If you meant Chapter 5, could you please hold that thought until next week's discussion?  This week's episode completes the DVD's Chapter 4.

Oops, sorry about that - I'd forgotten that a viewing schedule was posted giving these guidelines ... I don't have printer capabilities at the moment, otherwise I would have printed it out to refer to.

About Elizabeth's accent ... perhaps Jean Simmons hasn't completely shed her own accent and this may be her own normal way of speaking.  No doubt she could do some kind of "American" accent, but it was probably decided that this "fit" the character because of her cosmopolitanism, education, etc.  Ben Cross's accent serves him well since Barnabas supposedly spent time in England.  But since he actually hadn't gone to England, then he must have decided to do his best approximation of an accent, which just happens to be indistinguishable from that of a native Britisher.

I agree, I always felt that Carolyn was presumptuous in calling Victoria "Vicki" before she even met her.  Like you, I have nearly always referred to "Elizabeth" and "Victoria" in my posts in the past; it seems more respectful.

I noticed Ben Cross's tan (or dark makeup) as well, and would have preferred a pasty vampire look in his early days out the tomb after 200 years.

Good going with the "Cross" comment, I hadn't thought of that.

I haven't finished watching the first episode yet with my new DVDs.  I quickly skimmed through Midnite's summarizing of missing scenes (which had been restored on the VHS release but not on the DVDs).  Wow!  I hadn't realized so much was missing when I began watching earlier this week - a few years have passed since I viewed the series on VHS.  Watching it now, I felt the pacing was good and tight ... but from some of the things Midnite wrote -- for example, Roger telling Elizabeth about his talk with David -- I would agree that much of the backstory and character development got cut before the pilot aired (and restored only on the VHS version).  I remember some of those scenes now from my earlier viewing of the VHS.

Reading other's comments, I find myself nodding in agreement with almost everything.  Then, when I read the next comment taking another view, I also say "uh-huh!"  There's so much here, though, I don't know where to begin ... so I'll try to finish watching and get back here tomorrow night.

The things I had been thinking about so far were as follows:

I like the DVD packaging with its portrayal of Collinwood (but not of Ben Cross - it looks silly).  I wonder what they used for Collinwood for the DVD cover - it looks more like computerized artwork than a real house, but it's very scary looking.  The brief glimpse I've had so far of the actual Collinwood of the series is that it looks fake (I know it's a model, and they put a lot of work into it, but it still looks like a model.  Wish they could have filmed a real house.)

The bats are scary - and, incidentally, are playing a role where I'm living now.  I've never lived anywhere where there were large amounts of bats - until now.  I wouldn't have known what the horrible sound was had not one of the movers told me "it sounds like bats out there."  There must be thousands.  As I left the clubhouse last night and was walking accross the green to my apartment just after dusk, I could see them flitting through the air.  When they fly they make only a few twittering sounds.  One of them brushed the top of my head.  It wasn't scary seeing how small they are - but at night when it's warm, I have to shut my bedroom window because they are so loud when they are in the trees.  It sounds like sort of a rubbery chomping.

Inside the DVD case, the picture of Vicki under the first DVD is really beautiful.  I think she was a nice choice to play Victoria.  I am finding Carolyn less irritating this viewing - in fact, I'm finding her attitude rather amusing.  Stay tuned, because I couldn't stand her when I first watched the series.

The scary scenes seem frightening in a realistic and violent way - like when Daphne gets attacked.  I'm not sure, I think I like a little more distance and unreality in my vampire movies.

Another thought was on the cropping of the top and bottom of the frame on the DVDs.  Something looks strange about it - it doesn't look quite the same as a widescreen movie, something about the composition of the shots.  I would have preferred the full frame as it was shot for TV.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to tell when the first episode is over.  I was surprised that there weren't any opening credits.  I've gotten to the scene where Barnabas says something like, "Father, I'm home."  I think the first episode on the VHS was about two hours but don't know how long it was in actual broadcast and on the DVDs.

