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Messages - Ben

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151
Current Talk '02 I / Re: Blooper Poll
« on: April 23, 2002, 05:28:53 AM »
Great idea, ProfStokes!

Favorite verbal blooper: there are many, but the one that comes to mind today is Barnabas in 1795 emphatically declaring to Rev. Trask and others that Vicki is "to be presumed innocent ... until proven innocent!"

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Favorite physical mishap: please allow me to set this one up.  In 1897, Evan Hanley (Humbert Allen Astredo) has subconsciously trained Tim Shaw (Don Briscoe), on a certain cue, to pour poisoned brandy into a snifter and force the designated unsuspecting victim to drink it.  At the end of an episode, Hanley "practiced" the cue with Shaw, with Hanley himself as the stand-in victim.  When Shaw put the snifter in Hanley's hand, Hanley attempted to un-cue him, and we end with a tight shot in which an alarmed Hanley struggles to keep the Shaw from pouring the glass down his lips.   Perfect!

The opening of the next episode repeats this scene.  Only problem is, in that final tight shot, one of the legs of the chair Hanley is sitting in apparently gives way (you can hear the sound of wood snapping off-camera).  The collapsing chair causes Hanley to suddenly drop about two inches, in turn causing the brandy (the snifter is right against his lips) to splash clumsily all over his face.  Hanley is looking even more horrified, but I think it's because he has to hold that pose, not knowing if the chair is going to give way completely before the scene ends.

This is not on the bloopers tape, so you might have to wait until it pops up on the 1897 storyline.   I always find this one a scream.

Ben

152
Current Talk '02 I / Re: PRIMARY PROP
« on: April 21, 2002, 04:21:24 PM »
Julia's hypodermic -- just love how she would hold it so casually, like a lit cigarette.

The Collins Family History -- simply the wrong book for Vicki to be caught holding in 1795.  

The buzzer button in Liz Stoddard's coffin -- a fine choice, conveniently located near her hand, that demonstrated amazing foresight on her part.  

Yeah, the KLS publicity photo on Maggie's dresser is a classic -- it is so un-Maggie, what a stitch!

Julia's gloves -- yes, Julia99, loved that put-'em-on, take-'em-off ritual.  I wonder whether those gloves (and the accompanying trademark ritual) might even have been Grayson's idea.  It certainly added to her unique character.

The "Shadow" -- although I don't know where they keep it now.  Does it fade with age?

Julia's notebook -- when she spotted that little red plastic-bound number with the dimestore lock on sale at Woolworth's, she must have thought, "Ah, yes!  The perfect volume for recording my priceless notes on a scientific breakthrough ... along with my secret thoughts about Davey Jones, Bobby Sherman, and Tom Jennings!"

Ben

153
Current Talk '02 I / Re: Some Odds and Ends
« on: April 21, 2002, 03:50:16 PM »
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Lol!! Midnite, that is my favorite blooper!


Me, too, Cassandra!  I can only imagine what might have happened if Joshua had to ask her for her name ... more off-camera prompting?  ;D

It's moments like this one that make DS uniquely charming.  I can be having a bad day, and if I'm lucky enough to recall that scene, my mood instantly lightens.  

Thanks, Midnite and Cassandra, for brightening up a cold, dreary, rainy Sunday morning.

Ben
(in Chicago, where just two days ago it was 88 and balmy)

154
Current Talk '02 I / Re: Some Odds and Ends
« on: April 21, 2002, 04:05:18 AM »
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The tower room - I was surrpised by the lock on the outside of the door.  Didn't they always have to use a key to get in?  It certainly made it convenient for Millicent in this case, but there were other stories when someone had to get the key or lost the key, etc.


Yeah, how curious that the tower room would require a key, whereas I can't ever recall a key being required to enter the main entrance (front door) to Collinwood.

Ben

155
Current Talk '02 I / Re: DS LAW
« on: April 18, 2002, 05:42:29 AM »
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You don't remember Roger (touch my hair) Davis???


