thanky - looks like everyone was having a ball!

Ringo, many more had already stopped by and left by the time this pic was shot.  We drew a nice crowd, including some stragglers from the wedding reception across the hall.

I thought of you while I was playing my Beatles suite and knew you would have had a blast with the rest of us.  

Midnite and Rich, what a terrific picture that will always bring back many great memories.

Ben

During my first full viewing of the series when it ran last time, I believed Professor Timothy Elliot Stokes' home to be an apartment.  I think I had that impression because whenever anyone visits, Professor Stokes opens the door, and the visitors are already inside the building, standing in what apparently is a hallway.

I haven't been able to watch much of the current storyline, but I recall (accurately, I hope) a few characteristics that strongly suggest an apartment, no matter what the reality may have been.

One is that there is no foyer or entranceway one would expect to see in a house.  Even the Evans cottage has a small, landing-like area immediately inside the front door that doesn't feel like the living room.  But take even a tiny step inside the professor's front door, and you're definitely IN the living room (and would you care to join me in a glass of sherry?  ).

Another is the backdrop behind visitors when the front door opens.  I don't get the sense that it is in the open or outdoors with lots of shadows.  The visitors themselves seem fairly well lit, which suggests that the entire area outside the door is evenly lit, like an interior hallway.

Another is the apparent lack of a visible hallway to connect various rooms of the house.  Prof. Stokes' bedroom (or study?) is literally attached to the living room.  

And another is perhaps more subtle.  The professor and his visitors tend to take slower, smaller steps as they carefully navigate his living room.  That kind of body movement suggests an apartment to me, and a small one at that.  There was even more space in Burke's hotel suite, gauging from how characters could take long strides between his living room and kitchen.  

But then Julia will fake us out by tightening her coat as she waits for the professor's door to open.   ?!?

I'm perfectly willing to accept the premise that Prof. Stokes lived in a house, if that's what was intended.  But then I'm left wondering whether there was a story behind the story why he chose to live in such cramped quarters.  Perhaps the real reason was the ABC budget, which has resulted in unintended inconsistencies that provide fodder for debates like this.  

Ben

I view the special effects missteps in two ways.  First, I appreciate that, for the most part, they were ambitious and cutting edge for a daytime serial of that era.  When they succeeded, it was magic.  Perhaps the reason they look so primitive and tacky today is because of how far the state-of-the-art has progressed since then -- but in many instances, DS was the first to attempt it, and perhaps the show that inspired latter generations to develop and refine its technique.  I'm reminded of a PBS documentary about silent film star Buster Keaton, which explored how he was the first to attempt effects that are considered old hat today.  But he was the first!  I'm always fascinated to explore early, raw genius, without all the refinement.

Second, as a forgiving fan, I strongly feel that these instances of imperfection contribute to the charm of the show.  I'm not sure how high the level of enduring affection would be for DS, had the effects and the actors' delivery always achieved perfection.  

Gerard, I still had a B&W set in the '60s (and most of the '70s), so some effects that might have appeared more obviously tacky in color were lost on me.

It's my understanding that DS was not a low budget show in every respect.  I seem to recall hearing that much money was in fact spent on special effects and costumes, so that in many instances (with obvious exceptions), the special effects weren't cheap as much as primitive.  Can someone clarify?

Yes, Robin V, that shadow stretched believability.  I howl at how its "victims" were so afraid of it, resisting the temptation to yell at my TV set, "Why are you screaming at a cardboard shadow?"

That shot of Nicholas and Cassandra wasn't the best, but it certainly beat the scene from 1897 when Laura, Tim, and Nora are fleeing the fire at Worthington Hall.  I think the crew must have set a cardboard house on fire and made the actors run past it.  Perhaps the house was supposed to be in the distance, and that's why it was out of proportion. ProfStokes

Very funny, ProfStokes!  In addition, I chuckle at how (if I recall correctly) the next scene was back at Collinwood -- several miles away from Worthington Hall -- yet the actors were trying so nonchalantly to ignore all the smoke that had wafted into the foyer and drawing room sets.  

