MUST!

You know, several ppl on here have mentioned that on DS ppl didn't say things like "You have to", but rather they say "You must".  I've been paying more attention to dialog lately because of these statements and I have to say it is absolutely TRUE!  LOL!  What is it about DS that makes ppl talk differently? 

"I don't know.  I just don't know."  Seriously, the writers on DS probably had distinctive styles with stock phrases to use.  I know that when I do creative writing, I tend to use similar words and sentences, though after I look over a story or script (something the writers on DS could hardly afford to do considering the time limits they had), I try to avoid repetition.

"I don't know.  I just don't know."

LOL!  Good one!   

Seriously, the writers on DS probably had distinctive styles with stock phrases to use.  I know that when I do creative writing, I tend to use similar words and sentences, though after I look over a story or script (something the writers on DS could hardly afford to do considering the time limits they had), I try to avoid repetition.

See, I do the opposite.  I'm working on a fan novel that I plan on bringing out at the Festival this summer and I like that I'm using the phrases familiar to us all.  I figure they will at the very least get a smile out of fans reading it. 

It (MUST!) was also Julia's favorite argument to use to get someone to help her with anything.    "But why would I want to avoid Barnabas, Doctor?"   "Because you MUST!"

Really persuasive woman.    Her arguments are absolutely airtight.

Count how many times they say, "I don't understand". or they answer a question with a question. Willie talks of a little girl on the estate. Barn - I don't know how many times asks, "A little girl???"

One of my favorite phrases is "perfectly all right" as in "I'm perfectly all right."  (I believe Stokes says that at least once in HODS--I've also heard it on the series.)

Of course, one can be perfect, or one can be all right, but I think perfectly all right is a little much.   LOL


Brian

Other then "I don't Know" my other fav is "look into my eyes."  Nick and Angie say this a lot.

Count how many times they say, "I don't understand". or they answer a question with a question. Willie talks of a little girl on the estate. Barn - I don't know how many times asks, "A little girl???"

Hmmm...I smell a DRINKING game coming on, LOL! 

That's nothing compared to all the times we saw actors looking into the Teleprompters!  We'd all end up as "friends of Bill W.".

That's nothing compared to all the times we saw actors looking into the Teleprompters!  We'd all end up as "friends of Bill W.".

OMG Charles!  If we all took a drink when Frid looks at the prompter, we'd all be very drunk indeed by the end of a 40 ep disk, LOL! 

Julia says, "It makes *NO* sense!" a lot, and (of course) "Let me give you a sedative."  One of my all-time favourite scenes in the show is in the last episode or so of Leviathan when Carolyn stumbles home after witnessing a particularly saddening death (for her, at least), and Julia offers her a sedative.  Carolyn totally flips out and says, "I DON'T WANT A SEDATIVE!" or something to that extent.  Classic. 

She says, (or rather, screams) "I don't want a sedative, I want JEB!!!!"

Cheap insufferable pig he may have been, but he was clearly a wow in the sack.

The secret of the Naga lives on...

G.

The secret of the Naga lives on...

  OMG, Gothick, you are a riot!  Heehee.

I've been rewatching the early episodes.
Now I am up when Barnabas has become an old man.
The phrase I've noticed is "We'd like to take it one
step further."
Julianka

when i was watching over the weekend i was reminded of this post and just how often they say one "MUST" do something or other.

i think they did this in part to highten the sense of urgency of whatever situation they were dealing with.it just sounds more dramatic to say "YOU MUST!" rather than they less showy "you have to".

one "has to" pay the phone bill.but one "MUST!" burn a witch,stake a vampire,create artificial life.

another thing to consider is that the show was produced at a time when a proper command of the english language was still considered important.especially for a group of people who were,for the most part,well-edjucated members of the upper-class.good grammar and good manners mattered.

the way things translate from paper to the spoken word can be tricky too.the writers were trying to come up with good dialouge and perhaps didn't realize how it might play when spoken.i notice this with myself here.i try and articulate myself thoughtfully...but when reading the posts later they sometimes sound flowery and pretentious.

but i love how formally everyone on the show speaks.