Vlad, in case you didn't hear, VAM's referring to
          ROGER DAAAAVIS!!!!!!!

Thank you.

Ben  ;)
(Wishing RingoCollins was around to help me conjure up a clever way to make these letters louder)


156
Current Talk '02 I / Re: DS LAW
« on: April 17, 2002, 05:23:37 AM »
The two lawyers who made the best impression on me are Tony Peterson and Desmond Collins.  Tony is smart, no-nonsense and principled, gruff on the outside, yet there's an apparent compassion underneath the surface.  Desmond's courtroom performance was competent, aggressive, and fair.  I wouldn't mind being involved in a case with either of them, either as an opponent or as fellow attorney on the same side.  Nor would I mind having either of them represent me (in their unpossessed states, of course).  

I also like Frank Garner, although I don't think I got to see him perform in court.  He may not even be a trial lawyer, especially if he specializes in wills and other transactional-type matters (most lawyers are not trial lawyers).  He seemed like the most "normal" character on DS (only on DS can somebody who's normal be odd) -- not unlike some of my lawyer-buddies whom I run into at the courthouse or get together with for an after-work beer.

Evan Hanley and Charles Dawson give our profession a bad rap.   I especially cringe whenever I see Dawson grandstanding so righteously in court.  I just wanna yell at the TV screen, "Oh, put a sock in it!"  

And if I hung around Peter Bradford long enough, I'd probably go deaf.  

Ben

157
Current Talk '02 I / Re: I am addicted to this board!!!
« on: April 14, 2002, 04:00:42 PM »
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I think I am going to order cable and to get the sci-fi channel.  So I wont buy the tapes and I can keep up with everyone.   I just wait for the DVD.


Hey Jon, welcome!  I've been on this board (and its previous incarnations) for over two years now, and I attribute our success to the constant mix of old-timers and newbies injecting new blood (so to speak) into this group.   8)

Although I watched DS as a kid starting in '69, I didn't begin to view the entire series until the Sci-Fi run starting 30 years later.  There's something to be said about the ritual of taking in only two eps a day and then waiting another day for the next set, as I did for two-and-a-half years.  For me, that was enough to absorb, and it gave me something to look forward to each day.  

I, too, would say cable is the way to go.  However, I highly recommend getting some of the MPI compilation tapes, such as "DS Bloopers," "30th Anniversary," and "Behind the Scenes."  The clips shown (especially the hysterical bloopers), along with the cast interviews and cast-audience exchanges at the DS Fests, will enrich your knowledge of the show and help you more readily absorb the future developments in the series.  

Assuming that all the usual advantages of DVDs are contained in the DS ones -- greater video clarity, ease of locating episodes (no more of that annoying fast-forwarding or rewinding), plus extras such as recent cast interviews and features -- I probably will be tempted to try at least one box set.

See ya 'round, Jon.   :)

Ben

158
Current Talk '02 I / Re: Professor Thayer David
« on: April 13, 2002, 04:44:47 AM »
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I found the "Matthew" character to be very well play, but not as likable. He was kind of an mean and irritable old goat, as compared to Ben's lovable and faithfull demeanor.  Ben is kind of like a beloved family dog (like Lassie, or Rin Tin Tin). However somewhere in his simplicity is a very wise man. An uneducated great mind,  Low is self-esteem, and lacking in self-confidence.


I never took the time to decipher the differences between the two outwardly very similar characters, but I think you hit the nail right on the head.  Insightfully so!

Ben

159
Current Talk '02 I / Re: they call me.......reverend TRASK!
« on: April 12, 2002, 04:36:26 AM »
Welcome back, henry!  We missed you terribly!

Love the title you gave this thread.  

Ben

160
Current Talk '02 I / Re: Professor Thayer David
« on: April 12, 2002, 04:28:08 AM »
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Just caught "Journey to the Center of the Earth" ... Thayer David ... looked quite a bit younger than he did on DS ten years later ...


