Isn't Vicky's Bedroom On The Second Floor Of Collinwood?

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Hey gang,

I seem to remember an earlier B&W episode of DS in which Vicky looks out of her bedroom window DOWN onto the grounds of Collinwood.  And, if I'm not mistaken in that same episode, Mr. Barnabas gazes dreamily UP at Vicky's bedroom window from the ground.

The point I'm getting at is why did it look as if Adam was standing on the ground, looking into Vicky's room?  I thought that he might be standing on the window sill or something.  But no, Adam seemed to be moving around on the ground.  So, what gives with Adam's perplexing position outside of Vicky's room?

Maybe Adam was standing on stilts like they use in the circus?  Or maybe, in addition to Adam's super-strength and super-intelligence, Adam can stretch up to Vicky's second floor window a la Reed Richards, better known as "Mr. Fantastic" of the Fantastic Four.  Can you think of any other explanations for Adam's seemingly impossible physical feat?

"Say It, Don't Spray It!"

I remember once seeing the great Al Pacino perform on stage.  Sitting in the orchestra section of the theater, I was struck at how much he (accidentally) spit into his fellow actor's face as Mr. Pacino forcefully delivered his lines.  Did you see John Karlen accidentally let KLS "have it" during their impassioned scene in the Collins mausoleum?  Similarly, Robert Rodan let Jonathan Frid "have it" during their highly emotional scene in the Old House.  To the actors' credit, no one even batted an eye!

Barnabas Collins:  Dark Shadows' Sergeant York

When I first saw Adam literally shatter Barnabas' rifle (made in Japan, no doubt) with one flick of his powerful wrist many years ago, my brothers and I were on the floor howling with laughter!  "Vicky, Maggie, er, Julia get out of here!"   You gotta love it!  

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, who is grateful that Barnabas found the main door to Collinwood unlocked when he rushed to save Vicky from the explosive Adam.

[ProfStokes]

The point I'm getting at is why did it look as if Adam was standing on the ground, looking into Vicky's room?  I thought that he might be standing on the window sill or something.  But no, Adam seemed to be moving around on the ground.  So, what gives with Adam's perplexing position outside of Vicky's room?

Maybe Adam was standing on stilts like they use in the circus?  Or maybe, in addition to Adam's super-strength and super-intelligence, Adam can stretch up to Vicky's second floor window a la Reed Richards, better known as "Mr. Fantastic" of the Fantastic Four.  Can you think of any other explanations for Adam's seemingly impossible physical feat?

LOL, Bob!  I was also perplexed when I saw this scene.  Now I knew Adam was tall, but I didn't realize that he was two stories tall.  Then I wondered if Vicki might have a balcony outside her window (either that or a tree house.)

ProfStokes  

[Gerard]

Elizabeth, in her confused state brought on by the curse of Angelique, fell as easy prey to an aluminum siding salesman and was now having all of Collinwood covered in the miracle metal, so there was scaffolding along the outside wall (along with one of those signs by the front gates advertising the siding company) allowing Adam easy access to Vicki's window.

Well, it's possible, isn't it?

Gerard

[Dr. Eric Lang]

Hey gang,

I seem to remember an earlier B&W episode of DS in which Vicky looks out of her bedroom window DOWN onto the grounds of Collinwood.  And, if I'm not mistaken in that same episode, Mr. Barnabas gazes dreamily UP at Vicky's bedroom window from the ground.

You are not mistaken about the discrepency. In DS Episode #2 - which I have on tape - we see an establishing shot of Vicki's bedroom window from the exterior - and it is on the FIRST floor (ground level). We see Moltke through the window of a ground-level room in Seaview Terrace then cut to the interior set of Vicki's bedroom. That certainly established her room from the outside of the house as being on the first floor.

HOWEVER - in later eps we see Vicki going up the stairs to her room, and we see Vicki looking down at the sea, or Barnabas looking up at her window, as you pointed out. Also, when we went back to 1795, Vicki's room was Josette's room, which was also established as being on the second floor (various characters, such as Josette herself, going upstairs to go to this room.)

Who knows? Maybe you have to go up the stairs, then down the back stairs to get to the room.

Adam can stretch up to Vicky's second floor window a la Reed Richards, better known as "Mr. Fantastic" of the Fantastic Four.  Can you think of any other explanations for Adam's seemingly impossible physical feat?

I was thinking of those old rubber dolls called Stretch Armstrong - anyone else remember those?

[Daphne]

I was thinking of those old rubber dolls called Stretch Armstrong - anyone else remember those?

LOL!!! I remember those!! They always used to break cuz my brother and I would tie one arm to a door and them RUUUUUUN in the other direction as fast as we could. LOL!!!! My mom had a FIT cuz the goo inside would lead alllll over the carpet ..... but we put a band-aid on it! Apparntly that wasn't good enough .... *grumble* LOL  

[VictoriaWintersRox]

Hmm maybe Adam went to Professor Stokes house and asked him if he could help 'seranade' Vicki. Stokes would of course ask about Carolyn, and Adam would most likely respond with the often used excuse, "She has cooties!!!!!". Professor Stokes would not like to play Cyrano deStokes, but of course being the person he is says he'll do it. They go to Collinwood and Professor Stokes stands on a stack of books and lift up Adam......

