Discuss - Ep #0290

[Lydia]

Robservations - #290

And if you'd care to look back, the first WP discussion topic for this ep:

Re: Discuss - Ep #0290

[Lydia]

So Julia didn't stake Barnabas.  I daresay she was worried about ruining those lovely clothes of hers.  And she's not revealing his secret to Dave Woodard.  So what does she plan to do with him?  Suddenly I am reminded of of Hilaire Belloc’s poem about the yak, but I do not think Julia will be able to lead Barnabas about on a string.

This is, as I have said before, my favorite episode of Dark Shadows.  At the end, I have a wonderful feeling that the children (that's Vicky and Woodard) have been tucked in their respective beds and now it's time for some grown-up conversation.

[IluvBarnabas]

It never occured to Julia had she destroyed Barnabas, Maggie might have gotten well sooner? Or maybe not....Maggie's trauma was caused by the hell she was put through Barnabas, not any supernatural spells, so staking him probably wouldn't have done her any good. I'm glad that Julia didn't though, but first time I saw this I was wondering what she was up to.

Now she's putting on an act for Dave Woodard, pretending she hasn't found anything, when in fact she's learned a great deal in just the two days she's been at Colllinwood. But how long can she go deceiving him without feeling the heat not only from him, but also Sam and Joe who are bound to find out she's at Collinwood instead of treating Maggie at Collinwood.

Vicki tries to give the box back to Barnabas....I do give her credit for realizing she might be getting a bit too emotionally attached to the past. Perhaps she was able to take Julia's words the night before a bit more constructively rather than as an unwarranted observation.

Barnabas says it's a far worst thing to be trapped in the present...his 18th century mindset is in gear here. The opposite is true in real life...it is actually better to live in the present rather than dwell on the past, and Barnabas himself might have spared himself and others a lot of grief if he had only realized this once he got used to the modern world.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

This is, as I have said before, my favorite episode of Dark Shadows.

It's one of my absolute favorites, too. I was thrilled to death when I'd managed to catch in '85 syndication because prior to that I'd only seen it once when I'd seen it for the first time in '76 syndication.

At the end, I have a wonderful feeling that the children (that's Vicky and Woodard) have been tucked in their respective beds and now it's time for some grown-up conversation.

Indeed. I still get chills at the end when Julia declares to Barnabas: "I've been waiting for you for a long time. A very long time."

Such a classic DS moment. 

[DarkLady]

Wow, I'm with both of you there! This is one of the all-time great episodes. The last line is absolutely classic.

Dave Woodard meets Barnabas for the first time. Again, I wonder how Barnabas disguises his undead coldness when they shake hands. Maybe I'm making too much of it--or maybe Barn just didn't read Bram Stoker.

We get another very enjoyable verbal duel between Barnabas and Julia. It's diamond cut diamond--two perfectly matched opponents. Julia needles Barnabas by saying that Sarah was the only person the "original" Barnabas truly loved. Barnabas invites Julia over to the Old House--not tonight, but tomorrow evening. Julia drops a few hints about how closely he resembles the portrait of the "original" Barnabas in the foyer.

TONIGHT, Julia, now in her nightgown, turns down the covers on her bed. (This is our first look at Julia’s room, complete with the spindle-post bedstead.) Vicki apologetically tells Julia that she won't be able to help her after all. Julia says it's okay. Suddenly a dog starts howling. Vicki recalls nervously, I heard similar howling the night Maggie Evans disappeared. You’ll be perfectly safe tonight, Julia assures her with complete confidence. Go get a good night’s sleep--things will seem better in the morning. The clock on Julia’s nightstand reads 12:45.

Mrs. Hoffman, wherever she is, didn't raise any stupid children! The foyer clock strikes 2:00 when Barnabas suddenly materializes next to Julia's bed. He leans over and reaches out his hands, prepared to kill without compunction the meddlesome, interfering woman he considers his enemy. He is startled when a voice from the shadows calmly greets him. Good evening, Barnabas Collins, Julia says. I've been waiting for you for you for a long time--a _very_ long time.

[Lydia]

TONIGHT, Julia, now in her nightgown, turns down the covers on her bed. (This is our first look at Julia's room, complete with the spindle-post bedstead.)

I wonder if they were careful to make Julia's bed distinctive so that we would know this wasn't just any bedroom that Barnabas was entering with homicidal intent.  And I also wonder if Julia went out and bought herself some special nightwear for this occasion.

[DarkLady]

I also wonder if Julia went out and bought herself some special nightwear for this occasion.

Knowing our Julia, I'll bet she did! 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

[and just what is Isaac's portrait doing there, anyway?]

I also noticed Isaac's portrait hanging in Julia's room and wondered the exact same thing. 

