DS DVD News: '50th Anniversary Collector's Edition'

[Robot_Quentin]

Back in my younger days, I thought about re-editing the entire series to get rid of all the extraneous and unnecessary plotlines...

ie. the moon-poppy werewolf cure etc.

Somewhere on the internet I saw some fan had edited the first 2 seasons of Twin Peaks down to a four-hour mega movie... That's some dedication for sure.

[michael c]

one man's trash is another man's treasure...

the minutia, the offhand remarks, the throwaway scenes, are some of the favorite things about the show. not just the big dramatic moments.

one of my all time favorite scenes is a 1967 scene where Carolyn, under a certain "influence", gives Julia a hard time for not being "properly" attired for dinner. it's nothing really. it doesn't push the narrative forward. it doesn't really mean anything plot wise. it's just some cat and mouse.

but those types of moments make up the totality of it.

[Robot_Quentin]

What I should've said Michael, was when I was younger and didn't appreciate the nuances and minutia that give DS the undying charm, that nowadays is the REAL reason I watch!

And re-watch, and re-watch, and re-watch... 

Thanks to the official, and my un-official watching projects!!

[michael c]

for this reason these "best of" compilations have never had any draw for me.

my "best of" could be Julia removing a pair of gloves or Mrs. Johnson complaining about spoiled mayonnaise. they'd never make the cut. 

[Gothick]

I so agree, Michael.  Mrs. J giving Maggie a dime to show her appreciation is a priceless moment.  Laura in 1966 lighting a cigarette.  Julia prowling around Chris's cottage in a scene that lasts maybe 12 seconds.  Portia Fitzsimmons crisply informing Sam he could be big stuff in the Manhattan gallery scene.  Stokes critiquing various individuals' taste in furniture and decor.  Roger mewling "oh REAAALLLY Liz!"  Judith telephoning Gregory at a certain moment.  Hoffman talking about the FIRST Mrs Collins's room.  And on and on.

The weirdest thing about the DS "phenomenon" or worse still, "the franchise," is how little all the hype has to do with why we REALLY watch... some of us, at anyrate...

G.

[dom]

I'm very partial to Sandy and Mrs. Hopewell.

[alwaysdavid]

You all are making me want to watch the beginning episodes, which are my favorites again.

[michael c]

this board has always had a strong base of "first year aficionados"...

one of the best things about it. those episodes are pure gold.

[Uncle Roger]

One of my favorite scenes comes later on. After much cajoling from Julia, Chris has finally agreed to visit his little sister at Wyndcliffe. He knows that he should but is nervous about facing Amy. Amy has genuine issues with abandonment. Her parents are gone and have been for some time. Her brother Tom who had been her caretaker died under questionable circumstances. It's not clear how close she is to be cousin Joe but apparently having him as a guardian was not an option. Chris did not come back to Collinsport until after Tom's funeral. Amy is withdrawn and distrustful and feels that Chris is there to ease his guilt and not much more.
This scene just aches. It establishes both Amy and Chris as damaged, without any supernatural angle. They come across as a real brother and sister and help to anchor DS in a level of reality that the program didn't always attempt.

[Gothick]

I agree Uncle Roger.  It's too bad the writing for the two characters had not continued with work of this calibre.  Their scenes together after this one tended to be pretty perfunctory, but they did have a great chem, which added a distinct quality and really made you think they were brother & sister.

G.

[michael c]

by this point the "real" human interactions were definitely being shortchanged in favor of whatever monster was coming out of the woodwork.

it was a considerable misjudgement on the part of the writers. but i guess they had lunchboxes and bubble gum cards to sell. 

[The Doctor and K9]

I've often wondered how many viewers were lost when they went full tilt into the supernatural on DS. I've never run across anyone who told me that she watched the show in the beginning and dropped it when it became "silly" but I'm sure there must have been a segment of the viewership that did so.

[michael c]

if i could guess some of the more "traditional" (ie. housewives) soap opera viewers might turned on 'Search for Tomorrow' once the dry ice machine started cranking. but that void was filled and then some with kids and more adventurous watchers.


to me the show works best when it blends the supernatural with more traditional soap storytelling. it's what gives it it's unique flavor and keeps it from devolving into 'Creature Double Feature'  territory. when it's monster-vs-monster, with no real human interactions, it's just dumb.

[Patti Feinberg]

Agree with you Michael C.

Case in point would be the 'Dream' sequence(s). There's the 'everyday, mundane' life going on, except for ONE person, trying to NOT tell ONE other person.

I've only seen the '66 Laura, specifically, IIRC it was Vicki, Burke, and __________________ (Joe?).

I like the way it took them more that a nano-second to start to see a pattern. That's one of the best story arcs (and, with that, the whole 1897/Quentin saying, "You're dead", and a little bit later, Barn saying, "That can't be Laura from 1755/whatever).

Patti