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Post by Trace on Jul 8, 2017 3:18:04 GMT
The Doll House is the only one you've listed that takes place before the 1897 episodes. So chronologically for me would be: - The Doll House (set shortly before the TV show arc) - The Wicked and the Dead (takes place during a few episodes at the very end of the TV show arc) - The Blind Painter (takes places around the 1920's I think) - The Carrion Queen/The Poisoned Soul (both take place concurrently for Trask and Charity relative time, each ending on the same scene) - The Fall of the House of Trask (set during the early 1940's) Tracy, does that tally with your chronological expertise? Yes, it does. I haven't started yet...this week was very busy and stressful! I'll listen over the weekend. |
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
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Post by bobod on Jul 8, 2017 12:14:57 GMT
Let's start it this coming week.
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Post by Trace on Jul 9, 2017 3:39:02 GMT
Let's start it this coming week. Sounds good! |
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Post by omega on Jul 9, 2017 4:18:02 GMT
Let's start it this coming week. I'll be ready to get out the iChing wands and prepare to cast the 49th hexagram. |
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Post by barnabaslives on Jul 10, 2017 3:37:33 GMT
I really admire how The Doll House is able to keep it creepy while providing so much backstory on Jenny for new listeners, and how much dimension it seems to be able add for those who already know Jenny's story. Jenny is such a wonderful subject because even to this day she still manages to make me think she's perfectly harmless, and the minute I think that, here she comes to stab me with the scissors seen on the cover of The Doll House.
It's a very nice point in time in the OS for me to reminisce about, because the 1897 timeline touches base with the show's beginnings at that point, with a new governess and the Collinses keeping some awful secret behind locked doors (also 1897 is my favorite arc in the whole series, being an epic with everything including the kitchen sink, plus a certain Count), and I really enjoyed hearing the audio again.
The performances in The Doll House may be even more impressive than the great story itself, though. I'm amazed every time I hear this how well Terry and Marie manage to bring other characters into the story, so very well done. Truly a shame to think Terrayne Crawford hasn't done a Dark Shadows production in about five years, is it? I bet she'd be brilliant reading for one of the short story collections.
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Post by omega on Jul 10, 2017 11:05:54 GMT
I really admire how The Doll House is able to keep it creepy while providing so much backstory on Jenny for new listeners, and how much dimension it seems to be able add for those who already know Jenny's story. Jenny is such a wonderful subject because even to this day she still manages to make me think she's perfectly harmless, and the minute I think that, here she comes to stab me with the scissors seen on the cover of The Doll House. It's a very nice point in time in the OS for me to reminisce about, because the 1897 timeline touches base with the show's beginnings at that point, with a new governess and the Collinses keeping some awful secret behind locked doors (also 1897 is my favorite arc in the whole series, being an epic with everything including the kitchen sink, plus a certain Count), and I really enjoyed hearing the audio again. The performances in The Doll House may be even more impressive than the great story itself, though. I'm amazed every time I hear this how well Terry and Marie manage to bring other characters into the story, so very well done. Truly a shame to think Terrayne Crawford hasn't done a Dark Shadows production in about five years, is it? I bet she'd be brilliant reading for one of the short story collections. I agree. It gives the background behind Jenny as told in the episodes, but without feeling boring. Plus to hear Marie Wallace again say the line about My Green Dress! The woman was born to chew scenery and give the hammiest performance Dark Shadows ever saw. |
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
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Post by bobod on Jul 12, 2017 10:27:53 GMT
The Doll House is a funny one. It's really lovely and charming, and it's great to hear from all these characters again (and in a really clever way) and both actresses revel in getting to do all they are asked to. But as a piece of drama it does seem as though its only purpose is to provide backstory/depth to what we already knew. It doesn't have its own purpose, it doesn't achieve anything of its own (other than being fun for an hour).
(It's a bit like when all those people asked at the Festival to hear what Quentin and Laura did in Egypt. We know exactly what happened to them there, it'd be like novelising it as opposed to writing it.)
