THE DREAMCURSE

[BuzzH]

Can I call them bugs then?   

Hmm, don't know.  Anyone know?  

[dom]

Let's stay on topic. Please. Thank you.

[Midnite]

they are aratnids (sp?)  

Arachnids.  Can anyone name the DS character called as much fun as a bagful of spiders, and who said it?  I'd bet that someone here can. 

I wonder why they didn't include a dream about snakes.  Now that would freak ME out.

There was a fairly recent discussion that named possible literary sources (one became a 50s movie) for the dream curse idea.

[verusselle]

Can anyone name the DS character called as much fun as a bagful of spiders,and who said it?  I'd bet that someone here can. 

Buzz Hackett was called as much fun as a bagful of spiders and it was said by Joe Haskell.

[Midnite]

Yes, verusselle!

[CyrusL]

The concept was very clever, but I agree with most of you that it got old fast. However, given the way it ended, with Prof. Stokes finally engaging Angelique, it made sense. Too bad, though, we had to sit through it again and again and again.

I am very fond of the Dream Curse and it is one of my most vivid memories of watching the show originally as a kid. I also agree that the climax was Prof Stokes [spoiler]challenging Angelique after entering the realm of the Dream Curse.[/spoiler] That sequence was one of the most important in establishing Stokes not just as a major player, but his razor sharp wit, intelligence and even his good taste.

Michael 

[BuzzH]

I also agree that the climax was Prof Stokes [spoiler]challenging Angelique after entering the realm of the Dream Curse.[/spoiler]

Precursor to the Nightmare on Elm Street movies I think.

[TNickey2003]

My favorite storyline. An interesting one in that:

[spoiler]1) It's like a theme and variations.
2) In a systematic way, it symbolizes the struggle with one's darkest fears.
3) The 'Dream' sequence music is a Dark Shadows classic.
4) The darkness and fear that runs through the storyline makes the end of the storyline - the breaking of the Curse through the life force of Adam - in a death-resurrection plot progression (Episodes 535-538) - a significant, symbolic moment, marking the end of the Barnabas-vampire-curse trilogy*.
*  a) The first part consisting of Barnabas' introduction to DS in the 1967 storyline.
    b) The second part consisting of the 1795 storyline, in which the origins of Barnabas' vampire curse are revealed.
    c) The third part consisting of Vicki's return to the present, Barnabas' cure from vampirism through Dr. Lang's
        experiment,  Angelique/Cassandra's efforts to return the Curse to Barnabas through the Dream Curse ( causing
        havoc with the lives of those around him through the ordeal of the Dream, just as in 1795 her original curse
        included the destruction of all whom Barnabas loved or that loved him.) 

5) Barnabas' Dream , which was supposed to end with Barnabas encountering at the end of his dream a "dark and terrifying thing" which would "turn his blood to ice!" instead ended with him finding - nothing- at the climax of the dream.  Another significant moment in Barnabas' dream happens earlier on when he, expecting his end, turns to his beckoner, Cassandra, and says as she opens the door to the Dream Curse Room, "Cassandra, I no longer fear you, or what is in that room."

6) The mutual selflessness of Barnabas and Vicki is moving also:  Vicki, unwilling to let the curse pass on to Barnabas, refuses to tell the dream to Barnabas, even though it means her continued suffering, which each recurrence of the Dream more terrifying than the last.  Barnabas, unwilling to let Vicki go on suffering the Dream, compels her to tell him the Dream, even though it may mean his destruction.

7) This storyline marks a significant change in Barnabas: For the first time, we see him caring more for another than for himself. Even when Julia is urging him to flee so that he will escape the Curse, he reminds her of the suffering that Vicki will endure if she can't unburden herself and tell him the Dream. He tells Julia that he will stay and face his destiny.[/spoiler]

One thing I would have liked NOT to see in this storyline are some of the obvious bloopers that happened a few times with the prop settings, but the storyline is still one that I watch again and again anyway.  Unfortunately in those days, Dark Shadows was on a limited budget and filming schedule.