Maybe Julia stole it from the drawing room because she loved it and Isaac himself so much. After all, there couldn't have been many people in the 17th century who were so forward thinking as to have their portraits painted with them in what would certainly appear to be Victorian dress!   

Or maybe Isaac was so beloved by the family that they had multiple copies of his portrait made and they're hanging in several different rooms at Collinwood.      After all, Isaac was THE founder of Collinsport. 

[DarkLady]

And if I remember rightly, Isaac is wearing a full beard, which would have been okay in the 17th century--but not his 19th-century suit! 

[Lydia]

The portrait could be of some random descendant of Isaac's.  Remember, the Collins blood always had a certain persistent strength.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

So true, Lydia. 

Changing the subject entirely, I was just reading through some of Frid's letter to his mom that were written around this period because I thought they contained quite a bit of interesting info that might be worth sharing - and they do. I'll be posting at least a few of them, but the following letter, which, based on what's discussed, must have been written on July 28, 1967 (the studio was closed Monday, July 24th through Friday, July 28th, the NYT article was published Sunday, July 30th, and this ep was taped on July 17th and it was originally shown on August 4th), talks about the fire that took place off-camera in this ep during the scene in which Vicki and Barnabas are talking about Josette's music box and her obsession with the past, so that's why I've decided to share it here in this topic:


Friday

Dear Mother,

I've got myself a part-time secretary to a) answer fan mail and b) to send out publicity material (photos, resumes, xeroxed newspaper articles, etc.) It's a lot of work - just imagine her organized. And it's going to cost a good deal of money. I'm saturating Hollywood and New York with publicity.

She's due any minute and hopefully she has the New York Times article (several copies). This is only Friday and it doesn't come out until Sunday. But she's a go-getter. She went into the Times offices yesterday and got to see the "proof" before the article was even off the presses.

As for answering fan mail, she came up with some smart feminine advtce. She pulled out all the letters written by "Mrs.". It is the letters written by married women that are generally the most passionate. She says we shouldn't answer these at all. They are obviously written behind the husband's back. They could be trouble. Anyway, we are answering with an obviously mimeographed impersonal form letter - Very brief acknowledgement.

Right now I'm enjoying a few days off. The studio is closed while they make adjustments to go into colour. We all had colour tests last week and apparently I look better than ever - real enough so that I am accepted without suspicion but waxen and pale enough to look "odd".

I have a whole batch of scripts here and another heavy schedule ahead. They seem to think i will go into October. But they never commit themselves to a definite limit. They have a hold on me for a year to protect themselves. But that doesn't mean they'll use me that long. I think October is long enough for this sort of thing. That will be six months. You get into one some pretty glib habits. If I land up unemployed for a length of time, I'll regret this. But hopefully something else will come along as a result of all the attention.

I have just seen the Times article. It is quite a good one - a half page article. I was told they were not using a photo of Bennett and myself, but one of her and another member of the cast (a permanent member). They "expressed dismay" at the studio that The Times did not choose one of me since the article dealt at such length with the vampire. This did not upset me too much. However, the caption under the picture would lead one to believe that the pictured actor IS the vampire. This is stupid on the part of The Times. This happens all the time in the publications. Someone other than the writers of the articles does the captions for the pictures and does not read the articles carefully. Another annoying thing about the article is the mention of my having a listed phone number and that I get so many nuisance calls. This won't help the situation. I can only hope that Times readers are not the kind to make such calls.

Last week there was a fire in the studio right in the middle of taping the show - AND in one of my scenes ... I could see the smoke over "my proud beauty's shoulder" out of the corner of my eye, and the reflection of flames beyond some scenery. The fire was close to the main exit and it had never occurred to me to look for fire exits. There was all sorts of noise and scuffling. I kept on going since nobody from the control called "cut". They didn't know what was happening but they surely heard the racket. I stumbled and floundered as I worried about exits. I wasn't about to die in the service of "Dark Shadows". In the end they passed the taping as acceptable for airing. I was furious. But they're working on that tight a budget. I should have mentioned that the flames were put out before the scene ended. I dread seeing that show when it airs next week - right on top of The Times publicity.

Love,
John


I'll also track down the NYT article - but the only copy I have of it is the version that was included in the Fest's The Introduction of Barnabas book, so I don't know how well it will scan...

And we've often joked that DC would have continued taping even if the studio was on fire or possibly even coming down around them. Well, this letter of Frid's is certainly one of the inspirations for those jokes. Though, sadly, I'm sure it wasn't quite as funny when it was happening in reality. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The NYT article. Unfortunately, certain words are hard to read in the attached scan, but that's the way the article appears in the book because apparently it's a xerox copy.

[DarkLady]

MB, you are absolutely amazing! Thanks so much for both the letter and the article. It's always fascinating to see the show from the inside, as it were.

JF was a good letter writer at a time when that art was already beginning to disappear.