"The Rage Beneath" Audio Drama Talkback **SPOILERS**

[PennyDreadful]

**SPOILERS**

I've only listened to the first episode of "The Rage Beneath" so far.  I plan on listening to the rest of the CD tonight.

The little I've heard of Robert Rodan in the first part is fantastic.  What a creepy laugh.

BUT, the cliffhanger at the end of this first episode in "The Rade Beneath"  left me cold.  Angelique, the powerful incarnated spirit of a witch and Barnabas, a fearsome Undead vampire are both afraid of drowning of all things?!  They're both DEAD!  How could they drown???  Yes, the water filling up the supernatually locked room is coming from a preternatural source but still, we know (and so should Ang & Barn!) that Angelique and Barnabas can't drown!  I haven't listened to the next installment, but I found it a little hard to swallow that Angie would end the episode by screaming "we're going to drown!!"  Eh.  No.  I think not.

Otherwise, the first episode of this audio drama sets up a nice, creepy story.  The ghost ship element, and the tie to Joshua Collins is very well done.  I look forward to listening to the rest of it.

~Penny~

[arashi]

Yeah, Barnabas at least can't drown, that we know of... Angelique maybe. She may be dead but she was damn surprised at suddenly being able to feel the icy coldness of the water. Perhaps ghost water can kill the undead XD

As for the drowning witches part, that was actually a test to see if you were a witch. They would bind you and throw you in a body of water. If you floated, you were sentenced as a witch, taken out of the water and met some other demise. If you sank, you were innocent, but you still drowned. Smart thinking. Something along the lines of... "if she weighs the same as a duck.... then she's made out of wood?"

[Brandon Collins]

I agree with you, PennyDreadful. The ending of the first episode was preposturous. It's a damn good thing that it wasn't the last episode of the disc because it would've been worse than the ending that's already in place there.

While this was a good set up, personally, I don't think it turned out well at all. Robert Rodan's performance was too muddled by the fact that I couldn't understand what the heck he was saying--sounded like he had a mouthful of water and seaweed. Maybe that's what they were going for. I don't know. But I had to listen very closely to get what he was talking about, and even then I decided to go back and relisten to it just so I wouldn't be confused about what threats and whatnot he was making.

[PennyDreadful]

I listened to the rest of the CD.  "The Rage Beneath" was an excellent premise.  I liked the idea of centuries-old revenants rising from the ocean to take revenge on the Collins family for something Barnabas did in the 1700s.  In theory, that's classic 'Dark Shadows' fare.  Unfortunately, the execution of this premise was off the mark.  When something of this magnitude happens in the DS universe (and they were building this up since the first audio drama), the threat had better darn well be a real danger to the characters.  The writer here seems to forget, when it's handy, that our protagonists are rather powerful supernatural beings.  Ending the first audio series on a cliffhanger where Barnabas (a vampire) and Quentin (an immortal) are "trapped" aboard a flaming ship leaves one thinking that this probelm can easily be solved. a) Barnabas turns into a bat and flies away or employs his oft-used vanishing trick.  b.) Quentin is immortal and won't die.  c.) Barnabas probably wouldn't just leave Quentin behind, so he grabs him and takes a powerful leap off the ship and into the water so Quentin won't singe his nice silk tie.    Ok, *maybe* Quentin could be killed - in the classic DS, it was unclear whether Quentin could be harmed.  He was buried alive twice and it sure seemed like he *could* die, but when Petofi gashed his face with that broken glass in 1897, the portrait absorbed the cut.  Regardless, I really don't buy this cliffhanger no matter how much Angelique tells the formerly possessed Maggie that she has "killed" them.  There are a number of ways this threat could have worked.  Gravenor stole Barnabas' coffin so he *was* on the right track.  If Gravenor had gotten his hands on Quentin's portrait too, I could buy that B & Q might be in trouble.  However, B & Q being "trapped" on the fiery ship works only slightly better for me than the cliffhanger in the first episode where the room is filling with water - water which would ostensibly have "drowned" Angelique and Barnabas.  Nope.  Not gonna happen.

   I agree Brandon - Gravenor was sometimes difficult to understand because of the sound fx.  However, I still enjoyed Robert Rodan in the role.  His voice was very deep and ominous.

   So far "The House of Despair" has been the most successful at capturing the feel of DS and its characters, while offering up a great, atmospheric story IMO.  It's my favorite of the audio dramas so far.  My second favorite is "The Christmas Presence" followed by "The Book of Temptation" and then "The Rage Beneath."  That's not to say I didn't enjoy "The Rage Beneath."  There were portions of it which I liked a great deal, and as I stated earlier, the presmise was excellent.  However, I think the characterizations (in the writing) were off the mark a bit, and the nature of these characters was sometimes conveniently forgotten in favor of trying to set up rather hollow cliffhangers (twice in one audio!) 'Twas fun but a tad disappointing.

