Rev. Trask, the sinner...

[Barnabas]

I find it interesting that in spite of Rev. Trask's many faults, he still fancies himself as a man of God. This raises an interesting theological point: Evil deeds do not a servant of the Devil make. Nicholas Blair would have the ghost of Rev. Trask believe that because he's a sinner, he's under the power of Evil.  It struck me that in spite of his many sins of the past, Trask wasn't buying in to that lie. I thought that was quite a brilliant bit of ghost-demon interaction. Has anyone noticed that when Angelique is up to her tricks, no one ever barges in to foil her spells? Yet the ghost of Rev. Trask seems to have such lousy timing...wouldn't he know that Jeff Clark was going to come back and spoil his apparition? The one good thing he wanted to do for Vickie gets all fouled up with bad timing. Or is it that Evil is just more clever?

[Raineypark]

I find it interesting that in spite of Rev. Trask's many faults, he still fancies himself as a man of God. This raises an interesting theological point: Evil deeds do not a servant of the Devil make.

Evil deeds may not make one a servant of the devil....but doing evil, and then justifying one's deeds by claiming they are "the will of God" makes one a religious fanatic and a hypocrite.....and surely the "Devil" dances for joy every time THAT happens.

Trask's a jerk, and Cassangelique is obviously an amateur....but Nicholas Blair is VERY good at what HE does, and the most fun to watch when he's doing it!  

Raineypark

[Cassandra]

Personally, I think if Trask was going to warn somebody of an evil presence in the house, he should have gone straight to Julia, since she was the one who informed him about Cassandra/Angelique anyway. From the look on Vicky's face, you could tell that she didn't have the faintest idea of what he was talking about anyway.

IMO the whole Trask scene appearing to Vicky and then having Jeff Clark show up only to yell "Trask!" was only done to show Vicky that Jeff Clark is really Peter Bradford. (even though Jeff had a sudden memory lapse one minute later.)

[Carol]

Rev. Trask is NO reverend.

Did anyone catch Nicholas Blair's correction of Trask's title?  Trask wanted to be addressed as "reverend" but Nicholas corrected him by saying, "Mr. Trask".

It gave me the impression that Nicholas knew of him a long time ago and knew that this mortal was no man of God but a fanatic caught up in the witch hunt hysteria. Trask was probably nobody important in 1795 but thought that if he attached "Reverend" to his name, started an obscure church, and hung a few witches that he'd have a lifetime of potluck dinners.

Running into a vampire wasn't part of the plan.

[Barnabas]

Did anyone catch Nicholas Blair's correction of Trask's title?  Trask wanted to be addressed as "reverend" but Nicholas corrected him by saying, "Mr. Trask".

It gave me the impression that Nicholas knew of him a long time ago and knew that this mortal was no man of God but a fanatic caught up in the witch hunt hysteria.

Hadn't the witch hunt hysteria actually ended about 100 years earlier? They never explained how they could have a witch trial so many years after they had been outlawed.

It was soon apparent that Trask was a self-styled Rev. and even Joshua and Barnabas refused to accept his self appointed title. Trask, however, believed that he was doing God's work, no matter how ill-conceived his notions about how to go about doing it were. Thus, even as a religious fanatic and a hypocrite, he was able to command divine assistance.

[Raineypark]

Trask, however, believed that he was doing God's work, no matter how ill-conceived his notions about how to go about doing it were. Thus, even as a religious fanatic and a hypocrite, he was able to command divine assistance.

I'm sorry....did you just say that because Trask REALLY believed  persecuting innocent people was the right thing to do, God felt honor bound to assist him?  If God were particularly concerned about the likes of Angelique on any given day, don't you think God could have found a more deserving assistant?

I think there's a very good reason why Dan Curtis and the writers NEVER got God involved in their story lines.  It's treading dangerous waters.

Raineypark  

[CastleBee]

I think there's a very good reason why Dan Curtis and the writers NEVER got God involved in their story lines.  It's treading dangerous waters.

Raineypark  

Totally agree with you Raineypark. Sadly there are so many charlatans (I could go on for days ) out there even today who THINK they are doing God's work and are actually just working for themselves - not to mention driving people away.  Even if they do it in ignorance it can still be harmful.  From my own point of view, Trask was doing God's work the same as Jim Jones and David Koresh were...NOT!

DC and company seemed to know just when to shut up about things that may have easily gotten complicated beyond their ability to explain them. I'm glad they knew (or appeared to know) just how far to push the envelope.

[Midnite]

I think there's a very good reason why Dan Curtis and the writers NEVER got God involved in their story lines.  It's treading dangerous waters.

I agree.  Though DS often made allusions to Christian faith, I can't recall that they were ever so overt as with the symbolism and dialogue of Trask's exorcism.  I never understood, though, why Trask is suddenly a powerful witch hunter in death.  (I'm ignoring the lame excuse that he got the jump on Cassandra because of her love for Barnabas.)  Trask had NO power whatsoever, divine or otherwise, when he was alive, so is this simply the power of a crazed ghost?

[Carol]

I agree.  Though DS often made allusions to Christian faith, I can't recall that they were ever so overt as with the symbolism and dialogue of Trask's exorcism.  I never understood, though, why Trask is suddenly a powerful witch hunter in death.  (I'm ignoring the lame excuse that he got the jump on Cassandra because of her love for Barnabas.)  Trask had NO power whatsoever, divine or otherwise, when he was alive, so is this simply the power of a crazed ghost?

