Willie or Won’t He Stay?

Think for a minute about a bad date you once had. One where you discovered you had nothing in common and couldn’t wait for the clock to chime your escape. Or maybe it was one where the young man appeared handsome and charming until you were alone with him and then he became an octopus with a threatening disposition. Now imagine that, instead of being able to escape to the safety and comfort of your home, your mother has invited the disagreeable clod to stay as a visitor in your home? 

Willie Loomis is the most obnoxious character to grace the set of Dark Shadows. He is a dark and evil Maynard Krebs, pouring on the charm in a 1960s laidback fashion, but dark and dangerous beneath the surface. He is nearly in a beer-bottle fight at the Blue Whale during his first appearance. Jason McGuire saves the day and no one senses that McGuire himself may have been the one to bring this smarmy creature tottering on the edge of civility to their little port.

In this series of episodes, we discover that everyone is dealing with the consequences of secrets: Elizabeth is being bullied by Jason because of the mystery in the locked basement room, Willie threatens to expose Jason if Jason doesn’t find a way to make Elizabeth welcome him at Collinwood, and Carolyn and Vicky wonder why Elizabeth is allowing Jason and his wicked friend to infiltrate their home. Roger, on the other hand, has his secret exposed: Sam tells Burke that he saw Roger driving the car that killed a man 10 years before.

These episodes are still building the storyline and are a little slow moving. Never fear, though. Watching them is fascinating because of Jason McGuire and his ever changing accent. Sometimes he is Scottish, sometimes Irish, occasionally a wealthy New Englander and sometimes just a tough guy from an old film.

At first, it is disorienting. But, if you grab a tablet and a cup of coffee, put up your feet and tally each time Jason’s accent changes, you can feel good about wasting away a delightful afternoon.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

It happened. Finally. Laura talked David into going away with her. She convinced him to sneak out of the house and meet her at the fishing shack. When he arrived, she gave him a lantern to hold so he could stare into the flames. See the colors. Feel the warmth. Suddenly, David said his hands were numb and (BUM-BUM-BUM) he dropped the lantern. Finally. The big fire. The whole story of the phoenix. Laura nearly had David convinced to come to her so they would  be forever together in the fire- when Vicky showed up and broke the trance and saved David. End of story arc-thank goodness. My daughter may have enjoyed Laura’s insulting comebacks, but I found her character to be highly annoying. Rest in peace, I guess.

New story arc (part1): a wealthy art gallery owner finds Sam Evans and wants to do a showing of his work from ten years ago. She needs a dozen paintings and he has one week to find them. Cut to Sam (whose burned hands healed immediately when Laura perished) asking Roger for his old paintings. Roger says he’ll sell them back to Sam for what he paid for them ten years ago- $15,000. Sam, infuriated, says that money was for something else- his silence. Sam reveals that Roger was driving the car that killed a man and Roger framed Burke Devlin for it!

New story arc (part2): a stranger appears at the Blue Whale asking questions about Elizabeth Stoddard (who has made a miraculous recovery upon the fiery death of Laura). The same stranger finds his way to the Collins home and charms his way in to see Elizabeth. Elizabeth is less then thrilled to see Jason McGuire, a man from her past. The last time she saw him was 18 years ago- the same time she decided not to leave the grounds of Collinwood. After being bullied, Elizabeth agrees to allow him to stay at the family home, much to the surprise of Roger. Elizabeth also makes Vicky promise she will not tell anyone that Elizabeth was in the basement. Hmmmmm…

What a Parapsychologist Shouldn’t Do

 

Dr. Guthrie is a parapsychologist. He is well-versed in paranormal phenomenon. He knows his way around a crypt and a séance. He isn’t afraid to dig up a grave and open a sealed coffin. He recognizes a trance and the feel of evil. He has convinced the skeptics at Collinwood beyond any doubt that something mystical is happening. So, how does such a knowledgeable, persuasive man manage to make such a colossal mess of things?

Guthrie has seen that Elizabeth Stoddard is under the spell of a powerful trance. He knows that Sam Evans has been badly burned in an unlikely situation. The ghost of Josette Collins seems to be forewarning imminent danger. Yet, knowing how powerful and vindictive Laura Collins can be, Guthrie barges into her cottage and tells her what he knows.

