DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '07 II => Topic started by: Watching Project on November 06, 2007, 09:03:05 PM
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Robservations #422
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Josette is changing, and for the worse, because of what Barnabas has done for her. Her outstanding characteristic has always been her goodness, and now she is lying and behaving coldly to her loving Aunt Natalie.
I like Riggs. He seemed very troubled by what was happening. A couple of weeks ago, when Sarah told her mother that Riggs had told her how to make the candle for Josette, I thought it seemed strange for somebody in Riggs's position to be doing that, but now it fits. I don't think we see Riggs again, and if we did, then very likely I would be disappointed in how his character developed - but today I liked Riggs.
Barnabas's portrait is always a problem for me. I don't think the face looks all that much like him. It's OK for Josette's portrait not to look like her; I know how that happened, and I like the picture. But the face in Barnabas's portrait was painted after they hired Jonathan Frid for the role of Barnabas, so I'm always surprised when people in later times comment on Barnabas Collins's resemblance to his ancestor. And, watching 1795, I am surprised that the face is so stern-looking. Young Barnabas was a nice guy, and the face in the portrait has a very Joshua-like expression. I wish that today's dialogue between Joshua and the Countess could have had some reference to that. Perhaps when Joshua mentioned Barnabas's sentimental streak, he could have said that he was glad the portrait-painter had overlooked that. Sam Evans always talked about capturing his subject's soul, but this painter doesn't seem to have worried about that.
Joshua and Natalie had pretty much dropped their hostility towards each other today. I suppose Natalie was preoccupied with the ring, and Joshua was still dealing with the death of the last of his children.
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I expected to see a scene in 1795 where BC pauses in his new career of neck sucking long enough to sit down and have his portrait painted. It wouldn't be the last time he sat for a portrait while undead. If he didn't in 1795, then that means the portrait done when he was human looks evil, while the one done when he was a 200 year old vampire looks human. Maybe they were Petofi-inspired artists, and the paintings had a delayed effect.
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So, Peter Bradford painted the original portrait of Barnabas in his free time when he wasn't playing jailer and studying to be a lousy lawyer?
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So, Peter Bradford painted the original portrait of Barnabas in his free time when he wasn't playing jailer and studying to be a lousy lawyer?
Well, he did hang out at the Old House for a day or two....
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Well, I'll say this much for Barnabas, he gave Josette every opportunity to back out of his dark world.
I thought Josette and Natalie were awfully familiar with Joshua, calling him by his first name, rather than Mr. Collins. I suppose that must come from spending so much time living with the Collins family, and for Josette being part of the family, at least by marriage. Still, it sounded strange to me, to hear him referred to so casually.
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Another opportunity to use the "milestone" smilie! In this episode, Joshua discovered Barnabas' coffin was empty! [milestone] Of course, he didn't realize it's because Barnabas was a vampire - he just thought it was grave-robbers. [hall2_wink]
I liked Riggs in this episode, too. He was very caring and good at following orders. [winkg]
I, too, am bothered by Barnabas' portrait not looking like him. But it bothers me even more about Josette's portrait. It's too bad they had to make the likenesses in those portraits so unlike them. [sadg]
----- Sally -----
[coolg] [hall2_cool] [hippy2]
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i believe that the portrait of josette was done before anyone knew that she would eventually become a real flesh-and-blood character played by kathryn leigh scott.
ms.scott goes on at some length in one of her books about how this fortuitous bit of casting actually took place.
for me the likeness is close enough that it works.
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Still, it sounded strange to me, to hear him referred to so casually.
And to him as well, I'm sure. Such familiarity must have been torture for a personage such as he.
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Isn't Joshua even the teeniest bit curious as to why the candleabra in Barnabas' tomb is fully lit? Maybe he figured the "robbers" lit it for better visibility.
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Or maybe Joshua ordered that it always be lit so Barnabas wouldn't be afraid of the dark. [snow_smiley]