Discuss - Ep #0913_0914

[Watching Project]

Robservations #913_914

[MagnusTrask]

Anyone else have "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" pop into their heads when the opening DS music starts?

CRAZY GEEZER TATE!!   The recorded wolf calls have to be a non sequitur I guess, but I can't help trying to connect them to Quentin's situation.   [spoiler]Animatronic Tate!   He oughta start singing It's a Small World After All...[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Nice exploration of his unique kind of psychosis.   He knew he'd come SO CLOSE to immortality... but he lost his Dorian Gray power before it occurred to him to paint his own portrait.    This obviously haunted him for the rest of his life.   He had to create a young immortal self...[/spoiler]

Where did things stand at the end of 1897 for him?   Was his talent restored, or not?   The mediocre landscapes and non-immortality would suggest not.   He could create Garth B though... Still, if Petofi actually did die in the fire, that would destroy the talent possibly.   Or something else happened over those 70 years.

Very cool scene, with Julia and CDT.... he looks young, but SOMETHING is obviously very wrong!   Great disturbing laugh!

Roger = Supernatural Bubble Boy!   He's always encased in this force field of obliviousness....

CDT's wolf calls are appropriate... this entire storyline is one very big case of "crying wolf".... anticlimax after anticlimax...

[Lydia]

Very nice scene at Tate's house.  Julia was scared, but she didn't quit.  I thought she gave out information too freely, but maybe that was because she was scared.

I keep wondering what name Megan and Philip had chosen that the Leviathan kid didn't like, and I keep wondering why he wanted to be Michael.  He doesn't seem like the sort of kid who would want to be named Michael.  It's not grandiose enough.

Elizabeth's and David's idea of homage doesn't amount to much.  No gold, no frankincense, no myrrh, not even a box of candy from Lowell Apothecary.  Just "Nice to meet you, gotta go."

As David endured his night in the antique shop, I was trying to get the relationship of the ticking of the two clocks.  I couldn't do it.  Usually the slower one was in exact time with the faster one - one slow tick per four fast ticks, if I remember correctly - but occasionally they got out of sync.  Usually when two ticking things do that, you can hear them slowly come back into sync (knowing, of course that they're never truly in sync) but on these two, they would suddenly snap back into sync.  Meanwhile, that deer's head looked sort of silly and flirtatious.  Mind you, I'm not sneering at David's fears.  He lives in a world in which the supernatural is real and dangerous.  I don't, and I'm glad I don't.  Come to think of it, maybe the oddness of the two ticking clocks makes sense in David's world.

[Lydia]

I forgot to add one other thing: Michael Maitland was impressive as Michael.  He's stepping into an already existing role, and talking familiarly about people who don't appear in this episode.  His lines were perfectly memorized, and his acting was excellent.

[Midnite]

GH got the name right in the redo:  Charles Delaware Tate.

Julia:  "Where is the portrait of Quentin Collins?"
Monroe:  "It was destroyed in a fire 10 years ago."
Wha??  He blew his line, right?  Tate recreated himself 10 years ago; the fire we know about was in 1897.

Where did things stand at the end of 1897 for him?   Was his talent restored, or not?   The mediocre landscapes and non-immortality would suggest not.

Exactly.  Though he was in denial about it in 1897, believing that Petofi merely discovered his talent, which of course wasn't the case-- Petofi had said he "supplied the talent that was lacking" to a "decidedly mediocre painter."

I keep wondering why he wanted to be Michael.  He doesn't seem like the sort of kid who would want to be named Michael.  It's not grandiose enough.

I think the name is pretty impressive.  It comes from the Hebrew for God-like, and to Jews, Christians and Islamics, Michael is an archangel.  To Catholics, he's the leader of the Army of God, and to Jews he was guardian of the Chosen People.   (The title of King of Pop would not yet apply.  )  But to irk the Leviathan Michael, one need only call him Mike.

Elizabeth's and David's idea of homage doesn't amount to much.  No gold, no frankincense, no myrrh, not even a box of candy from Lowell Apothecary.  Just "Nice to meet you, gotta go."

Giving homage-- couldn't that just mean saying hi and we're with you all the way?

Meanwhile, that deer's head looked sort of silly and flirtatious.  Mind you, I'm not sneering at David's fears.

