Only one lone little fashion note and it's really not a fashion note . . .
Adam's new girlfriend appears to be, ahem, stacked.
Onto the show.
Okay, I just have to say that I found the reaction to Joe's response to his cousin's death kind of appalling. Yeah, yeah, they want to move the plot along, but the same effect would have been more powerful if the writers had spent about ten minutes thinking this stuff out. Different people react differently to death and I would think that of all people, Julia should know that.
Her response? "There are medications for that too." Yep, just pop that pill and tune out. Ha!
Also just wanted to comment briefly on the surprise to the sudden burial of the delectable Mr. Jennings. It's not that uncommon guys, there are a number of ethnic and religious cultures that bury within a very short period of time. It's not that bizarre and I'd think that Julia would know about it.
But I digress.
It's not just Julia pushing the drugs. Now we have Barnabas joining the promotion of the ways of Dr. Feelgood. Note how dismissively Barnabas treats Willie's scruples and suggests that "Julia will give you a sedative." Yep, just swallow that Valium and everything will be fine. Ya know in a scary way, I think a case could be made for comparing Barnabas with unsympathetic traditional husbands of the 50s and 60s, "Now, now dear, have you had your Miltown today?" (With Willie, of course, as the dark side of June Cleaver/Doris Day).
Running away from that scary visual place for a moment, can I just say how utterly and totally bored I am with the angst of Barnabas Collins.
I mean, grow up already. It is too boring for words. He moans about being forced to create the monster, but the thing is, there's really no coercion going on here, he's addicted to the drama in the biggest way.
And I love how it takes Willie who they all treat like something they scraped off the bottom of their shoes, to point out the obvious--the life force.
God, he's such a creep.
As for the crusade to "save" Tom by staking him. Give me a frigging break. It's like Barnabas has found a new toy so he puts down the Mr. Science Kit and goes off to play Tag. I do have to remark though, that Frid delivers his lines with great conviction, far more than the material deserves, which is to his credit.
The thing is though (getting back to the Barnabas bashing), the emperor is wearing no clothes and he's streaking across the graveyard.
Mr. Speedy Tombstone Engraver strikes again. The body's barely in the ground and there's a fresh tombstone. Very impressive. I can see it now: Drive-thru engraving.
Let's see what else . . . it positively kills me that when Julia is cold-bloodedly trying to lure Joe away from the grave is when she seems to be most effective as a healthcare professional. Telling.
The biggest surprise I had during these two episodes was that at least twice I was in sympathy with a Roger Davis character. He's a creep but God help me, he made some good points.
Of course, then he ruined them by touching
Vicki's hair and acting psycho, but still for a brief shining moment, someone was directing reason at Vicki's clueless head.
Jeff doesn't have a real strong sense of privacy, does he? Yep, no one answers the door and sure it's someone else's house, but hey, he doesn't let that stop him, does he?
Luciaphil