Okay so here we are with Anatomy of a Scene #4! Today we’re doing the scene from the once-famous gothic daytime TV soap opera Dark Shadows (kind of two scenes, technically, or maybe just one longish one, depending on your point of view) where, in the year 1795, Joshua Collins finds out his son Barnabas is about to marry gorgeous servant girl Angelique instead of Josette DuPrés, who, just a few weeks ago, was the girl everyone (except Angelique, I guess?) thought he was going to marry…
(more…)Author: Park Cooper
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Dark Shadows: Anatomy of a Scene #3
Okay so here’s the thing: Barb and I wanted to do another Anatomy of a Scene, because this, to us, is Fun. It is F-U-N, as they said one time on MST3K. But we weren’t sure what Dark Shadows scene really NEEDED us to deep-analyze it. There are certainly other great scenes on Dark Shadows, but we would need another one that (1) NEEDED analysis (so that seemed to exclude scenes with Willie Loomis, because they’re all amazing, but they’re also not as SUBTLE as the scenes we’ve done so far), and also scenes that (2) no one ELSE had already analyzed. There are other amazing scenes in Dark Shadows, but other writers have already done a good job of analyzing some of those.
Well, we talked about it, and finally realized that what we might need to get into is Barnabas’ relationship with his father—like, say, the first time we see them together.
As it happens, that moment ALSO happens to be in the same episode where we first get Angelique—just earlier in the episode.
SO HERE WE GO.
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Married Geek Couple #5: Barb’s Turn
Barb’s Turn! Finally, I ask Barb some questions instead of the other way around!
Park: Okay, questions-for-Barb starts now! Favorite Actor?
Barb: OOOH, tough one. I really love Van Heflin, the old Hollywood star. He’s so tough yet so gentle. And I love Robert Ryan, as he has a “don’t mess with me, you’ll regret it” vibe. I don’t like a lot of modern actors. I love Tom Holland, but I don’t think Hollywood knows what to do with him, post-Spider-Man. Same goes with the other two modern actors I like, Tom Hiddleston and Ryan Reynolds. Of course, Ryan Reynolds doesn’t have a thing to worry about, as he’s a savvy business man. But Hiddleston needs to find some post-Loki roles. Maybe he should go back to Shakespeare.
Park: Favorite ACTRESS?
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Dark Shadows: Anatomy of a Scene– #2
We’re back, with another installment of our feature Anatomy of a Scene, in which we take a deeper dive into a scene, this time once again from the classic gothic television daytime soap opera Dark Shadows, 1966-1971.
Okay so remember our first Anatomy of a Scene? The talk that didn’t go well between Angelique and Barnabas in Barnabas’ bedroom? Well Angelique has gotten RIGHT TO WORK and has acquired one of Barnabas’ handkerchiefs and a toy wooden soldier that was his when he was a boy, and she is contemplating some voodoo revenge magic for Barnabas (but the audience doesn’t officially know yet that Angelique can do magic, so let’s try not to get ahead of ourselves!)…
https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/508877/s04-e39-episode-370
She’s talking to her new little inanimate friends… ending with the line:
Angelique: You are all I need… to make him regret what he’s done to me…
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Dark Shadows: Anatomy of a Scene #1
Okay, so this is going to be a thing we’re calling Anatomy of a Scene–specifically, this is going to be the first time Angelique and Barnabas are seen together alone in episode 368 (sometimes called number 368/369 for network numbering reasons I don’t want to get into right now) of the TV show Dark Shadows, in the 1795 storyline.
So here’s the set-up:
–Barnabas is the only son of rich parents, and the year is 1795. The place is the coastal fishing town of Collinsport, Maine—except back then, Maine was considered a part of Massachusetts, and not a state all by itself yet.
–Josette DuPres is a pretty rich girl of French ancestry, who has been living in Martinique in the Caribbean.
Now, Barnabas’ dad owns a very prosperous fishing fleet, and Josette’s dad owns a sugar plantation. They would both sort of like it if these kids got married (although Josette has had other suitors in the past who didn’t quite work out, apparently).
–Josette’s aunt Natalie is the Countess DuPres…
–And the Countess’ maid is a gorgeous blonde gal named Angelique.
Reader, Spoiler Alert: Barnabas took a little tour of the Caribbean (he stopped at Barbados, too), and he spent time around Josette. But in those days, young men and women with money were VERY chaperoned, and had to abide by LOTS of rules of being polite and not doing much touching—heck, one hardly ever left such people alone together for five seconds.
