Huzzah! The Leviathans are dead! Long live Parallel Time!
A couple days ago I watched up through episode 981. I got to see in short order how villains Nicholas Blair, Jeb Hawkes, and Sky Rumson all met their demises -- by a redirected wiggly man, by being pushed off of Widow's Hill, by being forced to shoot himself in the heart -- all because of backstabbing, while the good guys had barely anything to do with the outcome (aside from Barnabas batting* cleanup with Sky).
*not an intentional pun.
And now Barnabas, still full of bloodlust, runs into the east wing and somehow shifts into Parallel Time. Julia knows he's there, but is shut out. And when confronted by Carolyn, he bites her (!), putting her under his spell. She lives with Willie, her husband (!) in the Old House, now known as Loomis House. He's an author, and she's hinted that she wants out of the relationship. Meanwhile, Quentin is returning home with Maggie, his new bride, since Angelique died. And Julia is a housekeeper who seems to rule Collinwood with an iron hand! (Alas, Mrs. Johnson is nowhere to be found.) Roger and Liz are the poor relations now, living off Quentin's largess.
With all the references to Angelique, the previous Mrs. Collins, I'm reminded of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, and all the references to "the first Mrs. DeWinter." From what I recall, there's a harrowing housekeeper in that story (& movie) too. Can't be a coincidence.
I'm looking forward to meeting this new bunch. They seem to hate each other, and that's exciting.
Jeff of Earth-J > Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)October 23, 2024 at 10:09pm
POSTED ON JULY 1, 2024:
Tracy has been asking me if you're far enough ahead that we can begin watching Dark Shadows again at our one-episode-a-day pace.
Right now, Tracy, Rob is 77 episodes in to the Leviathan arc with 17 left to go. Can Rob watch 17 episodes in the time it takes us to watch 94?
Well, obviously he could and we've been playing "catch-up" ever since.
POSTED ON JULY 21, 2024:
All this talk about Dark Shadows has inspired Tracy and I begin to begin watching again (and besides, all of our regular shows are currently on hiatus). We started tonight with episode 887 and plan to watch straight through to 980; we estimate it will take us about three months, inserting comments after Rob's old posts as we see fit. It took Rob about six months to get from 887 to 971, so we'll see how it goes.
...and here we are, right on schedule.
POSTED (BY ROB) ON AUGUST 11:
With all the references to Angelique, the previous Mrs. Collins, I'm reminded of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, and all the references to "the first Mrs. DeWinter."
Good catch. I will add that to the list of "Dark Shadows Sources" when I get back to the present.
I didn't post a reaction to 981 back in 2012, but I did post one to 980, so let's look at that and then I'll circle back and discuss why I didn't post 981.
#980: Jeb appears at the last minute and saves Carolyn, but then rushes at Sky, Sky sidesteps and Jeb plunges to his death far below and his body washes out to sea.
Barnabas and Julia discuss vampirism. Barnabas believes that if her were somehow able to cross over into the parallel time stream, he would be cured. (No, there’s no particular reason he believes this; it’s just a feeling he has.) Carolyn returns, sobbing hysterically, and breaks the news of Jeb’s death to Barnabas, Julia and Elisabeth. Barnabas slips out with the obvious intention of killing Sky in retaliation.
He catches Sky in the act of packing a suitcase for a speedy departure. Sky pulls a gun and fires two shots into Barnabas to no effect. Then Barnabas turns the gun on Sky, forcing him to shoot himself. The police rule the death a “possible suicide” because of the three shots fired.
Carolyn dreams of Jeb. He prophecies they will meet again and that things will be different.
Barnabas goes to and enters the empty parallel time room by himself. Julia has followed, and when he hears her calling from the hallway, he wheels around to discover that the room has changed with him in it! Julia arrives at the doorway and is able to see and hear Barnabas, but she is unable to cross the threshold. Suddenly, “Carolyn” appears and asks, “Who are you and what are you doing in this room?”
Cliffhanger: BARNABAS IS TRAPPED IN PARALLELTIME!
…aaannd that’s a good place to take a little break. As you may know, the Dark Shadowsmovie opens today, so go out this weekend, see the movie, and we’ll all meet back her on Monday (if not sooner)!
Barnabas Joke of the Day: What does Barnabas think about the organizations which want to freeze people and bring them back to life in a few years? It makes him shudder.
Jeff of Earth-J > Jeff of Earth-JOctober 23, 2024 at 10:10pm
I did go to see Dark Shadows on May 12, 2012, then I posted about the Big Finish audio "Dress Me in Dark Dreams" on May 21. But when I returned to the discussion on May 22, I had skipped ahead to episode #1071, the return from "Parallel Time." Neither the movie nor the audio was the reason I skipped the PT arc, however. At the time, there was only this one massive thread covering all of Dark Shadows. It had been my intention to, one day, break PT off into its own discussion, treating it as if it were the "true" reality. Never got around to that, though, and when Rob did get to it, I was stuck in the past.
At this point, Rob is up to 1002 and we are 21 episodes behind.
