Leaving the Past

[Philippe Cordier]

At first I liked the transition back to the present day when Victoria Winters returned from 1795 ... the tension this introduced to Barnabas; Victoria's lost love of an earlier century; the portrait of Angelique and the power it exerts over Roger; the introduction of Professor Timothy Elliot Stokes.

Then Dr. Lang entered the picture.    I didn't care much for any scene he was in during my first viewing of the series, and now I've toyed with the idea of fast-forwarding through much of the upcoming storyline (though I like the Dream Curse). But as I watched Friday's episodes, I realized that I might miss some good material if I did that. For example, I would already have missed the significant, key point of why Vicki was "sent" back into the past:* 1) she saved Daniel when she killed Noah Gifford, thereby preserving the Collins line, and 2) she was destined to meet Peter Bradford, and their love will transcend time.

This last point reminds me of Gothick's mention recently
about the influence of the movie "Berkeley Square" on the 1795 storyline. I had never heard of this movie (nor of several others mentioned recently on this forum), which made me realize how much I am still learning about DS after more than three years of involvement here.  Either DS is very rich in material, or the people posting here are uncommonly insightful in mining information from the show, or -- as I suspect -- both are true.  

At any rate, a week or so ago I was looking up some unrelated information on the web; I think it had to do with "The House of the Seven Gables," a novel with which DS has much in common, including ghosts of the past, a history of witchcraft, a family curse, ancestral portraits, and, finally, a redemptive love that overcomes the cursed past (cf. 1841 PT). In the course of my web search, I came across mention of an unfinished novel by Henry James titled "A Sense of the Past," which turns out to have been the basis for "Berkeley Square." ("Berekely Square" was apparently a play first, then the movie, and was remade in the 1950s as "The House on the Square." Both movie versions receive high marks from critics and viewers, but neither is available on video or DVD.  I would encourage anyone interested in finding out more about how these movies influenced DS by requesting that they be shown on Turner Classic Movies and/or AMC.)

Another thing that caught my eye in Friday's second episode was the house of Dr. Lang.  What a wonderfully foreboding Victorian home!  Does anyone know anything about the actual house used in the exterior shot/slide?

Somehow I've managed to miss -- two times now -- the "House by the Sea" that was visited by Vicki, Burke, and Elizabeth.  Was an exterior shot of that house ever seen?  For some reason I wondered if it was the same as Dr. Lang's house. Or is this the first time we've seen Dr. Lang's?  Is this house also where

SPOILER

Angelique imprisons Vicki?  

It seems to me that we will be seeing a lot of the interior set of Dr. Lang's house, in various incarnations.  One of my favorite sets of the entire series is the Rectory in 1897, which I think may have made use of the Dr. Lang interior.

I've been sorry we had to leave the past behind.  The 1795 storyline was one of the very best of the series (#2 in my ranking).  It was a cohesive, engrossing story, very well-acted and executed.

I am still lingering in that past, but I know there are some wonderful things to look forward to also. There may even be moments that surpass 1795 ...

_______
*which also raises the question of who or what power sent her into the past


-Vlad

[Dr. Eric Lang]

For example, I would already have missed the significant, key point of why Vicki was "sent" back into the past:* 1) she saved Daniel when she killed Noah Gifford, thereby preserving the Collins line, and 2) she was destined to meet Peter Bradford, and their love will transcend time.

I'm not sure there wasa reason for Vicki to travel into the past. Obviously Daniel survived without her in the original time line. Perhaps Phyllis Wick originally saved him - or perhaps he didn't need saving at all in the original timeline. Vicki seemed to suffer from Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine syndrome - in that despite her best efforts she was unable to alter history. Sarah and Josette both met their ends regardless of Vicki's warnings.

In the revival series, the writers suggest that Sarah purposely sends Vicki into the past to change history - which she doesn't. However, in the original version, I get the impression that Vicki's time travel is accidental. Sarah speaks through her at the seance and angrily declares she will never appear to any of them again. She then drifts in and out of conscious awareness of where she is, babbling on about her new nursemaid. My perception is that while Sarah was posessing Vicki's body she returned to her own time and inadvertently took Vicki with her.

Another thing that caught my eye in Friday's second episode was the house of Dr. Lang.  What a wonderfully foreboding Victorian home!  Does anyone know anything about the actual house used in the exterior shot/slide?

It looked like an old black and white photo cut out and pasted against a color background! The cheapest looking exterior shot ever! I'd hazard a guess someone went through a book of photos looking for a house that could pass for a mad scientist's home and chose this one.

Somehow I've managed to miss -- two times now -- the "House by the Sea" that was visited by Vicki, Burke, and Elizabeth.  Was an exterior shot of that house ever seen?  For some reason I wondered if it was the same as Dr. Lang's house. Or is this the first time we've seen Dr. Lang's?  Is this house also where

SPOILER

Angelique imprisons Vicki?  

Different exterior. The house by the sea (which Burke wanted to purchase for Vicki) was never shown again. Again, this seemed to be an old black-and-white cutout - but since the show was still in b/w at the time it didn't look quite as cheesy.

It seems to me that we will be seeing a lot of the interior set of Dr. Lang's house, in various incarnations.  One of my favorite sets of the entire series is the Rectory in 1897, which I think may have made use of the Dr. Lang interior.

Looks more to me like the set was only slightly re-arranged to serve as the house Nicholas Blair rents from Roger.

[Cassandra]

Somehow I've managed to miss -- two times now -- the "House by the Sea" that was visited by Vicki, Burke, and Elizabeth.  Was an exterior shot of that house ever seen?  For some reason I wondered if it was the same as Dr. Lang's house. Or is this the first time we've seen Dr. Lang's?

Hi Vlad, Yes, the exterior of the house that Vicky loved so much was seen once during that storyline, but it was not the same exterior as Dr.Lang's residence. I honestly thought that Vicky's dream house was the same one that Nickolas Blair resided in until I saw an exterior of The Blair house. They both were different shots, however, I felt that one shot could simply have been the front of the house, and the other shot, the back of the place. The inside looked alot similiar to me with the stairs going up to the bedrooms in the same place.

Also it's funny how people see different things on certain views. When I saw the inside of Dr.Lang's office, the first thing I thought of how similiar it looked to Tony Peterson's office.

[Philippe Cordier]

Yes, the exterior of the house that Vicky loved so much was seen once during that storyline, but it was not the same exterior as Dr.Lang's residence.

Thank you for clarifying this, Cassandra. Perhaps I saw that one shot of the House by the Sea during my first viewing, because for some reason it has been haunting me and I wanted to see it again.  But I definitely missed it with this current run.

Another DS house that resonates with me is Rose Cottage.