Discuss - Ep #0115

[Watching Project]

Robservations #115

[MagnusTrask]

Matthew's lost his naivete.  He sounds "knowing" and sinister.   I like his lines here ("It's the suddenness that frightens..."), but it seems as if his character was drastically rewritten into a total villain.   This may be accounted for by what may be the first appearance in the credits of writer Malcolm Marmorstein.

This is the last watchable (on DVD) episode I have, though I must have seen another episode or two on VHS, since I remember Joe and Vicki's suitcase.   I can't remember if I saw what happened to Matthew, finally.   I should have more ep's soon.

[Lydia]

the first appearance in the credits of writer Malcolm Marmorstein.

Yeah, Malcolm was sort of shaky today.  The meaningful conversation between Elizabeth and Vicky lacked something.  Suddenly they were in deep waters and I didn't quite see them getting there.  When Vicky said she'd be seeing Frank Garner over the weekend and also going to a concert, Elizabeth said, "I didn't know you were interested in..." and I thought she was going to say "music", but instead she said "Frank" - the difference between polite conversation and serious conversation.  And it went on from there, and I kept thinking, "I didn't think Elizabeth and Vicky were close enough to have a conversation like this at the drop of a hat."

And yes, Magnus, Matthew has changed, and I think that could be accounted for by the shock of having his sainted Mrs. Stoddard betray him, but I wish the dots had been connected a little more.  Matthew is surely still smarting from that betrayal, and you'd think it would be all he really wanted to talk about.  He wouldn't have had to go on and on about it; a stray remark would have done the job.

And then we had the weird conversation between Elizabeth and David, about loyalty.  David's talking about being loyal to somebody outside the family, and Elizabeth's mind should immediately have leapt to Burke.  But it didn't.

Oh, well.  With the holiday hiatus upon us, I've got three weeks to enjoy the prospect of Matthew finally doing a proper job of murdering Vicky.

[MagnusTrask]

3 weeks?!   If DS was off, then no wonder we never see Xmas trees.   This feels odd.  Suddenly I have a very convenient break dropped into my lap, since I just finished the last of my 1966 DVDs, but I think more are about to be sent, so I don't need the reprieve anymore!   Can I keep self from watching till then?

[DarkLady]

Vicki is bareheaded when she leaves Collinwood. She's wearing a scarf over her hair in the (recycled) film footage of her walking across the veranda and down the stairs. When she arrives at the Old House and calls to David, she is bareheaded once more and continues to be when she returns to the Great House.

Elizabeth is wearing her famous suit jacket over her shoulders in this episode. I think this is the first time she mentions the burden of not leaving the house, though not the reason.

MT, we will miss you!

[Lydia]

DarkLady you've reminded me of the the shortcut that Vicky and David took from the Old House back to Collinwood today, going over the damaged part of the fence.  A definite indicator that the two houses aren't very close together.  And what fun to imagine various residents of the great estate using the over-the-fence shortcut!  I'll bet Mrs. Johnson always takes the long way.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

3 weeks?!   If DS was off, then no wonder we never see Xmas trees.   This feels odd.  Suddenly I have a very convenient break dropped into my lap, since I just finished the last of my 1966 DVDs, but I think more are about to be sent, so I don't need the reprieve anymore!

Magnus, Lydia is referring to the fact that the Watching Project is taking three weeks off for the holidays:

Here is the Project schedule for the next three weeks:

The Watching Project is going on hiatus for the next three weeks. It will return on January 2nd.

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  

Not that DS itself was off that long.    In fact, even though DS never once aired on Christmas Day, each year that it was on it did air on practically every other day in December, so there really is no reason that Christmas hardly ever came up on the show.  

And as for the WP's holiday hiatus, it couldn't be more perfectly timed for you. I'm glad it works out the way it has.

 

[MagnusTrask]

It's too bad the original air dates and our viewing dates won't match up anymore...   More DVDs are to be sent tomorrow.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's too bad the original air dates and our viewing dates won't match up anymore...

Yeah, that was nice while it lasted. And up until this break we were at least only a week behind. But when we come back in January, we'll be a month behind. But even that has a serendipitous twist because the WP's ep in which Barnabas is released will coincide with the release of the Depp/DS film (both the DS film's release and Ep #210's scheduling for the WP will be on May 11, 2012). So it's all good!  

[DarkLady]

That seems like an awfully long time from now, MB.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

But if the months fly by as fast for you as they do for me (it seems to me like it was just the other day that I switched the calendar to August - I can't even believe it's already December!), May 11, 2012 will be here before you know it. 

[Janet the Wicked]

I would love to have seen just what groceries the kid brought Matthew. Looks like a box of Mueller's elbow macaroni nad a can of soup. Now just how is Matthew going to cook that?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I guess he's supposed to cook it all in the fireplace - and no one is supposed to notice the smoke coming from the chimney. 

[alwaysdavid]

David takes more food to Matthew.  Maybe Matthew has a Coleman stove in the secret room but more likely he is just eating things cold out of the can as we used to in days before there were microwaves and we were not allowed to use the stove.
Vickie has the tartan bag ready for her trip to Bangor to try and understand things.  I hate to tell you dear but that is not going to happen.
There is a desk in the living room for Elizabeth to sit in front of now. 
Vickie goes to Old House to look for David, drops her wallet as Matthew hides.  Matthew finds it as she walks down the steps.  She misses the wallet and retraces her steps though the woods to the fence and finally back to the Old House.  This is the longest walk through the woods so far. There Matthew catches her.
! Matthew still on the loose.  Would one not carry Roger's shotgun through the woods if one were Vickie enough to go in the first place?

[DarkLady]

So is this the debut of the pretty little writing desk? For some reason it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture at Collinwood.

I'm sure lessons in handling a shotgun were not included in Vicki's schooling at the foundling home. Miss/Mrs. Winthrop would be horrified at the very idea!