Humor on Dark Shadows

[Midnite]

Referring to Willie, the Eagle Hill caretaker says, "He did something terrible!  He pretended to be something that he wasn't!" to which Jason replies, "If that were a crime, we'd all be in jail."

[onyx_treasure]

Barnabas tells Julia she's being "peevish," and she shoots back, "PEEV-ish?!?!?"

     Thanks for mentioning that one.  I thought it was a rare moment of Barnabas being playful with Julia instead of threatening.

     There is a scene in 1795 that tickled me.  Ben tells an upset Angelique that Josette and Barnabas went off riding together.  He smiles and asks if it would help her if he got the horses names.

[Cassandra]

Magda is cleaning the Old House and exasperatedly tells Jamison that Barnabas "has brought me something called 'the wax for the floors!'"  (I would've liked to have seen her when she was using it, snicker.)

 LOL!!!!  That was a good one!  Thanks for reminding me of this one and I sure would have loved to see her using it too.


Another good one I just remembered was when Julia was trying her hardest to discourage Dr.Woodard's curiousity about the ghost of Sarah.  Dr.Woodard had mentioned that Sam Evans had also seen Sarah so she must exist and wasn't just a figment of little David's imagination, as everyone originally thought.  Julia then went on to mention that Sam Evans is a heavy drinker and then replied, "some people see pink elephants, Sam Evans just happens to see ghosts!"   LOL!!!  I still laugh whenever I think of her saying that line.

1795 - After witnessing the hand of Jeremiah emerging out of his grave, Naomi & Josette run frantically back to the old house where Joshua Collins & Andre Dupree await them.  When explaining why they were out so late, Naomi says she was just "sitting there in the chair" when she saw Josette leave the house and then followed her.  Joshua then spots the half empty glass of sherry by the chair and replies, "indeed you were my dear."  When Naomi explains that "she only had half a glass"  Joshua replies, "around a quarter of a bottle I should say!"   Then he holds up the glass and exclaims, "maybe I should open up my own bottle so I can start seeing hands appearing out of the ground and who knows what other imaginable things!"
I loved the sarcastic wit that Louis Edmonds sometimes used while playing Joshua Collins.  You couldn't help but laugh.


Cassandra

[Connie]

I love the little scene in 1897 where Quentin has come home and he goes upstairs to see Grandma.  She's been anxiously awaiting Edward's return so she can tell him the secret.
Quentin enters her room and she doesn't realize it's him.  She says:  "Edward.  Thank God.....thank God.  Now I can die."
Quentin goes:  "You're quite right, Grandmama.  Seeing Edward IS reason enough to die!" 

 

[ProfStokes]

dom, your mention of Sandor reminded me of another favorite, funny scene which occurs just after Sandor has tangled with zombie Quentin.

Magda is pacing at the Old House, crying and berating Barnabas for sending her husband out to die.  When Sandor stumbles in from the graveyard, she runs to him with relief and delight, but then quickly changes her attitude, teasing Sandor and calling him, "My big fat hero."  Not only was this exchange funny, but I felt it captured the dynamic of Magda and Sandor's relationship: genuine affection mingled with gentle teasing.

Another funny moment that I've remembered happened in 1795.  Abigail is rambling about the presence of evil and criticizing Naomi for drinking, which she believes to be yet another sign of the devil's influence.  To this, Naomi insightfully replies, "I find it curious that the devil has informed you of so many of his plans." 

ProfStokes

[Gothick]

Grayson put a lot of wit into her lines in certain scenes, as did Joan.  I loved it when Julia and Carolyn are discussing the new antique shop that's just opened in town; Carolyn's raving about how "divine" it is and then says something else about it, to which Julia ripostes "you don't make it SOUND very 'dee-VINE'" with this Holly Golightly elevated-eyebrow face that never fails to crack me up.

A lot of Magda's funniest moments were non-verbal.  I remember one scene where she's waiting for Barn to come out of his coffin with a very arch expression on her face and hands planted firmly on hips that's a scream.  Her shuffling of the tarot cards in a scene with Laura at the cottage is wonderful too and always indues fits of cackling.

Joan had so many fabulous moments in the first year of the series.  A great one from 1897 is a certain scene where rings up her husband, "Reverend" Gregory Trask, and informs him that thanks to certain arrangements she's made, he now has all the time he needs to meditate.  I just love Joan's delivery of that line and the expression on her face--it's the embodiment of "the cat that ate the canary."  Flawless.