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Post by omega on Jul 12, 2017 10:36:02 GMT
The Doll House is a funny one. It's really lovely and charming, and it's great to hear from all these characters again (and in a really clever way) and both actresses revel in getting to do all they are asked to. But as a piece of drama it does seem as though its only purpose is to provide backstory/depth to what we already knew. It doesn't have its own purpose, it doesn't achieve anything of its own (other than being fun for an hour). (It's a bit like when all those people asked at the Festival to hear what Quentin and Laura did in Egypt. We know exactly what happened to them there, it'd be like novelising it as opposed to writing it.) I think it does kind of lose something if you are new to Dark Shadows and aren't expecting the cliff notes of Jenny's life. That's true of a few of the early Dramatic Readings however, like Clothes of Sand, The Wicked and the Dead, Echoes of Insanity and The Blind Painter. Their mission statements are to explore the background of the character who is in focus at the prompting of the guest character. It was a good move to stick to full narratives later on, to attract and maintain interest from Dark Shadows newbies. Is that the same for Amy and Professor Stokes fighting zombies in Cairo just before the 1973 stories? Because I'm surprised that hasn't been mentioned yet. It could even offer an explanation for Amy being SORASed (Soap Opera Rapid Ageing Syndrome). She's around David's age or just younger (twelve, thirteen at the oldest) in 1969/1970, but college age in 1973. |
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bobod
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Post by bobod on Jul 12, 2017 11:08:35 GMT
I'd agree it was true of a few of them, yeah, but I'm not sure that was their mission statement at all to be honest, it was what some of them did. But it wasn't AFAIK the main aim. And some of them very much do tell a story of their own fitting into the gap they fit (and some don't.... Things certainly got more dramatic... and more interesting... as the range progressed though, that much is true.
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bobod
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Post by bobod on Jul 12, 2017 11:16:25 GMT
Well it's not the same in that we don't know the details of it like we do with the Quentin and Laura stuff. (and it's not the same in that no one asked for it at the Festival.  )
It's always the trade off isn't it? It's as nice to create new holes in the jigsaw as it is to put some of the pieces in place. It's why some of the Bite-Sized stories continue to be set after Bloodline, even though it was known before recording them that they'd be coming out first so changes could have been made if warranted - but it wasn't warranted.
Some things I like the idea of never filling in, others scream for more detail.
It could do. But I think the TV show would just have brought her back a few years on but a few more years older if the plots required it so it's something that could be explained without actually needing explained. If that makes sense.
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bobod
Chancellery Guard
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Post by bobod on Jul 14, 2017 8:12:04 GMT
Anyone else had a chance to Doll House this week?
NEXT EPISODE: The Wicked and the Dead
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Post by Trace on Jul 14, 2017 23:44:06 GMT
Anyone else had a chance to Doll House this week? NEXT EPISODE: The Wicked and the Dead I will be doing Doll House later tonight! Wicked & Dead starts Monday, right? |
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Post by Trace on Jul 15, 2017 6:05:53 GMT
Just did my re-listen for The Doll House, and I think what I love most about it is hearing Terry and Marie having a field day with all the different characters. Others have mentioned this--they are quite good, especially Terry channeling Judith and Marie channeling Magda!
Overall this is a very sad tale (Jenny's whole storyline was sad to me in many ways.) The audio builds on that tragedy, without creating any new direction or branch of the storyline. It just fits nicely with what we already know.
I can see how it, and perhaps many of the other earlier ones, would be difficult for someone who had never seen the show. Yes, it still works as a standalone, but is much more rewarding for a longtime fan of the series.
A fun return to the past!
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Post by omega on Jul 15, 2017 6:56:59 GMT
they are quite good, especially Terry channeling Judith and Marie channeling Magda! Forgive me for blaspheming (I know no one can replace the wonderful Grayson Hall), but how about a short story where Marie Wallace gives Magda a proper send-off? Her story never received a proper conclusion, and Magda helping out her niece Lenore would be a nice thing for her. It'd give her some closure around Jenny and give her a purpose since Sandor is gone. Perhaps mention an Ivanka Romano. |
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Post by barnabaslives on Jul 15, 2017 11:33:56 GMT
