i agree that in general 1795 was very well done.i love it.

it's true that miss goody-two-shoes' "honesty is the best policy" didn't serve her particularly well here.

but i just think someone should have noted that angelique was the one who benefited the most here and perhaps questioned that.but obviously the writers needed for there to be a dramatic way for vicki to return to the present and they found it.

...were they a bunch of chowderheads?

i've been watching 1795.i haven't seen it in a few years and in a second go round i'm noticing a few things.

for starters the persecution vicki undergoes is more relentless than i had remembered.for goodness sake she showed up under strange circumstances in a short skirt and a charm bracelet.she said stupid things.but a witch?

doesn't a witch need some sort of motivation for her acts?didn't anyone look around and say "well angelique certainly has gained a great deal from all of this misfortune".as soon as barnabas announced the engagement light bulbs should have been going on around collinwood.she secured a husband,home,marriage into a wealthy and prominent family.at the very least she improved her station as a ladies maid.

josette was supposed to be as innocent as the driven snow but couldn't she recognize a rival when she was staring her in the face?what was everyone thinking?what did this silly girl sitting in "goal" get out of any of this?

by rights victoria's fate during the leviathan storyline should have disturbed me more than it actually did.

the truth is i had already "mourned" the loss of vicki when alexandra moltke left the show a year earlier.after that victoria winters just sort of became a name.

it wasn't so much the character of vicki per se that i was so fond of but alexandra's portrayal of her.at the time that alexandra left vicki's storyline was pretty weak so it was more her screen presence i missed more than the character itself.

that said did i think that this plot development was poor writing and sloppy storytelling?yes.would i have wished a happier fate for victoria?absolutely.

love it gothick!

just the imagery of ang preparing and serving the tough,leathery bay leaf salad to josette gives me a laugh.

i've been watching the early 1795 episodes.

there is a scene in which angelique is in the woods gathering herbs for some sort of hocus-pocus when she's stumbled upon by an inquisitive ben stokes.

what is she doing he demands?why she's gathering herbs to make a "special salad" for her mistress as a surprise she fibs.this "surprised" me.what kind of herbs grow along the maine coast in november?

bay leaves she claims to have(turns out to be deadly nightshade but that's beside the point).bay leaves.what else?the harsh climate of a maine winter would do in most herbs.something hearty like sage or rosemary perhaps?anything delicate like chives or tarragon would whither away.

anyway this whole scene rang as a false note to me.did people in new england eat salad in the 1700's?how would this bay leaf salad be dressed?a light vinaigrette?wouldn't a more typical meal of the period be something like roasted wild boar and stewed apples?maybe it's a martinique thing.
and aren't bay leaves too tough to be eaten raw anyways and that's why they're added to long-simmering soups and stews and then discarded?

this whole episode would have seemed more plausible if she had just said she was going to brew a tea.

i used to get an e-mail when someone pm'd me saying "so-and-so at the forum has just sent you an important personal message" or something to that effect.

lately that hasn't happened.i'm not aware that i've received a message unless i log onto the board.

is this because of the new set up?

in recent years there have been three productions that i have become aquainted with that are supposed to be follow-ups to the original series.

the "return to collinwood" presentation,lara parker's "the salem branch" and the new audiodramas.

all three i believe were "officially" sanctioned by d.c.p.,involve several of the same key participants and are about the same characters.yet all three tell wildly,vastly differing stories.there is no continuity or resolve.

is what lara parker wrote in her book what happened to angelique or is it what she's reading on the audiodramas?does she know?does she care?

she's an actress and a writer and this is how she earns a living so i certainly don't fault her for this but what does any of it mean?

i purchased the "house of despair" and after the initial goosebumps from hearing those iconic voices together again the story itself left me cold.i can't remember any of the details of it and really don't care.
just seeing the name "barnabas" typed onto a page or hearing "angelique" speak on the audiodramas isn't enough to quicken my pulse if none of it coalesces into anything real.collinwood.the blue whale.the old house.it's all just a jumble of noise.
all three productions make the obligitory reference to elizabeth and then she's not involved in the plot.why?because it isn't "dark shadows" without a mention of elizabeth collins stoddard.other cult series(like star wars)are allowed to shoot off into other directions and involve new characters.d.s. doesn't.it's always about the the same dozen or so key players.but if any and all current and future versions of the show tell different stories then it's hard to take anything "real" away from it.

i don't mean any of this as a complaint.i'm glad for those who are enjoying these new offerings.but for me the story ended in 1971.i have my dvds of the original series and have had the pleasure of meeting several of the actors from the show and that's fine.

i agree that the scene at the evans cottage is very clumsy and weird.

i suppose it's meant to illustrate that julia can react to a potential crisis effectively but it's a very oddly written little episode.and for some reason maggie doesn't seem to remember that julia is her doctor.

that medallion is one hideous piece of junk.it's supposed to be an "heirloom" but i can't tell when it's from it's just so ugly.

the color finally started to look right in this episode.very bright and cheerfull.