Fashion notes first . . .
The wig. No need to specify whose. It has its good and bad days. There is also the bizarre resemblance to Julie Andrews' Mary Poppins which just adds whole new layers
Definitely the wig styling is improving, but I have to ask--were they hiring hair people off the street or what? Surely these were trained professionals. You would think they could make a wig not look like a rat's nest.
Not crazy about Cassandra's lilac dress--Lara Parker would probably look great in it with her real hair. Of course, the problem with the dress might be the lighting.
The navy dress of Cassandra's was . . . eh. The collar and cut of the dress was just not flattering. The brooch she had on the neck of it was lovely though.
Whoever was smearing all that rouge on the men should have taken a soupcon of it and put some on Nancy Barrett who looked unnaturally pale.
Egad! What was Barnabas' smoking jacket all about? I thought the black and silver colors were snazzy, but the cut was just . . . okay, to anyone who has ever seen
Iron Chef, well it looked like something that Chairman Kaga could have worn.
What the hell happened to Maggie's hair? The bangs and the whole general look she had when she came to Collinwood just did nothing for her.
I rather liked Vicki's dark dress. It was very plain, but it suited her. I also liked that she had on dark hose with it.
Loved the black robe over the patterned dress. Very dramatic. And another great piece of jewelry too.
Onto the show.
Dialogue much, much sharper. The Stokes/Barnabas scene belongs in my all time top favorites (yes, I do occasionally find something about DS critically pleasing).
"12th century Sicilian, only kind to have."
Really, really love this bit. Another scene I would kill to know what in it was adlibbed. It's such a great scene. There's Barnabas, obviously nervous and anxious. Enter Eliot, who not only demands hospitality, but then starts upending the furniture!
Campy enjoyment at watching Lang in his black plastic glasses--a man who has been playing mix 'n' match with dead body parts and who knew straight off the bat that his patient was a vampire--scoffing at witchcraft. I will grant you that the amulet looked like a piece of Hannuakah gelt (probably was) and I would scoff too, but then again I don't have dead body parts stitched together with rope in my upstairs either.
And we know Eric must have heard of the DSM because he dared to twit Barnabas about his state of mind.
I know I've done this to death, but I find I still have much more to say about Dr. Lang's brilliant medical skills
Soooo, a patient comes in claiming she's hurt her ankle. Um, wouldn't a doctor have her take off her shoe? Just asking.
Pausing briefly in my deconstruction of Lang's medical education to say that I found the whole Lang/Cassandra scene vaguely pornographic. Both seemed to be in the throes of something. (This is not criticism, merely observation).
There's a moment when they're in his lab and for a moment it really looked like one of the lights was positioned in the crotch of the medical school skeleton. Was relieved to realize that it was just the angle of the shot.
Barnabas tells Lang he has questions . . . Unfortunately, they weren't the right ones (which I will supply here):
1. Life force--is that my soul then?
2. Have you tried this before? Say, on rats or cats or something?
3. Are those scars permanent?
4. Why did you stitch the parts together with black fishing line?
5. Why would you even think of doing this?
6. Were you just waiting for a vampire to come along? Or did you have another candidate in mind?
7. Isn't Jeff Clark's head going to look awfully small on that huge body?
8. Did you actually attend medical school and did you complete the course?
9. Have you ever been brought up on charges?
10. Have you ever been institutionalized or are you on medication?
Sooo, like if Barnabas didn't pick Jeff, how was Lang going to find a face to fit Barnabas' specifications?
Inclined to think that Jeff hasn't been around a lot of doctors, because sadly, the god complex is not uncommon (although, I've yet to hear of one who was actually into the Frankenstein hobby).
Do you think they modeled Lang after Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein? If so, it was a grave disservice to the late Mr. Cushing, who was really a very good actor.
"He's a very competent surgeon." This is what's commonly called "damning with faint praise" and you would think Barnabas would want a little more in the way of recommendation.
Man, Vicki and Jeff didn't waste any time. They went right at it with the smoochies!
More nice dialogue on the second set of episodes. Particularly at the beginning.
Really think that Carolyn and Tony had some great chemistry going.
Can't say that I'd want Cassandra around in real life, but I applaud her taste in boytoys. Nice to see what Tony could be like in ordinary social circumstances although these were hardly normal (him, I would want around in real life).
I had an evil thought while Cassandra was doing her mojo with the lighter. What would have happened if the lighter had run out of fluid?
Lord, she really gets into her plans and plots, doesn't she? Makes you would if sex could ever measure up to the magic.
"Your mind seems to be somewhere else." Vicki said that to Maggie, but I think it could be her own motto.
Okay, have to ask. Is anyone else reading a really twisted subtext into the scenes between Eric and Jeff or are my tired eyes deceiving me?
The dream curse.
The rhyme kind of leaves me cold. Besides, I don't think it scans. I do like the look of the hall with the doors and the dry ice, but the acting could have been better. KLS' mimed scream was pretty lame (albeit funny). Had another twisted thought. Noticed the lit candles for the first time and wondered what would have happened if an enterprising dreamer had set the doors on fire (I like to think outside the box
)
My last thought for these episodes--Eric is going to decapitate Jeff with a pen knife?
Luciaphil