I can see how it, and perhaps many of the other earlier ones, would be difficult for someone who had never seen the show. Yes, it still works as a standalone, but is much more rewarding for a longtime fan of the series. A fun return to the past! To be fair, I personally think The Doll House is a very legitimate suspense story if not outright horror (I guess I think of it much like In The Twinkling of An Eye in that respect, where the threat in the story "creeps up on you," if you will) - but also to be fair, I can't seem to remember exactly what the threat in The Doll House actually turned out to be, so I probably was basking in the story as a retrospective mainly. I still think that was a good move to be retrospective with the earlier stories, though, because ideally it should allow new listeners to connect full-on with some of the characters in a way that might otherwise have taken watching a number of TV episodes to experience. Forgive me for blaspheming (I know no one can replace the wonderful Grayson Hall), but how about a short story where Marie Wallace gives Magda a proper send-off? Her story never received a proper conclusion, and Magda helping out her niece Lenore would be a nice thing for her. It'd give her some closure around Jenny and give her a purpose since Sandor is gone. Perhaps mention an Ivanka Romano. Oh, dear... I think this sounds like you might have some missed a scene, or I invented one? Personally I think it would great to have a story with Jenny before she became the infamous Crazy Jenny, and probably plenty of room for Magda and other Romanos in a story like that. |
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Post by omega on Jul 15, 2017 11:58:30 GMT
I can see how it, and perhaps many of the other earlier ones, would be difficult for someone who had never seen the show. Yes, it still works as a standalone, but is much more rewarding for a longtime fan of the series. A fun return to the past! To be fair, I think The Doll House is a very legitimate suspense story if not outright horror (I guess I think of it much like In The Twinkling of An Eye in that respect, where the threat in the story "creeps up on you," if you will) - but also to be fair, I can't seem to remember exactly what the threat in The Doll House actually turned out to be, so I probably was basking in the story as a retrospective mainly. I still think that was a good move with the earlier stories, though, because ideally it should allow new listeners to connect full-on with some of the characters in a way that might otherwise have taken watching a number of TV episodes to achieve, without any of them seeming like retreads to me. Forgive me for blaspheming (I know no one can replace the wonderful Grayson Hall), but how about a short story where Marie Wallace gives Magda a proper send-off? Her story never received a proper conclusion, and Magda helping out her niece Lenore would be a nice thing for her. It'd give her some closure around Jenny and give her a purpose since Sandor is gone. Perhaps mention an Ivanka Romano. Oh, dear... I think this sounds like you might have some missed a scene, or I invented one? Personally I think it would great to have a story with Jenny before she became the infamous Crazy Jenny, and probably plenty of room for Magda in a story like that. The idea of some outside force influence events wasn't explained or resolved, all that happens is that Jenny opens up the box to find the dolls, has a freak out demanding her children and is convinced by Beth the dolls are her children. The best explanation I have is that Jenny's enthusiasm somehow tapped into latent gypsy powers, which overcame Beth. Hence why nothing seems to come of it at the end, she's calmed down. As for the subject of these retrospectives, Jenny is the only one whose background we really know about. The show didn't hint at why Trask, who we will visit next week, became such a horrible person, nor how Charles Delaware Tate fell into the service of Count Petofi. The defining aspects of Jenny's story were brought up in the 1897 arc, easily one of the best of the original series. Magda's final episode is 856. From what I can recall she doesn't die or leave town, so she has no way of knowing how the whole Petofi situation was resolved or what happened to Barnabas. It's a fairly subdued departure, not even the entry for 856 on Dark Shadows Every Day mentions it. Julia hears Magda's voice in conversation with Charity in 887, but that's the last we hear of Magda and her fate is never brought up. Magda trying to connect with Jenny, and Jenny not being interested would be heartbreaking. |
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bobod
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Post by bobod on Jul 23, 2017 16:07:53 GMT
Did anyone do this week's?
Jerry and John were both fab. It was a bit more of a backstory tale than I remember.
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Post by Trace on Jul 24, 2017 1:53:09 GMT
I must admit I haven't got to it yet. I have long family visits these two weeks so I'm finding it hard to get ANY quiet time. I also suspect many gave their listens to Love Lives On though that's not the case with me. I didn't get time for that one either. I'm pretty picky about my listening times--I want NO distractions and NO interruptions. I will try to get caught up on the listen-thru this week.
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Post by omega on Jul 24, 2017 7:05:34 GMT
DARK SHADOWS - AUDIOBOOKS » 15. THE BLIND PAINTER Released May 2011Synopsis“My curse… To be the greatest painter who ever lived! And yet, to never be able to see them for myself!”The year is 1893, and struggling artist Charles Delaware Tate works alone in a garret in New York City. Frustrated by his lack of artistic genius, he seems doomed to a life of misery and failure. And then he meets Eloise Verinder... and his whole world changes. The year is 1920. Charles Delaware Tate now lives alone in a sanatorium. But he’s still painting, creating extraordinary works of art. Even though he is completely blind. A new nurse arrives, eager to hear the story of Charles’ rise and fall... and of his first encounter with Count Petofi... Written By: Jonathan Morris Directed By: Nigel Fairs and Darren Gross CASTRoger Davis (Charles Delaware Tate), Nicola Bryant (Eloise), Lizzie Hopley (Ivanka Romano)
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Post by omega on Jul 24, 2017 7:07:48 GMT
I wonder why this is the only time Roger Davis has worked with Big Finish. His performance is a lot more nuanced than it was on the original series.
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