Definitely sad news.  I thought Elcar defined the role of Sheriff P more incisively than the others who essayed the part.

Other roles in which I recall him were a small but expressive part in Adam at 6 A.M. (with Grayson Hall, too), and an exceptionally fine role in an episode of The Rockford Files in which he played opposite Dennis Patrick.

G.

I loved that drawing room scene, too.  It was so different from what I was expecting.  The muted, naturalistic reaction to the intrusion of the supernatural was so very different from how they played things later on.

I thought that KLS' acting was superb in that episode where she was chatting up Joe.  Perky but with a sly sexual subtext.  Really excellent work.

I think the scenes where it's Roger's shoes going up hill and down dale were shot with extras--not sure why they did it this way.

I agree that Vicki oughta get the hell outta Dodge--except that if she did that, there'd be no show.  Poor Vicki.

G.

I've frequently noticed in reading discussions of various Dark Shadows episodes here that fans born too late to have experienced the Sixties firsthand often seem to doubt whether anybody in their right mind would have furnished their homes or worn their clothes in the styles showcased on the series in episodes set in the present day.  Those of us who were around and aware between 1960 and 1970 have tried to explain the unique ... um, ALLURE, of trends back in the day, but our plain statements of fact are often greeted with braying disbelief and such exclamations as:  "You're pulling my leg!  NOBODY would have been so dumb as to have worn/purchased/displayed THAT!"

Well, Confucius always said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Take a look at this site:

http://www.houseplantpicturestudio.com/HPS/liquorwebfotos/batch3/liquor003.html

It has it all, from beehive hair to sleeveless dresses, from clunky costume jewellry to women dolled up to resemble Lady Dracula for a night out with their pals; to rebellious, hippie teens and one cool cat who seems to have been going through a "Matt Helm" phase.  Many of the images are dated 1968.

I have to confess, the bathing suit series makes me grateful that Liz never had an indoor swimming pool installed at Collinwood (just think of what Mrs Johnson would have said at the mere suggestion of such a thing!).

Best wishes,

Gothique

Cool!  Maybe they'll run his other Kojak at some point.  He may have had a more substantial role in that one.

G.

I am personally thrilled with how well it turned out.

It looks beautiful and reads great!  Big congrats to RJ!

Steve

My explanation--involves spoilers, so if those make you squick, do not read (or, as a friend of mine once put it, "cover your eyes while you read"):

[spoiler]Cassandra's spell on Liz qualifies as a hex, or, as they prefer to call it on DS, a curse.  You may have noticed that when Ang was put to death in 1795, her curse on Barnabas remained firmly in place.  A hex/curse is a powerful energetic alignment aimed at a specific target (in Anglo-Saxon parlance, we find the term "elfshot").  Like a powerful poison administered to the bloodstream, it continues until its work is done, regardless of the subsequent actions of the person who set the hex/curse (word to the wise:   there's no such thing as "reversing" a hex/curse.  All that can be done is to work to raise healing or positive energy on behalf of the victim to counterract the negative impact of the hex.  Smart Witches don't set hexes that have no way out other than death. I am afraid as a Witch, Nicholas is correct in stating that his "dear sister" wasn't very smart--or very competent.  But, I digress.

In the story of DS, Cassandra's death curse on Liz persists until she does appear to "die." She's really in a catatonic trance.  Inexplicably, Julia, who is aware that something odd is going on, does not send Liz to a hospital to have tests done to determine whether she is really dead despite the lack of vital signs.  Did I mention that this part of the story requires suspension of disbelief?   However, Liz has been able to arrange for herself to be entombed in an above-ground mausoleum, equipped with an alarm bell.  You have to watch to find out what happens, but it does sort of explain why, once she is released from the tomb, Liz no longer suffers from the curse.

There's a very interesting scene where Julia, who doesn't know about Cassandra's curse, offers a psychological explanation for what's happening to Liz.  I see this is an attempt by whoever wrote that particular show to explain a train of events that otherwise don't make much sense to longtime viewers of the show.[/spoiler]

Hope this answers your question,  I apologize if it is more than you wanted or needed to know on this topic.

G.

I personally thought the whole on-screen strangling was gratuitous and over-the-top, but that could be said of the entire climactic 20 minutes or so of that movie.

btw, don't forget that the original plan in 1967 DS was to have Julia die at the hands of Barnabas.  The fact that she's headed "right for death" is alluded to in at least one episode voiceover (I think it's the one that shows Julia pondering Sarah's mob cap at the beginning?).

G.

Luciaphil darling,

as always, reading you is a highlight of the day, the week, the month, the year...

I love your description of the "closed off wing" and its resemblance to a "fire sale."  You're right, of course; it is beyond strange that a woman with Liz's character would let the house go to pot like this.  I think it is meant to be "read" symbolically as a physical expression of the moral, financial, and familial decay of the Collins family.  Behind the impressive facade of Collinwood, there are rooms full of broken-down, useless furniture and the junked remains of cartloads of heirlooms.  Reminds me of one of my favorite lines in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (which I am informed is about to be released on DVD)--Mary Astor's character is given the line, "all I have left is ruined finery."

Just have to add that I think KLS was really quite marvelous in those scenes with Joe.  Crothers was his usual stellar self, of course.  Gave me rather a pang to read the phrase, "the doomed Joe Haskell"--made me think of how he ended up.

best, Steve