Liz and Roger Clueless

[Joeytrom]

Originally posted by Joeytrom on the Dark Shadows: General Discussion Forum on February 12, 2002 at 07:56:36:

Everyone now seems to have been affected by Barnabas except these two (except Mrs. Johnson but she is usually on the sidelines anyway), yet neither one can believe that Barnabas is doing anything wrong. Despite the fact that a few people have voiced their suspicions.

It's too bad 1795 causes this storyline to be forgotten. The writers never did pick up on David's "mental illness" once the show returned to 1968. It's like they knew they had backed the show into a corner and hoped 5 months time off from this plot would make the audience forget about it.

At least they did remember that Carolyn is under Barnabas' spell and that he is still cold to Julia.

[Gerard]

Posted by Gerard on February 12, 2002 at 09:43:09:
In Reply to: Liz and Roger Clueless posted by Joeytrom on February 12, 2002 at 07:56:36:

Well, whaddya expect from two people who spook around at two-thirty in the morning, one still in tie while donning a smoking jacket? Ah, the idles of the rich.

Gerard

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Posted by Bob the Bartender on February 12, 2002 at 14:33:20:
In Reply to: Liz and Roger Clueless posted by Joeytrom on February 12, 2002 at 07:56:36:

Joeytrom,

But even when he's being so obtuse, Roger looks a million dollars in that cool sports coat and forest green turtleneck sweater.

Bob the Bartender, who hopes that Roger will give his hand-me-down sports clothes to that afficionado of the "regular guy" look, Mr. Robert Rooney of the Blue Whale. (Mr. Rooney thinks dressing up is wearing his striped polyester Haband suit to dinner at Johnny Romano's Seafood Trattoria overlooking Findley's Cove.)

[Luciaphile]

Posted by Luciaphil on February 12, 2002 at 15:36:33:
In Reply to: Liz and Roger Clueless posted by Joeytrom on February 12, 2002 at 07:56:36:

Liz and Roger are deep up a river called Denial. In their case, I like to think that it's a survival technique after decades of living in that house.

Two of my favorite moments takes place quite early in the series. At one point (not using spoilers because I'm going to keep this vague), Vicki, who has heard strange and spooky noises and who has asked the inhabitants of Collinwood about them to no avail, finally corners Roger and gets him to admit he's heard them too. You get the feeling that if asked about them again, he'd go back to swearing up and down that "it's just the wind".

Then later on, Liz and Roger are talking alone. Hesitantly Roger asks Liz about ghosts and just as hesitantly Liz answers him. It's an intensely private moment and then they go back to "everything's normal".

So they've got Barnabas who's nice and polite and who's improving a property for free. They have David, who doesn't have a strong record with telling the truth and who has a history of emotional upsets. It's a lot easier for Roger to push to have a kid he doesn't want sent away to school and just as easy for Liz not to have to confront 1)a felon in the family, 2)the fact that she hopelessly misjudged her cousin, and 3)scandal.

Not saying that they are consciously thinking these things, just that it's the program running in the background of their minds.

Luciaphil

[jennifer]

Posted by jennifer on February 13, 2002 at 05:34:35:
In Reply to: Re: Liz and Roger Clueless posted by Gerard on February 12, 2002 at 09:43:09:

also with Liz have to add How could one never leave that house in 30 years?? what did she do all the time??
jennifer

[kuanyin]

Posted by kuanyin on February 13, 2002 at 14:06:59:
In Reply to: Re: Liz and Roger Clueless posted by jennifer on February 13, 2002 at 05:34:35:

Well, she had that HUGE house and only one servant! Who didn't seem to do housework, but only handyman stuff. My guess is she was too BUSY to leave the grounds!

[Gerard]

Posted by Gerard on February 13, 2002 at 14:35:40:
In Reply to: Re: Liz posted by kuanyin on February 13, 2002 at 14:06:59:

And I imagine she watched her share of episodes of "Secret Storm" and the game-show "Concentration"; afternoons were spent with "Art Linkletter's House Party" (by 1967, it came on opposite a certain soap opera that was rather offbeat, but I don't think Liz watched it; she did once, and Roger stepped in, saying that the star looked an awful lot like her; Liz countered that the star looked more like Kitty Carlisle). Plus, every Saturday night, she would NEVER miss "The Lawrence Welk Show".

