Discuss - Ep #1118

[Watching Project]

Robservations #1118

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

Re: Discuss - Ep #1118

[alwaysdavid]

Desmond shows Ben the head and it brings back memories for Ben. Ben also realizes Barnabas is different. Barnabas wants to meet Daniel to see if he will know him. Well, of course, he is go to know him and all he has to do is what he tells everyone that he is the son. Daniel has forgotten that Q is dead and when he meets Barnabas, he says you haven't changed. Daniel offers up The Old House and all is well. Gerard comes in and Meets Daniel for the first time. This seems strange as he seems very much in with the others, as if, he's been there a while. He was the First Mate on the China Sea. I though he was the pirate captain of the Java Queen a few weeks ago. Dan wants to know how his son died and that Q and Tad were washed overboard in storm.
Daniel and Ben recall the head and murders in Bedford. Ben finds a book and learns of the horror of the head. Ben goes to Rose cottage and the Head opens its eyes and Ben screams. I have a hard time believing that Ben would be scared of the head when his own face looks much more horrible and, to top it off, he just read about it so should expect some shenanigans from the head.

[Uncle Roger]

As I said the last time around, the head pretty much jumps the shark here. This, to me, is the nadir of Dark Shadows. I never found the head scary, just preposterous. Though I'm sure the cast must have had a blast during rehearsal
Desmond is suspicious of Barnabas and rightly so. Doesn't anyone think it's just a bit odd that Julia has no trace of an English accent? And, for someone whose idea of a gift is a severed head, Desmond is really in no position to judge anyone's behavior.
Daniel meets Barnabas and accurately recognizes him as original recipe Barnabas. Daniel is nuts but he's certainly not stupid.
How long has Gerard been there? It seems that Quentin and Tad have been missing for some time. The Collinses are being unusually polite for letting him stay so long.
Ben and Daniel recall that the head was linked to an atrocity in nearby Bedford. Ben mistakenly verbalizes this in front of the head. Looks like Ben is in serious trouble.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

As I was just posting this time around's last captures for Ep #1119 on the Games boards, I remembered that back in the day I never saw this ep because it was preempted for the installation of a new bishop in Boston (apparently that was a much bigger thing than it is nowadays because not only was DS preempted by the Boston, MA ABC affiliate, it was also preempted by the Providence, RI affiliate for their coverage of the ecent). Until I finally saw Ep #1118 on the Sci-Fi Channel, the only thing I knew about what had happened was thanks (and I use that word somewhat facetiously) to a voiceover the Boston affiliate did before Ep #1119 came on the next day (I always made audio recordings of the eps):

Announcer: "Ben discovered the head and told Desmond to get rid of the head. Desmond refused to do this. Ben, himself, went directly to Rose Cottage to remove and destroy the head. As he uncovered it, the eyes opened and gave Ben a deadly stare. It is at this point that we resume with the regularly scheduled program."

Apparently they didn't believe anything involving Gerard, Daniel, or even Barnabas was worth mentioning...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

This is way OT, but it just dawned on me that an interesting question would be whether or not the bishop who was installed that day in 1970 was in any way involved in the sex abuse scandal... But to bring it back around to DS, knowing that a person like that was possibly why DS was preempted would make the preempting even more stinging than it originally had been... Maybe it's best not to check...

[Josette]

Doesn't anyone think it's just a bit odd that Julia has no trace of an English accent?

It's been a long time since I've seen this, but I think I remember a story concocted about her having been raised or lived with relatives in the U.S.  I kind of think it was Pennsylvania.