The Dark Shadows Daybook: May 1

By PATRICK McCRAY

Taped on this date in 1969: Episode 749

Quentin frets over the oncoming curse, desperate to defuse it. He even agrees to take $10,000 from Edward in exchange for signing a contract that will ensure his exit. After hallucinations of a baby doll and a dream sequence where he confronts his wife's corpse, Quentin goes to Magda, who happily takes the $10,000 and then slips him the magical, accursed potion in a celebratory drink after she convinces him that he is free. Once he downs the potion, she cackles that his curse is only just beginning.

It’s been said that the opposite of love is not hate; it’s apathy. There are times when I’d prefer apathy. Quentin would agree that it beats becoming a werewolf. But these are the things that happen when a hoity-toity WASP marries an earthy gypsy girl that he later has to kill in self-defense. So, another curse is laid upon a Collins. In the Old House. By that column near the front door. There? See it? That’s about the same place that Barnabas was cursed. If you’re not convinced that 1897 is DARK SHADOWS own, more confident remake, we must part ways. A WASP aristocrat becomes infatuated with a woman from a mysterious and tempestuous culture. His interests wane before their relationship is officially over, and the pain drives her to extremes. In a vicious power struggle, he strangles her. In retaliation, he is cursed to a lonely existence as a monster. And, as I said, right there in drawing room of the Old House. Look familiar? All that’s missing is the the timidity that the staff had when introducing Barnabas Collins, piecemeal. With Barnabas, every choice was an artistic chance. With Quentin, the only chance was not going too far. Since this episode is the catalyst for the rest of Quentin's strange, sad life and journey, it is the most closely focused point of comparison that we can make between the two lead characters.

Their similarities are what make them suitable for DARK SHADOWS. However, their differences are what make them truly interesting, and the differences are certainly on parade in 749. In this episode, Quentin reveals himself to be the opposite of what he first portrayed when arriving on the show as a living person. He's cowardly, neurotic, suggestible, obsequious, and effusive with his emotions. It's almost as if the writers wanted to go out of their way to show the man behind the curtain. Ironically, if he had stayed away from the gypsies and their hooch, he very likely would have survived — or delayed — the curse. But he can't stay away. Quentin is a social animal, and the Solutions will always be social and interactive. During episode 749, he toadies to everyone, even Edward. He is desperate for their fellowship, approval, and money. Even when he thinks the curse is over, Quentin happily has a drink with the people who, just 30 seconds before, he knew intended his doom. Desperation like this is what makes the selection of wolf as his animal match so especially painful. No other animal is more associated with a pack, and no other character on the show will find more ways to be desperately apart from one.

For the hell of it, other differences between the two leads? Barnabas cheats on his fiancé, but ends up choosing her over his lover. Quentin chooses his lover over his wife. Barnabas’ curse isolates his ability to love. Quentin’s curse removes his ability to form any kind of community. Both are curses that specifically target the deepest needs of the characters. Barnabas has social approval, but what he does not have is any kind of intimacy. Quentin has so much intimacy that I expect to see him in a gold tunic with the green woman on his arm. Love is easy for him. Friends and family? Another story.

The episode itself is a bit of a slog, although they have vastly improved the art of the dream sequence since last year during the time of the curse. Filters, more strategically placed cameras, and a more interesting depth of field all come together to elevate the sequence. The real fireworks are kept for the final scene where Quentin pays up, drinks up, realizes he has the curse, and fails to apply for a refund before passing out. Other actors can fly into histrionics and look ludicrous. David Selby somehow maintains his dignity. I think it's the lack of self-indulgence that makes it. There are a lot of performers who would be enjoying these moments a bit too much. It would be all about them. In Selby’s case, he's neither enjoying it nor disliking it. He's too busy doing his job. Beautifully, I might add.

This episode hit the airwaves May 8, 1969.