Hey, just an update: We've been away a lot this summer, and when we haven't, we've often had a houseguest. I haven't had as much solo time at the TV as usual, and so my Dark Shadows viewing has been curtailed. I might squeeze a few episodes in, but I doubt I'll really get moving* on them again until sometime after Labor Day. I'm stoked for Parallel Time, but my own parallel life is keeping me away for a bit.
*For whatever measure of "really get moviing" I've ever managed.
Yep, I'm in parallell time now (just finished watching episode 984), and things are weird. Quentin rules the roost at Collinwood. He's brought his new bride, Maggie, home, but she's haunted by the metaphorical ghost of Quentin's first wife, Angelique -- everyone says how beautiful and capable she was, and implying that Maggie will never live up to those ideals. So what we've got here is not only a First Mrs. DeWinter situation, but also a Ginger/Mary Ann situation piled on top of it. Angelique has the glamour; Maggie has the hometown pretty.
However, ghosts rarely stay metaphorical on Dark Shadows for long, and a prank Daniel (not David! No one else changes their name, but since David has a new daddy in PT, he's also got a new name) and Amy intend to play on Maggie happens in spite of Amy not being able to pull it off. So *someone* was singing from behind (or beyond) Angelique's portrait, but who?
And then Maggie comes downstairs and sees Quentin talking with Angelique, although my gut (and the end credits) say that Lara Parker is playing a different character.
Manwhile, in Barnabas news, Caroline has brought him to the Old House to stay, but her husband, washed-up writer Willie, recognizes him as the historical Barnabas Collins and gets the better of him by brandishing a cross. He decides to chain him up in his coffin.
The Baron > Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)September 17, 2024 at 12:44pm
This storyline sounds familiar.
Jeff of Earth-J > Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)October 26, 2024 at 7:50pm
No one else changes their name, but since David has a new daddy in PT, he's also got a new name
Daniel is evidently named after the character David Henesy played in 1795. Preview: Louis Edmond will play the same character as an adult in 1840.
Also, I wonder who Quentin is in this reality (not the 1897 version obviously); who are his parents? (I have some guesses, but I've seen the 1840 arc.)
So *someone* was singing from behind (or beyond) Angelique's portrait, but who?
Sounded like Marie Wallace to me. ;)
Meanwhile, in Barnabas news... washed-up writer Willie... decides to chain him up in his coffin.
Actually, Jonathan Frid (and most of the rest of the cast) is off in Tarrytown, NY filming the Dark Shadows movie.
Temporal assessment: When I started my "strange and terrifying journey into the past" Rob was 84 episodes ahead of me; now I am only 18 episodes behind.
Replies
Oh, wow! Is that a genuine Scooby background?
I don't think so, Rob, but that would be amazing. It is so close though maybe the animation team had once raced home to watch DS.
That is a genuine Scooby background, and even appears in the credits of the original series.
Huzzah! The Leviathans are dead! Long live Parallel Time!
A couple days ago I watched up through episode 981. I got to see in short order how villains Nicholas Blair, Jeb Hawkes, and Sky Rumson all met their demises -- by a redirected wiggly man, by being pushed off of Widow's Hill, by being forced to shoot himself in the heart -- all because of backstabbing, while the good guys had barely anything to do with the outcome (aside from Barnabas batting* cleanup with Sky).
*not an intentional pun.
And now Barnabas, still full of bloodlust, runs into the east wing and somehow shifts into Parallel Time. Julia knows he's there, but is shut out. And when confronted by Carolyn, he bites her (!), putting her under his spell. She lives with Willie, her husband (!) in the Old House, now known as Loomis House. He's an author, and she's hinted that she wants out of the relationship. Meanwhile, Quentin is returning home with Maggie, his new bride, since Angelique died. And Julia is a housekeeper who seems to rule Collinwood with an iron hand! (Alas, Mrs. Johnson is nowhere to be found.) Roger and Liz are the poor relations now, living off Quentin's largess.
With all the references to Angelique, the previous Mrs. Collins, I'm reminded of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, and all the references to "the first Mrs. DeWinter." From what I recall, there's a harrowing housekeeper in that story (& movie) too. Can't be a coincidence.
I'm looking forward to meeting this new bunch. They seem to hate each other, and that's exciting.
POSTED ON JULY 1, 2024:
Tracy has been asking me if you're far enough ahead that we can begin watching Dark Shadows again at our one-episode-a-day pace.
Right now, Tracy, Rob is 77 episodes in to the Leviathan arc with 17 left to go. Can Rob watch 17 episodes in the time it takes us to watch 94?
Well, obviously he could and we've been playing "catch-up" ever since.
POSTED ON JULY 21, 2024:
All this talk about Dark Shadows has inspired Tracy and I begin to begin watching again (and besides, all of our regular shows are currently on hiatus). We started tonight with episode 887 and plan to watch straight through to 980; we estimate it will take us about three months, inserting comments after Rob's old posts as we see fit. It took Rob about six months to get from 887 to 971, so we'll see how it goes.
...and here we are, right on schedule.
POSTED (BY ROB) ON AUGUST 11:
With all the references to Angelique, the previous Mrs. Collins, I'm reminded of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, and all the references to "the first Mrs. DeWinter."