I think Trask's ghost believed in its own hype.

[Raineypark]

I never understood, though, why Trask is suddenly a powerful witch hunter in death.  (I'm ignoring the lame excuse that he got the jump on Cassandra because of her love for Barnabas.)

It may have been a lame excuse for explaining why Trask could suddenly out-maneuver Cassandra.....but I suspect it was a very deliberate thing for DC and the writers.  

Pure hatred on the parts of both Angelique and Barnabas would have been one-dimensional and boring...."I hate you"....."I hate you too"..... "Well, I hate you more!"..."No, I do!"

It's much more interesting for Angelique to "love" Barnabas in her own wicked, demented way.  It certainly makes for better dialogue possibilites!  

Raineypark

[Philippe Cordier]

I think there's a very good reason why Dan Curtis and the writers NEVER got God involved in their story lines.  It's treading dangerous waters.

and Midnite wrote:

Though DS often made allusions to Christian faith, I can't recall that they were ever so overt as with the symbolism and dialogue of Trask's exorcism.

The subtext of Christianity in "Dark Shadows" has been a topic of interest of mine for some years now, and I have notes for an essay I hope to write someday when I have time.  Because I'm investigating the matter, I don't have ironclad conclusions yet.  But I don't recall any other show that makes as many references to prayer as Dark Shadows does during the course of its five year run.

I have been keeping track of most of these references to prayer and faith.  Some are probably just "comforting comments" that people sometimes make in real life situations, but at other times the references are quite pointed.  For example, in 1795 Joshua referred to the Collins family as being grounded in the Christian faith, among other things (I don't have the exact quote handy).

References to church attendance in 1840 lend historical authenticity to that storyline.  But we also see references to prayer in the modern-day DS storylines. Other TV shows from this era (from "The Brady Bunch" to "Bewitched") never made any mention of church attendance, faith, etc.

Another aspect of Dark Shadows' uniqueness, IMO.

[Barnabas]

I'm sorry....did you just say that because Trask REALLY believed  persecuting innocent people was the right thing to do, God felt honor bound to assist him?  If God were particularly concerned about the likes of Angelique on any given day, don't you think God could have found a more deserving assistant?

I think there's a very good reason why Dan Curtis and the writers NEVER got God involved in their story lines.  It's treading dangerous waters.

Raineypark  

In the first place, I never made the faintest suggestion that God was assisting Rev. Trask in his persecuting innocent people.  I wasn't actually referring to anything he did while he was among the living. Rather, his exorcism was effective because he was asking Divine assistance in his battle with evil.

I don't quite agree with you about the writers never involving God in their storylines. Where you have religion, you have God. Where you have demons, you have the idea of evil personified and the suggestion of a personification of good as their counterpoint.

Dark Shadows often delves into theological themes. The exchange between Nicholas Blair and Rev. Trask was one of them.

[Karen_#2]

Trask had NO power whatsoever, divine or otherwise, when he was alive, so is this simply the power of a crazed ghost?

I think you hit it "dead" on there, Midnite  

Trask couldn't smell a witch from two feet away if she smacked him over the head with her broom. He even had his chance to prove himself  w/ Angelique, but he bought her lies instead.

He was already jaded in thinking Vicky was the witch by hysterical Auntie Abigail, and his ignorance further blinded him. What a maroon.

I think as a ghost, Trask was just as nutty. He only went after Cassangelique because Julia convinced him to do so.

[jennifer]

and Midnite wrote:

The subtext of Christianity in "Dark Shadows" has been a topic of interest of mine for some years now, and I have notes for an essay I hope to write someday when I have time.  Because I'm investigating the matter, I don't have ironclad conclusions yet.  But I don't recall any other show that makes as many references to prayer as Dark Shadows does during the course of its five year run.

I have been keeping track of most of these references to prayer and faith.  Some are probably just "comforting comments" that people sometimes make in real life situations, but at other times the references are quite pointed.  For example, in 1795 Joshua referred to the Collins family as being grounded in the Christian faith, among other things (I don't have the exact quote handy).

References to church attendance in 1840 lend historical authenticity to that storyline.  But we also see references to prayer in the modern-day DS storylines. Other TV shows from this era (from "The Brady Bunch" to "Bewitched") never made any mention of church attendance, faith, etc.

Another aspect of Dark Shadows' uniqueness, IMO.

The Brady Bunch did have a church scene in which Carol's sings on Christmas Eve after losing her voice and some how gets it back to sing. i beieve they were of one of the Christian faiths

jennifer

[jennifer]

Hadn't the witch hunt hysteria actually ended about 100 years earlier? They never explained how they could have a witch trial so many years after they had been outlawed.

It was soon apparent that Trask was a self-styled Rev. and even Joshua and Barnabas refused to accept his self appointed title. Trask, however, believed that he was doing God's work, no matter how ill-conceived his notions about how to go about doing it were. Thus, even as a religious fanatic and a hypocrite, he was able to command divine assistance.

the witch hunts were long gone and yes it was against the law to hang witches  so they took a few liberties here!

jennifer