DARK SHADOWS 572

“Maggie, I’m asking you to leave Collinsport with me now, forever. It’s the only thing we can do, Maggie, it’s the only solution.”

KLS. Julia slowly walks down the steps in the Old House. Camera and/or mike rigging shadow.

Julia tells Barnabas she wants to visit Maggie Evans and ask her about Nicholas Blair. Vicki told her that Maggie has been visited by Blair several times, he’s interested in buying a painting that her father did.

Julia says everyone knows he’s posing as Cassandra’s brother and she and Barnabas know that that isn’t true. Uhm, what’s wrong with that statement?

Everyone knows he IS Cassandra’s brother; no one knows he’s posing as Cassandra’s brother; and on the other side of that Julia and Barnabas know HE IS NOT Cassandra’s brother, thus they know he IS posing. So everything Julia just said was wrong.

They do know that he caused Cassandra to die but they want to know how involved he was with the recent vampire and the one that made him.

They must find the vampire and destroy him or none of “us” will be safe.

Julia goes to Maggie’s cottage; Maggie, at first, thought it was Joe at her door. Joe was out of work for 3 days. Julia asks, “What’s the matter with him?”

Maggie: “I don’t know.”

Vicki told Julia about Blair wanting to buy a painting from Maggie. 2000 dollars is more money than “Pop” ever got for any of his paintings.

There’s a green line running top to bottom in a bit of this scene.

Maggie does not like the idea of charity towards herself from Blair. “There’s something rather mysterious about Mr. Blair,” she tells Julia. Camera shadow as Julia is on the couch and talking to Maggie AND excessive banging and thumping noises. Julia says, “I may be too cautious but I tend to be wary of excessive kindness from strangers.”

5pm: Blair is coming to her cottage to give her the money. Maggie tells a leaving Julia she can stop by anytime she wants.

Joe is in the cottage. He came in the back way. He passes out. When he comes to, he and Maggie talk about his condition and it turns into an argument. Maggie gets in a IDU. He was fine when he left the hospital.

Maggie is tired of fighting and of being stood up by him. They had a date last night and he did not show up. He can’t tell her where he went or why he did not show up. He tells her she has to believe that he loves her. In response, she flings into his arms and kisses him. He hugs her and kisses her. She kisses him back. He tells her he loves her.

Behind Joe is a painting that looks like a color version of either a young Liz or Vicki. Joe wants to stay in the cottage and have Maggie stay up all night and watch him. He wants her to prevent him from leaving.

WHY doesn’t any of this seem familiar to Maggie? Is it that this Maggie is not the same Maggie that was terrorized by Barnabas in 1967 pre 1795? See the 1795/1966-67/68 theory.

Julia returns to the Old House and an interesting mirror shot.

She tells Barnabas that Blair will be out of his house at 5pm, Barnabas slyly asking her if she is suggesting they break into his house. She says, “Yes.” She is also playing with her gloves.

There is a shadow flutter by Joe. This episode must have the largest number of shadows of mics and cameras and mike riggings than any other. Maggie is sewing. She seems to flub, “Joe, what are you stare…looking out the window?”

Joe says he’s looking at the shadows on the front grass.

Joe wants to get out of Collinsport with Maggie. He wants them to leave forever.

Maggie calls this the city where she grew up. She asks where will they go and he says, “IDK, I don’t care. Any place else.” He tells her they will get married but out of this place.

The dogs howl. Maggie says, “Something strange is going on here.” Duh! And “I don’t know what it is!”

When Joe gets “taken over” again and wants to leave, Maggie tries to stop him but he throws her out of the way, to the floor. He leaves.

The House by the Sea…moves! Or rather the slide of it or the effect seems to make it look like the house shifts from one side to the other! Joe goes to the basement.

The music goes on and then stops. Then, starts again.

Joe voice over. He can’t resist. Barnabas and Julia walk in, the door open. Julia thinks this is a bad idea and she’s frightened. She thinks they should not do this and that Blair may still be in the house. THIS WAS HER IDEA! She asks why the door was unlocked. Barnabas answers, “IDK.” Julia wonders why the door was not locked. Barnabas: “I don’t know.”

Barnabas flubs, “I’ll…better search the house alone.”

Barnabas wants her to keep watch outside. If she sees his car coming, she should knock on the door which will give him the opportunity to leave via the back way. What about her? Won’t Blair see Julia? Did they come by car?

Barnabas nosing around in the Blair drawing room, drops a small gold goblet.

Joe comes up and sees him. Both lie to each other. Something is on the left, a camera or a mike? Joe flubs, “I came to talk…to tell him to stay away from her.” Barnabas asks if they are going to fight.

As Joe and Barnabas argue about who should leave…the coffin below, opens up.

Review: Pretty good. The tension of Angelique seeing Barnabas while she is a vampire and looking like she did in 1795…is pretty good too and the show milks it for all it can.

Joe’s descent, however, is still tough to watch. Maggie is, as ever, clueless. That might change a bit during 1968’s next ten episodes but not by much. She never seems to see Blair for what he is.

Despite it all, KLS is very, very good in this episode. She’s very believable here. Joel Crothers is also very good as Joe, stricken and in a thankless role.

Though Maggie helpless and doesn’t ask for help for Joe even when she’s thrown to the floor and crying and she knows he’s ill and something strange is happening…why not call Julia, both KLS and Joel as Joe are very convincing and they know their characters well.

This episode is brave to “go there” with long running characters even so and tense. Yet, there are many, many flubs and shadows that are not planned for. Still, enjoyable and this is what DS is REALLY about: mystery, lies and vampire intrigue in a somewhat fantasy land of Maine horror and twilight (that back drop out side Blair’s HOUSE BY THE SEA is again seen).

Dark Shadows bloopers to watch out for:

During Julia’s visit to Maggie’s house, when Julia says, “Well, then you’d be foolish not to accept it,” there’s a lot of shuffling around in the studio, and the shadow of a camera passes behind the sofa.

At the start of act four, we see the House by the Sea in front of a chromakey sunset. Something bumps the camera aimed at the photo of the house, which moves independent of the background, and makes it look like the house is shifting around.

When Barnabas walks into the House by the Sea and looks into the drawing room, there’s someone just on the right side of the frame who quickly moves out of the way of the shot.

The reviewers on the DS Before I Die blog call the Sam painting a Dead Marlin painting.