironing.  Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, Phoenixes and Lovecraftian monsters may cause turmoil, but you still gotta eat and get the laundry done.

Kinduvan aside, with regards to PT1970, I always thought it would've been neat if they had made mention about other "slight" differences on a more major scale.  Imagine them mentioning President Humphrey, or alluding that there had never been any World Wars (the Kaiser still was the now-constitutional monarch of Germany, the Hapsburgs were the same in Austria-Hungary, and even the Czar in St. Petersburg).  Stuff like that would've just fascinated me.

Gerard

[VictoriaWintersRox]

It's too bad DS never had any major weddings or holiday celebrations. Halloween seemed so perfect for DS, much like St. Patrick's Day was perfect for Ryan's Hope. Maybe if the show had run longer they would've finally gotten to that. As much as I love the supernatural elements of the show, I miss the mostly character driven plots of the first year and the ones that continued until the beginning/end of 1795. At least then the characters were presented as normal people who had to do the laundry, etc.

It's too bad DS never had any major wedding ceramonies, even the most corrupt marriages. I wonder if the wedding of Victoria and Jeff would've been more lavish if Alexandra Moltke had stayed with the show. It seemed like the characters were planning a great wedding for Vicki, and I loved the wedding dream sequence. Same goes for Carolyn and Jeb, even though Jeb was very deceitful. There were also some others, though they were mostly in other time periods. Things like this make me wish DS had retained more normal soap elements.

[Cassandra]

One of the sad things for me was the way increasingly they lost a sense of the day-to-day stuff for the characters - I think it's a massive failure that the show never really did a death that counted.  I can't think of a single time where I got a sense of the grief and pain that situation should bring, or the long-term effect it should have on the people it touches.

I totally agree Stuart.  It bothered me the most when a family member died and the next day everyone suddenly came down with a case of amnesia.   For instance when Carl Collins was killed it seemed as if the family just wanted to get the whole funeral thing over with.  I mean this was their brother for goodness sakes!    I think the only one who really took his death seriously and mourned him was Charity/Pansy Faye.   I realize they didn't have the time to dwell on things but it would have been nice to at least hear a mention of the deceased with a fond memory every now and then.


Cassandra

[Debra]

For instance when Carl Collins was killed it seemed as if the family just wanted to get the whole funeral thing over with.  I mean this was their brother for goodness sakes!    I think the only one who really took his death seriously and mourned him was Charity/Pansy Faye.   I realize they didn't have the time to dwell on things but it would have been nice to at least hear a mention of the deceased with a fond memory every now and then.


Cassandra

I hated that too Cassandra!  Felt bad for poor Carl and how everyone just shrugged off his death as "just another day" in Collinwood.  I would have liked to have seen him and Charity get together after she became possessed by Pansy Faye!  I think the two of them would be good together.

Deb

[ROBINV]

When I watched DS back in the 60's and early 70's, I was also watching other soaps--AMC, The Doctors, GH, Ryan's Hope--all of which celebrated holidays up the ying yang.  By the time DS came on, I was actually relieved to see a show that bypassed the Christmas trees, Irish merriment and Thanksgiving celebrations.  With DS standing by itself now, I guess the lack of holiday celebration is more glaring, but I didn't really miss it.

To me, DS was almost a parallel universe unto itself.  They never mentioned the Vietnam war or any other historically-related events (although I think they DID mention the moon landing).  When they did bring up references like that, or rare holiday mentions, it seemed to bring in a whiff of reality that seemed out of place--IMHO, anyway.

Granted, I can see some poignant scenes featuring the Collins family, (happy, just for one day!) around a huge Christmas tree, Barnabas and Roger as excited about opening their gifts as David and Amy.

DARK SHADOWS was rushed from one cliffhanger to another towards the end of the series, to its detriment, some believe.  Remember, though, it was very much aimed at children, and children, like Dan Curtis, have a short attention span.  He was forcing his writers to produce scripts targeted at that audience.

Love, Robin

PS - Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Halloween, and every other holiday to the Collins family!

   

[Luciaphile]

Granted, I can see some poignant scenes featuring the Collins family, (happy, just for one day!) around a huge Christmas tree, Barnabas and Roger as excited about opening their gifts as David and Amy. 

Or Roger being severely hung over from the night before . . . David complaining that he didn't get the gift he wanted . . . Julia and/or Angelique fighting who's going to linger under the mistletoe . . . Mrs. Johnson trying to get the kiddies to save the wrapping paper so she can iron it out for next year . . . Liz acting gracious over the cheap drug store perfume David got her . . . and then of course, the obligatory family fight over politics and/or dredging up of family gripes and grievances 

Think about it. Could be fun.