Gerard

[RingoCollins]

Posted by RingoCollins on February 13, 2002 at 15:49:49:
In Reply to: Re: Liz posted by Gerard on February 13, 2002 at 14:35:40:

http://www.mindspring.com/~winston9/henley/liztg.jpg

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Posted by Bob the Bartender on February 13, 2002 at 18:37:08:
In Reply to: Re: Liz posted by Gerard on February 13, 2002 at 14:35:40:

Gerard,

Perhaps Liz was a regular viewer of "The Virginia Graham Show." (The "Oprah Winfrey" of the 1960's.) And how about both "The Mike Douglas Show" and "Bozo the Clown Show," on which some some guy afflicted with a bad case of vespertilian disease appeared.

Maybe Liz even tuned into "The Dating Game Show," and was surprised to see her daughter, Carolyn, appear as a contestant with Harry Johnson, "Buzz" Hackett and Wink Martindale as her prospective dates.

Bob the Bartender, who also remembers seeing some erudite guy in an inverness coat appear on Dick Cavett's afternoon talk show on ABC-TV.

[Gerard]

Posted by Gerard on February 13, 2002 at 19:27:28:
In Reply to: Must See TV for Liz posted by RingoCollins on February 13, 2002 at 15:49:49:

A riot! I can just see Liz watching Jack La Lanne, doing the exercises with that spring thing with the handles at either end, wearing one of her elegant evening gowns. "We must...we must...we must increase our..."

Gerard

[Gerard]

Posted by Gerard on February 13, 2002 at 19:31:48:
In Reply to: Re: Liz posted by Bob the Bartender on February 13, 2002 at 18:37:08:

And, Bob, Mrs. Johnson sitting in the kitchen before the teeny portable black-and-white, watching Graham Kerr's Galloping Gourmet (before he got into trouble with the cooking sherry), pad and pen in hand, scribbling down the recipe for chicken and caviar au vin with saucy bernaise, taking a swig of that sherry herself when no one is looking.

Gerard

[Josette]

Posted by Josette on February 13, 2002 at 20:00:22:
In Reply to: Re: Liz posted by Bob the Bartender on February 13, 2002 at 18:37:08:

You're both forgetting that we've never seen any evidence that they even had a television in that house!!

Josette

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Posted by Bob the Bartender on February 14, 2002 at 10:00:35:
In Reply to: Re: Must See TV for Liz posted by Gerard on February 13, 2002 at 19:27:28:

Gerard,

I believe that there was only one instance in which a television set was on display. Do you know during which DS storyline the TV in question was seen and who owned the set? (Answer below.)

[spoiler]The portable TV set appeared during the Parallel Time 1970 sequence. The set was seen in the apartment living room of Ms. Buffie Harrington. No doubt, Buffie watched her favorite PT soap opera, "Caliginous Showdows" at 4:00 PM, before she left to work her shift as a bar maid at the Eagle Tavern.[/spoiler]

[Midnite]

Posted by Midnite on February 14, 2002 at 11:11:54:
In Reply to: Re: Must See TV for Liz posted by Bob the Bartender on February 14, 2002 at 10:00:35:

I believe that there was only one instance in which a television set was on display. Do you know during which DS storyline the TV in question was seen and who owned the set? (Answer below.)

Bob, check out [spoiler]Stuart Bronson's hotel room during his meeting with Burke and you'll spot yet another portable TV set.[/spoiler]

[Gerard]

Posted by Gerard on February 14, 2002 at 11:22:44:
In Reply to: Re: Liz posted by Josette on February 13, 2002 at 20:00:22:

You're both forgetting that we've never seen any evidence that they even had a television in that house!!

How true, Josette. But they never showed a single bathroom either (although they did make mention, such as Carolyn doing the other day, of taking a bath). I'm HOPING they had bathrooms among the 40+ rooms of that house, otherwise it's easy to see why they were always so uptight. I'm thinking the TV set was tucked away in another room, enormous amounts of aluminum foil crimpled around the rabbit ears.

Here's another storyline set in the year 2038. Les Collins, the grandson of David Collins, and his friend, Moonglow Jennings, grandaughter of Amy Jennings, are playing in the attic when they find an old TV set from 1967. It's not even cable ready, nor is it even plugged in. But when they turn it on, they see the ghostly images of Jeff Clark and Vicki Winters beckoning them to come to the south wing.....(until the spectres are interrupted by a black-and-white commercial for Noxema).

Gerard