so, a few thoughts on The Beginning episodes...and SPOILERS

[michael c]

i agree that one of the nice things about these episodes is how because there were so few characters at the begining they all interacted with each other on a daily basis.

later when the cast expands and the storylines become more fragmented the characters interact with only thoses other characters that happen to be involved in that particular plot at the moment.

for instance during the early episodes vicki and carolyn develop an interesting sister type relationship but after 1795 they share very few scenes and that relationship essentially becomes abandoned.most of vicki's scenes are played against jeff.the same thing happens with david(who disappears for much of 1968).she's at collinwood because she's david's governess but after 1795 i don't believe they share one scene ever again.

here everyone interacts with everyone else and i liked that.

[Joy Collins]

the same thing happens with david(who disappears for much of 1968).she's at collinwood because she's david's governess but after 1795 i don't believe they share one scene ever again.

I know David and Vicki share at least one scene after Betsy Durkin took over the role. It was at the very beginning of the Quentin story, probably only an episode or two before Vicki and Jeff/Peter disappear into the past.

That's the only one I remember off hand. I think Carolyn and Vicki do have at least a few scenes together while "Cassandra" and Nicholas are in the storyline (I just can't seem to remember a specific one, haha...). I also noticed that only a few characters interact with each other laters on - they're in groups sort of. I liked it better when all of the characters all enteracted with each other as well.

[michael c]

here's a cute piece of trivia from the "dark shadows.the first year" book...

those of us familiar with these episodes remember how glacially some of the plotting was paced.

the book broke down the first year on a day-to-day basis and it was actually only fifty-two days between victoria's arrival at collinwood and barnabas' release from his coffin...less than eight weeks by the show's calender.

in other words a single "day" on the show sometimes lasted for weeks as the show was paced early on.vicki's first night at collinwood lasted four episodes and her first full,action filled day,lasted a staggering sixteen episodes!

the bleeder-valve car-crash business all occurs on this one "day".i had forgotten how slowly the show moved in the early days.

[Gothick]

Oh, I remember this well!  I remember being stunned when I realized that Art Wallace was writing the thing in real time, so that with each episode we more or less got another half hour of Vicki's adventrue-filled first night and day at Collinwood.

This is basically why Alex had to wear that damned coat for what seemed like a week...

G.

[Joy Collins]

here's a cute piece of trivia from the "dark shadows.the first year" book...

those of us familiar with these episodes remember how glacially some of the plotting was paced.

the book broke down the first year on a day-to-day basis and it was actually only fifty-two days between victoria's arrival at collinwood and barnabas' release from his coffin...less than eight weeks by the show's calender.

in other words a single "day" on the show sometimes lasted for weeks as the show was paced early on.vicki's first night at collinwood lasted four episodes and her first full,action filled day,lasted a staggering sixteen episodes!

the bleeder-valve car-crash business all occurs on this one "day".i had forgotten how slowly the show moved in the early days.

I noticed this too!
When my mom and I were watching the Beginning Vol. 1 set (we just finished today) and we got to about the second disc, somebody made a comment about something that happened "last night" - whatever it was happened four or five episodes ago. "Geez, she's only been there one night?!" Days spent at Collinwood certainly are eventful (and long).

[retzev]

Days spent at Collinwood certainly are eventful (and long).

What a great line! Sounds like dialogue straight out of an episode  -

Vicki: "Days spent at Collinwood certainly are eventful."

Caroline: "And long."

[Brandon Collins]

I noticed this as well. I'm still on the first disc because I'm watching one episode per day, and tomorrow I'll start the second disc. At any rate, on the first disc, Vicki's first day/night lasted for like the first 5 or 6 episodes. I picked up that the days were being stretched out because Carolyn kept referring to "You're leaving? You just got here last night!" etc. So she arrived, met Burke, met Maggie, went to Collinwood, heard the widows crying, met Sam Evans, met Roger and Elizabeth, and saw David on the stairs all during that first night and the next morning.

She certainly knew how to make the most of her time. lol.

[Lydia]

I keep thinking of the last 4 lines of Rudyard Kipling's "If":

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

But I don't think we should assume that Vicky wants to be a Man.

[RachelDrummand]

52 days since Barnabas' arrival! Wow! I never realized that. The later episodes do seem faster paced. I still think the soap Passions is worse about this though.

[Nelson Collins]

I too have been noticing how "big sisterly" Victoria has been with Carolyn.  And just how Carolyn tries to hide her own innocence and naivete and fear behind a wall of spoiled rich brat persona.  Sometimes I want to comfort her, sometimes I want to slap the !@#$ out of her.

Vicky I find I like very much.  She seems almost as innocent and naive, but I sense an undercurrent of greater maturity, especially in her dealings with Devlin in these episodes.  It's interesting how the three ingenues interact with Burke:  Maggies gossips and pries for information (partly because of her concern for her pop), Carolyn is the coy flirty minx, but Vicky's dealings with him have always been honest and straightforward (even if his with her have not).  It really is no wonder to me that they ended up together.

[Willie Loomis]

i was watching from first eppy last night.   i thought the weird camera angles and shots  were representative of maybe a dream that Victoria was having. 

she is more likable in the beginning, so far.  not whiny and little girly like after barnabas. 

also, i note that joan bennet was more animated and dramatic and lest stuttery with her line goofs.    later on she just sat and scowled and seemed to just spew out her lines. 

[Nelson Collins]

I've reached the end of Set 2 disc 1 - and met Thayer David's Matthew Morgan for the first time - I literally got goosebumps when Matthew very coldly told Burke he would kill him if he made trouble for "Miz Stoddard."

Just learning how Burke plans to ruin the Collinses - Frankly, I am surprised that Liz (who I thought was very business savvy) would be foolish enough to mortgage most of their holdings with on-demand notes.  That's a disaster waiting to happen, even if she was in a bind due to Roger's foolishness.

Other observations:
Roger is a j-e-r-k
David is creepy
Is it me or is glaringly obvious that Bill is in love with Elizabeth? (and a-yup, poor Bill, I can tell he's about to "join the widows.")
Ned Calder .... Liz, you minx! 

[Joy Collins]

Is it me or is glaringly obvious that Bill is in love with Elizabeth?

I got that impression, too! He's certainly VERY protective of her.

[Nelson Collins]

Ooh! Ooh!!!! Just saw "the pen" for the first time!!!! 

[RachelDrummand]

hehe which volume does the pen make its first appearance?