Hey, anything is possible  

[Philippe Cordier]

In DS Episode #2 - which I have on tape - we see an establishing shot of Vicki's bedroom window from the exterior - and it is on the FIRST floor (ground level). We see Moltke through the window of a ground-level room in Seaview Terrace then cut to the interior set of Vicki's bedroom. That certainly established her room from the outside of the house as being on the first floor.

I didn't remember this from the first episodes. However, are you certain that the interior of the bedroom is the same in those first episodes as it is in the later ones?  Perhaps Vicki's room was on the ground floor when she first arrived at Collinwood and she later moved upstairs.  If that's the case, she must have moved upstairs within the first couple of nights of her arrival at Collinwood.  Doesn't Vicki come down the main stairs when she hears the mysterious woman crying in the middle of the night in the early eps?

I always seem to remember everyone except Mrs. Johnson going UPSTAIRS to their rooms.  (And I think there was an exception to that at one time, when Mrs. Johnson actually went upstairs to her room ...)

And fairly early on I'm sure we see Vicki's room as just a couple of doors down from David's room (which we're shown from exterior shots as being on an upper floor).

BTW, I've never been convinced that David's room is actually the second floor of the tower. The exterior shots of his window/room never depict it as being in the tower, do they?

Who knows? Maybe you have to go up the stairs, then down the back stairs to get to the room.

Thanks, I needed the laughs, Gerard and Dr. Lang!

[Luciaphile]

When Vicki arrives she is given Elizabeth's old bedroom.  It is clearly on the second floor, near the rest of the family's bedroom.

I might add that while it is conceivable that a governess would be housed on the first floor, it would be unthinkable for Liz to be put there as a girl.  So even without the establishing shots showing Vicki entering and exiting her bedroom into the upstairs hallway, it's a given that she's on the second floor.

Remember when Jason first comes to Collinwood.  Liz tries to fob him off with a bedroom on the first floor and he doesn't like that one bit--first floor or attics=servants' quarters.

I notice that the furniture for her bedroom continues to be the same.  Now I suppose it's dimly possible that for some odd reason Liz moved Vicki downstairs, but I don't think they'd move the bedroom furniture as well.

Luciaphil

[Connie]

I hate to mess up everyone's DS conceptions of things, but Vicky's bedroom ain't on the second floor.  In fact, NO ONE'S bedrooms are on the second floor.  In FACT, there IS no second floor!  ROFL

When you go up the stairs and look down the hallway, there's nothing there -- just a platform.  

What's REALLY disturbing, is that the doorway to the "kitchen" doesn't lead to a kitchen.

Reality....it blows chunks.

love
CLC   :-/

[VictoriaWintersRox]

When you go up the stairs and look down the hallway, there's nothing there -- just a platform.  

*gasp* Wot?! [Screams] No no it can't be. It just can't be [Grabs Head] No! [Sees Widows Hill and Jumps Off. Hits Floor of Stage] *sigh and cries* Oh well.

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Hey gang,

Great suggestions as to how churlish Adam may have gotten up to that second (?) story bedroom window.

Gerard,

I particularly like your suggestion of the aluminum salesmen's scaffolding equipment being Adam's means of scaling the walls of Collinwood.  Maybe those salesmen were the same guys from the flick "Tin Men"?  

I will never forget that scene in the Baltimore diner where Richard Dreyfus, Danny Devitto and the hysterical Jackie Gayle are discussing last night's episode of "Bonanza."  Mr. Gayle, in discussing the fact that the patriarch Ben Cartwright's three sons were each born by different mothers, who, tragically died in childbirth, says, "Yeah, that Ben Cartwright, he's one hell of a man!"

Of course, Mr. Gayle has some other randy "Bonanza" observations that I don't think I should go into.  Suffice it to say, for someone who had to "endure" those Sunday night broadcasts of "Bonanza" as a kid, I just loved Mr. Gayle's mordant comments.  If you have never seen "Tin Men," I highly recommend it.

Dr. Lang,

Stretch Armstrong?  I must have missed him.  ("Stretch" must be after my time.  However, I do remember "Stretch" Cunningham.)

Luciaphil,

I just loved your comment  that Mrs. Stoddard tried to "fob off" one of the first floor rooms on Jason McGuire.  You know, I had never heard the chiefly British expression "fob off" until I heard Patricia Routledge once use it on an episode of "Keeping Up Appearances."  There are so many terrific British colloquialisms that we, as "Yanks," never get to hear, words like pill box, lorry, queue, toffee-nosed,and my personal favorite, "cheeky devil."

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, avid slang enthusiast

[Raineypark]

Now Bob...no need to get your knickers in a twist.

Or are you just having us on?

Rainey...who's mad for British accents and watches far too much channel 13!

[Joeytrom]

Actually, Ben Cartwright's first wife (the mother of his son Adam) was named Elizabeth Stoddard!

[jennifer]

Actually, Ben Cartwright's first wife (the mother of his son Adam) was named Elizabeth Stoddard!

Wow that Liz got around!

jennifer

[jennifer]

Reality....it blows chunks.

I'm sure julia has a remedy for those that are having this problem!

jennifer