Discuss: '91 Series - Pilot - Part 1

Well, I've certanly enjoyed reading the comments thus far!  I too take issue with Sam Evans commiting tax fraud.  I just get the impression that Daphne is helping him get the tax breaks he deserves.  After all, if she's employed by the Collinses (and here is where I'm a little confused about her status at  Collinwood), she must know what she's doing.  My confusion regarding Daphne's status is, she has to be exceptionally close to the family in order for Liz to open up a room for her recovery which is very much inkeeping with a gracious Liz Stoddard. Perhaps Daphne has no family.  But I recall that the Sheriff (ooh, I really like his character a lot!) calls her the 'Collins' girl. I don't have a problem with Willie going to pick up Miss Winters.  I think once he was roughed up by Roger he became sober very quickly!  He certainly wasn't drunk while he was at the Blue Whale.  He just acted like a tough guy with  low self-esteem.  As for Roger, he didn't want Miss Winters in the house anyway so her safety in being driven by Willie probably never even crossed his mind.  David: I like the actor portraying him but I think he overacts in certain scenes and I find him a little hard to believe.  Carolyn: At first she seemed high on drugs. But after awhile I warmed up to her as just a bored Collins who for some reason left a glamorous like (perhaps in NYC) returned hom at the behest of her mother and just looked for opportunities to try and be witty or profound. Since the story takes place in Maine and a lot of people associate the state with mysterious happenings and old wives tale. The bringing up of a 'Vampire' doesn't seem out of place since we know that human saliva and not that of an animal is found in the wounds.  I'm appreciating the 'pilot' a lot more than the first time around.  

The bats are scary - and, incidentally, are playing a role where I'm living now.  I've never lived anywhere where there were large amounts of bats - until now.  I wouldn't have known what the horrible sound was had not one of the movers told me "it sounds like bats out there."  There must be thousands.  As I left the clubhouse last night and was walking accross the green to my apartment just after dusk, I could see them flitting through the air.  When they fly they make only a few twittering sounds.  One of them brushed the top of my head.  It wasn't scary seeing how small they are - but at night when it's warm, I have to shut my bedroom window because they are so loud when they are in the trees.  It sounds like sort of a rubbery chomping.

Now that's freakin' creepy.

I'm appreciating the 'pilot' a lot more than the first time around.  

That is so great to hear!   Some more pics......My review will come up later.  I hope you all are enjoying the pics.  IF not or if they are taking up too much space let me know.  I enjoy sharing them with all of my cousins! 

First of all, mea culpa. I misunderstood the original instructions and thought the double length DVD episode 1 was split into two eps and ended up watching the whole thing.  If I stray into second part of the pilot details here, apologies in advance.

As I indicated in a previous thread, I was away from home last night and ended up watching the episode with a complete virgin.  Not only had he never watched or heard of the Revival, he was surprised when I told him this was a retelling of a storyline from the original series!  He had not heard of that either!

In a way that helps, because I had a "controlled" watching experience.  I will give his reactions first.

He liked the atmosphere at first, the misty almost dreamlike quality that suffused the episode.  However, when mist/fog was present in even interior scenes, (floating behind Mrs. Johnson’s head when she is rebuking Willie) it broke the spell for him and he starting mocking it.  He also commented on how stereotypical the scary movie/vampire movie set pieces were.  Personally, as a fan of the Dracula story in the series Cliffhangers, unlike my friend, I rather liked the old set pieces put into a modern setting.

By the end point of the first part of the pilot, about the only person he liked was Barnabas.  Willie was so in contrast with the rest of the relatively cleancut cast that he stood out even more, not even as comic relief but as just slimy, dirty, almost joke bad teeth and offputting and the rest of the cast were rather bland.  He suggested a continuity game at one point.  Seeing the zits/moles on Willie’s face, he suggested that sharp-eyed viewers might want to check those blemishes in every scene to see if they moved!

Below are the notes I jotted as I watched part 1 of the pilot again this morning.