But I will, heh.  Leviathans dole out the stupidest punishments, and David's seemed especially lame, particularly for someone who "lives in a world in which the supernatural is real and dangerous."  He has been possessed and bewitched, spent a night in a mausoleum and has even been killed, so to be acutely aware of both the passage of time and some faces of inanimate objects shouldn't be scary to him.  And he has seen Michael's real form already, so unless it has grown quite a lot, why would it be frightening now?

Michael Maitland's episode of Emergency! from 1973 is available to watch on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/36210/emergency-the-promotion  He shows up in the second half and seems very capable in his good-sized part as Joel Ferguson.  His real hair, as seen on that show, was brown and curly.  So his blonde, straight-haired look on DS requires some suspension of belief.

[MagnusTrask]

Though he was in denial about it in 1897, believing that Petofi merely discovered his talent, which of course wasn't the case-- Petofi had said he "supplied the talent that was lacking" to a "decidedly mediocre painter."

Yes, but was Petofi's "gift" still in place in Tate at the end of the 1897 storyline?

[Midnite]

Well, he still had the talent given to him when his studio burned, Petofi having restored it in #876, and since as you said, he was able to bring Blackwood to life.  I agree with you that his lackluster work in the next century and his not having a self-portrait suggest something went wrong after that point, but I can't say when it was either and can't think of an explanation other than that perhaps he refused to use it (more denial about it, or fear of his own power to create?) or as you suggested, the gift possibly died with Petofi.

[Taeylor Collins]

Grayson gets to work with her favorite actor! HEH!  I agree that Julia was extremely scared but she held her own per usual!  I think for once I actually like RD! I think he played the robot version of Charles  Delware Tate very well. He was extremely creepy at times, especially the laugh! KUDOS to Roger D!

The book reminds me of a lot of religious text that I have read through the years! Could it be the Leviathans are perhaps a snake cult?   

YAY!  Michael is much much better than Alexander and I have to agree that he is a good actor.
 
Also Midnite I really enjoyed what you wrote about Michael.  I was going to mention something along the same lines after reading Lydia’s post but you beat me to the punch.  I have been watching a certain show that has Angel mythology.  I have read about Michael The Archangel extensively and I also love to read about different religions so stuff like that fascinates me!   I think Michael is fine name for someone who is gonna take over the world.

Thanks Midnite for the Emergency link. According to IMDB he was born in 1956 so that would put him at 14 when was on DS and 17 on Emergency!  He quit acting a credit or two after that show.  Wonder what he is up to these days?

[Lydia]

I think Michael is fine name for someone who is gonna take over the world.

But Michael can be used as a girl's name!  It's a sissy name!

[Taeylor Collins]

That is a new one for me. I have never met a female Micheal!  It's all good though!

[Lydia]

Michael Learned played the mother on the Waltons.

It occurs to me that, having stated that Michael is a sissy name, I should also mention that I do like the name Michael.  But then, I'm a bit a of a sissy myself.

[Taeylor Collins]

Nothing wrong with being a sissy!  I have been called that countless times though for derogatory reasons! However, I like the name Micheal too but hadn't heard of a girl Micheal until now!  Thanks Lydia!

PS This is my 1600th post! YAY! Dean & Sam are gonna celebrate with me!

[MagnusTrask]

Happy 1600!

I think Michael Learned (Lerned?) is about as typical a girl's name as Daryl Hannah.  I heard about one other female Michael I think.    I've heard of several Michaelas and many Michelles though.

[IluvBarnabas]

I have to admit I don't know too many females around my territory named Michael. But I have heard about a few women who have the name.

Roger sure was ticked at Elizabeth for taking David to the antique shop, and honestly I think he does have a point.  Elizabeth overstepped her bounds going over Roger's head and letting David spend the night with the latest child from hell of the antique shop. Of course, Elizabeth doesn't care one bit since her loyalty is to 'them', not her brother or even her beloved nephew at this point. I am surprised that Roger didn't go over to the shop and drag David home...but he
would have no doubt have inspired the wrath of Michael if he had...assuming that Michael or the thing he turns into would have even have let them leave.

Michael's so-called punishment did seem lame to me as well. You'd think the would-be-ruler of the Leviathan world would come up with something better other than leave David alone in the dark downstairs with not-so-scary stuffed
beasts and such.

[loril54]

But didn't Petofi do something to Quentin's painting with the brushes? Maybe then he was putting in the spell.

Maybe they were two different spells.