I'm surprised no one has mentioned not only one of the greatest moments from this ep, and not only one of the greatest moments from this storyline, but one of the greatest moments from DS period:

when Liz asks Paul (who she thinks is asleep), "What made you think, for even one moment, that I wanted you back?!"

it was certainly one of my all time favorites. back in the day I think I posted a lengthy love letter to the scene.

it ended with the episode where Dr. Woodard tells Julia he knows Barnabas secret and is threatening to go to the police before Barnabas shows up...


you know what happens next. 

Barnabas - "I'm afraid little David will have to die!"

Threatening to kill a child - nothing sociopathic about that - nope...

 

every time I rewatch this part of the story I'm astonished at how sociopathic he was. not only a child but a member of his own family.

this is territory most vampire stories don't even go near. the victims are almost always adults.

it is odd sort of "stumbling across" it (even though I know it's on) while flipping channels as opposed to proactively putting in a DVD. the first hint of one of the musical cues and you're drawn in.

I've had it on and off for a couple days...


right now we're at the point where Liz starts to hear the "wailing of the widows". 

In DARK SHADOWS history, the arrival of Buzz is noted by all authorities as THE pivotal turning point.  Ratings shot up and fans wrote in by droves, demanding to know the secret of the Buzz hair and the products used to treat it.   Special security arrangements were required as mobs of "teeny-boppers" (in the lingo of this bygone era) made the area around the front of the studio impassable to traffic around the end of taping time.  Fortunately, fans still were not aware of the secret "back door" exit from the building, described in one later interview by Thayer David as "like a rip in your sleeve that disappears if you look at it from the wrong angle."  Shirtless photos of Buzz dominated 16 magazine in that legendary month of June 1967.  It was only when the dazzling glamour of Grayson Hall appeared on the scene that the Buzz legend began to fade.  Scholars of Shadows continue to debate the ratings miracle of the "Introduction of Buzz" storyline and how radically it changed daytime television for all eternity.




If you feel it... SIT IT!

indeed. teens began to take note during the Portia Fitzsimmons period. her lunchbox and action figure are covetable to this day...

but it was not until the arrival of "The Buzz" that the phenomenon truly took off. girls (not to mention a few guys) were known to weep and fall into a faint at the sight of him.


in his later years Frid spoke candidly about how difficult it was to take a back seat to that sort of star power. his was a thankless role.

according to 'the dark shadow's news page' actress Elizabeth Wilson, who played Hammond Foundling Home directress "Miss Hopewell" during the show's early weeks, has passed away at 94...

RIP Miss Hopewell. 

Mr. Jennings was certainly easy on the eyes (Julia seemed to enjoy it)...


but comparing this performance to Frid's early work on the series is like night and day. the broad, campy, cartoonish DS 'style' was in full swing by this point in 1968. it bore little resemblance to the subtlety Frid brought to the vampire portrayal.

I also greatly enjoyed the liz/paul scenes and some good non-supernatural, soap storytelling...

and it did seem abruptly cut short. but do we know it was "aborted"??? wasn't paul brought back for the leviathan storyline??? was this part of the plot originally intended to go in a more "normal" direction???


and the dawn of the "junior sophisticates" era. miss scott's ascension to principal ingénue-in-residence is complete!