Ben

Can't you see Gomer giving Barnabas a "talking to" for beating Willie!

That would probably be during the episode where Gomer surprises Barnabas by installing a lock on his coffin that can be controlled from the inside, so that Barnabas could feel completely safe during the day.  Later, Barney arrives home at daybreak to find that Gomer had accidentally locked himself inside the coffin and still cannot get out.  

Ben

I Say a Little Prayer (Bacharach) -- Reverend Trask

One Hand, One Heart ("West Side Story")/You Make Me
Feel So Young (Sinatra) -- Count Petofi

That Old Devil Moon -- Quentin Collins and Chris Jennings

Paperback Writer (Beatles) -- Flora Collins

Your Smilin' Face (James Taylor) -- Jason McGuire

Torn Between Two Lovers -- Josette Collins

The Monster Mash -- Adam

Alone Again (Naturally)/Good Day Sunshine (Beatles) -- Barnabas Collins

I'm Saving All My Love for You (Whitney) -- Julia Hoffman

I must be the only one on the planet still listening to swing music.

EG, I'm a fan of Harry Connick Jr.'s early stuff (and even taught myself to play a little bit of "One Last Pitch").  I'll always remember his concert at the Chicago Theater ten years ago.  It rained so hard that night, water started trickling through the ceiling onto the stage.  This inspired an impromptu performance of "Pennies from Heaven" and the audience went crazy.

Ben

As for the acting, it may not have been Oscar caliber, but it wasn't that bad.  In fact, with a few exceptions, I've found the DS players to be extremely skilled.  Given the circumstances under which they had to work, they had to put so much more energy into each performance than modern TV actors.  Their efforts had to transcend the cramped sets and the sometimes-questionable scripts, and they didn't have a very large time frame in which to make it all work.  With all of that in mind, it makes the numerous exceptional performances (read the "Favorite Scenes" topic) that much more admirable.  I'd like to see Tom Cruise or Jennifer Aniston try to strut their stuff in that environment.  

I don't think even we devoted DS fans can truly appreciate the stifling, limiting conditions the actors had to endure and be expected to pull it off.  For the most part, DS was one take, and that was it.  No director yelling, "Cut!  And this time, Jennifer, do it with more feeling!"  And then somebody yelling, "Take 31!"

In the modern age, whenever an actor blows a line, it's a great source of entertainment for the other actors and the studio audience, which gets to see the scene reshot.  None of that nonsense on DS, where the actors had to recover and keep going.  I would love to know how bad things had to get to warrant reshooting a scene.

As much as I enjoy the bloopers and other imperfections today, I specifically remember as a kid being all-too-willing to overlook them.  Somehow, I knew this was television, and they were trying to tell a story.  Perhaps it was a matter of feeling comfortable suspending reality and absorbing myself in the story.  

I wonder how many Oscar-winning performances were captured on the first take.

Ben

Please don't sue me!  I want to limit (if not, completely remove) any possible liability on my account.  I tried to write these posts as a reasonably prudent (if not, completely mature) man would do.

Hey Bob, in order to limit or eliminate potential liability, I would post appropriate warnings preceding your commentary, such as, "Warning!  Do not read this post while drinking hot beverages, cold beverages, eating, lighting matches, driving, or operating heavy machinery."  

Ben
(always happy to dispense friendly, helpful legal advice to the reasonably prudent man)

I'm sure that you'll be present in spirit ...

During your graduation ceremony, if you see the lights go out, if you hear thunder crackling, if you hear coffin lids creaking, if you see chandaliers swaying, if you hear wolves howling, if you hear waves crashing ...

... if you see a lady in a tweed suit going around telling your classmates, "Here, this will relax you" ...

... and if you hear some familiar, horrifying cue music after your name is called ...

Then you'll KNOW we're not far away!  

You'll do a terrific job.  See you at the Fest!

Ben