Discuss - Ep #0723

[Watching Project]

Robservations #723

[alwaysdavid]

Wow! This is one of those episodes where so much is happening.  David Selby plays a great zombie.

[Midnite]

The voiceover in this one is insanely good.  Kudos to Violet Welles.

Is Angelique in competition with Barnabas to make huge changes to the future?  Zombie Quentin could have killed Carl, or given Judith a heart attack!  But I'm always fascinated when the victims of slow-moving "monsters" cannot evade them.  Just run already!

While Judith and Rachel waited upstairs for the men (!!) to get Quentin back in the coffin, a reference to the children would have been nice.

I wonder who it was that watched "I Walked With a Zombie" and decided they had to use it... IF that's what happened.  Nice research in choosing a mix of cypress and myrrh to attract and mollify the zombie.

Judith is at times reminiscent of Elizabeth, and Rachel evokes Maggie right down to the mannerisms, but John Karlen has managed to make Carl quite the card and he never once breaks character.  MB put a capture of Carl in the Robservations (while Quentin is getting back into his coffin) with both hands clasped over his mouth as if he needs them to stifle his own screams.  Too funny!

Um... why did Barnabas say that using cement was the only answer if he didn't want it used on Quentin's grave, and for that matter why mention the cement at all?  And why did he tell Judith, "It doesn't seem that Quentin was meant to die that way"?  I know he's supposed to be desperate, but he's blurting out one stupid thing after another.

And Petofi's box is now in the hallway in 1897, and we see yet another location of Rachel's room.

Sorry, that was long.  But as alwaysdavid said, a lot is happening!

[Pansity]

Is it me, or is the robe Carl wears in the beginning the same one we've seen on Barnabas a number of times?

Carl sure isn't much of a ghostbuster?  Or should that be zombiebuster? 

Judith is pretty accepting of otherworldly stuff like zombies, isn't she?  It didn't take her long to buy what Barnabas was telling them about what was happening and why.

And the Collinsport Strangler strikes again.  Rachel was so accomodating; in the nature of all Victorian ingenue's she fainted dead away!

Jeannie

[Lydia]

I always think of the Zombie Quentin subplot as an unnecessary sideshow, or maybe a curtain-raiser before the real 1897 action, but this time around I'm deriving very intense enjoyment from it.  I love seeing Judith and Rachel as delicate peignoir-clad ladies, to be protected by trying-to-be-manly Carl.  In terms of character, it should have been Judith who checked Rachel's room for zombies, but VP (Victorian Protocol) forbade that.

What time was it when Barnabas came a-calling?  If the date is roughly that of the day that the episode was aired, then we're not too far past the spring equinox, and Barnabas should have been able to get to Collinwood by 8:30pm - unless he had to go down to the docks for dinner first.  Still, it was uncivilized of him to call after everybody had gone to bed.  Oh, well, perhaps he stuck around the docks for an extra helping so that he would be less likely to help himself to Rachel.

Has anybody ever written any fan fiction about Barnabas's adventures in the West Indies before he met Josette?  Gosh, what with the Indian from Barbados and the zombies in the Martinique boonies, you'd think that in 1795 he would have been more ready to accept the possibility that there was witchcraft afoot in the Old House.

[Taeylor Collins]

Marcy Robin and Kathleen Resch wrote Beginnings, unfortunately I never got a hold of a copy.  I wonder if they sell back issues of stuff??? I would love to have all the concordances and so forth.  I have got to get back into this watching project.  724 here I come.....I am so engrossed in early Barney I can't hardly think about it! LOL

[Pansity]

Kathy wasn't at the last fest, so there was minimal stuff for sale. But every one before that,(I've been going since 2003) she's had most of her stuff, including all the Concordances.  So, this says she still has copies of most if not all of the novels, and a few back issues of WODS.

You could drop her an email and see how she handles mail orders these days.  There isn't a zine publisher in the world doesn't want to sell stuff if they have it in print to offer.