[arashi]

I thought the exact same thing upon hearing the cliffhanger and was also unsettled a bit by the thought that Barnabas would burn down his Father's rival's shipyard. Not in character? Maybe it is, I mean he did shoot his beloved Uncle in the (face) over a woman, but it did startle me a bit. Nice twist though.

Despite it's flaws this one still remains up there as my reigning favorite at the moment. When listening to it, the imagery the set up via dialogue and sound effects was really vivd in my mind. And Lord knows I love a good ghost story about deserted green flaming pirate ships. Being deathly afraid of drowning in the deep dark abyss of the ocean probably heightens the creep factor for me as well. The whole story had the running undercurrent of black water, and all I could think of was a black ocean topped with white foam and miles of frigid darkness beneath. You'll never catch me on a cruise ship.

It's too bad we never saw Quentin's portrait on the night of a full moon post 1897. I wonder what a 100 year old werewolf looks like.

[Brandon Collins]

I agree with what Penny Dreadful said completley. The premise was good. The execution was poor. Simple as that.

[quentincollins]

I really loved all the new audios , and TRB was a great addition to the line , leaving me breathless for the next season of plays .
I do agree with what others ahve already said, that the cliffhanger at the end was unconvincing . The portrait will keep Quentin safe , and Barnabas can disappear and appear at will . For that matter , Angelique could surely do something to help .
The drowning cliffhanger didn't bother me , as Angelique felt the coldness of the water , this was obviously "magic water" , and I thought Lara Parker's performance in that scene was very strong . i always thought LP did her best performances when Angelique was in peril .
One thing that did bug me was the way Angelique and Willie were blaming Maggie for Quentin and Barnabas's impending doom . They both knew she was possessed and not responsible for her actions . Angelique might have doen it just out of cruelty , and a desire to stirke out inher grief , but it seemed out of character for Willie . Willie understood that Maggie was possessed and was a victim in all of this . I was really surprised that he didn't defend her to Angelique . I guess we'll have to see how things play out next season , as it's bound to pick up very shortly after the end of TRB . I think because it was the last scene of the season it
s jarring wrongness made a bigger impression on me .

[Brandon Collins]

Something came to my mind when I was reading quentincollins' post.

All throughout the first series, there were hints about Angelique having something to do with Maggie's revenge, or drama, or whatever, that would be coming. This was particularly illustrated in CD 2, "The Book of Temptation" where the ghost voices say something about how they will come back later for Maggie and her curse will be revealed, or something. And Angelique says that it will. Not to mention the fact that everytime Maggie seemed to be acting oddly Angelique totally ignored it. I mean HELLO, she was totally possessed when she set that ship on fire with Barn and Quentin in it, and IIRC, Angelique didn't say anything about it, just chastised her for setting the ship on fire. Angelique should KNOW that type of action is not in character for Maggie, so obviously something is wrong.

So, this makes me think that Angelique has some involvement with what happened and what Maggie did. She's been playing behind the scenes since disc 1, when she betrayed Quentin to bring Barnabas back. Any guesses as to what's coming up?

[ShadowsAtlanta]

Sigh...  I may be in the minority on this, but I much prefer "Return to Collinwood" to the  Big Finish audio dramas.

RtC has fun with the characters (who have aged along with the audience) and doesn't take itself too seriously.  When you're 40 years past a show's prime, a healthy dose of humor goes a long way.

The subsequent Big Finish productions (up to and including "The Rage Beneath") take themselves too seriously IMO and are a bit too formulaic for my tastes.

Just my .02...

[Janet the Wicked]

I have to agree. although the story premise is excellent, it fails to follow through and becomes weak. I have listened to this particular CD several times and have as yet to understand what everyone is saying. I am disgusted at Willie's role, though John Karlen plays it to the hilt, no matter what foppish numbskull he has to portray. One of the most foolish scenes I think is when Angelique orders Willie to get another coffin for Barnabas. Hello? Where is one supposed to find a coffin at nine o'clock in the morning in Collinsport? I suppose it must be the same maker of those styrofoam tombstones that appear overnight.
Good premise. Bad follow through. That's my opinion anyway.
I am very happy that some of the DS cast members have become involved. I think that's just plain groovy.

