DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '12 I => Topic started by: Watching Project on May 16, 2012, 04:08:44 PM
-
Robservations - #212
And if you'd care to look back, the first WP discussion topic for this ep:Re: Discuss - Ep #0212
-
A new Robservations cap has been added for this ep. If you're not seeing it when you open the Robs for this ep, it probably means that you've visited the topic recently and so you need to clear your browser's cache. [ghost_wink]
-
I think my favorite thing about this episode is how gracious Liz iz. And David’s recovery of his blooper. Nicely done, kid.
So did Barnabas sneak a squirt of Binaca before entering the hallowed halls of Collinwood?
-
Yes, Elizabeth is a very gracious lady. It's a sharp contrast with [spoiler] Michelle Pfieffer's Elizabeth, who is immediately suspicious of Depp's Barnabas...[/spoiler]. But I do like how friendly Elizabeth in here was so friendly and welcoming of Barnabas.
Apparently David is unaware of what a troublemaker Willie was since he's hoping Willie comes back, to Vicki's dismay, when she (and very likely Carolyn too) are hoping never to see or hear of good old Willie again.
David is disappointed that Barnabas turned out not to be a ghost...if he only knew what his 'cousin' was instead'...he might have been even more impressed...or maybe not. [spoiler] David becomes aware later on that Barnabas was some kind of sinister menace and learning he was a vampire may very well have scared the living daylights out of David, not that he wasn't frightened enough of Barnabas at that time. [/spoiler]
Barnabas says he can't bring himself to call Victoria anything but Victoria. He eventually changed his mind on that point, because he does eventually start calling her Vicki later on.
Great episode, and Jonathan Frid really shines in here.
-
Yes, JF is fabulous! The authority of his portrayal beginning with this, his very first appearance, has always amazed me. I love the line "The Collins _blood_ has always had a persistent strength."
For the first time, but far from the last, Barnabas's very face is his passport and his entreé into the family. And when Elizabeth invites him to dinner, it's the first but far from the last time he'll have to decline! I also love her warmth and graciousness.
When Barn prepares to leave, he courteously wishes Elizabeth a good night, but gives Victoria a deep, elegant bow--and a smile for her alone. (I would have dissolved into a little puddle on the floor!) He leaves the two ladies utterly captivated by his courtly charm.
Great scene with Barn and David at the Old House. You mean you’re not the man from the portrait in the foyer? David asks, disappointed. How could I be? Barnabas asks reasonably. As though accustomed to dealing with small children, Barnabas treats David quite as an equal and seems perfectly at ease conversing with him. Were the writers already thinking about [spoiler]Sarah?[/spoiler] David tests Barnabas's knowledge of the Old House, and of course Barn passes with flying colors.
And of course, Barnabas's speech at the end of this episode is one the highlights of the whole series. It's beautifully written and delivered with extraordinary intensity. He has ARRIVED!
-
Reading over my notes from five years ago, I don't find myself with many new thoughts, though my enjoyment of this episode has not diminished. One thing may not have struck me before: Barnabas tells David that he missed his home for a long time, but he doesn't anymore. I always think of the horror of being chained up in the coffin forever, but today I thought of the horror of being so close to home - just five miles away - but never being able to get there.
-
In the original discussion for this episode, it was stated that Barnabas at first was made into a vampire then chose to become one and then made into one again.
The part about him choosing to be a vampire...
[spoiler]Is this when he is with Julia on Widows Hill telling the story of Josette, about a month before 1795? This is the episode when they learn Burke's plane had crashed.[/spoiler]
-
Yes, Joeytrom, that's what I was talking about.
-
Thats really odd that only a month before 1795, they portrayed Barnabas as being more evil then originally thought.
-
A man who has come a great distance. Only in terms of time is the distance great. The uncanny resemblance. I know that this is the first use of that word and how did Elizabeth mean it? Supernatural, eerie or beyond the ordinary. Barnabas keeps repeating sunrise in his talk with cousin David. Barnabas is sad and haunts the rooms. David says this very perceptively.
-
I really don't think they were thinking that Barnabas was going to be a long time character. Even the fact that they were going to 1795. What I felt was that Josette and Joshua helping Barnabas. Maybe after all that time in the coffin, it really turned his mind into mush.
I wonder how long it took the writers to really know when they were going to have to change and really create the back story?