FYI I have and have read Beginnings. It's well on a par with pro fiction (and like most zine quality fanfiction, better than a lot of media tie ins I could name).  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Jeannie

[Roland]

The opening scene was so different from the closing scene in the previous episode - having Rachel get out of bed and walk over to the window before seeing Quentin.  I think it was much scarier the first time because she was so much closer to him when she first saw him.

I suspect that the writers were trying to cash in on the zombie craze made popular the year previous by the release of a little something called "Night of the Living Dead."  David Selby makes one heck of an impressive zombie.  Is there NOTHING this talented actor can't do or play - a ghost, a scoundrel, a romantic lead, a sympathetic friend, a zombie?

[fanforever]

I have always felt that the zombie period of 1897 was one of the most well-thought out pieces of the storyline. Everyone was given great lines, and the acting was (almost!) infallible.

Is it me, or is the robe Carl wears in the beginning the same one we've seen on Barnabas a number of times?

I haven't thought of that before, but I do believe you're right, Pansity. Clothing was often interchanged between actors in certain periods.

[Pansity]

David Selby makes one heck of an impressive zombie.  Is there NOTHING this talented actor can't do or play - a ghost, a scoundrel, a romantic lead, a sympathetic friend, a zombie?

LOL if there is, I've yet to stumble over it.  Even if the movie's awful, his bit is GOOD. He's also great in audio drama.  One of the first non DS or Falcon Crest things I got my hands on since getting seriously into DS fandom in 01 was the LA Theaterworks production of  Caine Mutiny Court Martial.  The movie was great, and who can outdo Bogart?  Well, I was very impressed with Selby's take.  Invented Queeg from the ground up, and you DON'T think of Bogart when hearing him do the role.  I'll tell you, that and a few other things I found when I rediscovered his work (along with a dearth of discussion on purportedly Selby oriented discussion groups) were what inspired someone like me, with NO webdesign training or experience, to do a website of nothing but reviews of his work.

Jeannie

[Pansity]

I have always felt that the zombie period of 1897 was one of the most well-thought out pieces of the storyline. Everyone was given great lines, and the acting was (almost!) infallible.

Is it me, or is the robe Carl wears in the beginning the same one we've seen on Barnabas a number of times?

I haven't thought of that before, but I do believe you're right, Pansity. Clothing was often interchanged between actors in certain periods.

Yes the zombie stuff was well thought out internally, no disconnects where you go  .

Glad someone else saw that.  I can think of a few instances like that,one of which is coming up soon in this storyline.  The other one I think of is somewhere in 1840, where Karlen and Selby apparently switched jackets.  Karlens is tight and overly long sleeved and Selby's sleeves are waaay to short. 

I tend to look at costumes more than most people though, at least I think so.  I have done costume recreations (which is a big part of the programming at most science fiction and media conventions),mostly from period movies.  My first job was also as assistant manager of the mens department in a major retailer, where a large part of it was suits and alterations of same. So, in combination, I probably look for things a lot of people don't care that much about.

Jeannie

[Taeylor Collins]

I love when people comment on production.  I usually comment on it a lot.  I am hoping to hop back into the WP program as soon as I get caught up with my DVDS.  My Vhs tapes are so old and unenjoyable. 

[fridfreak]

I love this episode.  I think it was almost flawless except for the one time where BC forgets the myrhh and other spices he needs to "calm" the zombie down ( poor JF it seems ha may have had his back to the teleprompter) If I'm alone at home watching this and (Believe me I live out in the country with no neighbors) I still get scared. I love the fact that Ol Barn does come back and check on Rachel before dawn comes.  I was also thrown off a bit because Judith seems to accept all this without really figuring out (could she?) what the hell was happening with her dysfunctional family.  Great Episode!

[fridfreak]

Sorry about that !  I messed up that spoiler thing.   

[Midnite]

It's no problem, fridfreak.  The text to be hidden goes between (inside) the opening and closing tags, btw.  You're welcome to practice on the Testing 1, 2, 3 board if you'd like, and the Preview and Modify features should help too.  Anyway, the main topic already has a [flashing] spoiler icon, so there's no need to add spoiler tags when you're discussing what took place in that episode.  Hope that helped.