Barb Lien-Cooper & Park Cooper

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  • Dark Shadows: Anatomy of a Scene #1

    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  

    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

    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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  • Barb’s Early History of TV

    Barb’s Early History of TV

    Our colleague Patrick McCray (of The Dark Shadows Daybook) asked us, suddenly, “If you were going to tell people briefly about the history of television, what would you emphasize?”

    Well, you can’t ask Barb a question like that and not expect her to do anything with it, so she wrote the following essay. If you are someone who can’t remember a time before the internet, then you might find this educational. If you are someone who can remember a time before the internet, then you might find this nostalgic.

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  • WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DARK SHADOWS (Part TWO): How To Watch Dark Shadows

    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)

    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 #3: Growing Up

    Married Geek Couple #3: Growing Up

    This installment of Married Geek Couple is in great part about things we grew up with, one way or another…

    Barb: You and I share a love of children’s literature. How did you get into the “Great Brain” books?

    Park: I think the Great Brain books were something I discovered on a shelf in a classroom. Maybe third grade? Or… Maybe another Reading Is Fundamental giveaway.

    Barb: One of my fave jokes from The Simpsons mentions that Lisa reads The Great Brain books. One of us! One of us! We accept you! One of us!

    Barb: Next question: How’d you get into The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

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  • Married Geek Couple #2: Barb Interviews Park Some More

    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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  • Married Geek Couple #1: Barb Interviews Park

    Married Geek Couple #1: Barb Interviews Park

    Barb: Hey, honey, interview time!!!

    Park: Okay honey!!!

    Barb: You learned to read and started reading at the age of two-and-a-half.  What are the first books/stories you remember from that time?

    Park: Not a lot, off the top of my head. I do remember seeing a for-tiny-babies library book called “The Egg And I” about a hen and her egg and thinking “I think I’ve heard about this, it’s also the title a movie or a book for grown-ups or something. Clever.” Toddler-me probably didn’t THINK the word “clever,” but it’s the non-toddler translation of my reaction.

    …But… well, there were a few classics, now that I think about it a little more. Mike Mulligan had a steam shovel, I think? And I think there was also a brave little tugboat? And Curious George (went to the hospital, I think? And/or flew a giant kite?)– Oh, and Danny and the Dinosaur. Okay, so, yeah, classic literature.

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  • Practice Autobiographical Post: Park and his Mom

    Practice Autobiographical Post: Park and his Mom

    Recently here at Wicker Man Studios, our publisher, Rodolfo, suggested that we needed to talk more about ourselves and help people better get to know us. So, Barb and I will be doing a series of postings about ourselves entitled “Married Geek Couple.”

    But to practice, over Thanksgiving, while my mom was doing stuff in the kitchen, Barb suggested I go talk to my mom and ask her questions and get answers—because knowing about my mom is a part of knowing about me. So I just started asking my mother whatever questions came to mind, and here’s the results of that:

    My mom, in this century
    My mom, in this century, with some Texas bluebonnets

    Park Cooper: Tell me about Papa’s [Mom’s father, my maternal grandfather] baseball team.

    Dian Cooper: Ohhh. Papa was a great baseball pitcher. He always played baseball. Every job he ever had, he was hired because he was the best baseball pitcher.

    Park: You mean like working for the oil field company baseball team.

    Dian: And in the army. He played baseball in the army.

    Park: His glasses didn’t interfere with that?

    Dian: That was before he needed glasses. He was gassed in the oil fields, that’s what happened to his eyes.

    Park: How did that happen?

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