An Actual Instance of Bad Judgment on the Part of the Estimable Prof. Stokes?

Hey gang,

While watching the summer of 1970 Dark Shadows episodes recently, I wondered if the normally sage and perspicacious Prof. T. Elliott Stokes really screwed up royally with his decision to bring his young niece, Hallie Stokes, to stay at Collinwood so soon after the tragic death of Hallie's parents in a car accident?

After all, if Amy Jennings' prior experiences were any indication, Collinwood was hardly a safe and serene setting for a young person to live and develop emotionally in.

And, could Maggie Evans have been all that thrilled, that she would now have to be responsible for the education and guidance of two teenagers, both on the cusp of burgeoning adulthood?

I tell you, what bothers me most about the usually wise Prof. Stokes' decision to bring his niece to Collinwood, is that we all had to sit through dozens of Dark Shadows episodes in which we had to listen to the young Ms. Stokes' incessant moaning, whining and kvetching.

(Maybe Prof. Stokes should have asked just Dr. Hoffman to supply Hallie with some apparently much-needed prescriptions for Xanax and Remeron in order to help his jumpy niece with her seemingly unending anxiety attacks, while Hallie stayed with the professor at HIS home?)

Bob the Bartender

But is there any reason to assume that Prof. Stokes was aware of any of the strange things that happened at Collinwood or any experiences of Amy?  While Barnabas and Julia asked for his help in some instances, I don't think any of those things specifically applied to goings on at Collinwood.

By the time of Hallie's arrival, the ghosts of Quentin & beth have obviously been erased, so there isn't any reason for him to think otherwise.

Although we do have to listen to Hallie's kvetching--and I blame the writers for that, not her--her presence at Collinwood means that we get to see more of the estimable Professor Timothy Eliot Stokes, and that's just fine with me.

But is there any reason to assume that Prof. Stokes was aware of any of the strange things that happened at Collinwood or any experiences of Amy?  While Barnabas and Julia asked for his help in some instances, I don't think any of those things specifically applied to goings on at Collinwood.

Josette,

I believe that Prof. Stokes was aware of both the malevolent ghost of Quentin's efforts to possess David and Amy (didn't Stokes attempt an exorcism at one point to rid the mansion and the two kids of the "bad" Quentin?), and the good professor was also directly involved in Julia and, ultimately, Barnabas' efforts to defeat Jeb Hawkes and the Leviathans.  (If I'm not mistaken, Prof. Stokes was also aware of Chris Jennings' ongoing lycanthropic "problem," after Barnabas "I-Chinged" his way back to 1897.  But, that was apparently forgotten after Chris, Sabrina and Amy departed Collinsport.)

After Barnabas and Julia informed Prof. Stokes of their experiences in 1995, and, more importantly, of the impending disaster at Collinwood, I'd have thought that the omniscient Stokes would have had his jittery niece, Hallie, on the first jetliner out of Portland Airport to Los Angeles, Ca., Truth or Consequences, N.M., or even Secaucus, N.J.!

DarkLady,

Your point is right on concerning how great it was to see the wonderful Thayer David as Prof. Stokes during those, roughly, 39 episodes beginning with Mr. B. and Dr. H.'s return from 1995 to 1970, through Gerard and his pirates' ultimate "destruction" of Collinwood.

By the way, I found these episodes somewhat tedious, if not claustrophobic, in that we pretty much only got to see the scenes played out in Collinwood and that d@mned playroom; very rarely were we afforded glimpses of the Old House and even Sebastian and Roxanne's home to break the monotony.  (Thankfully, Willie Loomis, sporting a new hair style, showed up to help things get going just before Gerard showed up to wave that flag in the tower room.)