I don't recall that song from the show at all, though I recognize the title as coming from the poem by Robert Burns.

When did Jenny sing it?  Was it the same version as the one by the folk singer Eva Cassidy (whom I'm not familiar with)?  If the music was the same, was that appropriate for events taking place in the 1897 storyline?  Or is the song a traditional piece that was simply recorded by Ms. Cassidy?  Do the lyrics follow Burns' poem?  I know that Burns himself made use of old songs and poems that he heard in the Scottish villages.

Thanks for any additional insight anyone might have.

- Philippe Cordier

If anyone is contemplating getting the DVD set of the 1991 series, and you have a Target store in your area, you may be able to find it for less than anywhere else.  I just saw it at Target for $19-something, shrink-wrapped as a special with something called "Dark Angel" (which didn't look like it would interest me).  That seems to be a substantial savings over online outlets.  I'm assuming it's the same packaging and quality; it says it's the complete Revival series on 3 disks.

- Philippe Cordier (formerly "Vlad")

I also would like to add that I love the new look of this board. I hope that I don't hurt anyone's feelings but that old brown look was not very attractive.

I found the last couple of color schemes difficult to read because of the dark colors and too much contrast with the bright letters.  The new color scheme is much easier on the eyes it's actually soothing when viewing the screen!  The blue scheme relates well to DS, too - it reminds me of the opening credits with the crashing waves!

I hope Taeylor will experience improvement in health.  I haven't been to the forum much in the last year or so and I haven't read any of your posts, but it's good to have people here who really care about the show.  Appearing to be a "fan" of an old TV show is not always going to impress others -- so it's good to find a community like this where people do share the same interest.

Being in a new location now where I don't know anyone makes this forum a comfortable place to return.  As I've entered a new phase in my life, I've also found I've outgrown my old forum name, "Vlad."  I've wanted to change it for a couple of years but my recent relocation and beginning a new chapter in my life seemed a good reason to finally follow through.  I've chosen the first name of "Philippe" in memory of my great (8th) grandfather in my paternal line.  And "Cordier" is similar to an old form of his (my) family name. 

It's really going to seem strange posting with a different onscreen identity, but the new name seems more appropriate now.

- Philippe Cordier (formerly "Vlad")

I personally thought the "1991" music box was the prettiest.  I know I am probably among the few who did but it is just my humble opinon cousins!!

I thought that all the MPI music boxes were identical.  I don't remember what year mine is, or where it is right now.  It is cheapy looking to an outsider, but magical for those for whom its representation has resonant meaning.

Congratulations on writing the book's preface, ProfStokes!

A book on these topics seems overdue.  It should enhance our appreciation for the time-travel and paranormal aspects of DS.

I've been meaning to post some brief experts from an article I read concerning parallel universes, which I've managed to track down once again.  But I'll post that elsewhere for discussion.

In mythology, Pygmalion is a sculptor who falls in love with his statue of a beautiful woman, which comes to life.

The idea has inspired many other works, including "My Fair Lady," a scene in Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale," and an episode of the Twilight Zone that I saw recently on the SciFi channel, "A World of His Own" (1960).  In the "Twilight Zone" episode (which is excellent) a playwright, played by Keenan Wynn, has his creation, a lovely young woman, come to life.

In "Dark Shadows," Charles Delaware Tate has similar powers - Olivia Corey began life as a painting (if I remember correctly).  I used to be very impressed by how widely read the DS writers seemed to be.  Stepping back just a little from that view now, I wonder if they simply came up with this concept from seeing the "Twilight Zone" episode.

OK, I won't go that far.  The DS writers do seem to have been well read.  In this case, though, it seems possible that someone on the DS creative team might have had their memory of the Pygmalion story jogged by seeing the "Twilight Zone" episode, and then thought the same thing could work on DS - which it did.