Discuss - Ep #0725

[Watching Project]

Robservations #725

[alwaysdavid]

Barnabas seems to be grasping at anthing he thinks might work and should he not know by now that thwarting Angelique's power is not as easy as he thinks.  And then out of the darkness comes Trask.  It was a total surprise until the back of Jerry Lacy's head was shown.  If Barnabas notices the resemblance of Trask, then he should comment on the resemblance of the others.   He never says Rachel looks like Maggie only Josette.

[Midnite]

It's good to hear Quentin's voice again (in Selby's first v.o.).

If Barnabas notices the resemblance of Trask, then he should comment on the resemblance of the others.   He never says Rachel looks like Maggie only Josette.

Not necessarily.  Trask's is one of those resemblances that we're supposed to notice, and the explanation for it is forthcoming.  OTOH, it's probably a good thing that Rachel's resemblance wasn't emphasized more, but that's all I'll say about it now.

I had it in my head that Gregory came off better in his first episode.  But now I see we actually do get clues that this new character is an arrogant and sexist control freak.

[Pansity]

Henesy does another wonderful job playing possessed Jamison.  Intersting how Barnabas makes this work through stressing Quentin can do it through willpower [spoiler]as we saw him later have Quentin do, to better effect, to reverse  Petofi's spell and send him back to his own body.[/spoiler]

Now we meet Trask.  Worthington Hall is a name worthy of Dickens, and as we find out Trask is a schoolmaster worthy of Dickens at his most socially critical.

Anyone notice that he's not sharing the community property hat that Quentin, Evan and Edward have been sharing?  The brown beaver in the style of a planter's hat? (I'm blanking on the name of the style.)  Trask on the other hand, sports a black stovepipe.

We get clues already on Trask - he's Uriah Heep and pushy as all hell.  And talk about timing.  No sooner does Trask arrive than Barnabas and the zombie come through the front door.

Jeannie

[arashi]

I have to wonder where the name "Worthington Hall" came from. You would think Trask would name the school after himself, though he strikes me as the kind of guy who who when asked why it wasn't would claim that doing so would be an act of pride and a sin. Perhaps it's named after a wealthy benefactor?

[Pansity]

The wealthy benefactor would be my best guess.  We know how Uriah Heep-ish he is in sucking up to wealthy and powerful people.  Might even have been a straight donation of the house, and the house originally came with that name.

Lots of variations it could be.  Since DC didn't chose to elaborate in the script, it's open season on whatever anyone wants to guess that the reason is.

Jeannie

[arashi]

I wonder how big the student body was? There is the impression that there are quite a number of children there, but the house and the school rooms aren't very big.

[Midnite]

Might even have been a straight donation of the house, and the house originally came with that name.

I watched the ep last night in which Gregory says he worked hard to put up the building himself, adding "I shall rebuild when I can."  Perhaps that work had to do with securing donations, and who wants to bet that he impressed more than one wealthy female benefactor along the way?

I think we can assume he was much younger when the school was built, because in the preceding ep, Charity said the school was her father's life's work.

[Pansity]

What ep number was that, please, Midnight?  I don't think I hit it yet.  But then, I can't be sure, since I was power watching the eps in batches, I may have missed something. 

Good point about if he built it himself, it would sure have been with money schmoozed out of gullible wealthy women.  Funny, isn't it, how Judith is so no nonsense and perceptive in other ways, but manages to miss every sign on a con man like Gregory?  Or does she?  Thought just occurred to me that she might be like Catherine Sloper in Washington Square and the play/movie version The Heiress. If I'm remembering right, on some levels she knew what Morris was up to, but it didn't stop her.  Of course, I could be wrong.  I've only seen and read it a couple times since studying it in High School (and that was back in the late 70s).

Jeannie, who remembers the Mesozoic era of fandom   

[Midnite]

What ep number was that, please, Midnight?

#739, and Charity's line is in 738:

Robservations 11/22/02 - #738/739 - Barnabas & Charity Look Into Laura's Past

[Pansity]

Thanks! <Note to self: no more multitasking when watching>

Jeannie

[Lydia]

If Barnabas notices the resemblance of Trask, then he should comment on the resemblance of the others.  He never says Rachel looks like Maggie only Josette.

"You bear a most remarkable resemblance to a girl whom I'll be meeting and kidnapping about 70 years from now.  Sadly, it didn't work out, and I had to have her memory erased.  But she liked the music box I'm giving you.  She said it had a tinkling sound.  Maybe that was why she wet her pants whenever she saw me."

I don't think much of a guy who refers to himself as "The Reverend So-and-So."  My understanding is that "Reverend" is an honorific and one should not apply it to oneself.  I'm not really sure, though.

It's fun to see Trask struggling to get into Judith's good graces and to acquire a student from a family that he can boast about to other prospective parents.  And I'm impressed with how, right from the start, Jerry Lacy makes Gregory Trask a different character from the Trask of 1795.  I am quite sure that Gregory Trask is a few inches taller than 1795 Trask was.

I'm not surprised Quentin wants to stay in Jamison's body.  Jamison inherits Collinwood when Judith dies, right?  A small price to pay for being a minor for a few years.  And I'm sure he'll have no trouble snitching some brandy behind people's backs.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

"You bear a most remarkable resemblance to a girl whom I'll be meeting and kidnapping about 70 years from now.  Sadly, it didn't work out, and I had to have her memory erased.  But she liked the music box I'm giving you.  She said it had a tinkling sound.  Maybe that was why she wet her pants whenever she saw me."

   But so true...

[EmeraldRose]

This was the first appearance of Reverend Gregory Trask. Also, this was the first time that David Selby did the opening voiceover. Ironic, because he didn't speak as a Zombie!

I repeat: David Henesey was a fantastic actor! He was great in this episode. I especially enjoyed it when he laughed at Barnabas after the attempt to revive Quentin failed in the graveyard.  I was excited and relieved to discover that his efforts managed to get a faint heartbeat from Quentin.

It was great to see that Barnabas was trying everything he could think of to bring Quentin back to life. He was actually thinking about someone else, instead of himself.

Gregory Trask was a real charmer.  Indeed, it was curious that Judith was a no-nonsense smart cookie, except when it came to Trask! She was completely taken in by him. It was fortuitous that Barnabas, Zombie Quentin, and Jamison came through the door just after Trask arrived. It was impressive that he recognized the problem and wanted to help. I could see how Judith was impressed by him.

----- Sally -----

[IluvBarnabas]

Now we have another Trask in our midst, and he'll prove to be far worse than his decendants.

Was anyone expecting a new Trask? I wasn't when I first saw this. When Gregory shows up at the front door, I was thinking, he can't be any worse than the 1795 Trask. Boy was I wrong....

LOL at Lydia's comments about Quentin wanting to stay in Jamison's body to get his hands on the money. That would be
so much in character with Quentin up to this point. My only question is, as a minor, how would he live without the ladies?
I don't think a few slaps on a few bums would be enough to keep him satisfied.

I liked that Barnabas was trying to help Quentin and Jamison (and David for if Jamison remained possessed by Quentin
forever the family of 1969 would cease to exist) but he should know that Angelique isn't gonna let him win. Still he has to try...

I can see why Judith, upon first meeting Trask, would be taken in by him, he's got on his Man of the Cloth mask on well, but...[spoiler] after she marries him, and she is being haunted by Minerva's ghost, he is cruel, cold, even slaps her. That should have been an eye opener, yet she STILL believes in him. [/spoiler]

I agree that David Henesy is fantastic as the possessed-by-Quentin Jamison. He's by far the best child actor on the show IMO.