• Upthread it’s mentioned that Willie doesn’t have the intelligence to decipher code rhymes that have stumped far cleverer people for 200 years.  However, I like that bit.  There’s a line in the film Rear Window where Jeff’s detective friend says, “Morons have committed murder so shrewdly that it took a dozen detectives to figure it out.”  Willie, unencumbered by the belief that the stories and legends are untrue, coupled with his greed, IMO makes him uniquely qualified to discover the truth when no one else gives it a second thought.
• However, what did pull me out of the narrative were three things:  1) the ring in the lions’ mouth looked like it was attached with to the opening mechanism with rope and an amazingly resilient length of rope it must be to have stood the rigors of 200 years of coastal humidity and bugs and vermin; 2) a sealed tomb has live bats living in it? 3) 200 years later the wall mounted torch still works?
• The POV shot, showing the lace cuffed hand reaching up to grab Willie’s throat is a cool cliffhanger, spoiled only by the jump cut zooms in the editing suite where the film gets grainier and grainier.
• Is that a voodoo doll on the David’s bedside table?
• The 80s fashions didn’t jar as much as I thought it would, possibly because in my last two jobs the older women I worked with, still dress that way!
• As also mentioned upthread, I like that the sheriff is already on top of the attacks and consulting a “Mulder” who’s not afraid to suggest there is a madman loose who believes he is a vampire and stealing blood.  In fact, IIRC that might be a theme lifted from the first Night Stalker movie.
• Sheriff Patterson is one of the only characters trying to sound like he grew up in Maine.  Cute.  And thank all the forgotten gods no one else did.
• GORGEOUS MANSION!
• It might be me, but were full body portraits de rigueur in 1790s America?  Also, the painting style doesn’t look very 18th century.

End of Notes

Taking this episode on its own terms, character-wise, apart from Willie, Barnabas and possibly David, the rest of the cast were all ciphers.  The VHS adds more insight to Roger or at least hints at places his character might go.  But confining myself to this one part of the story, I didn’t find any of the characters apart the three above of much interest.  Victoria’s opening voiceover hints that she is looking to find out about her past but nothing else in this episode deals with even so much as a hint of any other mystery.  She is there only to take care of David and be a beauty that catches Barn’s eye.  At this point no one else is anything special.  The writers focus on the scary set pieces and vampire story to the detriment of everything and everyone else.  Even other nighttime soaps of the time spent time on developing several ongoing storylines/characters and did so right out of the gate.

To be brutally frank, if I didn’t already know what was in store, on the basis of this one part of the pilot alone, I probably wouldn’t watch any more.

One thing that always bugged me [about DS] is Barnabas' arrival at the front door of Collinwood, in 20th century clothing, cool as a cucumber, able to convince everyone that he's from there own time, when he had been released - what? - just about 48 hours earlier from his coffin.  The last things he remembers are whale oil lamps, horses and carriages, parlor games for entertainment, needing a week to travel to Boston, cooking a basic meal requiring hours of preparation, corsettes and frilly sleeves, period English.  Suddenly he's thrust into an alien world of electricity, cars, television, getting to Europe in six hours, frozen foods, permanent press, and terms like "groovy," "far-out," "cable-ready," and "tex-mess".  One would think he would be a tad overwhelmed and in need of a pretty extensive brusher course on 20th/21st century living before trying to fit in.  Undoubtedly, he made Willie give him a few pointers, but would he get enough in two-to-three days (actually nights) to allow him to fake it that good?  Oh, and how did know how to open Daphne's car door when he had been out of the big box for just a few hours?  He wouldn't even know what a car was, let alone how to work the handle that quickly.

Gerard

[edited by admin]

Interesting you should mention that, Gerard.  I was just thinking that this morning rewatching the pilot part 1, and when Barn was approaching the house, I suddenly wondered if (like the vamps in the recent Underworld series) vampires take more than just nourishment from their victims' blood, absorbing memories and experiences as well?

Please keep in mind the one of the major stipulations is that this project exclusively focuses on the '91 series as a stand alone version of DS. Please, no mentions of any other version of DS - not even in passing or by inference. For our intents and purposes, the '91 DS is the only DS. 

Point of order - I've tried studiously to treat the revival as the only DS for the purposes of this project, but other vampire genre shows/films have crept into my comments.  That's okay isn't it?

Your obedient servant,
Nelson Collins

For those of you watching on DVD, here are several scenes not included in Sony's version that are just from the first hour!

There are also a few bits and pieces that were shot that are not even included on MPI's VHS. They are:

In an extension of the scene in the drawing room, Elizabeth tells Roger that David needs a family,... and a father!  He reveals that last night, he talked his son into joining him on a walk along the beach at dusk, though he was surprised David agreed.  Roger talked about Europe, about his own childhood-- anything he could think of, but David was silent until he pulled on Roger's arm to ask one question-- if he liked him.  "If I liked him," he repeats.

"I went down on my knees and grabbed him and squeezed him as hard as I could. I said, 'David... David, you're my son. I love you. I love you more than anything else in this world." Close - Elizabeth - There are tears in her eyes. Back to Roger, as he continues, "And you know what he did? He just pulled away from me and ran off up the beach... and disappeared over the rocks."

Elizabeth assures him that in time they'll get to know each other, but Roger says, "I'm not so sure, dear sister."  Then, "I'll try to say this so that I'm still left with a shred of dignity," he adds, and confesses to feeling resentment that his son is alive; "May the Lord forgive me," he says, "but if it would have saved her sanity, I would have left him to die in that burning room."  Elizabeth is speechless.

