DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '07 II => Topic started by: Watching Project on July 16, 2007, 09:03:30 PM
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Robservations - #341
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Well, it's happened! The episodes leading up to this one have hinted at it, have led us along, making us wonder, then the previous episode gave us no doubt, Dave Woodard would die. What a tragedy!
A good man trying to do the right thing met his end because he knew too much.
The opening voice-over said something to the effect that there was no hope of returning to the light since they had gone too far in to darkness. In some ways this was a true prediction. After Dr. Woodard's death Barnabas and Julia, and others in and out of the Collins' family would do things that they didn't want discovered.
You get the idea that Dr. Woodard might have a chance to still remain alive as Julia desperately tries to persuade him to go along with them. But noble Dave refused! Even facing death he didn't back down, which is quite admirable! 8)
Dr. Woodard is taunting Barnabas, saying how evil he is, which angers Barnabas. But after all, Dave knows death is almost certain, so what does he have to lose?
Even though Julia couldn't inject Dave with the medicine that would kill him, she is still partially to blame for his death. Her eagerness and ambition should never have brought her to this point.
Barnabas is never so despicable than at this moment! He had no mercy, no compassion, just an overwhelming desire to stay alive and keep his secret concealed, and if Woodard had to be eliminated in the process, so be it.
I don't really enjoy this episode because it shows both Julia and Barnabas at their worst. :o
Poor Dave, this should never have happened! :( :'( :'(
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The anguish on Julia's face almost brought tears to my eyes. She begged DR. Woodard to help her with the ground-breaking experiment to no avail. I can't decide if it was her feelings for Barnabas or her ambition to succeed in her experiment---or both, possibly----that was the reason she participated in the murder. ??? Barnabas made it clear that Woodard would die one way or another and Julia had no control over that. Could she have been certain that Barn would murder her too if she backed out? Doesn't seem likely since he was totally focused on her plan to "cure" him. Grayson played the scene so well! :(
Misty
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This was such a great show. Woodard could have saved himself, I think if he would have helped Julia he could have lived. I really don't like the idea on how he baited Barnabas with Sarah. I guess he figured he had nothing to loose.
Grayson did such a great job, she showed so much range. I was truely hurting for her, I don't like Barnabas for making her contribute to her friends death. That was really mean or should I say evil! >:D I don't think thst she ever recovered from the death of Dave.
Jonathan was fantastic, he played it so bad. You could just feel the evil eminating from him. I am glad this was a show that wasn't lost.
This one incident bound Julia and Barnabas. I don't think that she ever forgave Barnabas. I don't know if Barnabas could have ever made amends.
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I really don't like the idea on how he baited Barnabas with Sarah. I guess he figured he had nothing to loose.
Dr. Woodard did that out of self preservation. When you've got someone trying to kill you, you'd do just about anything to escape. Too bad it didn't work. :(
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Totally riveting episode. The kinescope served Sam and the Sheriff well; the scene in Dr. Woodard's office had a nice Forties feel to it.
Why was Barnabas so cruel to Julia? He didn't have to force her to help him kill Dr. Woodard. He didn't have to rub her nose in it so hard. I can think of two reasons. First possibility: he did it because her hated her for putting him in danger, so he was punishing her. Second possibility: he did it because he hated himself for killing Dr. Woodard, and he needed somebody to share the guilt with him, to make him feel it wasn't so bad. Or else maybe both reasons were mixed up in his very strange mind. However it may have been, it was wonderful to watch both Frid and Hall in their scenes together - and rather amusing when Woodard ganged up with Barnabas against Julia.
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I agree that Barnabas was at his worse in this episode....but it's not like it's the first time he's killed after all.... Dave Woodard just happened to be the first NICE person he's murdered in cold blood.
I don't think anything could have deterred Barnabas from killing Woodard, though. Even if Woodard had agreed to help Julia and Barnabas, even if he actually meant it, Barnabas would never, ever trust his word for it. He barely trusts Julia enough for that matter.
Poor Julia will have to live with the fact she helped in the murder of her good friend for many years....and that the man she has fallen in love with had forced her to do it. Whether she ever forgave Barnabas....well, I think that's hard to say. If she never totally forgave him, it would have been all too easy for her to expose him after forcing her to help him kill her good friend of so long. But she didn't. I do think that she seriously asked herself for the longest time after this period what do I see in this monster?
Good episode.
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Why was Barnabas so cruel to Julia? He didn't have to force her to help him kill Dr. Woodard. He didn't have to rub her nose in it so hard. I can think of two reasons. First possibility: he did it because her hated her for putting him in danger, so he was punishing her. Second possibility: he did it because he hated himself for killing Dr. Woodard, and he needed somebody to share the guilt with him, to make him feel it wasn't so bad. Or else maybe both reasons were mixed up in his very strange mind. However it may have been, it was wonderful to watch both Frid and Hall in their scenes together - and rather amusing when Woodard ganged up with Barnabas against Julia.