“You are the undead,” declares Dr. Guthrie.

Laura says she can’t decide whether to laugh or cry at his foolishness. What she does instead is to get even.

When Guthrie returns to the Collinwood, the huge eyes of Laura fill the screen as the doctor writhes in agony---the same symptoms Elizabeth Stoddard showed. The only thing that broke Laura’s spell was the touch of David. Guthrie knows that Laura is trying to reach him, prevent him from exposing her secret. Yet, knowing Laura’s plan and that only David can save him, Dr. Guthrie still gets in his car alone to meet the others for what they all hope is the final conclusive séance.

Yep, you guessed it. Bad idea. Heading to the old house, the doctor complains that an oncoming vehicle’s lights are too bright and, moments later, the doctor lies dead beside the road.

Whatever possessed him to grab that particular big stick and poke the mean, nasty Phoenix in her lair?

I am going to miss his character with his clunky black glasses and increasing reliance on reading the script from cue cards.

Annoying the Phoenix

My daughter was trapped this morning. It was too warm and humid to stay in her bedroom, yet downstairs meant watching more of Dark Shadows. Such a dilemma. The humidity won and forced her into the cool of the media room.

I kept teasing her about watching the show with me.

  “I KNOW you love this show. You’re mesmerized it. The off lighting. The charm of Roger and his rich-family accent.”

She finally admitted she was waiting for Laura and her mean-spirited one-liners. Shortly after that, Burke burst in on Laura and Dr. Guthrie.

“What’s he doing here?” asked Burke.

“To tell you the truth, he’s annoying me,” replied Laura.

Just what my daughter was waiting for.

Later, David visits his mother at her cottage only to find her in a trance, staring at the fire in the fireplace. He calls to her several times and finally she responds to him.

“Don’t you ever like to be alone, David?”

“You mean all alone? All by myself? No. Not really.”

“Oh. Well, that’s where grown-ups are different.”

David is a weird one, but he recognizes an insult when he hears one. So did my daughter. It made her tolerance of the show rise just a little.

 

Quick wrap-up of episodes #171-178 (only eight on this disc):

Dr. Guthrie confronts Laura. He tells her that he knows she has an unusual power and when he discovers what it is, he plans to tell everyone. Laura warns him to leave her alone. Shortly thereafter, the good doctor is overcome in a manner similar to that which has incapacitated Elizabeth Stoddard. It is only when David interrupts his mother at her cottage that the doctor regains his bearings. He explains what happened to Vicki and they both realize something is going terribly wrong again in the Collins home.

After learning that the dead body in Phoenix has disappeared from the morgue and while recovering from his strange memory-erasing episode, the doctor decides that he must see the body of Laura’s relative buried in a crypt on the Collins property. Only then will he know if the connection between the death-by-fire of Laura’s relatives in the last two centuries will confirm his suspicion that Laura is really a phoenix.

The last episode ends with Joe and Dr. Guthrie finding the crypt locked. As they prepare to break into it, the door (with a mighty movie squeal to it might I add) slowly opens, revealing not the inside, but looks of surprise and terror on the faces of the Joe and the doctor.

Let the Séance Begin

So the episodes on this disc drag a little…that is, until the last one (#170). Dr. Guthrie has decided that a séance is the only way to discover the force that is keeping Elizabeth Stoddard in a trance. Victoria and Carolyn agree while Laura flat out refuses and Roger believes it all to be nonsense.

As the girls prepare the room by setting chairs and lighting candles, the housekeeper is sent to sit with the sleeping child David. Roger, after making fun of what they are about to do, is convinced to participate on one condition: if the séance doesn’t work, the doctor will leave the Collins home. That is enough to put Roger on board.

After outing all the lights, the group is bathed in candlelight around a small table. They place their hands on the table, fingers stretched and pinkies touching. Dr. Guthrie encourages the group to concentrate on one thing- contacting Josette Collins. Her ghost is thought to be the key to finding out what is happening at the Collins homestead.

While the doctor quietly repeats Josette’s name, Victoria slowly begins to sway and moan. As her apparent trance deepens and thunder rumbles and lightning flashes, the doors to the room suddenly fling open to reveal a person draped in darkness. The trance is broken when the lights come on and Laura Collins enters the room.

