Discuss - Ep #0544

[Watching Project]

Robservations #544

[Lydia]

What on earth possessed Julia to buy that striped monstrosity?  The cut makes her look like a house, and the stripes meet very oddly at the seams.  And what has happened to Julia's charming modus operandi of smiling like a crocodile while she lies?  All I can figure is that Stokes caught her off her guard.

Nicholas's powers are fascinating.  I keep wondering: "Why?  How?"  He pulls the spirits of dead people from their graves, and then he doesn't even need their graves, or even their names: unknown people respond to his command.  He turns Cassandra's hand into a skeleton hand, and then, presto! he restores it.  He appears in the drawing room, and I don't think he came through the window or the secret panel.  I daresay it's silly to try to make sense of it - but I keep wondering anyway.  What is he?  I label him in my mind as the devil's minion - but this is one powerful minion.

I always enjoy the line about the first edition of the Federalist - or rather, Stokes's response to it.  I love books, but I never quite understand the love of first editions.  As long as you can read the thing, who cares what edition it is?  I guess I don't love books; I just love reading.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And what has happened to Julia's charming modus operandi of smiling like a crocodile while she lies?  All I can figure is that Stokes caught her off her guard.

Off her guard is right. I love the expressions on Julia's face during that scene - especially one near the end as Stokes reveals he knows a great deal more than Julia thinks he does:

and the one at the end:

And as I've mentioned before I love how most of the scene takes place over the chess board. It's a perfect metaphor!

[michael c]

lydia...

you're so right about julia's striped jacket/top thing.most unfortunate.julia usually looks chicer in 1968.

if i recall this ensemble got very little use.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

While not one of Julia fans' favorites, the outfit she wore in this ep is not their least favorite - at least not according to the voters in this poll:

The Dark Shadows Forum Fashion Poll-Spotlight:  Julia Hoffman, M. D., Ph.D..

Actually, the caption (Julia99 or Heather - I'm not sure which) devised for that outfit read: "Stripes can work on a figure like mine. ." And ultimately it tied for 10th place out of a total of 17 outfits in the poll. 

[EmeraldRose]

I think it's neat how Nicholas could just appear someplace. Angelique/Cassandra didn't seem to have that same ability.

It was fascinating to watch Prof. Stokes and Julia's discussion about Adam. Again, I say that it's too bad Julia didn't tell him the truth about Barnabas. But it was fun to watch them, anyway. Indeed, Julia has met her intellectual match with Prof. Stokes!

It was quite amusing to hear Prof. Stokes have a hard time discussing matters of the heart with Adam.  But I think he did a good job, though.

Those spirits that Nicholas conjured up sure were scary .  It was strange that Adam could feel the spirits missing their body parts. As I was watching, I wondered about all of Adam's internal organs - Where did they come from? But I guess whoever supplied the torso had all the internal organs inside. I wonder if Adam's brain came from a different source than his head, since he had those scars on his forehead?

----- Sally -----

[MagnusTrask]

Couldn't Lang have eventually found a pretty intact body, thius avoiding all the stitching?   Why not just find one with minimal repairs needed, and just reanimate it?   I think because Lang wouldn't be able to have the illusion that he was creating life, rather than just restoring it. 

That's my problem with the Frankenstein idea.      Frankenstein doesn't "create" life.   He couldn't "make" any of the organs or design a nervous system, etc, if his life depended on it.    He just takes what God or nature created and jump-starts it.   And he keeps frequenting "Criminal-Brains-R-Us" because of the big discount.    (I understand they're online now... www.youllneverbesorry.com.)

Some people die from blood loss.  Patch up a bullet hole, supply new blood, wait for a lightning storm, and voila.   Sure the brain gets damaged by oxygen loss, but I'm sure it gets pretty damaged from sitting in a grave too.   Well, best not to question too closely I guess.    And I guess I shouldn't be telling Dr. Frankenstein how to do his job.   After all, I'm no mad scientist, and this is his area.    He doesn't come to my place and tell me how to be a sarcastic medical shut-in, so I shouldn't mess with his business either.

[Lydia]

Judging from Lang's reaction to the arm that Jeff brought back for him, he wanted to create something (pause while I consult IMDB) better, stronger, faster than your basic man.  And smarter, of course.  Maybe all the superhumanly athletic dead guys around Collinsport were numbskulls.

EmeraldRose, I agree that it's neat how Nicholas could just appear, and just now I wondered: do we ever see him in the act of appearing or disappearing?  I don't remember it ever happening, and that makes it neater, because it's more mysterious.

[Midnite]

I think it's neat how Nicholas could just appear someplace. Angelique/Cassandra didn't seem to have that same ability.

She has had the ability since dying in 1795 (we saw her ghost materialize before taking the stand in Vicki's trial), and more recently when Cassandra appeared as Angelique over a sleeping Vicki in the Evans cottage.

Those spirits that Nicholas conjured up sure were scary .

Did you recognize the late David Groh of Rhoda fame as the ghost who donated an arm to Adam?

EmeraldRose, I agree that it's neat how Nicholas could just appear, and just now I wondered: do we ever see him in the act of appearing or disappearing?  I don't remember it ever happening, and that makes it neater, because it's more mysterious.

[spoiler]I might be misremembering, but I think it happens as soon as Thursday's ep, though the effect is more like stepping out of the dark shadows.[/spoiler]

As for disappearing, there's [spoiler]his infamous departure in a ball of flames, heh.[/spoiler]

[MagnusTrask]

I forgot about Lang wanting a semi-Superman.    Sending a smart guy on a few long hikes seems less complicated.

It's probably better for us never to see how Nick does things or what it looks like, but only see the results.    It makes it appear easy for him to do these things, which is scarier.    If we saw him making a spectacle out of himself appearing or disappearing, it might look as if he's actually expending some effort.... his coolness might suffer.

Did you recognize the late David Groh of Rhoda fame as the ghost who donated an arm to Adam?

He was probably the one with the head, right?

[Midnite]

Hint:  David Groh is the one who is pointing AND looking: 

Episode #0544

[EmeraldRose]

She has had the ability since dying in 1795 (we saw her ghost materialize before taking the stand in Vicki's trial), and more recently when Cassandra appeared as Angelique over a sleeping Vicki in the Evans cottage.

Oops! Sorry about that... I didn't think through this clearly enough, and I should have clarified my statement. What I really meant to say was that Angelique didn't have the ability to materialize at will before she died.

----- Sally -----

[IluvBarnabas]

I thought Julia had some nerve to expect Professor Stokes to tell her where Adam is when she and Barnabas have done nothing but kept him in the dark. Then she tells him she'll answer his questions but she still won't level with him. I don't blame Stokes for refusing to help her when she is still so unwilling to tell him anything.

But Stokes is a smart man, and has managed to figure out the truth himself. Barnabas and Julia have underestimated him.

The scenes between Adam and Carolyn were sweet, but sadly, I don't think Stokes' speech to Adam to be careful not to care too much did much good. Adam is still falling in love.

Nicholas once again, comes across as a smooth operator. He even managed to knock the usually unshaken professor for a loop when he was asking him about Adam.

Cool episode.

[Roland]

I must say that Adam's head ended up on a better body than the one on which it originated.   

I always love a good match of wills, and this episode has two: Stokes vs. Nicholas, and Stoke vs. Julia.  Well acted and well written scenes all around.

[loril54]

I kind of like the grey suit, but I like the dark blue outfit she wore one day.

These are certainly better than the historian clothes.

As per Stokes learning the truth, you wonder where Ben would have been with out
the money and land that Barnabas told Joshua to give him.