Joe leaves the Blue Whale to watch Vicki get into Willie's pickup.  Willie: "Night, loverboy.  Hee hee hee."  Vicki waves, and Willie speeds off.  Joe stomps inside, calling Willie a jerk who needs to learn some manners... "especially if he's gonna mess with someone crazier than him."  He makes Daphne giggle, then slings her over his shoulder to carry her to his car for some "night fishing."  Maggie calls it "just another night at the Blue Whale."

Interior Car: As Joe pulls open the back door, dumps her on the seat, quickly climbs in, shutting the door behind him. Daphne, laughing, "Joe... You are crazy..." He grabs her, plants a hard, smouldering kiss on her. Daphne, quiet, more serious, "I thought you had to go." Joe, "I do." He kisses her again, softer and more earnest this time, "But that doesn't mean I want to." Daphne looks up at him, runs her fingers through his hair, then slowly pulls him back down on her. Daphne, "That's good..." They kiss, long and steaming this time.

[This scene immediately follows the previous one.]
Interior Pickup - Moving - Night: The truck rumbles along the road, its dim headlights barely keeping ahead of them. Willie glances at Vicki, giving her a long once-over. Willie, "Cold out tonight." She looks at him and holds it as he leans over and punches open the glove compartment. Taking out a pint of Wild Turkey, he unscrews the cap, slugs at it, then offers it to her. Vicki, "No thank you." He smiles, takes another, longer belt, wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Willie, "Collinsport's a dump!" He looks at her; she doesn't respond. Willie, "Fulla creeps, like lover boy back there. Collinwood ain't no better. Small town, small minds. (A grin) Know what I mean?" Vicki, "I haven't really seen enough of it to say." Willie, "You will. And anybody give you any hassle, you need somebody to set 'em straight, I'm the guy. Okay?" Vicki pauses a beat, concludes that humor is the best policy, and nods. Vicki, "Okay." Willie smiles, glad that he's making headway.
Exterior Collinwood Grounds - Night: The pickup turns into the long driveway to the house...

[This scene continues from Willie stalking out of the kitchen and leaving his aunt.]
Close - Mrs. Johnson: As she stands there watching him go, she shakes her head sadly, "May God help you - I certainly can't."
Interior Great Hall: As Willie enters from the direction of the kitchen, stops in front of a large portrait done in somber blues and blacks. It is the brooding figure of an eighteenth century man, a cape around his shoulders, a silver wolfhead cane in his hands, a large distinctive black stone ring on his finger. Willie stands there for a beat, staring up at the dark eyes. Willie mutters, "I got you now, mister... I got you now..." And he turns, starts toward the big, front doors. Camera holds on the portrait. And then begins a slow move to the eyes... as a low thumping sound of a heart beat begins to filter in...

The ladies are having tea when Vicki asks how long David has been without his father.  Elizabeth says about 6 years.  She brought him back from England when his mother took ill, and it has been hard on him.  She calls him a bright boy with an amazing imagination, and Carolyn responds, "If you can call putting garter snakes in my dresser imaginative."  Vicki and Roger are introduced, and her compliment of Collinwood prompts Roger to explain that Elizabeth always had a gift for maintaining the house in the grand manner.  Elizabeth says, "Style should be the dress of thought.  It tempers life with grace."  She looks to Vicki, who agrees and then asks if a painting on an easel is a Seurat.  Elizabeth says it's a copy, and Roger interrupts with "it was painted by another artist."  Vicki looks at it more closely and declares that it's very good.  Roger asks if she enjoys art, and she answers that it's one of her favorite teaching subjects; "I think that children express themselves very well through drawing and painting."  Roger says he supposes she gets to know them better, and Vicki says they get to know themselves-- that's the challenge.  Roger tells her he thinks his son is as much a challenge as she can handle; he's certain he is different from any boy she has taught.  Roger excuses himself for the night, and Carolyn smirks.

When Barnabas is explaining about Collinwood's history, after he mentions the marble: "This wainscotting was fashioned from the richest Baltic woods and" then he continues on about the windows.
Later in the same scene, after Liz gets excited about the family's first home coming back to life, "And you could stay here while the work was being done, God knows we have the room." Barnabas (a beat), "A generous offer... But I've already taken rooms at the Inn. (A beat). I may even be able to make a portion of the house habitable soon enough so that I could actually move in there."

but other vampire genre shows/films have crept into my comments.  That's okay isn't it?

Sure.

There are also a few bits and pieces that were shot that are not even included on MPI's VHS. They are:
...
"I went down on my knees and grabbed him and squeezed him as hard as I could. I said, 'David... David, you're my son. I love you. I love you more than anything else in this world." Close - Elizabeth - There are tears in her eyes. Back to Roger, as he continues, "And you know what he did? He just pulled away from me and ran off up the beach... and disappeared over the rocks."