As for Joe and Liz:  They didn't experience the Dream, but they did experience terrifying dreams, so they're honorary members of the club at any rate:
Joe's double-trouble dream in Episode 658 is one of DS' most terrifying dream moments. Joe, like the Dream Curse victims, is trapped on every side in his dream.
Liz gets her turn to have the familiar psychedelic dream pattern visit her in Episode 576, when Angelique appears in her dream and causes her to dream about herself in a coffin and being buried alive ( the theme of finding one's own death had been encountered by Dream Curse victims Carolyn and Sam ).
Hardheaded, pragmatic Roger gets his invite into DS Dreamland when he sees the familiar skull-with-eyeballs in his dream about Vicki's wedding, and is compelled the next day to tell his dream to a Vicki, skeptical about his premonition of her dying if she marries Jeff Clark.

Others important characters who didn't have the Dream ( or any dreams for that matter):

Angelique (who was entirely on the giving end of nightmares - in THAT sense she was a giver and not a taker)
Cassandra, whom Nicholas snidely told " It would be justice, my dear, if YOU should have the dream." when ragging on her for taking so long to carry out the Dream Curse.
Nicholas himself, of course, had no dreams.

Is there any fans of the dreamcurse out there? I think the dreamcurse is so brillent. I dont know if i would have picked sam evans,mrs johnson, and david. i would have picked maybe joe and liz.

[Gerard]

When I saw the Dream Curse during the original run as a child, it had elements which absolutely scared the zaboombas out of me.  But then, I was a ten-year-old kid, and things were scarier back then.  I remember, for example, watching the scene where the spook of Jeremiah tries to do in Angelique in the cemetery and I watched it with my fingers covering my eyes.  By today's standards, of course and probably unfortunately, the scary stuff is gone and it is repetitive.  I mean, how many times can you look at that stuffed animal head?  But I still love their effort, and everything they were trying to achieve and quite often successfully did.

Gerard

[Midnite]

A reminder:  Spoiler warnings for plot revelations are MUCH appreciated by Forum cousins who have not seen the entire series. 

[CyrusL]

Thanks for your great summation, TNickey2003. I think you make excellent points.
Michael 

 

[Joeytrom]

I was surprised they used filmed images of real bats for Mrs. Johnson's dream instead of the bat on a string.

[MagnusTrask]

I can't read this thread yet, since the first dream has just happened on my tapes, but expect me back soon....

[Sunny_Collins]

Angelique definitely knows how to dish out the fear, and in a ruthless way in that she doesn't even care if children suffer. 

At the beginning of the dream curse, I enjoyed it when Angelique came to barnabas and informed him of what was to happen. She is giving him a glimpse of the terror that will eventually befall him, and yet again he is made to feel helpless in the face of her scheming.

Mrs. Johnson showed very touching and true loyalty towards David when she had to resist telling him the dream, even though she was so afraid. She did everything in her power to keep it from him, even going so far as leaving Colinwood to visit her sister in order to keep David safe. I really admired her for that! 

As much as I love Julia's character, she didn't seem particularly concerned for those who had experienced the dream. Poor Willie was told several times to forget the dream and get on with the business of finding Adam. She tells Mrs. Johnson that she will simply have to leave Collinwood in order to keep David safe. But she wasn't willing to do something as drastic as leaving Collinwood to keep the dream from spreading. The reason this behavior annoys me, is because Julia has had the dream. She knows all too well the fear of it, and yet she seems so uncaring towards Willie and Mrs. Johnson. Although in her defense, she did show some sympathy towards Mrs. Johnson.

I thoroughly enjoyed professor Stokes during this story line. He was absolutely brilliant in handling the curse, and his biting wit is great! I especially loved the twist when Angelique attempts to convince him that he's Ben Stokes, and professor Stokes coolly tells her he isn't Ben and can't be bullied. Great stuff!

[IluvBarnabas]

Yes, Angelique isn't afraid to torture and torment children, she already proved that [spoiler]back in 1795, when she stuck pins in Sarah's doll, making Sarah very sick, and with her curse, which she stated everyone who loves Barnabas will die, Sarah falls ill again and dies in Barnabas' arms.[/spoiler]

  As far as I am concerned that was Angelique's most awful act.