The writers mess with our heads a bit by having a shadowy figure open the upstairs hallway door while Carolyn and Dr. Guthrie talk. But it's only Vicki, who joins them in the drawing room.

Frank Garner calls Roger Roger, but Roger addresses him as Garner (without the "Mister"). I'll bet Frank doesn't call Elizabeth Liz! And we get our first look at what is referred to as Roger's study, although I'm also willing to bet he studies brandy there more than anything else. It would have been nice for Elizabeth to have a study of her own, but as the series went on, I did get very fond of that little writing desk in the drawing room.

We get a little more info on Carolyn's legal status as Frank tells Roger, "Because Carolyn is still a minor [we’ve already established she’s about 18], she is a ward of the trustees of the business. She can’t make unilateral decisions, but she is in effect the mistress of the house." Roger is disappointed, and even more so when Frank says he trusts Dr. Guthrie.

Carolyn is so desperate to see her mother that she tells Frank to book her a plane ticket to Boston. That's not really in his job description. But then again, with Elizabeth never leaving the grounds for the past 18 years, I guess the family doesn't have much use for a travel agent. And Carolyn doesn't seem to have gone much farther afield than Bangor. I thought Carolyn's despair and sorrow over her mother's plight were very touching. But because this was a Thursday episode, of course she comes around and tells Dr. Guthrie to go ahead with the séance.

I also liked it that Dr. Guthrie got the last word with something like, "I’m actually frightened of success. We could unleash a force so powerful, we may not be able to control it!"

Thanks, mdscntst! Unfortunately, the trailer confirms my worst fears. It might have a somewhat gothick-y look, but it just isn't Dark Shadows. At least not to me. The alleged comedy (like "tiny songstress") wasn't funny. And what suspense can there be if everyone knows Barnabas is a vampire?

Cousin B, I agree with you about Depp's Barnabas. He is not at all a gentleman and isn't even trying for intellect. As for the falling shot, it looked to me as if Depp launched himself from Widows Hill and then took wing. Not sure what we're supposed to make of the Barnabas-Angelique relationship.

And here I thought the excesses of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings were awful. Burton-Depp tops them all.

Mine neither.

Barnabas might like I've Got a Secret.

Bathia Mapes might also like One Step Beyond.

Luckily, Carolyn hasn't left her girlish persona entirely behind. She thinks that even if nothing comes of it, the séance will still be a gas! 

Interesting conversation with Vicki and Carolyn today. Carolyn is taking her new role and responsibilities very seriously indeed. She even smothers David with a hug when he returns from the cottage.

Joe and Maggie are very sweet together, and she doesn't take any guff from him either.

David reports that Josette watched over him all night--he could smell her jasmine perfume.

Elizabeth must not be a bad employer, because Joe tells Carolyn that most people in town are sorry she's ill. Despite the split between him and Carolyn, he is doing serious work that involves one of Elizabeth's ledgers.

I think Josette and Laura's battle is meant to be on some astral plane not accessible to our merely mortal senses. I like it that the writers have left it to our imaginations. But Laura is right in that Josette is unable to make physical contact with David. I imagine that if she could, she would drag him from the cottage.

Dr. Guthrie suggests holding a séance. Yes! Yes!!! YES!!!!!! (Wish I had that milestone emoticon.)

This is a particularly tedious episode for Sam. Too bad. But things improve a bit when he meets Dr. Guthrie. He didn't want to talk about the painting before, but now he can't stop.

Burke is all warm and fuzzy about Laura again. But by the end of the episode, Dr. Guthrie knows that Laura lied to him, and she and Elizabeth were alone in the cottage just before Elizabeth was taken ill.

Here is the link to the IMDB entry on John Lasell. They give a birth year of 1928, so he could still be alive, though quite old by now. He's done quite a bit of work, it seems.