Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - The Doctor and K9

766
Current Talk '09 I / Re: Dark Shadows False Memory Syndrome
« on: February 14, 2009, 07:01:25 AM »
When I was a kid, I wasn't supposed to watch DS, but I have a faulty memory from it.  I was 7 or so, and I was being watched by a neighbor.  She had the show on. I clearly remember David finding a hangman's noose and getting strangled by it.  Barnabas comes in the next day and saves him.  If not for the taped evidence, I'd be willing to argue to the last that that scene actually was on the show.

767
Current Talk '09 I / Re: Was DS ever actually shown live?
« on: February 14, 2009, 01:58:31 AM »
We've always heard that DS was taped in one take from beginning to end with NO RETAKES.  Now, I don't doubt that this was the goal and  usually the case.  But there were notable exceptions.  I mentioned earlier about the box I bought from DCP.  It's a bundle of Costello's documents.  Here, in what I assume is his handwriting is what he, or someone wrote (most of the documents have his name written on the top-I don't know if he put his own name on it or some secretary did, this one has no name).  1. Pre-tape of memory scene picked up cross-talk, had to break for lunch and do it later.  Much time lost.
2. Taped Dress-NO time to tape "Air". 

It appears that whatever this memory scene was, it had to be recorded separately in the AM.  It also forced them to go with the dress rehearsal.

On the document for ep632 he writes (same handwriting, so I assume Costello wrote both, as this one has his name handwritten on it) "Shoot Molly scene on morning of Mon-Nov 25- #637 switch with 636".

There were no typos in the above.  I checked my typing.  The document in question is the first page of the script for 632 and he's writing notes for a dream sequence with Molly (Amy).  I'm not sure what the switch part meant.  When we get that far in the series I'll check the episode.  I assume it means that the dream was originally slated to be in 636 and was held over a day. 


768
Current Talk '09 I / Re: Was DS ever actually shown live?
« on: February 13, 2009, 04:06:32 PM »
Another of the KLS "doozies" is the notion that DS was "filmed on kinescope".  I'm sure most of you know that it was recorded onto video tape.  Kinescope backups were made to distribute to stations that chose to run the show at another time.  I've heard stories, that I've not been able to confirm, that in some areas the last ep of DS aired on April 9.  That station was a week behind the network.  He claimed that he saw show 1245 twice on two different stations.  I have no reason to doubt this person's honesty, but I've not heard about cases like this before.  It seems plausible that it might have taken up to a week to get a kinescope to a station.  The problem is that kinescopes don't exist for the last year, hence the reason #1219 is missing.  I think it's possible that the station might have time shifted the show to another slot.  While the network was providing kinescopes, they may have been getting them that way.  At some point, the station might have recorded the episodes themselves and shown them a week later, maintaining their schedule and pace.  Have any of you heard of anything like this?  I remember, when Ryan's Hope was bumped to a later slot in Providence, we were a day behind, not a week.  By then, the local would have had taping capability and would not need to wait for film to arrive in the mail.

769
Current Talk '09 I / Re: Dark Shadows False Memory Syndrome
« on: February 13, 2009, 03:52:33 PM »
I hope I'm remembering my psych professor's lecture properly.  This is the gist of it, to the best of my recollection.  Memory functions, in part, by reconstruction. If we have a gap, sometimes our minds use deduction to try to recreate what must have happened.  Since we can create images, those images mask themselves as true memories.

With regard to the actor's false memories, I have a theory that they reshot more often than the actors remember.  I bought some old records from the Dan Curtis archives at a festival.  One of them talks about an episode being recorded in two parts.  If I can dig the box out of storage, I'll post more about it later.

770
I wanted to look like the real thing - not like that person wearing a signboard with an ad for their TV show

I always wanted to go out as a gorilla from Planet of the Apes, but I rejected the costume that was sold in stores.  It had the usual flimsy mask and a cheap outfit complete with PLANET OF THE APES on the front!  Find me one frame of POTA where we see an ape bearing the movie logo on it!  I later found a much better mask that came with a toy rifle.  The mask was made of a flexible, durable plastic and was designed for playing outdoors as opposed to being worn a time or two for trick or treating.  I made my own gorilla tunic from a brown shopping bag.  It probably looked silly.  I slit the sides open, cut a hole for my head and painted the front purple, with black stripes.  It looked OK to me and had the virtue of being FREE and had no logo.  The rest of the year, my best friend and I used the masks and guns playing POTA.  Ummmm this is really not something I'm proud of, but my mask and gun got confiscated by my mom for quite a while.   You see, we were chasing down and rounding up "humans".  And then for no reason at all my mom took the mask away when the "humans" tattled on us!!   LOL Don't feel too sorry for the "humans" ie our younger brothers.  They did their share of unprovoked mischief on us too.  Like "borrowing" our walkie talkies on the previous day and draining the batteries.  Batteries were not cheap when your allowance was only a dollar and could not prove that your brother "borrowed them used them, and deliberately (I suspect so at least) left both of them on ALL NIGHT. 

