Bill Malloy and the early days of Collinwood

I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts and am glad to see so many enthused over those early episodes. Most of the acting in these episodes are top notch, something that did not always occur later on in the series. I notice how many of the characters were later softened, ie Roger and David. Relationships changed, as Carolyn grew more "fond" of her cousin. Carolyn was always a little spoiled, but very manipulative in this period, especially with Joe.

The episode where the Old House was introduced was very good. The outdoor scenes of David and Vikki going through the woods and approaching the huge, imposiing house were moody. It's too bad we didn't have a few of these filmed outdoor scenes when Barnabas arrived. It would have added considerably to the atmosphere. The "Who killed Bill Malloy" plot is a little slow going at times, but it was nice to see Mrs. johnson arrive, not a friend of the family, and devoted to Bill Malloy. Clarice Blackburn was a fine actress. I also liked George PAtterson, although again, I missed the original sherrrif.

And we had our first ghost, but not our last, with the introduction of Josette. I guess this was the turning point, when Dan Curtis said something had to be done to stir things up....

Nick C.   

Bill Malloy should have been kept as a character because he really made you feel that they were in MAINE, not some vacation town in Massachusetts.

Yeah, near as I can tell, only Bill Malloy and the original Matthew ever spoke with a Maine accent.  I never heard any other characters utter the word "ayuh."

What might have happened if Dark Shadows first-year-character "Suzie-the-Silent-Waitress" had been working the night shift at the Collinsport Inn (instead of Maggie Evans) on the fateful occasion that Barnabas decided to drop by for a cup of coffee?  Perhaps Suzie may have reminded Mr. B. of  Maude Browning  or one of the other "working girls" he used to encounter on the docks of Collinsport?   (Could you envision Suzie, schlepping around the Old House, as the "Reincarnation of Ruby Tate"? ) 

Ah - but would "Suzie-the-Silent-Waitress" have been allowed to speak? Or would she have been the "Ever-Silent-Reincarnation-of-Ruby-Tate"?    The latter would have been awfully dull. But one has to wonder if DC would have found room in his budget to pay her? 

Maybe he would have compromised and made her an under-fiver. 

MB,

If "Silent" Suzie (or is it Susie?) had taken Maggie/Josette's place as Barnabas' new love interest, perhaps she could have taken a page out of either the great Dorothy McGuire's acting book in "The Spiral Staircase" or the great Jane Wyman's acting book in "Johnny Belinda" to have conveyed her emotions by artfully employing facial expressions, movements  and hand gestures?

Bob the Bartender, President of the Demi Moore Fan Club, an actress of "unremitting" subtlety and also of stunning superficiality! 

If "Silent" Suzie (or is it Susie?) had taken Maggie/Josette's place as Barnabas' new love interest, perhaps she could have ... conveyed her emotions by artfully employing facial expressions, movements  and hand gestures?

Perfect!

Bob the Bartender, President of the Demi Moore Fan Club, an actress of "unremitting" subtlety and also of stunning superficiality! 

Some critics might not even give her that much credit.    But we're often powerless over whom we become fans and presidents of the fan club. 

If "Silent" Suzie (or is it Susie?) had taken Maggie/Josette's place as Barnabas' new love interest, perhaps she could have...conveyed her emotions by artfully employing facial expressions, movements  and hand gestures?

I vote for interpretive dance or...my personal favorite, semaphore flags. (Ok, not exactly semaphore flags, but you get my drift...)

And then, if she needed to go to Julia for therapy, she could have acted it all out with hand puppets.

Judy

     I think Bill Malloy, Mrs. Johnson and the original Matthew look llike locals.  By the way, I have lived in Maine for 20 years and have only heard the word "ayuh" from two people.  The 83 year old man who serviced my homes boiler would use the words "down cellah"(the basement) and "ayuh" (hello, I agree with you, or I have completed my work and I want to be paid, and goodbye).  The other times it has been used often by comedian Tim Samples.  Tim Samples has the real Maine accent.   The rest of the time people imitating the Maine accent tend to sound lke the old Pepperidge Farm commercials.
    Maine is dark, cold and damp except during the short summers and autumns.  Foggy, cold and gloomy with a population that calls outsiders "people from away" is a perfect setting for Dark Shadows.  They needed more Mrs. Johnson, Bill Malloy, and Matthew types.

 I love it, Angelique Wins!    I mean, I can just see someone like Willie trying to get anything at all out of Suzie/Josette's interpretive dancing. And the hand puppets - now that would have been priceless!

This thread is going in a weird and somewhat frightening direction. XP

I've watched all the Beginning collections out so far to non-MPI subscribers and am loving it. I can't get over the fact that Roger married his grandmother, but that's technically 1897's fault. But anyway, the show had a good deal of sharp wit in the original episodes that they sadly neglected to use later on, when the humor became mostly unintentional via lines like Adam's "I don't like it when men try to handle me" and Barnabas's "When your husband... disturbed me... he was looking for the family jewels..." (notable exception being one of my favorites, from the Leviathan arc, where Julia quite plainly asks Barnabas what else he's had besides a chat with Megan, but I'm going way off-topic here). Carolyn has so much more personality now than she did when she became "the rich girl with the heart of gold." Nutty David and snide, sarcastic Roger are also great. Maggie and Vicki seem mostly the same, but with a few IQ points added (or a few dozen, in Vicki's case). Elizabeth also got her best moments here.