Thayer was barely 40 when he joined DS, yet he effectively played characters much older.  Not to mention a range that could encompass an unschooled servant and an erudite professor.

Thanks, Gothick, VAM, and Midnite for the informative bio and tid-bits on Thayer.  I highly recommend the CD with Thayer's 1969 interviews with Ron Barry (available through our friend Bobubas).

Ben

161
Current Talk '02 I / Re: "Christening" Collinwood
« on: April 12, 2002, 04:05:51 AM »
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Abigail and the Reverend Trask.


Quick, somebody get me a respirator!! [shckd]

Plus the thought of Abigail covered with all that eyeliner ...  [puke]

Ben
(trying to take several deep breaths)

162
Current Talk '02 I / Re: Abigail's Demise
« on: April 10, 2002, 09:01:04 AM »
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I think this has to be one of the all-time great moments of DS, and among the most terrifying -- Barnabas rising from his coffin and Abigail getting her comeuppance.

My jaw was agape the first time I saw this scene, and it was again seeing it for the second time (actually the third, or fourth time, since it was re-enacted at the start of the following episode).

Clarice Blackburn did a terrific job with Abigail.  She played her within the boundaries of not making her an over-the-top villain, unlike many actors still to come on the series.  Her character was believable.

Jonathan Frid matched her in this scene with a performance to make even the stout-hearted quiver and cower.  Anger and threatening -- but controlled.  (That's the quality so many of the other DS actors were often missing, I think -- keeping the character controlled -- and [shadow=red,left,300]believable[/shadow]).

As I said, one of the greatest scenes of the entire series.

Very well said, Vlad, as always.  But at almost 1 a.m. and way past my bedtime, the only point I can add is just how gifted and overlooked an actor Clarice Blackburn is.  As Abigail, she projected a moral righteousness, albeit with great sincerity, and didn't deserve to die the way she did.  Yet when she died, many of us, I dare say, probably rejoiced, which is a tribute to her skilled performance.  And her facial expressions were priceless.

Ben
(ready for bed and quickly losing coherence)

163
Calendar Events / Announcements '02 I / Re: Happy B-Day to mfmdpt!
« on: April 10, 2002, 08:45:20 AM »
Michael:

May you live to be 150.  And may the last voice you hear be mine ...8)

Cheers and here's hoping your special day was grand,

Ben

164
Calendar Events / Announcements '02 I / Re: DS Festival Info Online
« on: April 09, 2002, 04:50:13 AM »
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This is going to sound weird, but might be worth a try-- dump your IE cache, then try the page again.  There's a DS Festival 2002 link under "Current News".

I hope you've been practicing your wine opening technique, a la Roger Collins, to impress us all this summer. :)


Midnite, so far, I did find the DS Fest 2002 link, but it takes me back to the same article on the 2001 fest.  Weird forces at work, apparently, but I'll keep trying.

As for your second paragraph, you're really good at unearthing my obscure posts from prior boards!  Unfortunately, the only bar skills I have been practicing are playing the piano and polishing my brandy snifter.  I hope to have a couple of DS numbers ready -- as well as a Beatles medley, in case RingoCollins makes it this year.  And if the room is wide enough, I'll try to sway back and forth like Bruno ...

Ben
(who was thoroughly impressed by the over-the-top, Liza Minelli-style send-up of "Shadows of the Night" performed at last year's fest)

165
Calendar Events / Announcements '02 I / Re: Happy Birthday Profstokes
« on: April 09, 2002, 04:23:58 AM »
Yay, ProfStokes!  I'm among the latecomers to your party, but I hope your special day has been a blast.  

As I've said before, it was indeed a pleasure to meet you at last year's fest, and I have always been impressed with your insightful and articulate posts.  You might be turning 19, but your intellectual age is much closer to 40.  Be sure to take wise advantage of that gift.

Your well-chosen namesake would surely have you join him tonight for a sherry or a hot toddy.

All the best,

Ben   [angl2]

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