More 1795 Comments

[VAM]

(Not at all a shameless plug, by the way.)

No it's not shameless- it's mercenary...

[Philippe Cordier]

An observation made in the episode where "Rev." Trask arrived ...

This was the first time I noticed that you could really see outside the front entrance of the Old House ... maybe it was the camera angle or something ... but anyway, you could see the wide front portico and its pillars beyond the front door.  

In other words, the view DID correspond with the outside shots we have of the old house.  There must be steps going up to the portico in front, just as in the slides!

More recently (i.e., when Trask was exorcising "the witch"), a large hedge seems to have been planted right outside the door, on the portico!

Could it have been in a moveable planter, I wonder?  Strange that landscape work should have been done when the family had already moved to the new house!

[Latisha]

Hello, not sure where else to put in my 2 cents, so here goes.
I think it's kinda weird that everyone refers to the Old House as the "Old" house.  Right away, before the "new" house, Collinwood, was even finished, they were referring to it as the Old house.  Seems to me that they would refer to the old house as the "house" and Collinwood as the "new" house.  Also weird that when Barn got to 1965, he seemed stumped up by calling it the "old" house.  Also, the ghost of Sarah Collins and even Josette seem to favor hauting the old house even though they have both moved to the new house.  Sarah even acted as though she had never even heard about the new house.
ALSO, and I'm not sure when Josette will meet her fate, but it seems she is in mourning and has spent alot of time in that black dress.  Weird that her ghost is always dancing around in a white nightie...
small little things like that...
Latisha

[Dr. Eric Lang]

It's hard to reconcile Angelique/Miranda. Maybe when she arrived in Martinique she put a spell on them to make them think they'd known her since childhood.

On the other hand maybe Angelique is simply reincarnated from Miranda. Angelique dies so often on this show it's hard to say half the time if she's alive or if she's a ghost - it doesn't seem to matter much one way or another!

As for Jeremiah - I agree I liked the "correction" they made in the revival series of making Jeremiah Barnabas' brother rather than his uncle. I also preferred Victoria being the reincarnation of Josette rather than Maggie, even if this did leave Maggie with very little to do.

[Luciaphile]

ALSO, and I'm not sure when Josette will meet her fate, but it seems she is in mourning and has spent alot of time in that black dress.  Weird that her ghost is always dancing around in a white nightie...
small little things like that...

Strange as it seems, the white dress, Josette favored as a ghost was not night attire, but was something that a Regency lady might have worn in company.  The second dress Angelique wore was very similiar, IIRC.

Then too, there's that good ole' haunted house tradition of the ghost wearing the white dress, maybe they were sticking to that.  As they will later on when yet another household servant shows up with an overly elaborate coiffure and a dress that there is simply no way she could ever, ever, have afforded.

Luciaphil

[Cassandra]

One thing that struck me odd during the 1795 storyline is how easily Angelique accepted Joshua's large sum of money/gold to leave town after Barnabas had died. It just seems so out of character for her as she never seemed so interested in money before. As soon as Joshua left, she signed that document real fast without even giving it a second thought. Im sure with all her powers she could have conjured up money before if she really needed it. Everything else she did fit her character well, but this really didn't fit in.    

[Luciaphile]

One thing that struck me odd during the 1795 storyline is how easily Angelique accepted Joshua's large sum of money/gold to leave town after Barnabas had died. It just seems so out of character for her as she never seemed so interested in money before. As soon as Joshua left, she signed that document real fast without even giving it a second thought. Im sure with all her powers she could have conjured up money before if she really needed it. Everything else she did fit her character well, but this really didn't fit in.    

I dunno.  She obviously hated being a maid.  All those remarks about finally getting what Mlle. Josette had gotten--the hats, the clothes, being a lady.   Why would she have put up with all of that if she could have just flexed her witchly powers and gotten the money?

Luciaphil

[Birdie]

I don't know I think Angie planned to leave Collinwood after she had driven the stake into Barnabas why not have some nice funds to live in the style she could become accustom too.  She really had no friends in town.  If she left town with a nice sum of money she could shed her "once maid thing".   Angelique could have a whole new life and a whole new beginning.

Birdie

[VAM]

I don't know I think Angie planned to leave Collinwood after she had driven the stake into Barnabas why not have some nice funds to live in the style she could become accustom too.  She really had no friends in town.  If she left town with a nice sum of money she could shed her "once maid thing".   Angelique could have a whole new life and a whole new beginning.

I agree with you Birdie. Without Barnabas, there was absolutely no reason for Angelique to remain in Collinwood.
She definitely was considering that "new life" for herself.

[Philippe Cordier]

I had wondered about Angelique accepting the money from Joshua this time round, but as you've explained, circumstances were different with this offer, and her decision does make sense.  It's especially jarring that she's killed shortly afterward.

Just had to add a note about the "Moveable Cemetary."  The Eagle Hill cemetary where David used to meet Sarah's ghost was some distance away (I had the feeling it was about a mile) from Collinwood in 1967.

But in 1795, it apparently is right outside the front door of the "New" house, as Sarah runs out the front door after spotting Barnabas, and presto! she's in the middle of the cemetary, just steps away from the Collins mausoleum!

    

[VAM]

Just had to add a note about the "Moveable Cemetary."  The Eagle Hill cemetary where David used to meet Sarah's ghost was some distance away (I had the feeling it was about a mile) from Collinwood in 1967.

But in 1795, it apparently is right outside the front door of the "New" house, as Sarah runs out the front door after spotting Barnabas, and presto! she's in the middle of the cemetary, just steps away from the Collins mausoleum!

    

Vlad,
I have a feeling some of the writers were not good at conveying a sense of time to the audience. This is true in other earlier episodes. Things seem to occur without the element of time lapse. So Sarah did not actually drop out the door into the cemetary. However, the set design for the cemetary scene was most likely positioned next to the doors of the  Big House.

[Philippe Cordier]

This was the first time I noticed that you could really see outside the front entrance of the Old House ... maybe it was the camera angle or something ... but anyway, you could see the wide front portico and its pillars beyond the front door.

In other words, the view DID correspond with the outside shots we have of the old house.  There must be steps going up to the portico in front, just as in the slides!

More recently (i.e., when Trask was exorcising "the witch"), a large hedge seems to have been planted right outside the door, on the portico!

Could it have been in a moveable planter, I wonder?  Strange that landscape work should have been done when the family had already moved to the new house!

OK, today's first episode left no doubt.  Daniel was playing on the broad front portico of the old house.  Several pillars were in the shot.  So anyone approaching the door of the Old House is on this portico (not sure if that's the proper term, it's just what we called ours).

Most of the shots are apparently too tight for us to realize that the portico and stairs leading up to it are there, just as the long shots (the slides) of the Old House and the video footage used early in the series show.