And Even Yet Another New Slideshow

[Mysterious Benefactor]

With today's quote -

Page 08 - Willie: 'She's here, isn't she?'

- obviously there's no love lost between Willie and Roger. Though what Willie says in the pilot is ever so slightly different because he says "Well, she's here, isn't she?" But before Roger can "scold him," as the script puts it, Vicki interjects with tomorrow's quote...

[Gothick]

Damn, Matt Czuchry is a handsome devil.

Thanks so much for continuing this fabulous show, to everyone involved!

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, according to one article, The WB did want a "soap stud," cast as Willie. And unlike other Willies, that does make sense given his character description says he's a former high school football star. (And references to Willie's former glory will be coming up in a not too distant future scene.  )

[Gothick]

I looked up Matt Czuchry and he's had steady employment in two series... the first one was The Gilmore Girls, which I never watched but mention was made here of an episode with a Dark Shadows reference.

I'm fascinated by how two different versions of Vicki's arrival at Collinwood are playing out simultaneously here in different slide shows...

G.

[KMR]

I'm fascinated by how two different versions of Vicki's arrival at Collinwood are playing out simultaneously here in different slide shows...

I agree!

[DarkLady]

Me too! Makes me wish more than ever that the pilot had come to fruition.

[Gerard]

Me, too.  It looks like the WB network really flubbed on not picking it up.  From just what we've seen, it looked like a good reboot of DS (better, so far, than the NBC '91 version).  It also dropped an anvil on its foot by not picking up the reboot of Lost In Space (the pilot available on youtube).  Instead, it went with Jack and Bobby, or Jackie and Bob, or Jackie-Bob, or whatever that series was called.  It bombed.  Yes, some fans of Angel had their grundies in a bundle when they were told that their show was being dumped for Dark Shadows and tried promoting a massive WB boycott.  But DS was never picked up.  The final night of WB programs, before it was absorbed with some of its shows by UPN, garnered less that 1% of viewers.  It makes one wonder just who these, as Bugs Bunny called them, "maroons" who run these corporations are?  Well, no matter.  They made bad decisions, caused an entire company to fail, and they got their golden parachutes and went on to try and wreck other companies.  But that's enough of my kvetching.

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The pilot's Roger is no fool. And before today's quote -

Page 08 - Roger: 'Really. Both stoplights?'

- the script indicates that Roger senses he's being played, but he decides not to push it.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

I'm fascinated by how two different versions of Vicki's arrival at Collinwood are playing out simultaneously here in different slide shows...

So far I am enjoying the Burton version far more.  That being said, I love the Burton film until Barnabas gets released.  We'll see if my loyalties shift, as I'm a bit on the fence about the pilot's characterizations at this point.  The Burton film's characterizations were pretty decent.  What they did or didn't do with the characters was the problem.  But, I can't wait to see the rest of the '04 script to get a feel for where these characters might have gone. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I looked up Matt Czuchry and he's had steady employment in two series... the first one was The Gilmore Girls, which I never watched but mention was made here of an episode with a Dark Shadows reference.

Yes, but unfortunately Matt Czuchry wasn't involved in the sequence - though he was already on the show. Think of how much of a hoot it would have been had he been part of it.

From just what we've seen, it looked like a good reboot of DS (better, so far, than the NBC '91 version).

It might be hard to say it was better than the '91 DS (especially when one ep is being judged against twelve), but that's not to say it was worse. In many ways the '04 DS pilot and the '91 DS are quite different, but in many other ways they're very similar, as we'll see as things play out with the pilot. I enjoyed both versions for what each one was. Though with that being said, and as I indicated in an earlier post, the pilot just might have staged the best vampire attack ever in any version of DS. Many fans do share that opinion. Unfortunately, though, those who've never seen it will simply have to use their imaginations when the description of it comes up later in this topic - and even as good as the description is in the script, the actual execution of the sequence in the pilot is that much better.

[Gothick]

Wow, I'm already thinking how much better the WB pilot seems, thus far, compared with the Burton/Depp opus.  I'm not going to pursue the comparison because I really think we're dealing with apples vs. oranges even if "it's all Dark Shadows."

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

After today's quote -

Page 08 - Victoria: 'I was curious.'

- Roger is scripted to continue with his sarcasm by remarking 'And I'm sure all your late night "sightseeing" has left you exhausted' - but either that was cut before shooting or in the editing of the scene. Too bad because it's quintessential Roger.    And it also set up Roger's next quote in the slideshow. But more on that after it comes up...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Today's quote -

Page 09 - Roger (CONT'D): 'Sophia, take Miss Winters to her room. And make sure she doesn't get lost this time.'

- is a bit different in the pilot than it is in the script - though no less sarcastic. But before we get into that, we actually need to set it up. And what the script says just before Roger's quote is:

A young maid, SOPHIA (20), enters. Seeing Sophia, Roger flickers a smile, and she smiles back — a moment that Willie notices with some discomfort.

(Remember that Sophia is Willie's sister. And more of Willie's discomfort will be dealt with in the scene that comes up in the script immediately following this one. Though, unfortunately, it's a scene that does not appear in the pilot. And that's a shame because it not only delves into Willie and Sophia's relationship, it gets into one of the main problems Willie has with Roger, and no doubt Roger has with him. But alas...)

And another point worth noting is that in the pilot, because the remark from Roger about how exhausted Vicki must have been from all her "sightseeing" was cut, his quote is no longer a continuation for him because Vicki's remark about having been curious is actually what directly precedes it.

And now that we've got all that out of the way, what Roger actually says in the pilot is "Miss Loomis, show Miss Winters to her room. With luck you won't lose your way like your brother." Yes, you've got to love the nearly patented sarcastic wit of Roger! 

And as an aside for those who may be unfamiliar with Jenna Dewan, who played Sophia, here's a photo of her circa 2004:

Well get a bit more into her during the explanations for the next scene...

[Gothick]

This is too delicious.  I think this Roger is now my favorite AFTER the original (who was truly one of a kind).

Thanks for such delightful treats! 

G.

[Cousin_Barnabas]

Wow, I'm already thinking how much better the WB pilot seems, thus far, compared with the Burton/Depp opus.  I'm not going to pursue the comparison because I really think we're dealing with apples vs. oranges even if "it's all Dark Shadows."

I think what is bothering me is the completely "modern" feel I get from the written dialogue, hence the problem I think any writer faces when attempting to write "Dark Shadows" characters into the modern day.  I really think places like Collinsport and its people belong to the 20th century, though I am enjoying the pilot's Roger and Willie a great deal.  Victoria comes off as a bit too "turn of the twenty-first century" for my taste, and I'm not sure what's going on with Liz...  Both of those characters were well-executed in the Burton film, if lacking screentime.  Needless to say, I am anxious for the arrival of Barnabas.  Maybe he will send things back to the "classic age" of vampire dramas.