Sex in the Shadows

[quentincollins]

The only point is just to speculate on things going on in the show, possible subtext, and a greater understanding of the characters. It's actually a big topic that I've never seen discussed much.
I do agree that the show went to great pains to portray Maggie and Vicki as "virtuous" and thus virginal, but from a modern point of view we can see more options. It wouldn't be unrealistic to think that Maggie and Joe, or Vicki and Jeff had a sexual relationship, even if the series didn't show it.
It is interesting to examine how Carolyn is portrayed in the early years as being less pure. It's hinted pretty broadly that she was getting high and sleeping with Buzz for example. Of course it's a standard stereotype that the "good" heroines like Maggie and Vicki were virginal, yet there are characters like Carolyn and Beth who were more sexualy liberated even if they are a little more complex in their morality.
I think it's worth noting that the flashbacks may have been more "loose" in their portrayal of sexuality.

[Gerard]

As I use to think about my parents, no one in Dark Shadows would ever do that!

Gerard

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Timeless and Impassioned, Great Lovers of the Ages:

Caesar & Cleopatra, Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Wagner & Natalie Wood, Bill & Hillary (Rodham) Clinton, and, of course:

Dr. Eric Lang & Erica Fitz!!!

Honorable mention:

Barnabas Collins  & Josette Du Pre + Maggie Evans + Roxanne Drew + Julia Hoffman (?)

Joe Haskell  & Maggie Evans

Carolyn Stoddard (Hawkes) & Joe Haskell + Burke Devlin + Tony Petersen + Chris Jennings + Jeb Hawkes + Sebastion Shaw

Willie Loomis & Roxanne

Angelique Bouchard (Collins/Rumson) & Barnabas Collins + Roger Collins + Quentin Collins + Sky Rumson

Aristede & himself!

Laura Collins & Edward Collins + Roger Collins + Burke Devlin

The Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker + Donna Friedlander

PT 1970 Angelique (Stokes) Collins & Quentin Collins + Bruno Hess + Mr. Trask + That Murdered Guy in the Really Bad Leisure Suit + Will Loomis + Fred, the handyman + Steve, the dockworker + Horace Gladstone + Ms. Julia Hoffman (?) + 99% of the remainder of the male population of Collinsport, Maine!!!      

 

[michael c]

indeed parallel time ang was quite the floozy, wasn't she?

inspiring endless unrequited love.


don't forget *roger* although i think we can read a different subtext into that relationship.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

That Murdered Guy in the Really Bad Leisure Suit

How could anyone forget the name of Dameon Edwards?!

 

[michael c]

yes the dameon edwards subplot...


otherwise known as how-to-kill-a-week-or-two-of-episodes-while-your-main-cast-is-filming-a-movie storytelling.

utterly, completely forgettable.

[Bob_the_Bartender]

don't forget *roger* although i think we can read a different subtext into that relationship.

Hey, michael c,

Yes, PT Roger Collins had "other" interests, primarily in "John Barleycorn," as I recall. That other Roger was sort of Dark Shadows' own "answer" to Dean Martin, imo.   And I don't want to say that PT Roger Collins drank to excess, but he made Real Time Roger Collins and Sam Evans seem like confirmed teetotalers by comparison.   

Oh yeah, I meant to cite Dr. Eric Lang and Leona Eltridge (a/k/a Danielle Roget) as two of the world's great, impassioned lovers.  Actress Erica Fitz (who portrayed Ms. Eltridge) was such an unforgettable and decidedly zaftig and voluptuous lady, that she left an indelible "impression" on a certain young boy over forty-four years ago!   

Mysterious Benefactor,

Yes, how could I forget the name of Dameon Edwards, the murdered guy in that really bad leisure suit!?!   Hey, I wonder if Dameon purchased his "stylish" leisure suits at the exact same store where the late talk show host Tom Snyder, rock impresario Don Kirshner and actor Anson "Potsie Weber" Williams used to buy theirs?   

Bob

PS Two other "Great, Impassioned Lovers for the Ages":

The Rev. Gregory Trask & Minerva Trask - The Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis of Dark Shadows!

[Gerard]

How could anyone forget the name of Dameon Edwards?!

If PTAngelique did it with him, it obviously was a pitty date.

Gerard

[michael c]

i'm just watching 1841 parallel time for the first time and last night watched an episode i found quite striking in terms of this discussion. i believe it's already been mentioned...


[spoiler]it has a scene where it is very strongly implied that bramwell and catherine have just made love. catherine is lying on a bed in what appears to be a post-coital state as bramwell is redressing.[/spoiler]


it's all implied. nothing is spelled out in specifics for the viewer right then and there but i found it remarkable in it's sexual frankness given the times and the perimeters the series had set for itself in this regard. since this was 1971 perhaps network attitudes about such things were becoming more progressive than they had been earlier in the series' run. also it's worth noting that these were "parallel time" characters. not the "real" present time characters viewers had come to know. i wonder if the writers felt that they could be more permissive, more open, with the possibility of these characters and their sexuality. they really had nothing to "lose" so to speak. it was a subtle but slightly shocking scene.