Good question, and good answers. I think Barnabas was furious against anyone who would expose him, especially Woodard, and sees it, or needs to see it rather, as a totally unnecessary self-aggrandizing, self-righteous act, on the part of someone who gets to live a comfortable life, respected, perhaps prosperous, with no curse, who gets a nice comfortable bed, gets to dream, gets to have an insufferably clean conscience, and gets to proclaim what's right and wrong from the top of Mt. Olympus.
Maybe I started thinking about things this way after reading this book on anti-semitism of Sartre's, where he talks about anti-semites feeling small and threatened and powerless against Jews, when the anti-semites back then actually had the power.
Barnabas probably gets conficted with Julia too; the more she agonizes over what Woodard has in his future, the angrier Barnabas gets. I'm going to put her in the same boat with me if it kills me--- is one thing rumbling under the surface of his thoughts, probably. I'm going to be destroyed for something not my fault, by comfortable people in comfortable circumstances, saints in paradise, when I just want to be left alone?! Well, no, these pseudo-saints are going to get knocked down to Earth, and have to wallow in moral mud like I'm forced to do. They're not better than me.
It's understandable. I can identify in a way, when healthy people in comfortable situations, who get to live real lives, get to be automatically contemptuous and dismissive toward my extreme but unusual and unfamiliar condition. I fight not to get twisted by bitterness every moment. And I wouldn't exactly blame someone for losing perspective, after being killed, becoming a vampire, and being trapped in a coffin for 175 years. And having to drink cow's blood.
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Maybe I should point out that in the above post, I start speculating about Barnabas's thoughts, putting words in his mouth, without putting quotation marks around "his" thoughts... then in the paragraph starting with "It's understandable", I switch to talking about my own medical situation to underline the point. It may be a little hard to tell who's "speaking" for a moment or two.
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I'm finally posting about an episode again! [cheer] Sorry it took so long. I'm waaaay behind! It will take me a while to catch up. [sadg]
Anyway... I really don't have much to add. It's a shame that Dr. Woodard had to join a long line of doctors who were killed when they knew too much! [bawl] I also would have been more emotionally affected by Dr. Woodard's death if RG had still been acting the role. But those scenes between Barnabas, Dr. Woodard, and Julia were very riveting. [shkdg] This was an excellent episode. [bigok]
----- Sally -----
[coolg] [hippy2]
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I'm so glad you're posting again, Sally! I was wondering if you had given up on the Watching Project.
a long line of doctors who were killed when they knew too much!
What a picture you've created in my mind! Do they take a number? "You must wait your turn to be killed!"
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Thank you, Lydia! [cheesyg] It's nice to be back. Please be patient, though, it will take me quite a while to catch up. [b054]
LOL, Lydia! "You must wait your turn to be killed!" Funny! [lghy]
----- Sally -----
[coolg] [hippy2]
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i know its a bit of pretzel logic on my part, but when Robert Gerringer was replaced as Doc Woodard i did not feel such a loss when the "new" Doc was killed. I had grown very fond of Gerringers portrayal of Dave Woodard and one of my favorite scenes was when he announced to joe and sam that he had just delivered twins in that tiny collinsport hospital.
Wonder what the twins are doing today?
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Me neither. I had to keep imagining Gerringer talking to Sarah, and at the desk with Barnabas and Julia. That's a lot of strain on my poor suspension-of-disbelief. There are many instances of DS moments that become interesting only after you play around with the scene in your head, and adjust for mistakes and recastings. DC was taking advantage of my imagination to cut down on editing costs, frankly.
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Is there a single member on this forum who doesn't think they could have made DS PERFECT....if only they had been given the chance? >:D
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Wonder what the twins are doing today?
Since we haven't seen them around, I assume they're at Windcliff.
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I don't because no show is perfect.
nancy
Is there a single member on this forum who doesn't think they could have made DS PERFECT....if only they had been given the chance? >:D
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I don't because no show is perfect.Is there a single member on this forum who doesn't think they could have made DS PERFECT....if only they had been given the chance? >:D
Oh, I'd be full of ideas as to what NOT to do, but it's easier to destroy than to create...
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it's easier to destroy than to create
Somebody please sit Angelique down and have her write that 100 times!
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In many ways, I think this may be the single "darkest" episode of the whole series. Watching Julia so completely betray the Hippocratic Oath the way she does here is genuinely disturbing. Pretty heady stuff for daytime TV.