Fans,

This short clip (described as dating to the 1970s but obviously much more recent) has a final "sting" shot that is VERY reminiscent of a shot that fans of the film house of Dark Shadows (1970) will instantly recognize.  I don't want to give any more away but I'll just say--keep watching when it looks as if credits are beginning to roll at the end because that is when "it" happens!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD7Ggl7Mx3g

The clip runs for around 5 minutes I believe...  really something just for a giggle.

G.

I'm getting quite a charge out of today's screen capture of Jebulous and Pruno heatedly conferring in a darkened foyer at Collinwood.  I am old enough to remember when these shaggy coats and bits of woolly trim were fashionable on men's winter coats, but I'm still thinking of these two as "the ranch poodle brigade" and I'm wondering whether Bruno's hairpiece ever went flying when push came to shove.

Thanks again MB for brightening another dreary Winter afternoon here at the Great House!

cheers, G.

Fans, I knew when I first saw today's fabulous image of Mrs Johnson on a tear while Maggie seems to be in the middle of saying "talk to the hand" .... that there was something familiar about it.

I just now realized that it reminds me of this (in)famous clip from the movie Clue that has someone, maybe Madeline Kahn, talking about how another female character makes her so angry that "I can't breathe and ... I feel ... it's as if ... flames ... flames on the side of my face..."

Even without these references, the shot of the two women is pretty darn hysterical!  Way to go MB!

Another possibility is that Mrs J is complaining that nobody is paying HER extra money to model Junior Sophisticates ensembles...

G.

Extra kudos to MB for today's new capture.  Not only is this a superb shot of the Goddess Known as Grayson Hall in character as Julia, and not only is Julia sporting one of my favorite brooches, but I think this shot actually captures some of the more subtle elements at work in the Leviathans storyline before they went for "everything including the kitchen sink."  (More shots of Bruno flogging that wolfie!  More scenes of Megan swooning before Barnabas' gaping fangs!)

The dialogue and the imagery actually make me think of the mood of certain of the plays of Jean Genet, of which Grayson Hall was a famous exponent.  I've noticed other moments on DS reminiscent of Bertolt Brecht and the very expressionist styles of theatre pioneered in the Circle in the Square and other houses where Grayson worked as a young actress in the 1950s.

Fabulous, beautiful work!

G.

I stumbled upon this via Google while looking for some shots of Magda for a friend's project.  If you enjoy a certain kind of dry, offkey humor, maybe you'll find this board as funny as I did.  It's this guy named James in London watching the 1967 DVDs and writing his own little synopsis/reviews of what happens:

http://www.soapchat.net/showthread.php?t=142843&page=4

He uses catchphrases for a number of the players--Liz is Joan Bennett (well, of course), Julia is "Dr. Tootsie", Carolyn is Groovy Sixties Girl, Willie is referred to as Harvey something or other (from Karlen's work on Cagney & Lacey), etc.

Here's a typical snippet:


"I cannot permit you to continue your existence!" Barnabas tells Dr Tootsie, but then she tells him she's been working on
this great new diet plan that could cure him of his vampirism. He's interested for a while, but then decides to kill her
anyway. That's when she tells him she's treating Maggie the Dead Waitress and that sooner or later Maggie will recover
her memory and blow the whistle on him, unless she is alive to stop her! That Dr Tootsie--she's so nuts.

cheers, G.

My thanks to MB for showcasing Thayer David's vivid Mordecai Grimes characterization in today's snapshot.  Even though Mordecai only appeared in something like four or five shows, he brought an element of piss-and-vinegar realism to the unfolding of the 1840 plot that was sorely needed. 

Mordecai always reminds me of one of Thayer's later characters--Rev. Strack in the film NoDS.  Fabulous work.

I particularly remember a scene where Mordecai and Gabriel are spewing vitriol at one another in the drawing room.  If I remember it correctly, Gabriel makes Mordecai wheel him in, treating him like a house servant.  Grand stuff.

G.

MB, I just LOVE today's screencapture!  Julia looks as if she has HAD it with a certain reluctant vampire!  Just love how mean and eee-vil she looks here!

thanks for the holiday cheer!

A Fan 4ever,

Gothick

Fans,

Thanks to an incredible sale on Amazon Vendor, I found DVD set #22 (for seventeen bucks plus change!) and it arrived last night.  While test driving the discs, I revisited the episode where [spoiler]Barnabas met Regular Time Roxanne Drew for the first time at Sebastian Shaw's parlor.  I'd forgotten how poignantly Frid portrayed Barnabas' mingled joy and desire at meeting "his" Roxanne again.  I found myself thinking, "he's overjoyed to see her, and some girls would think he's a really creepy old man, but she's being nice." 

I have to admit I Laughed Out Loud at the scene where Julia picked up the phone on Roxanne's call to cancel her dinner plans with Barnabas.  The look on Julia's face was truly priceless!  And then, the scene where Barnabas comes in like a little boy with a new candy cane and Julia is trying so hard not to roll her eyes.  The dialogue actually gave her the line, "Barnabas, why does it always have to be me who tries to tell you ..."   Another priceless moment.

I have to admit that the crowning gem was when Barnabas, with visibly controlled anger, informed her:  "Julia, I am seldom wrong about people!"  It was a wonder Julia didn't choke on her reassuring-therapist response "That's true ..."[/spoiler]

I think of the Summer of 1970 as a less-than-successful period in the show's history, but this episode certainly was memorable ... and fun!

cheers, Gothick