Thayer David as Prof Stokes had some memorable zingers, too, particularly during the Cassandra Collins storyline (my personal all-time favorite DS storyline).  I loved whenever he referred to Cassandra as "our favorite Witch" or mentioned his own "cat complex."

G.

[scottd]

 I just heard several hilarious lines while watching DVD collection 9 tonight:

Nicholas to Cassandra: "I'm too talented to be drugging drinks!"

Barnabas to Willie: "We'll deal with your mental abberations later." This is after Willie is telling Barnabas that Maggie would be interested in him if Joe wasn't around. There are so many funny Barnabas to Willie lines!!

[dom]

Natalie du Pres had some very funny comments upon her arrival at the old House (which wasn't old at the time). IIRC they were jabs at the American way of life, which really ruffled Joshua's feathers in particular. Very funny stuff!

[Gerard]

Another line that just tickles me is when Carolyn reacts rather hysterically on finding Joe at Collinwood, drunk as a skunk.  She says:  "Joe!  You're potted!"  I just love that term.

Gerard

[stefan]

Natalie du Pres had some very funny comments upon her arrival at the old House (which wasn't old at the time). IIRC they were jabs at the American way of life, which really ruffled Joshua's feathers in particular. Very funny stuff!

That's true. Like when she mentioned the Collins' chef wouldn't cook fish with wine because it was against her/his religious beliefs. Then she'd arch her eyebrows. I think both Natalie and Pop Dupres were written with lots of comedy touches probably to offset the vampire/witch drama.

[Connie]

I love the scene near the beginning of 1840 when Barnabas goes to the mortuary to view Ben Stokes' body.  He and Trask are having a little exchange when Trask starts talking about his illustrious father. 

Trask says, "My father was an emissary of the Almighty, sent to strike the cloven hoof from this poor wretched village."

Barnabas, vaguely amused, asks, "And was he successful?"

[Sandor]

Love the scene in early '69 where a possessed David is playing a game of rubber darts in the Drawing Room, purposely annoying the hell out of Barnabas, who attempts to read the inscription on a pentagram: "To guard you from Cerberus." When Barn explains to an inquisitive David that Cerberus "was a wild dog who guarded the gates of hell," Carolyn enters (carrying a tray) and quips, "My, what cheerful conversation."
Other moments of levity were guaranteed when Magda was disgusted with someone, and Grayson would make one of those "hock a loogey" spitting sounds.
Don Briscoe's W.C. Fields impersonation was worth a chuckle (when he wasn't sounding like Gary Cooper), and let us not forget the classic Willie/Adam "taunting with a chicken leg" chase scene.

[Cassandra]

Just thought of another one from 1795 when Joshua and Jeremiah were conversing and Joshua was trying his darnest to have Jeremiah fall for cousin Millicent, saying all kinds of lovely things about her.   Jeremiah looks at Joshua and says, "well, I can tell she sure has won your heart!!"  Joshua then says, "I take it you meant that as a humorous remark,  it was your heart I hoping she would win."   LOL!  I just can't for the life of me picture ole Joshua trying to win over anyone's heart.


Cassandra

[coterie-mc]

After sheriff Paterson tells Jason to leave Collinsport, Jason has willie meet him at the blue whale thinking willie has brought him a fortune in jewels, Jason- "Okay Mr Loomis Einstein, i bet your pockets are just bulging with jewels"  after Willie produces a single brooch, Jason says "i told you to dip your hand in that box and i meant it".

During the 1795 story, Angelique says "what shall i turn Josuha Collins into,  Ben?? (the only time i remember him gleefully approving her witchcraft), says "make him into a jackass, that's what i'd do, i'd work that jackass hard, make him clear the rocks out of the north field, just me and him, him pullin' them and me beating him good"

[Midnite]

During the 1795 story, Angelique "what shall i turn josuha collins into,  Ben?? (the only time i remember him gleefully approving her witchcraft), says "make him into a jackass, thats what i'd do, i'd work that jackass hard, make him clear the rocks out of the north field, just me and him, him pullin' them and me beating him good"

I LOVE that!  And Thayer David said it with such relish.