Good catch. I will add that to the list of "Dark Shadows Sources" when I get back to the present.
I didn't post a reaction to 981 back in 2012, but I did post one to 980, so let's look at that and then I'll circle back and discuss why I didn't post 981.
#980: Jeb appears at the last minute and saves Carolyn, but then rushes at Sky, Sky sidesteps and Jeb plunges to his death far below and his body washes out to sea.
Barnabas and Julia discuss vampirism. Barnabas believes that if her were somehow able to cross over into the parallel time stream, he would be cured. (No, there’s no particular reason he believes this; it’s just a feeling he has.) Carolyn returns, sobbing hysterically, and breaks the news of Jeb’s death to Barnabas, Julia and Elisabeth. Barnabas slips out with the obvious intention of killing Sky in retaliation.
He catches Sky in the act of packing a suitcase for a speedy departure. Sky pulls a gun and fires two shots into Barnabas to no effect. Then Barnabas turns the gun on Sky, forcing him to shoot himself. The police rule the death a “possible suicide” because of the three shots fired.
Carolyn dreams of Jeb. He prophecies they will meet again and that things will be different.
Barnabas goes to and enters the empty parallel time room by himself. Julia has followed, and when he hears her calling from the hallway, he wheels around to discover that the room has changed with him in it! Julia arrives at the doorway and is able to see and hear Barnabas, but she is unable to cross the threshold. Suddenly, “Carolyn” appears and asks, “Who are you and what are you doing in this room?”
Cliffhanger: BARNABAS IS TRAPPED IN PARALLELTIME!
…aaannd that’s a good place to take a little break. As you may know, the Dark Shadows movie opens today, so go out this weekend, see the movie, and we’ll all meet back her on Monday (if not sooner)!
Barnabas Joke of the Day: What does Barnabas think about the organizations which want to freeze people and bring them back to life in a few years? It makes him shudder.
I did go to see Dark Shadows on May 12, 2012, then I posted about the Big Finish audio "Dress Me in Dark Dreams" on May 21. But when I returned to the discussion on May 22, I had skipped ahead to episode #1071, the return from "Parallel Time." Neither the movie nor the audio was the reason I skipped the PT arc, however. At the time, there was only this one massive thread covering all of Dark Shadows. It had been my intention to, one day, break PT off into its own discussion, treating it as if it were the "true" reality. Never got around to that, though, and when Rob did get to it, I was stuck in the past.
At this point, Rob is up to 1002 and we are 21 episodes behind.
Hey, just an update: We've been away a lot this summer, and when we haven't, we've often had a houseguest. I haven't had as much solo time at the TV as usual, and so my Dark Shadows viewing has been curtailed. I might squeeze a few episodes in, but I doubt I'll really get moving* on them again until sometime after Labor Day. I'm stoked for Parallel Time, but my own parallel life is keeping me away for a bit.
*For whatever measure of "really get moviing" I've ever managed.
I have returned! And nothing's where I left it!
Yep, I'm in parallell time now (just finished watching episode 984), and things are weird. Quentin rules the roost at Collinwood. He's brought his new bride, Maggie, home, but she's haunted by the metaphorical ghost of Quentin's first wife, Angelique -- everyone says how beautiful and capable she was, and implying that Maggie will never live up to those ideals. So what we've got here is not only a First Mrs. DeWinter situation, but also a Ginger/Mary Ann situation piled on top of it. Angelique has the glamour; Maggie has the hometown pretty.
However, ghosts rarely stay metaphorical on Dark Shadows for long, and a prank Daniel (not David! No one else changes their name, but since David has a new daddy in PT, he's also got a new name) and Amy intend to play on Maggie happens in spite of Amy not being able to pull it off. So *someone* was singing from behind (or beyond) Angelique's portrait, but who?
And then Maggie comes downstairs and sees Quentin talking with Angelique, although my gut (and the end credits) say that Lara Parker is playing a different character.
Manwhile, in Barnabas news, Caroline has brought him to the Old House to stay, but her husband, washed-up writer Willie, recognizes him as the historical Barnabas Collins and gets the better of him by brandishing a cross. He decides to chain him up in his coffin.
This storyline sounds familiar.
No one else changes their name, but since David has a new daddy in PT, he's also got a new name
Daniel is evidently named after the character David Henesy played in 1795. Preview: Louis Edmond will play the same character as an adult in 1840.
Also, I wonder who Quentin is in this reality (not the 1897 version obviously); who are his parents? (I have some guesses, but I've seen the 1840 arc.)
So *someone* was singing from behind (or beyond) Angelique's portrait, but who?
Sounded like Marie Wallace to me. ;)
Meanwhile, in Barnabas news... washed-up writer Willie... decides to chain him up in his coffin.
Actually, Jonathan Frid (and most of the rest of the cast) is off in Tarrytown, NY filming the Dark Shadows movie.
Temporal assessment: When I started my "strange and terrifying journey into the past" Rob was 84 episodes ahead of me; now I am only 18 episodes behind.
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