Discuss - Ep #0742

[Gothick]

Thanks, Midnite.  I have to confess that the whole concept of "spoiler warnings" around a show that aired 40 years ago baffles me--so feel free to offer further direction in the future!

I was amused stopping in at a slightly out of the way video rental store the other day to see a photocopied Battlestar Galactica flier taped to the front door with a magic marker notice to the effect that the store was a "BG spoiler free zone."

G.

[Joeytrom]

Perhaps there are two different Lauras from the following:

1767: Laura Murdoch Stockbridge
1785: Laura Stockbridge Collins
1867: Laura Murdoch Radcliffe
1897: Laura Murdoch Collins
1967: Laura Murdoch Collins

The Laura of 1897 is almost 100 years from the 1785 version
The Laura of 1966 is 100 years separate from both prior incarnations

That Inside the Old House article had a great explanation for this.

[Midnite]

Gothick,

I recently had a reading experience trashed by a chapter-by-chapter reviewer who didn't bother to include a spoiler warning when a guest writer revealed the book's biggest mystery while brought in to discuss an early chapter.  The reviewer explained, "We tried to walk the line between not giving too much away for the Readers and still engaging the ReReaders by pointing out the foreshadowing as we passed it by. Sorry we landed on the wrong side of the line for you."  (Did I mention that he suggested I follow along with his blog when I purchased the book from him, or that the story came out 25 years ago?)  So regarding spoiler warnings here, I feel that one could think of DS as a classic and wonderful novel that is more enjoyable as a shared experience, yet not everyone who is reading along wants to be told how it's going to end.

I highly recommend Battlestar Galactica, btw, which is best viewed from the beginning and spoiler-free.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Would it be OK to post it here?

Chances are that zine is long OOP, and the author doesn't seem to have it posted elsewhere on the Web, so I'd say it's OK.

[Gothick]

Thanks, Midnite, for the input, and I'm so sorry about the horrendous gaffe made on that list you were on.  No matter how often the individual responsible apologises, there's no way to get the kitten back into the bag, is there?

I will continue to err on the side of excess as much as possible when it comes to posting spoiler warnings.  I'm not copping an attitude in saying I don't understand--I really don't.  For instance, I would presume it is considered a spoiler that [spoiler] the series basically ended with Barnabas "realizing" that the all-time love of his life had been Angelique all along.[/spoiler]  Even though there've been many threads that have cited this particular development, I would still use the spoiler feature for referencing it, particularly in a thread such as this one dedicated to discussion of a particular episode.

I toy with the idea of starting a thread on Spoilers in general, because I find it on a certain level an intriguing topic.  I am afraid that at my advanced age, I no longer care about spoilers--for ANYTHING.  The reason is that I've read so many novels, seen so many films and television shows and plays, that very little really surprises me any longer.  If I am watching something, it is because something to do with the characters, the aesthetics (such as the photography or underscore), or just the actors involved engages me.  We're getting Wild Wild West on Netflix now, and I watch that mainly for Robert Conrad's tight pants and the women's campy hairdos and makeup.

All that to one side, when I went to see the Crying Game in 1992 I had managed to avoid hearing about "the surprise secret," and it did provide an amusing sensation when it hit--all because of how the director cleverly staged it, as I had already had doubts.  So, I'm obviously not above being surprised.  Then again, that was 17 years ago.  And now I *really* feel old.

cheers, Gothick 

[Garth Blackwood]

We can really get out of control with the spoiler thing if we want to. For example, the fact that

[spoiler]
Barnabas Collins is a vampire released from his coffin in 1967
[/spoiler]

would be a spoiler in the extremely unlikely event that some strange fan who has only seen The Beginning volumes 1-5 was on this message board. Or that

[spoiler]
Dr Hoffman was treating Barnabas to cure him of his vampirism
[/spoiler]

if you'd only seen Volume 1. Or any off handed implication that

[spoiler]
Barnabas and Julia eventually become allies
[/spoiler]

is a total spoiler if you've only seen Volumes 1-4. Honestly if you really want to be pedantic about it we probably shouldn't ever discuss the plot without using the spoiler feature. Even in the threads that are specifically designated for a particular episode. Why someone who doesn't want to know what happened in that episode would open the thread is beyond me, but we should probably use the spoiler just in case....