[Janet the Wicked]

Sigh...  I may be in the minority on this, but I much prefer "Return to Collinwood" to the  Big Finish audio dramas.

RtC has fun with the characters (who have aged along with the audience) and doesn't take itself too seriously.  When you're 40 years past a show's prime, a healthy dose of humor goes a long way.

The subsequent Big Finish productions (up to and including "The Rage Beneath") take themselves too seriously IMO and are a bit too formulaic for my tastes.

Just my .02...

Is that available on DVD or CD? I saw the actors perform this epic on stage and was just wowed by it.

If you're in need of humor, watch Laurel and Hardy. Does the trick for me.

[michael c]

in recent years there have been three productions that i have become aquainted with that are supposed to be follow-ups to the original series.

the "return to collinwood" presentation,lara parker's "the salem branch" and the new audiodramas.

all three i believe were "officially" sanctioned by d.c.p.,involve several of the same key participants and are about the same characters.yet all three tell wildly,vastly differing stories.there is no continuity or resolve.

is what lara parker wrote in her book what happened to angelique or is it what she's reading on the audiodramas?does she know?does she care?

she's an actress and a writer and this is how she earns a living so i certainly don't fault her for this but what does any of it mean?

i purchased the "house of despair" and after the initial goosebumps from hearing those iconic voices together again the story itself left me cold.i can't remember any of the details of it and really don't care.
just seeing the name "barnabas" typed onto a page or hearing "angelique" speak on the audiodramas isn't enough to quicken my pulse if none of it coalesces into anything real.collinwood.the blue whale.the old house.it's all just a jumble of noise.
all three productions make the obligitory reference to elizabeth and then she's not involved in the plot.why?because it isn't "dark shadows" without a mention of elizabeth collins stoddard.other cult series(like star wars)are allowed to shoot off into other directions and involve new characters.d.s. doesn't.it's always about the the same dozen or so key players.but if any and all current and future versions of the show tell different stories then it's hard to take anything "real" away from it.

i don't mean any of this as a complaint.i'm glad for those who are enjoying these new offerings.but for me the story ended in 1971.i have my dvds of the original series and have had the pleasure of meeting several of the actors from the show and that's fine.

[Brandon Collins]

I can't believe that all three are supposed to be "official" continuations of the show. I mean, I agree with mscbryk, in that they don't really gel together.

From what I gather, the new CD series is supposed to take place sometime between the end of the original show and RtC. I personally like to think that it's sometime during the late 70s or early 80s that this stuff is happening. I mean, if I had to put a time frame on it.

RtC could be a continuation, and COULD gel with the newer CDs. I mean, if the new CDs take place in the 70s or 80s, and all is well and good, or at least STABLE whenever the series ends, enough time could've passed so that the stuff with RtC takes place. I'm not 100% on this, because I haven't listened to RtC in a while, and I've never even heard VaC so that's just my speculation from what I have heard and do remember.

As for "The Salem Branch". Well, is there really much I can say about that? I mean, if we consider that canon, it's in a world all it's own. Another branch of canon. I prefer not to consider it canon. The Marilyn Ross books were never considered canon, and as far as I'm concerned, any other books written in the world of DS aren't canon either. Except for maybe Angelique's Descent because it mostly chronicles things from Ang's POV.

[ShadowsAtlanta]

i purchased the "house of despair" and after the initial goosebumps from hearing those iconic voices together again the story itself left me cold.i can't remember any of the details of it and really don't care.
just seeing the name "barnabas" typed onto a page or hearing "angelique" speak on the audiodramas isn't enough to quicken my pulse if none of it coalesces into anything real.collinwood.the blue whale.the old house.it's all just a jumble of noise.
all three productions make the obligitory reference to elizabeth and then she's not involved in the plot.why?because it isn't "dark shadows" without a mention of elizabeth collins stoddard.other cult series(like star wars)are allowed to shoot off into other directions and involve new characters.d.s. doesn't.it's always about the the same dozen or so key players.but if any and all current and future versions of the show tell different stories then it's hard to take anything "real" away from it.

i don't mean any of this as a complaint.i'm glad for those who are enjoying these new offerings.but for me the story ended in 1971.i have my dvds of the original series and have had the pleasure of meeting several of the actors from the show and that's fine.

Very well said, on all counts... I've pretty much reached the same conclusions.

BTW, to Janet the Wicked... I got my copy of RtC from MPI Home Video.  You may still be able to get a copy there.  As I mentioned, my personal opinion is that it's the best of the audio dramas.

And Laurel and Hardy aren't really my cup of tea.  Maybe some Harold Lloyd though.