Discuss - Ep #1007

Robservations #1007

Rather than going on about what Barnabat can't see or do stuck in the coffin, I'd like the voiceovers to talk about what he can do in there...  Wait, on second thought, never mind.... 

Horace agrees with me about Cyrus's motives.   He's good!   (John Harkins I mean)   He's my favorite actor in the storyline I think.   I like how he shoots back with "Ten thousand dollars!!" in half a nanosecond.   I want him to stay.   He was blackmailing Ang!   Great statement about people trying to live two lives (nudge nudge, we're in the land of doubles), but they're only allowed one...   Or if you want two, you have to pay...   Now I remember what HG's sick need is: blackmail.   I doubt he does it just for the money.   He loves it too much.   There's a whole unexplored backstory there.

Does Dameon's skeleton have eyeballs?   It's smirking as if to say, I'm a naughty boy!   Ain't I a stinker!   I picture it putting a bony finger up to its chin while saying it.   RT Julia in Room, about Barnabas: "If I thought I could join him, I'd stay here forever."   Unusually candid, touching, though I don't quite follow.    Does she mean she'd join him even if she were confined to that one room?   Anyway, as Ralph Kramden might say, she's a blabbermouth.   She knows PT people can overhear, yet she half-reveals Barnabas's secret.

He was blackmailing Ang!

Yes, wasn't that a fascinating revelation!  I'm glad we don't know what information Gladstone had on Angelique; I have a suspicion that it would be disappointing.  But what's really interesting is that, while being blackmailed by Gladstone, Angelique dangled his chemical abilities in front of Cyrus.  Maybe it was in order to get a discount from Horace for bringing in more trade, or maybe it was for the simple pleasure of throwing a bomb into Cyrus's narrow existence, or maybe it was for both reasons, and more. 

It's great to see Joan Bennett and Grayson Hall again.  As the House of Dark Shadows slide show has unrolled lately, I've been thinking how it must have felt for the actors to go back three years in the story and do it all over again - although of course there were big differences.  And if, as I understand is the case, they all had trouble keeping track of the storylines, then perhaps House of Dark Shadows seemed fresh and new and unexpected to them.

Hoffman was softer today than I think of her as being.  It must have been tough for her to come back to Collinwood with no Angelique in it.  She and Dr. Hoffman in our own time didn't seem as different from each other as usual.  Each was bereft of the object of her existence.

Quentin seemed quite ineffectual today, and I thought of how firmly decisive Elizabeth in our time can be.  I don't know whether Elizabeth would have buried Dameon Edwards or informed the police about the skeleton, but I'm feel sure that the decision would not have unmanned her the way it did Quentin.

The screen captures have finally been added to the Robservations for this ep. 


Also, it's probably worth noting the '80s syndication of DS ended with this episode. We were all left completely hanging - mostly because Worldvision was asking so much money to release the final year of eps. (Not even a group of stations that tried to band together to make a collective deal to run the final year could get WV to budge.) After their initial showings, Eps #1008-#1245 were never shown on TV again until the Sci-Fi Channel did so in '94-'95.

Both Angelique and Julia RT are being obvious about how they feel. Don't they feel
like someone might be looking at them. Maybe Angelique feels like she doesn't need
to be careful about what she does.

Sometimes I want to hit Barnabas over the head. Why doesn't he acknowledge how
Julia feels. I wonder what people at Collinwood say about Barnabas and Julia behind
their back. That would be an interesting thing to see.

5/5/70

YAY! Thank God one of our vets have returned!   I love how GH does her Voice Overs.  Her voice is so smooth  and husky with a dash of cream thrown in. 

Apparently Quentin's ancestors didn't tell him about the secret room.  Yay Miss Hoffman and Elizabeth.  “I find I miss this house!” Hoffman. 

I love the cabinet that houses the alcohol!  I absolutely love the black ensemble Joan has on.  Quentin is getting a drink a usual.   Another obvious cut and did anyone hear GH & JB talking before Quentin spread the doors open ?  Grayson’s hair has definitely grown out and looks much better—although partially one of her famous wigs most likely!  What do you think about it now Lydia?  “I feel closer to him here!”  Julia says with a slight smile.  Grayson plays this nicely and subtle.  “If I thought I could join him I would stay here forever!”  Julia is REALLY showing her feelings very clearly for the first time!

I am glad the writers decide to let the PT characters see the other side!

Grayson’s hair has definitely grown out and looks much better—although partially one of her famous wigs most likely!  What do you think about it now Lydia?

Mostly I'm wondering about hair synchronization.  Do all the Julia Hoffmans across all the time bands always wear their hair the same length?  When Julia got her hair cut in 1968 from football helmet wig to very short, she said, if I remember correctly, that it was just on a whim.  I'm wondering if Hoffman got it cut in 1968 because Angelique suggested it would look nicer that way, and Julia's "whim" was actually a psychic directive from parallel time.

Rather than going on about what Barnabat can't see or do stuck in the coffin, I'd like the voiceovers to talk about what he can do in there...  Wait, on second thought, never mind....

Heh, heh...

Now I remember what HG's sick need is: blackmail.   I doubt he does it just for the money.   He loves it too much.

Yes, he was very good at deducing Longworth is Yaeger. Keeps very good notes.

Does Dameon's skeleton have eyeballs?

I dunno about the eyeballs. I was curious about the split skull.

You're hysterical Lydia! HA!

Now I remember what HG's sick need is: blackmail.   I doubt he does it just for the money.   He loves it too much.   There's a whole unexplored backstory there.

Does anyone else think that came out of the blue?  Since Angelique had Dameon murdered for meddling in her affairs, how is it that Gladstone blackmailed her and lived to tell about it?

Does Dameon's skeleton have eyeballs?   It's smirking as if to say, I'm a naughty boy!   Ain't I a stinker!   I picture it putting a bony finger up to its chin while saying it.

LOL  Now that we get a good look at the skeleton, it appears the eyeballs were camouflaged in the same color as the rest of it, as if we wouldn't notice there were orbs in those eye sockets. 

RT Julia in Room, about Barnabas: "If I thought I could join him, I'd stay here forever."   Unusually candid, touching, though I don't quite follow.    Does she mean she'd join him even if she were confined to that one room?

I took it to mean that she would remain there indefinitely if she thought there was a chance it would change, transporting her to join Barnabas in his band of time.  No?

I guess what confused me, M, is that if she had to stay there forever, it would mean she was unsuccessful, and wouldn't end up joining him.

Does anyone else think that came out of the blue?  Since Angelique had Dameon murdered for meddling in her affairs, how is it that Gladstone blackmailed her and lived to tell about it?

I thought it came out of the blue, but in a good way.

As for why Gladstone survived blackmailing Angelique, we don't know how long Gladstone did it.  It may be that Angelique was planning to sic Bruno and Trask on Gladstone but died first.

Or else Gladstone was providing Angelique with some obscure chemical that she wanted enough so that she was willing to pay the blackmail.  All Dameon had to offer Angelique was love, and she had other sources for that.

Magnus, I hear you, and thought Julia might be engaging in a bit of romantic hyperbole when she said forever.

Thank you for the theories, Lydia!