[Midnite]

We can really get out of control with the spoiler thing if we want to.

Or, we can continue handling spoilers the same as we have been. 

[Taeylor Collins]

I think that is best Midnite!

[Josette]

I've always considered it a spoiler that we talk openly about things like Parallel Time. 

[spoiler]The first time PT occurred, it was so mysterious.  It seemed impossible that Elizabeth and Julia were in that room when we knew they had both gone out somewhere.  And then, Barnabas couldn't enter the room and they couldn't see or hear him.  Then suddenly it all changed and it was deserted again.  It took a while before the explanation finally came about.  I've always thought it a shame that most newcomers are now aware that this is PT.[/spoiler]

[Taeylor Collins]

Parallel Time is one of the most underrated points in DS. I personally love it!

[EmeraldRose]

I love Parallel Time, too, Taeylor!

I agree with Jeannie that this was the first time we saw Quentin and Beth have a romantic tryst. Also, this was the first time they spoke of love.

As I mentioned before, I believe there were two Phoenixes on DS - the 1767/1867/1967 Laura and the 1785/1897 Laura. I really enjoyed seeing Barnabas's incantation - it was really thrilling!   The special effects were great when Laura disappeared in front of Dirk and then appeared as the LSC who died in 1785.    I don't blame Charity for getting frightened and running away. I loved it at the end, when Quentin came in just in time to see Laura's bloodcurdling scream! 

Yes, indeed, there was a lot of loving in the episode. It was particularly great when Barnabas "convinced" Charity to stay when he bit her.

----- Sally -----

[Pansity]

PT is FUN.  Of course, I'm prejudiced.  I LIKE both Rebecca and The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde

(Of course OLIVIER didn't have an orange plaid jacket to deal with!)   

Jeannie

[Lydia]

Barnabas sure thinks he's invulnerable. Even after his snack he wants Charity to stay around.

And the front door to the Old House was wide open when he bit her!

The special effects were great when Laura disappeared in front of Dirk

Yes, that was a beautifully done disappearance.

Barnabas noted a few days ago that the Laura who was Jeremiah's wife died childless.  I think that's something that Barnabas could not have remembered incorrectly.  So the appearance in 1785 seems to be a hiccup in the phoenix-comes-back-for-her-child pattern.

I'm finding it an intriguing confluence of events that Quentin, with his great interest in the occult, hitched up with Laura, who either was a phoenix at the time or else had the phoenix potential in her, and that they ended up in Alexandria, where there were fire priests looking for just the right victim.  (Did it have to be Laura?)  Alexandria would not be my first choice in destinations if I were pursuing an interest in the occult.  After all, it was a relatively new city in the ancient world, wasn't it?  Memphis or Luxor would seem to promise more spookiness.

Hey, did Charity always do her hair so complicatedly?  My memory is of a neat bun at the nape of her neck, but that's the sort of thing I could easily get wrong.  (The only reason I was checking her hair at all was that the other day I had been thinking about cinnamon buns.)  Is her enslavement to Barnabas prompting her to wear her hair in an unPuritanical way?

I think there are briars outside the Old House.  Barnabas had better set Sandor to cutting them back or they'll just take over and kill all the other plants.

[Midnite]

Barnabas noted a few days ago that the Laura who was Jeremiah's wife died childless.  I think that's something that Barnabas could not have remembered incorrectly.  So the appearance in 1785 seems to be a hiccup in the phoenix-comes-back-for-her-child pattern.

Though as far as we know, Laura Murdoch Stockbridge (or L as her family called her ) also died childless.  While the show never told us that there was more than 1 line of Phoenixes-- it's just a theory-- if you follow the died-by-fire-100-years-apart rule, the first in each of the 2 lines died childless, and I suppose there was no reason for those two to be seen again soon after their deaths.

But in a later ep, a mention is made of (not all that spoilery, btw) [spoiler]20 generations,[/spoiler] which makes one wonder if the line(s) went back to other centuries and different parts of the world, maybe even to Alexandria?

Hey, did Charity always do her hair so complicatedly?

Pretty much.  Her first appearance--

I think it's NB's own hair.

[Lydia]

I'd be very surprised if it wasn't NB's own hair.  And I'm shocked that Charity's father allowed her to dress it so dressily...although...he did have a thing about hair, didn't he?