Discuss - Ep #0477

Robservations #477

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

Re: Discuss - Ep #0477

Add Carolyn to the list of people blown away by Roger marrying another woman. Tony comes in and starts to order Carolyn around while Cassandra steals his lighter. She lateruses it during her casting a spell on him and her breath keeps flickering the flame and even blows it out at one point.  It's too bad Tony wasn't a Trask.  Barnabas sleeps in the chair. It is odd to see him sleeping. She reveals her plot to him in her true form as his wife and it will be a dream curse more terrifying with each dreamer.

This episode includes one of my all-time favorite DS scenes -- Angelique Classic, shedding her Cassandra persona (and probably several black hairs on the ugly green sofa in the drawing room), declares to Barnabas her intentions with the Dream Curse.  Lara is in fine form as her voice shivers into near furious hysteria as she cries, "And the dark and terrifying thing you find there will turn your buh-lood to ICE-UH!"

That's my girl.   

Tony confronts Barnabas about what he saw happening through the window. Quickly realizing what's going on in Tony's head, Barnabas comments, It's always sad and a bit humorous to see a man who is jealous for no good reason. As we know, in this case Barnabas is playing the pot to Tony's kettle.

UNwelcome, Dream Curse, my least favorite story line, I'm afraid. And we're going to be stuck with it for a while.

HOWEVER, I did enjoy Angelique's description of it. Kudos to LP. Angelique appears to Barnabas as he knew her long ago, wearing her plain green servant’s gown.

Carolyn returns from Boston and meets Cassandra. Tony Peterson calls on Carolyn to get a status update. Carolyn privately spurns him and sends him to Barnabas for any further inquiries, but not before Cass steals his lighter from his briefcase. We know enough of Cass/Ange to know what she’s up to. Tony confronts Barn, much to Barn’s amusement. Tony leaves the Old House and Cass uses his lighter to beckon, and once there, enslave him. Ange visit’s the Old House as her true self and torments a dozing Barn through a dream. She tells him she will start the Dream Curse as a means to bring back the vampire curse to him.

Afterthoughts: Interesting ‘natural’ performance by Lacy opposite Parker in the garden scene. I feel as though this is the first time we’ve seen Tony Peterson act naturally – no chip, no walls, no Bogey. Dear lord do I hate the Dream Curse, but I guess the sooner it starts the sooner it will end. That said, Parker’s performance explaining the curse was quite gripping and I am appreciating and loving it for the first time. Things are moving so much more quickly than I expected or remember. I would love to know the material Carolyn’s coat is made of. Parker is still rockin’ the wig – very Ross circa ‘65. I didn’t really ‘get’ Ange showin’ up in the 1795 garb and I didn’t care much for Frid’s sleep-talk. The whole thing might have worked better as a dream – but I would have bitched about that too.

You and I might have had great fun watching the show together as kids, DarkLady - playing cats-cradle during the dream curse segments, lol.

The Ang/Barnabas scene where she lays the Dream Curse on him was surprisingly well done, with a great subtlety and mood, not the blunt matter-of-fact stuff we get more and more of, later.   I hate the Dream Curse, but it's not bad yet.   Since yes, things are moving fast now, maybe the shocking lameness will arrive very soon.   By the way, I was certain that this whole scene was a dream, dom, I suppose one of those dreams in which one sees himself as a character (which is how all my dreams were when I was a kid).   I really doubt that Angelique did a costume change into her servant dress, even if she can just conjure it up again.

Cassandra actually looks good in this episode, both wig and dress.   **  Why's Barnabas still keeping late hours?  Fear of reversion?   They cut away as he and Peterson have their sit-down, to discuss the necking... but it got nowhere.   I imagined Barnabas actually taking a stab at a genuine explanation: "You see  Mr. Peterson, it's all really very simple.   Last week I was a vampire, and I wasn't kissing my own cousin (what do you think I am, anyway?!)... I was in fact sucking her blood.  But don't worry, everything's alright now, I was cured of vampirism a few days ago at a local hospital, and Carolyn's no longer my victim.   What a merry mix-up it all is, wouldn't you say?  Does all this reassure you, Mr. Peterson?"

Apparently, I'm in the minority on this one, but I rather like the Dream Curse story line.

It's true that it does become repetitive over time, but I like the cleverness of the idea - that one can only find mental and emotional relief by telling the dream to someone else, knowing full well that, by doing so, one will be inflicting the exact same torment on the next person. It provides for some genuine mental anguish on the part of many of the characters as they fight for as long as they can to deny themselves the inevitable need for sleep in a vain effort to protect the poor person next in line who is doomed to suffer at their hands.

I think it's that dream room and the "terrors" behind the doors that puts people off, plus the unecessarily circuitous way she has of getting to Barnabas.

You're not alone, Roland. I started watching DS during the dream curse story, so it always has been a fond memory for me. Doubly so, as I was able to see the rest of the story at my first DS event, the 1983 Shadowcon.

I never minded the dream curse.  It wasn't up there with my favorites, but while it lasted it was satisfactory.

I think it's that dream room and the "terrors" behind the doors that puts people off, plus the unecessarily circuitous way she has of getting to Barnabas.

I agree that this is yet another example of DS's ambitions outstripping its technical abilities to realize them. As to the circuitousness, I always just chalked it up to Angelique's flair for the theatrical combined with her innate sadism.

Call me shallow but I liked the smoke and someone's billowing gown, well, I am remembering a billowing gown anyway. If I imagined it, then I promise to never comment from memory again (or have I already promised and forgotten). I Hated the Dream Curse the first time around, second time I was able to get over the props and concentrate on the performances of which some were somewhat noteworthy (forgive me if I am still unable to fully commit). The only thing I might change would be the persons carrying the dream. I'd have made them all people that Barnabas deeply cared about - that would exclude all but three of the eleven dreamers. That would be all family members and Vicki. I guess that would have shortened the dream sequences dramatically and there's nothing wrong with that.

Did anyone think that there was supposed to be meaning behind each new prop/door? Some seemed appropriate for the dreamer but not all. I just think they could have done better, but...I guess that can be said of just about anything - opinions and all that.

I do like the idea of the Dream Curse. Very imaginative - I wonder if they ripped it off from another work.

I was wondering that too. Can't imagine it was an entirely original idea. That would be very un-Dark Shadowy.