She is convinced to participate and another chair is brought to the table. The séance begins again, and almost immediately Victoria is pulled into another trance. She begins speaking in rapid French as the rest of the group watches in surprise. The episode ends with Victoria’s screaming and fainting.

Just a Side Note

The reviews of the episodes are fine and dandy, but I thought you should have a taste of the craziness that makes me love watching DS.

At the beginning of each episode, the clapper board is shown with the video recording date, the air date, and the take number of the episode. The man announcing the information has a deep baritone and I hope a deep sense of humor. Once he finished and then asked if they could hear him or did they want him to do it again. Sometimes you see the actors standing behind him waiting to begin. Sometimes you see smoke from his cigarette blowing across the screen. My favorite was the time the actress he was standing in front of (who happened to be tied and gagged at the time) kept bouncing her knees and making the clapper jump!

At the end of each episode, as the closing credits and music are playing, he gives a little promo for the shows playing in the evening. I know 40 years from now the shows we watch today will sound silly, but I still wait to see just how funny the coming attraction was.

Sometimes it is evident the actors haven’t learned their lines. I am not criticizing. I know how hard it is. I just finished playing Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker. Learning a script, working the same lines day after day, is hard work. I can’t even imagine what it takes to learn new pages every day. But that doesn’t stop me from giggling when I see the actors staring over the shoulder of another actor, obviously reading their lines. Or, when they step on each other’s lines, and everyone experiences a momentary fluster.

Sometimes the camera shimmies like it’s in the midst of an earthquake. Once I saw the mic dip into the scene and I’ve seen the mic shadow a number of times. Occasionally there is a loud BOOM like someone has dropped something important or slammed a door without thinking. Sometimes the camera isn’t on the actor who’s speaking or jumps away and lands on nothing before swinging back to the action. It’s a treat when the somber music from a scary scene runs over into the next light-hearted scene.

Part of the reason I watch the show is for the crazy storylines. A real phoenix? Vampires?Ghosts? Demonic possession? It’s hard to believe that it is a true soap opera. I mean it really doesn’t compare to the modern storyline in my favorite soap opera today. There is plenty of sex, children aging ten years in two weeks, numerous marriages and ugly divorces on The Young and the Restless but not a single ghost or vampire. Today everything is so slick---bright lighting, perfect make-up, glamorous clothes. I think I prefer the Dark Shadow days. It’s fun to pay attention to the storyline and see some human mistakes---and a ghost or two.

Phoenix

After being away for ten years, Laura Collins has returned to Collinsport from Phoenix. She is mysterious about why she was in Arizona. She only says she has returned because she wants a divorce and to leave with her son. Roger doesn’t seem to mind. You see, he and David do not have a loving, warm daddy/son relationship. Shipping him off with his mother sounds like a fine idea to dear old dad.

Then the state police show up to tell the family that Laura Collins is dead. She died in a fire in Phoenix. They have proof: matching dental records, family heirloom jewelry, the fact that it was her apartment (locked from the inside). All this is a surprise to everyone who knows that Laura is currently living in the caretaker’s cottage. Laura, however, seems a little less surprised than the others.

David dreams of his mother in fire. Sam Evans keeps painting Laura emerging from fire. Victoria is temporarily possessed and seeks out a caretaker at a graveyard to investigate the history of Laura’s family (which seems to have a strange incident every 100 years beginning in 1767…it is now 1967).

Laura seems able to control anyone who stands in her way. Her large eyes fill the screen as flashes of terrible events happen to other characters. Sam Evans falls asleep and starts a fire in his cottage. Thankfully Maggie saves him. Elizabeth tells Laura that she will fight her in court for custody of David, only to wind up with Laura’s large eyes filling the screen as Elizabeth tumbles down the stairs. Afterward, Elizabeth has no memory of half the day. Doctors assure the family that nothing is physically wrong with Elizabeth as Laura mysteriously appears in Elizabeth’s room and Elizabeth becomes catatonic.

Finally a doctor arrives and can tell the family what has happened. Elizabeth has been put into a deep trance by someone! She must be removed from the home to save her. Meanwhile, the doctor remains to investigate who has this powerful hold over the matriarch. Laura could not be happier to see Liz go as this frees her to push Roger into releasing David to her forever.