I read about this scene in the episode guide inside DS Resurrected, though it was presented as being a part of the video release, which is obviously a mistake (though PomPress' reputation remains intact, lol).  But I'm glad it was dropped before filming because it just doesn't work for me.  When you love a child above all worldly things-- above your partner, above yourself, above money or power or anything, you would not consider allowing them to die horribly as a possible tradeoff for their other parent's mental health.  As long as Roger is portrayed as an aloof and selfish bastard who has a non-existent relationship with a dangerously troubled son, it's still a totally messed up choice but one that I can see him making at this point in the story, especially when there's a supernatural element to it that's not yet clear.  But I don't buy that he would entertain the idea for a son he professes to deeply love.

BTW, I caught something on a 2nd viewing of the VHS that I can't believe I missed, but it should be included in my description of scenes not on the DVD.  While Elizabeth attends to the ailing Daphne in the hospital, Carolyn makes a beeline for Joe, kissing his face while he pulls away.  Now that is very telling!

Nelson picked up on some very interesting details.  So here's my pet peeve, though I'm going to guess I'm alone on this one unless jennifer or Carol are watching along too.  While Daphne is incoherent due to a massive blood loss and her doctor claims to still be pumping whole blood into her as quickly as he prudently can, WHY did they use the sound of a pulse monitor beeping at a very normal 80 beats a minute?  How hard is it to find a stock recording of tachycardia?!

I am a big fan of backstory.  When I read Harry Potter, one of the joys in it for me is details like the other Magick Schools.

But this one leaves a great big question mark in my mind.  Where does Daphne fit in?

You've got Elizabeth and her brother Roger.  Elizabeth has a daughter, Carolyn.  Roger has a son, David.

So--who is Daphne Collins?

There are also a few bits and pieces that were shot that are not even included on MPI's VHS. They are:

I got the distinct impression from both the dvd and the VHS (I found and watched Pilot part 1 earlier this afternoon) that there was something unseen in the pick up between Victoria and Willie.

Interesting that there is that continuation of the scene on the beach with David and Roger.  Just reading it, it sounds too hokey for words! 

A couple of comments on the VHS version of Pilot Part 1:  The additional scenes greatly improve the part 1, being all character bits that make the show overall more interesting, sufficiently so, that I change my mind.  I probably wouldn't have given up on the series if it was the VHS version I had seen first.  Although, in the longer scene between Victoria and Carolyn I couldn't decide if Carolyn was welcoming her or trying to seduce her.  She really came across as a bit predatory.  At this moment, I really am wondering if Carolyn is lesbian, especially with the absence of the kissing Joe scene at the hospital.

I know things sometimes have to be trimmed for time but it's a crying shame that more often than not, it the bits that make the characters seem more human and interesting that are left out.  (Star Trek: The Motion Picture comes immediately to my mind in this regard.  The theatrical release is a bit of a chore to get through, but when when I saw the extended version some years later, the 11 minutes they put back in were all character and exposition, that not only made the characters more real to me, but now the film made a lot more sense!)

BTW, I caught something on a 2nd viewing of the VHS that I can't believe I missed, but it should be included in my description of scenes not on the DVD.  While Elizabeth attends to the ailing Daphne in the hospital, Carolyn makes a beeline for Joe, kissing his face while he pulls away.  Now that is very telling!

I have that down on my notes from finally getting around to watching the first half of the pilot this morning. I'd never noticed it before either - and I agree that it's very telling. (And it's also very in keeping with what's to come up in Eps #3 & #5. Who knew it had already been established in the pilot?)

The additional scenes greatly improve the part 1, being all character bits that make the show overall more interesting

This is purely my own deduction based on a couple bits of evidence as I've not read this mentioned anywhere and I've never spoken to any fans from other countries who've seen the pilot, but I strongly suspect that all the bits that appear on MPI's VHS but which weren't shown on NBC's broadcast were actually shown in every other country where the '91 series was shown (and it was shown in numerous other countries). I say this because 1) they were scored - meaning that at some point they were a part of the US version, and 2) the running time for the pilot in other countries is listed as being longer by several minutes than it was here. And if I can go one step further, I also strongly suspect that those bits were cut so that Domino's could run more of their commercials during the mini-series so as to maximize their arrangement/investment with NBC.

midnite...

the scene where daphne is walking to her car looked very fake to me.the grass was too green and glossy.perhaps "soundstage" was not the right word but to me it looked like a set.

i've lived in california and i've lived in maine.the play of the sunlight and the foliage are totally different.there's not mistaking that this was filmed in california.the dry ice doesn't help.

the scene with sam and daphne and sam's crack about "going to jail" left the vague impression that they were "cooking the books" so to speak.but the tax fraud comment was meant in jest.an off-the-cuff remark about a throw-away scene.i'm surprised it's being taken seriously.