A Serious Laugh

[Cassandra Blair]

Okay, last night I finally sat down after a long holiday weekend to watch my tape of last Friday's episodes.   When I got to the end of the second of those eps, I about jumped out of my chair (not to mention my skin) when Jeb opened Paul Stoddard's coffin to find that dumbass picture of Dennis Patrick inside.

WHAT was up with THAT?  Surely even when this show first aired, they HAD to realise how utterly STUPID that looked!!!  Were they HIGH when they filmed that?

Of course, once the shock of first seeing that scene wore off, I rewound the tape to watch again, and was that time overtaken by a fit of laughter from which I'm not sure I've yet recovered.   

Any other thoughts on this, which has to be one of the weirdest things ever seen on this show?

[Gerard]

That photo of the sardonican Paul Stoddard had to have been one of the cheesiest things they did.  Imagine the impact if they had done it right.  What I can't figure out is why they didn't film his staring, glaring, smiling face before he left the show to use for that scene?  I mean, it worked with Quentin having to endure seeing Grandmamamama Edith giving him the same look from her coffin.

Gerard

[Gothick]

Hi Cassandra, I agree with you; in fact, in my opinion THIS is the single worst "special" effect in the entire history of DS.  It makes you wonder whether they were thinking of "special" effects in the same sense as "special" education.

The convolutions that resulted from Dennis Patrick's abrupt departure to make a movie halfway through this storyline have a lot to do with the serious flopping of the later Leviathan storyline.  I believe that Paul's ghost was intended to play a big part in Jeb's problems.  Neither of the spectral solutions for which they opted succeeded; in fact, the second one gives that "Mr. Sardoniplatypus" photo a run for its money in the sublime awfulness department.

Let's face it, there were times when DS got SERIOUSLY cheesy.  I guess I love it all the more for those moments when they just went OUT there, come hell or high water.

Gothick

[Raineypark]

Perhaps the use of that idiotic photo of Dennis Patrick was nothing more or less than a practical joke.  Who knows how it really went down.....I'm betting it was a late-Friday-afternoon, we-drank-lunch, let's-see-what-happens prank cooked up in the control room, that took even the director by surprise.

Remember.....none of this was ever supposed to be seen more than once! 

[Patti Feinberg]

Cassandra Blair wrote:
Any other thoughts on this, which has to be one of the weirdest things ever seen on this show?

Umm...maybe dear Mrs. Johnson [spoiler]dead, eyes wide open, by the tree?[/spoiler]


PAUL STODDARD PIC...LOLOLOLOLOL

WHOOOP!!!!

Patt

[Birdie]

I finally watched it tonight also.  My husband walked in the room just as the face of Paul Stoddard appeared.  We are both still laughing.  I keep thinking it looks like he is saying "Cha-cha-cha.


Birdie

[jennifer]

Okay, last night I finally sat down after a long holiday weekend to watch my tape of last Friday's episodes.   When I got to the end of the second of those eps, I about jumped out of my chair (not to mention my skin) when Jeb opened Paul Stoddard's coffin to find that dumbass picture of Dennis Patrick inside.

agree pretty lame!

WHAT was up with THAT?  Surely even when this show first aired, they HAD to realise how utterly STUPID that looked!!!  Were they HIGH when they filmed that?

it was the end of the 60's after all![liteye]

Of course, once the shock of first seeing that scene wore off, I rewound the tape to watch again, and was that time overtaken by a fit of laughter from which I'm not sure I've yet recovered.   

Bruno's coat always does that to me HEEHEE[pimp]

Any other thoughts on this, which has to be one of the weirdest things ever seen on this show?

[spoiler]the shadow that gets Jeb is pretty bad[eek][/spoiler]


jennifer

[Cassandra]

  What I can't figure out is why they didn't film his staring, glaring, smiling face before he left the show to use for that scene.

That's so true Gerard.  I never saw that man look so happy the way he did in the coffin!  He certainly never looked that happy in life! 

Another chessy effect had to be the fire over at Trask's Worthington school. Come to think of it all the fires on the show looked cheesy!


Cassandra

[Cassandra Blair]

Let's face it, there were times when DS got SERIOUSLY cheesy.  I guess I love it all the more for those moments when they just went OUT there, come hell or high water.

Yes, the fact that they laid on the cheese sauce rather heavily at times plays no small part in my admiration for the show!  Where else can you get comedy (albeit sometimes unintentional), melodrama, horror and high flown fantasy all at once? 

[Midnite]

Another comedic special effect is the specter that's haunting Jeb.  I mean, how scary is...

[spoiler]a ghost in a sombrero?![/spoiler]

I haven't laughed that hard at a tv ghost since I watched the original "Thirteen Ghosts" and the lion tamer reduced my sibs and me to hysterics.

[Debra]

[That's so true Gerard.  I never saw that man look so happy the way he did in the coffin!  He certainly never looked that happy in life! 

Cassandra, aint' that the truth!  He was a little happy in the beginning when he and Carolyn started talking to one another,  but he still didnt have that cheesy smile on his face!

Cassandra wrote:

Another chessy effect had to be the fire over at Trask's Worthington school. Come to think of it all the fires on the show looked cheesy!

I forgot all about the school fire. Thei didn't show it on screen too long which is good because they probably realized themselves how cheesy it looked. 

Deb