Jerry Lacy's Reverend Trask - any opinions?

[IluvBarnabas]

I hated all the Trasks but loved Jerry Lacy's portrayal of each and every one of them. Can't imagine anyone else doing a better job as Trask. Lacy really made me hate each and every one of his characters....while I can understand some defending the 1795 Reverend Trask I still say he was a wretch, persecuting not only Vicki but heaven only knows how many other girls and sending them to their doom. However I will say compared to the acts of dear old Gregory in 1897, the 1795 Trask looks like a saint.

Gregory Trask, I think we all agree was definitely no man of the cloth. He was a sadistic, golddigging human monster. He was cruel and sadistic to the children who were in his charge at his school (and I honestly thing the bastard enjoyed being cruel to them too), to Minerva who [spoiler]he coldbloodly plotted to have her murdered,[/spoiler] to Judith who [spoiler]he married soon after  he did away with Minerva, plotted to drive her insane and take over Collinwood.[/spoiler]

Lamar wasn't quite as villiianous as his father and Gregory but he definitely wasn't no saint. Like his dad, Lamar was truly blind to where the real evil was coming from at Collinwood. He let himself be taken in by someone like Gerard.

The parallel Trask we never really go to know real well other than the Damion Edwards situation. But even there I say Lacy did as good a job as he could.

Tony Peterson was probably the only likable character Lacy played but he did it so well. I loved him and Carolyn and wished the writers had explored their relationship more.

All in all, Lacy was a great actor in all his roles. He was not hammy in all in my opinion (compared to Roy Thinnes' Trask in 1991 where he made him a over-the-top clown rather than a religious fanatic).

edited by mod to fix code

[Sunny_Collins]

Oh, hands down Gregory Trask was the most loathsome and complex Trask family member, and for that reason the most enjoyable. I think he would've even shocked his - what would he be? grandfather; greatgrandfather? - from the 1790's. You see, in my opinion, the original Reverend 1790's Trask, while vile, actually thought what he was doing was good and noble. He was a religious fanatic, and because he believed that his religious beliefs were of the highest moral value and goodness, he would go to any lengths, including having to manipulate things and even lie, in order to see them forwarded. It wasn't about him; it was about what he believed.

On the other hand, Gregory Trask cared only about himself. He would present himself as high, mighty and pious, but that was just all part of what he used to benefit himself. He would throw stones at anyone he called a sinner, but had no problem trying to seduce Rachel, murder his wife, and dispose of his new wife so he could get all the loot. I think his ancestor would've been so appalled by what his later-generation progeny did, that he would've stuck him up on the gallows with any "witch" he could get himself to believe existed.

I completely agree with this. Reverend Trask in 1795 truly believed he was doing what was right. The other Trasks were just cruel and loathsome.

Out of all the Trasks, 1795 reverend Trask is definitely my favorite. He even sought revenge beyond the grave when he realized Casandra/Angelique was the real witch. 

[Alondra]

Does anyone notice the difference in Jerry Lacy's voice when he's playing Trask as compared to when he's playing Tony Peterson or the butler Trask in 1970 parallel time? The Trasks were all reverends or at least religious in some sense, Lamar was a mortician and spouted the same sanctimonious nonsense as 1795 and 1897 Trasks. There is a harshness in the voice of the religious Trasks that is not there as Tony Peterson and 1970 parallel time Trask.

I like Tony Peterson and wish he had remained on the show and married Carolyn. The religious Trasks were all sanctimonious prigs and I hated them. But no one could have played them better than Jerry Lacy.

Alondra

[MagnusTrask]

JL was great.   The Trasks were the perfect combination, of the most fun type of villain who got away with chewing up the scenery, yet who was a very credible villain at the same time, a credible threat.    Actually, the Trasks were the heart of DS for my sister and me, I think.     They are the content.    Much of what the counter-culture was all about was the laying bare of hypocrisy, and the Trasks were very illuminating to a small kid like me, then.

[sam2sexy]

actually i like reverend trask cause he's a witch hunter and is from salem the witch trials fascinate me and he's pure you can't beat that

[Midnite]

Welcome to the Forums, sam2sexy!

actually i like reverend trask cause he's a witch hunter and is from salem the witch trials fascinate me and he's pure you can't beat that

Though Trask's motive may have been pure (to punish a witch he believed to be evil), some of his later actions, including blackmailing a witness into committing perjury, were not.

[MagnusTrask]

He's pure weasel.   He's as pure as snow that's had a horse standing over it for half an hour.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

as pure as snow that's had a horse standing over it for half an hour.

Thank you for that visual, Magnus.    But it IS very apt. 

[retzev]

I'm a big fan of Lacy as Trask, couldn't ask for a more enjoyable interpretation.