Of course, the wonderfully cynical Roger Collins was nowhere to be seen, having gone off on another extended "business trip" to London. And we never got to see what was going on in Collinsport during this time period.  I would have liked to have seen the Collinsport Inn, the Collinsport police station, and, certainly, THE "in-spot" in Collinsport, the Blue Whale.  (Just once more, I'd have liked to have seen the great Bob Rooney, tending bar, and wearing one of his trademark Sears flannel shirts, with his El Producto stogie firmly clenched between his teeth!)

There was one episode when we were provided with a much-needed break from the the surreal goings-on in that playroom; that was the episode in which we got to see Maggie, Carolyn, Quentin, and David enjoying a pleasant, summer afternoon picnic on the grounds of Collinwood.  I can't begin to tell you how I grateful/relieved I was, when, I believe, Carolyn mentioned that Hallie would be spending that particular afternoon with her Uncle Elliott.

Thank you Prof. Stokes, for affording us all with a brief respite from Hallie's seemingly unending anxiety attacks!

Bob the Bartender

(Just once more, I'd have liked to have seen the great Bob Rooney, tending bar, and wearing one of his trademark Sears flannel shirts, with his El Producto stogie firmly clenched between his teeth!)

But of course, Bob is always a welcome sight!

However: I do have to disagree about the playroom. It was one of my favorite sets on the show. I just wish they had given us a closeup of the portrait of the two kids and written it into the story line somehow. Maybe it would have taken some time away from Hallie's kvetching, or at least distracted us from it.

Other than that, I didn't mind the claustrophobic atmosphere. It added tension to the slowly (maybe too slowly?) unfolding mystery of the 1970 story line, one of my favorites--although I could have done without the zombie pirates. But we also get to see the relationship between Julia and Barnabas change and grow. I wouldn't have missed "Not without you!" for anything!

There might be a couple reasons why Uncle Elliot had Hallie stay at Collinwood.  First, when Barnabas and Julia returned from their sojourn elsewhere they were told that nothing had happened at Collinwood for a long time and everything was peaceful, so maybe Unc thought the place was now safe.  Second, maybe he just didn't want her living with him - I mean, would you?  As an aside, why did David and Hallie need a governess?  Both were teens and should've been attending Collinsport High.

Gerard

While Professor Stokes was certainly a well-educated, sophisticated man of the world, the one thing that he may have felt that was unable to handle was his extremely high strung and emotional teenage niece!

I agree that Hallie and David should have been in high school by this point. High school being a horror all its own.

If Maggie had raised any objections, I can easily picture Roger saying "if you don't like the situation, Miss Evans, you can always go back to the diner."

I think it's highly likely that David would have burned down Collinsport High. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 

There you go!  David (or was it David?) burning down Collinsport High would've been another storyline DC could've pursued!  And Hallie could've continued kvetching during the whole plot.  Imagine the teachers having to deal with that (a subplot).

Gerard

Yes, it is rather ridiculous. Why would he have her stay at Collinwood? Why not with him or other relatives?

"Here, sweetie - my buddies Dr Hoffman and Barnabas Collins (who I'm like 95% sure is a vampire) have a hookup on this creepy old house I know for a fact was haunted in the recent past. Want to stay there?"

yes with the exception of dr.hoffman professor stokes was more aware than anybody of the supernatural shenanigans at collinwood. more than the house's inhabitants in fact.

to keep the action centered at collinwood the writers engaged in alot of implausible plot contrivances...like bringing a waitress in to tutor two children or having a hitherto unknown "relative" take up residence in a closed off wing of the house...of highly questionable judgement.

this was definitely a case of that.

Part of the problem was that Professor Stokes was supposed to know everything--but thanks to the faithful Julia, he never found out the biggest secret of all.

Part of the problem was that Professor Stokes was supposed to know everything--but thanks to the faithful Julia, he never found out the biggest secret of all.

That's debatable.  I'm certain Professor Stokes knew about Barnabas.  He suspected it from the start.  When he saw Barnabas walking in daylight, he may have deduced that he was cured but I think he still knew that the Barnabas from 1795 was the same one walking around in the present.  He chose not to say anything, but I think he knew.