Discuss - Ep #0808

[Watching Project]

Robservations #808

[alwaysdavid]

Barnabas turns out not to be in the coffin.  I though for sure that he would be.  Now we know the reason for finding the perfectly preserved Collins History book and bringing it into the storyline.  Another Bizarre Charity dream.  Would Daddy approve of her nightdress?  I think not, at least not on Charity.   Charity finds Quentin in the woods with the still living smeary faced girl  who is listed in the credits as Tessie.  I'm guessing she is another throwaway girl that we usually meet before she is attacked. 

[EmeraldRose]

Major Milestones:
1. Aristede and Jamison/Petofi found the Collins Family History Book which was published in 1965. They asked Magda about it and found out that Barnabas came from 1969, he was on a mission to save a little boy, and he would return when his mission was over.
2. 1st time "I Wanna Dance for You" was sung by Charity without a Cockney accent, and at a faster pace.
3. Tessie was the 1st victim of Werewolf Quentin who did not die right away - she said, "Quentin" before she passed out.

When I first saw this episode, I thought for sure that Barnabas was a goner! It's a good thing he moved his coffin without telling Magda where it was.

Great line: (Aristede) "How could that BE?" I like how he said that, with the emphasis on the "be"! I also like how Jamison/Petofi ordered Aristede, "Be quick about it!"

Possible blooper:
When Jamison/Petofi said, "Petofi... he could escape... I could escape..."

Charity's dream was pretty weird. I like the laughs in the dream, though (Jamison/Petofi, Quentin, and Tessie). Pretty spooky. If it weren't for the credits, we wouldn't have known the woman's name was Tessie.

It was very enjoyable to watch Quentin with an open shirt again!

----- Sally -----

[Roland]

David Hennessy is simply amazing in these episodes.  His work as "Petofi" is some of the  best acting the series has to offer.   

Why does Charity seemingly go in and out of her "possession" while the others don't?

[Midnite]

There was a boom mic shadow on the basement door, the boom mic could be seen near Barnabas' abandoned coffin, and a blur visible behind Magda's head in the drawing room was yanked out of frame.

Magda:  "Barnabas is my friend."
Aristede:  "As well as your enemy."
The birth of the frenemy!

Barnabas "found his instinct" and "had a premonition of danger," yet where were his instincts and premonitions all the other times he could have benefited from moving his coffin?  The man didn't even have the common sense to check his coffin area for pointy pieces of wood!
Jamison/Petofi had an epiphany too-- suddenly realizing that the information he desperately needed was written down somewhere in the Old House.  And it was!  So now he wants to be Barnabas' travel buddy, whereas only a short time before he was quite prepared to stake him.
And going back one episode, Aristede said that Petofi gave CDT his talent in exchange for his soul, though the Count's own time was nearly up.  So if he's mortal, how is it that he can take possession of a person's soul?
Honestly, is anybody buying any of this crap?

Tessie was covered in purple blood that matched both her purple lipstick and the purple trim on her purple dress... It looked less like a werewolf attack and more like a crate of plums had exploded.

Nipple alert!  And Charity's hands went right to touching Quentin's bare chest.  Go, Nancy B!!!

[alwaysdavid]

And going back one episode, Aristede said that Petofi gave CDT his talent in exchange for his soul, though the Count's own time was nearly up.  So if he's mortal, how is it that he can take possession of a person's soul?
Honestly, is anybody buying any of this crap?

  Not I.   I keep getting visions of  the 70's show set during the 60's with the writers on 60's drugs working on the scripts.   It seems that Petofi's story, powers, change daily.  I remember people saying they tuned out because they got so confused as to what was going on and I can see why now. 

[MagnusTrask]

Magda:  "Barnabas is my friend."
Aristede:  "As well as your enemy."
The birth of the frenemy!

LOL.

As for Petofi and Tate's soul, since Petofi isn't the Devil and doesn't have his own hell to cast people into after they die, I never really considered that Andreas and/or CDT meant that literally.   I imagine that whatever arrangement the two of them came to was a dirty one where Tate had to do some nasty things, selling his soul in the colloquial sense.   If they said it was literal, then I'm showing initiative when viewing, adjusting what I hear a bit so that it makes sense and is consistent.

A lot of the discontinuities fans complain about are best dealt with in this way.   Just regard a brief passing discontinuity as a slip of the tongue.   Also taking characters absolutely literally can create discontinuity where none exists.    That happens very often in all fandoms.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Magda:  "Barnabas is my friend."
Aristede:  "As well as your enemy."
The birth of the frenemy!

 

I remember people saying they tuned out because they got so confused as to what was going on and I can see why now.

Though that didn't happen at this point. 1897 was extremely popular. The tune outs came down the line when the storylines got really complicated and difficult to follow if one missed  too many eps. 1897 is straightforward by comparison.  

[Lydia]

Would Daddy approve of her nightdress?  I think not, at least not on Charity.

LOL.  I'm dying for Trask to get The Kiss of Truth and start demanding that all the women dress scantily and heading down to the docks for some fun.  In the meantime, I was surprised that Trask didn't veto the dress that Charity wore yesterday, which had a fairly low V-neck (says Lydia hesitantly, knowing that she has no idea if that neckline was a canonical V-line or not, but knowing that it looked like a V-shape to her).  I kept forgetting to check to see if it showed cleavage, and it probably didn't - but surely it was low enough to merit Trask's disapproval.

I hope David Henesy's having fun playing a grownup.  I was thinking today how weird it must be for Grayson Hall and Michael Stroka, acting with him as if he's a grownup, and then the director says, "Cut!" and he goes off to do his homework - or something.

Why does Charity seemingly go in and out of her "possession" while the others don't?

Yes, it is strange, isn't it?  I considered the possibility that Edward, locked in the Tower Room, occasionally comes to his senses when nobody's there, but I think it is eventually made clear that he does not.  Maybe the oscillation has something to do with Barnabas's victimization of Charity having brought her secret desires closer to the surface before she received the Kiss.  Or maybe it's because Petofi views her as relatively harmless (especially since she's not a Collins) so it's not worth his time to maintain his hold on her.  Or maybe Pansy Faye can't be bothered to stick around full time.  Maybe she's got another gig going in some woman in Uttar Pradesh.

The set behind the closing credits was fun - the Old House drawing room with the Collins Family History lying on the circular sofa.

[MagnusTrask]

I hope David Henesy's having fun playing a grownup.  I was thinking today how weird it must be for Grayson Hall and Michael Stroka, acting with him as if he's a grownup, and then the director says, "Cut!" and he goes off to do his homework - or something.

I like this.  These are the kinds of things I think about.