771
I downloaded a WORD document entitled "DS Treatise".  In it are a collection of articles or postings.  One had a reference that intrigued me.  It made mention of German (European?) re printings of the Dark Shadows novels in English.  Ordinarily I'd not give an isolated mention of something obscure like that much credence, but it ties in with a vague memory.  I seem to recall someone at a convention or bookstore showing me a German book that had a cover that did not resemble the style of the German artwork at all.  It was more congruent with the mood of the Paperback Library paintings.  Does anyone have any light to shed on this?  For years I'd dismissed this recollection as faulty, but now I wonder.  I'd be interested to know what was reprinted and when.

772
Current Talk '08 II / Re: New Big Finish Dramas
« on: January 17, 2009, 05:46:46 PM »
is it free to join Big Finish's website? & if i wanted to download something from there may it be an audio play of doctor who or "DS" do i have to pay to get that? meaning do i have to buy something 1st before i am allowed to download it? or not?

You can LEGALLY download the DS releases in one of two ways.  The first, is to pay for the digital file only. This gives you the right to download the story and artwork and then save it to your PC or burn it to a CD yourself.  The second way is to subscribe to the audio range and get the CDs in the mail.  As an extra perk, Big Finish graciously allows the subscriber to download the file as well. For DS, there's a wait of about 1-2 weeks until one can actually access the file, but you generally get the story before the CD arrives in the snail mail. I urge all interested fans to  BUY these stories.  If we don't pay for them, who will?  The more they sell, the more releases we are likely to recieve.  It also increases the liklihood of getting more actors into the fold.

773
To be honest the prospect of a restored NODS excites me more than the Depp movie.  If that project triggers the release of Night, then the movie itself, good, bad, or indifferent, will be icing on the cake. 

774
I thoroughly enjoyed this production. The CD has not arrived yet, but I was able to download the story on Wednesday. For those unaware of how Big Finish works, if you subscribe to one of their titles, you get the added perk of being able to legally download the title while you wait for the CD to arrive via snail mail.

I won't say much about it, because I'll be doing a review in the second issue of my fanzine, The Collins Mausoleum.  Suffice to say that Path of Fate and Skin Walkers will recieve favorable reviews.  I highly recommend them!

775
If anyone has ordered Path of Fate on CD, the advance MP3 download is available.  I downloaded mine today and LOVED IT.  It's a chlling story about Angelique and Quentin. 

776
I can't wait!  Can you tell us when it will be available for download?  I'll be taking a trip this weekend and would like to listen to it on the way.  I doubt the CD will be here by then. 

777
When I was handed the first book in the Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series, I never thought I'd actually wind up reading it.  I figured I'd read a chapter or two to be polite and give it back.  After chapter one, I decided to read 2, then by 3 I WAS HOOKED.  If you've not read the series, it's about a character that bears a suspicious similarity to what Buffy might be like when she's in her late 30s.  I won't go into great detail since this is off topic, but Julie Kenner captures the essence of what made Buffy great, a blend of light horror and sly humor.  Rather than simply create a clever Buffy clone, she adds to the mythos by exploring new territory.  Since I'm not in the target audience, I won't criticize her for gettting bogged down a bit too much in the mudane details of being a wife and mother.  I sometimes find that a tad tedious, but as I said, I'm outside the scope of the mainstream of her readership. In the end though, I find these books to be page turners and recommend them highly.

778
Current Talk '08 II / Re: New Big Finish Dramas
« on: December 15, 2008, 09:31:59 PM »
Any one heard Skin Walkers yet?  I downloaded mine on Wednesday of last week and the CD arrived Thursday.  I thought it was one of the most chilling stories I've heard in a long time.  I'd be interested in any thoughts you all have about it. 

779
Current Talk '08 II / Re: New Big Finish Dramas
« on: December 11, 2008, 06:03:50 AM »
I just finished Skin Walkers!  For those who have ordered the story and can't wait for the CDs to arrive via snail mail, it can be downloaded from the Big Finish site.  It's late, and I really don't have the energy to write about it now.  If I do, I might not get much sleep tonight.  It's a ghoulishly disturbing tale that's guaranteed to keep you glued to your CD player, Ipod, PC or whatever.   I'm anticipating the new Depp movie, but for now DS lives on through Big Finish.  I look forward to reading and sharing insights on the newest tale. 

780
Has anyone received their CD yet?  A British fan posted on the Big Finish site that he'd gotten his or hers on the 28th and someone in Austalia said his arrived yesterday.  I've been eagerly anticipating this since September.