Discuss - Ep #1061

[Watching Project]

Robservations #1061

[Lydia]

We got introduced to 1970 parallel time bit by bit, sort of like sticking our toes into a pool before jumping in.  But we were plunged straight into 1995 without any introduction.  In fact, was any other storyline change as abrupt as the one we just got?

We've also been plunged into the era of extreme closeups - though actually, we got one or two last week.  I don't like them.  They look weird, and I want to see more than just people's faces.  I was admiring Mrs. Johnson's collar (Mrs. Johnson's collars are always worth looking at) when the close-up got too close.  But I'm trying to make the best of it by thinking about things like: is that blemish on Mrs. Johnson's face real or fake?

In 1970, Henry Beecham is a year old.  I would like to have heard about a memory of him from either Barnabas or Julia, but there was nothing.

I felt very sorry for Mrs. Johnson today: she was so beaten down.  I can't imagine this old woman complaining about stale mayonnaise at the coffeeshop.  But she was still recognizably Mrs. Johnson.  In 1995 as in 1966, there are no hidden depths in her waiting to be revealed.

Leonardo has been moved, from left of the fireplace in the drawing room at Collinwood to the right of it.  And evidently he wasn't considered worth taking to the place at Finlay's Cove.

[MagnusTrask]

Had we seen "Finlay's Cove" before?  Not bits of the set, I mean fictionally.   B said PT Roxanne had lived there.  Did we know that?   Why was she and/or Claude North camped out in the secret room, then?   Were the thick walls impervious to PT Tim's ill-defined powers?   Is this on Collins property?   You know, now my brain is fouling me up, combining this beach house with the one in Rebecca.   In fact I can feel myself being pulled back into PT.  MUST break free!   Oh good, I managed it.

Has Julia's hair growth been accellerated by her passage into the future?   Barn says: "All our friends... do you suppose they're dead?"   I wanted Julia to answer:  "I don't know, Barnabas.   A patient really has to be in the same room, before I can examine him or her properly."

There's a tradeoff sometimes, that makes aging shows good still.   Often the quality of dialogue slips, but this is compensated for with bigger and stranger, even shocking events.  That's 1995 (through 1840) for me.   There are a few good even great lines, a lot of awkward simplistic dialogue, and an attempt to overwhelm the viewer with bigger events than they'd ever seen on DS before.   Overall, it really does work.   In 2002 when I got my tapes, this was something to see.  I had no memory of it.

Clarice is always great.   It's heartbreaking just watching her psychologically twisting on a spit.   

[Robot_Quentin]

In fact I can feel myself being pulled back into PT.  MUST break free!

I'm picturing the scene from Poltergeist where the little girl gets sucked into the vortex!

[Midnite]

Kudos to Sy Thomashoff for the best trashing of an established set ever!

The slide that we see at the start of the 1995 eps makes Collinwood appear eerie and abandoned, but it's unfortunate that it's also always backwards.

Julia:  "We forget how rare a life of love can be. You're not the only one who has had so little hope. It's something one learns to live with. We can get used to anything if we have to."
Awesome!  And Barnabas' reaction is priceless.

In 1970, Henry Beecham is a year old.

But he was born in 1967.

Leonardo has been moved, from left of the fireplace in the drawing room at Collinwood to the right of it.  And evidently he wasn't considered worth taking to the place at Finlay's Cove.

Hmm, perhaps the survivors didn't know who the hell he was either?

Had we seen "Finlay's Cove" before?  Not bits of the set, I mean fictionally.   B said PT Roxanne had lived there.  Did we know that?

Roxanne first mentioned Finlay's/Findley's (?) Cove in #1058 when she said she was returning to her house there.

Is this on Collins property?

Possibly, since Julia knew about it and considering the current occupant, but I really don't know.  The fishing shack that burned in 1967 was, and in 1840 the focus shifts to one on Indian Cove.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Julia:  "We forget how rare a life of love can be. You're not the only one who has had so little hope. It's something one learns to live with. We can get used to anything if we have to."
Awesome!  And Barnabas' reaction is priceless.

I've been waiting for someone to bring this up. Not only is it awesome in every sense of the word, it ranks as one of the most significant moments to ever pass between Julia and Barnabas. And it's one that certainly had to be memorialized as one of the Robs captures for the ep:

[Julia99]

How do others *interpret* Barnabas' reaction?

Graysonholics ponder this scene and the one from 1840 where Julia almost slips/confesses--Frid's reactions are somewhat inscrutable.

[Lydia]

Watching Barnabas's reaction this time around, I thought: He's determined not to hear it.  Not, I think, because he didn't want to acknowledge the pain of his friend, but because he didn't want to acknowledge that his case wasn't special.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Yet another voiceover promo that makes sense:

"...The vampire Barnabas Collins is caught in a great fire at Collinwood. Can he escape? Watch Dark Shadows tomorrow afternoon at four, three o'clock central time..."

[Julia99]

Watching Barnabas's reaction this time around, I thought: He's determined not to hear it.  Not, I think, because he didn't want to acknowledge the pain of his friend, but because he didn't want to acknowledge that his case wasn't special.

Thank you Lydia, that is quite thoughtful and I agree with your take--.  
Now to the 1840 scene...WHEN can we talk about that one MB?  hee hee. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It'll be quite a while before we get to that scene - probably not until next February...

[Julia99]

It'll be quite a while before we get to that scene - probably not until next February...

But I'll have won the lottery and be living in France by then...or so I can hope.

[Taeylor Collins]

7/20/70

Great to finally see a different view of the house and I wish they had used this one more than the “regular” one!  “Barnabas you can't go back. Angelique's room doesn't not exist in PT anymore it's been burnt DESTROYED!” I love how Julia says that last word. I absolutely love this scene between Julia and Barnabas. Grayson conveys such raw emotion. She does an amazing job with the words. Such love in her eyes.  I love these lines.

Julia:  "We forget how rare a life of love can be. You're not the only one who has had so little hope. It's something one learns to live with. We can get used to anything if we have to."

In this moment I feel more sorry for Julia than ever before and it's the only time I think Dark Shadows has ever made me tear up. It's such a true statement that most of us I am sure have felt in our lives.  I know I have.  
Kudos to Grayson for playing that scene beautifully and it's too bad Frid didn't comment on it at the Fest.  

To me; this storyline is the not only the highlight of the final full year but it's also one of the highlights of the series. It's very creepy and atmospheric and to see the house destroyed is gut wrenching!  I find this episode so enchanting I just want to watch and not even make notations.  

Great work on the music dept. part as the music really brings out the creepy vibe!  
“
You disappeared twenty five years ago!” Miss Johnson Clarice did such an amazing job as well. She could have won an Emmy for her work in 1995 and they could have been passed out for this storyline had they been around at the time. For Scenic Design and acting for sure on Grayson and Clarice!

I noticed Mrs. J had a ring on her left hand? Perhaps she married?  I don't think Clarice ever married as far as I know!

I hope it was okay to type the whole Grayson line.  It's so beautiful poignant!

[MagnusTrask]

In this moment I feel more sorry for Julia than ever before and it's the only time I think Dark Shadows has ever made me tear up. It's such a true statement that most of us I am sure have felt in our lives.  I know I have.  
Kudos to Grayson for playing that scene beautifully and it's too bad Frid didn't comment on it at the Fest. 

We don't hear many mature or middle-aged remarks on love, that's one special thing about it.    Living without love you can't have isn't very Hollywood, not now anyway...

[Taeylor Collins]

WORD MAGNUS! This is one of my favorite episodes from the series I might add!