The Dark Shadows Daybook: May 1

By PATRICK McCRAY

Taped on this date in 1968: Episode 487

Julia can barely contain herself. Driven by the compulsion of the dream curse, she knows that if she tells Mrs. Johnson, death will wind its way to Barnabas. Every time Angelique moves forward, Julia falls back. No more, she decides. The line must be drawn here. This far. No further. Finally, an urge deeper than fear overtakes her. It is the primal need first triggered when she heard the name, “Stokes.” After slyly wrangling his address from Victoria, perhaps another of the professor’s nubile conquests of the mind, Julia boldly goes where so many women, consumed by the flames of need, have gone before… to the professor’s most intimate chambers on the appropriately named “Arrowhead Road.” He welcomes her into his home. Can she welcome him into her heart? A dreamboat, himself, Stokes is well-versed in the most exotic and dangerous of nocturnal, bed-bound phenomena, and the dream curse is no exception. With a wistfully sad and familiar twinkle in his eye, Stokes knows that he may -- may -- one day have the ready promise of Julia’s body, but her heart belongs to the intended and ultimate victim of the curse. Meanwhile, Jeff and Barnabas lock horns for the hand of Vicki as Jeff, still struggling with amnesia, learns that the late Dr. Lang secretly felt Jeff had no homicidal tendencies. Barnabas pushes Julia to continue with her injections and the research into Lang’s work … research that may cure him forever.

A serviceable episode where we learn that Jeff is benign, Barnabas wears jealousy on his sleeve, and Stokes continues to be a writer’s darling. Acid-tongued and nobody’s fool, Stokes has all of the devil-may-care wit and know-it-all flippancy of a villain, but in the role of a hero. Heroes are rarely allowed to be this far ahead of the villains. That’s a cowardly trend of bad writing. Stokes defies this, and emerges as, perhaps, DARK SHADOWS’ most original, sharp, amusing, and memorable character. They show a Nicholas Blair-level confidence in his earliest days, and he and Blair will be well-matched. A shame they don’t have an actual showdown. Even better is Thayer David. After years of playing brutes and grunting, uncivilized Harvard men, his Stokes has the warrior heart of a true Whiffenpoof. Ironic, since David had been a Harvard student, and reportedly a handsome one. No surprise.

On this day in the year 1968, CHS spiritual advisor, the Church of Satan, was two years and a day old. Yesterday, April 30, is known as Walpurgisnacht, the witch’s night. For some, the wickedest night of the year, it’s also a high holiday for the secular church and the anniversary of its founding by Anton Szandor LaVey in 1966.   

The Dark Shadows Daybook: April 25

By PATRICK McCRAY

Taped on this date in 1968: Episode 483

Barnabas strong arms Julia into releasing Willie from Windcliff while he still seems to have only a vague memory and sense of identity. When they take the doddering lad home, they instruct him to keep a low profile. Instead, he steals a gun and escapes as soon as possible, going to Maggie’s to explain what happened the night he was shot. Joe Haskell chases him off and later warns Barnabas that if Willie pops up anywhere, he’ll shoot.

When Barnabas is accused of having a tenuous grip on reality, this should be exhibit A. It’s not in a lunatic fashion. Just in a comically self-serving one. The result is a Barnabas/Julia/Willie episode that, like several others, plays as high comedy if tilted the right way. Although not in ready production, THE HONEYMOONERS set the standard for television domestic satire in this era, and once again, the writers for DARK SHADOWS seem determined to match them. Barnabas’ obliviousness to the dangers posed by Willie. Willie’s innocent act. Julia’s bug-eyed incredulity. Willie’s 180. And Joe, who’s had it up to here. Along the way, Barnabas -- in his desperation and maybe even delusion -- shamelessly gaslights Julia like a pro regarding her feelings for Willie and her culpability for his fate. The episode takes a turn, though, when Joe confronts Barnabas. Frid has Barnabas float between genuine guilt and subtly manipulative showmanship. Joel Crothers is as serious as a wrecking ball in the confrontation, and we can see him begin to slip from righteous indignation into obsessive madness by graceful inches. John Karlen shines, as well. As far as all-around acting goes, it’s an unsung hero in the series. Each character is forced to explore something new, and the stakes remain intensely high… but never melodramatically shrill. 483 is a tiny gem with a little of everything and has the comic touch that should have served as the 2012 movie’s inspiration.

On this day in 1968, rising gang violence in Chicago led President Johnson to call for national unity. I’m still waiting.

This episode hit the airwaves May 1, 1968.