So, Barnabas met Josette, and liked her. Quite a bit, actually, to hear him tell it.
BUT, he had a self-esteem problem, and didn’t feel like Josette would return his feelings for her—
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Married Geek Couple #4: TV and Movies, Disney and Marvel
Still my (Park’s) turn to answer questions from Barb! Today, Barb mostly asks about Disney and Marvel stuff.
Barb: What’s your favorite old-school live action Disney film?
Park: Oh dang… Tron counts, right?
Barb: I think that my favorite might be Pollyanna, because it’s a problem-solving film. One perky kid can change the world.
Barb: Damned right, Tron counts!!!!
Barb: So, Tron? Back when I met you, you were the only other person I knew who understood what a great film Tron was.
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WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DARK SHADOWS (Part THREE): The Dark Shadows FAQ
It’s the Dark Shadows Frequently Asked Questions… list!
–WHY ARE SOME EPISODES IN BLACK AND WHITE? At first, it’s because they hadn’t started using color cameras yet. But then, some episodes can still only be watched by us in this century because they didn’t always save all the tapes of the color episodes—but they did save (almost) all of the black-and-white recordings of the shows. The easiest way to explain it is that they broadcast the show in color (once that started) on most stations. But some stations didn’t show Dark Shadows at the same time—for just one example, California is three hours behind New York (where the show was made) time-zone wise. So some stations would show a black-and-white recording of the show (oh well—not everyone had color televisions yet, so they’d hardly notice). So when no one saved a color copy of an episode, modern Dark Shadows viewers watch the black-and-white copy.
–“I HATE X CHARACTER—BECAUSE X CHARACTER IS SO MEAN//ANNOYING! WHEN WILL THEY GO AWAY?!?” This is a complex question because the answer depends on who we’re talking about. Let’s hit the most common characters that people say this about.
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WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DARK SHADOWS (Part TWO): How To Watch Dark Shadows
Okay so: Dark Shadows. The 1966-1971 gothic soap opera. Maybe you are thinking about watching it.
Here’s some stuff you need to know.
You have two options:
1. Start at the very beginning. NOT RECOMMENDED UNLESS YOU ARE INTO 1960s SOAP OPERAS IN THE FIRST PLACE. OR unless you are not used to scary/supernatural stories in the first place. If you are not used to scary/supernatural stories, then yeah, maybe you di want to start with episode 1. (But if either of those don’t sound like you, then come back and watch the first 209 episodes later, after you’re totally hooked.)
2. RECOMMENDED for some people : You might want to consider starting with the vampire. The vampire is where practically everyone, at the time, started paying attention.
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WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DARK SHADOWS (Part One)
Okay, Barb and I have been talking about ourselves, but now we need to talk about Dark Shadows.
NO, not the 2012 Tim Burton movie. We try not to talk about that (although if it attracted some new fans to the real Dark Shadows— and it did– then fine, whatever). No, I’m talking about the TV show it was based on, from 1966 to 1971, the world’s first gothic daytime TV soap opera, Dark Shadows.
Barb got me into Dark Shadows.
Barb loves Dark Shadows. And, now that she got me into it some years ago, so do I.
When I was growing up, I saw ONE episode of Dark Shadows on TV– as a re-run. It was during what’s called The Leviathan Storyline, which happens to be the one where a Lovecraftian monster dude not entirely unlike Lovecraft’s story “The Dunwich Horror” –but who can turn himself into a normal human-lookin’ dude as long as he can get back to a specially-prepared saferoom back at his lair place– is trying (reluctantly) to help an ancient evil cult take over the world (starting with the New England town of Collinsport).
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Married Geek Couple #2: Barb Interviews Park Some More
Barb Says:
It’s that time again.
Time to study phrenology?
Time to get your teeth cleaned?
Time to Spin the Wheel of Morality?
No! It’s time to interview my husband again!
Barb (to Park): Last time, I asked you about kids’ books. This time, it’s time to talk about other Geek culture subjects:
Barb: What were your favorite cartoons as a kid, and why?
Park: Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, because it actually was pretty well-written and acted dialogue-wise, and had lots of guest-stars from the rest of the Marvel Universe.
—Battle of the Planets, because anime and style.
–Warner Brothers cartoons, because hilarious.
Barb: I got you a “Battle of the Planets” action figure set (still in box) and a t-shirt you wore until it was just threads.
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