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Post by Zagreus on Nov 15, 2015 17:51:05 GMT
At what point does Stokes show up in the Original Series? Like (up until recently) Barnabas, I don't really have a mental image to compare to as far as the recast goes.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 17, 2015 0:18:50 GMT
Episode 7 - The Christmas Presence - Part One. I can't wait for a 2010s Dark Shadow audio, where Angleique or Quentin are like "I'll go prepare the ritual so we can gather everyone from across the globe!" and one of the younger cast members is like "Or I could just call them. Cell phones are a thing." Santa Clause, in a traditional sense, as a pagan creature, isn't something I ever really thought of Dark Shadows tackling, but it could work, I suppose. Collinwood seems to be slowly becoming a living household once again. Christmas episodes in general aren't something one would immediately think that Dark Shadows would go in for, but we had A Collinwood Christmas, and that went fairly well. Angelique struggles with the concept of this whole Christmas thing. Wait, Sheriff Haggerty? Verne? I thought in The House of Despair they said something about a female Sheriff? Is Tate not Sheriff yet? Or was she only covering while Verne was Lost or something? Angelique really does delight in tormenting Willie, doesn't she? Strange voices chanting. Carolers, obviously. I kind of want the scene of Barnabas tracking down a turkey and trying to catch it acted out. Could be quite amusing. Ha! I'm catching a lot more of Angelique's sly barbs and references. So is she dead or what? Is she a ghost or something? Christmas carols as spellchanting is... an interesting approach. And who's that at the door? As I know this is Stokes, I suppose this was an "OMG It's him!" moment for long-time fans. As for me, it just kind of falls flat, as the episode just ends there and I don't really know why that rather mundane greeting should be worthy of a cliffhanger.
Episode 8 - The Christmas Presence - Part Two. Quentin introduces Stokes to Barnabas, as if they don't already know each other, and keeps up the pretense that Barnabas is "another" Barnabas, and not "the" Barnabas. Why? I've gathered that Stokes is a good friend of the family and is well-versed in the supernatural, so why are they hiding it from him? Stokes apparently stopped by town while Strix was living in the manorhouse. A future dramatic reading, perhaps? Barnabas puts the moves on Maggie. Or is it Maggie putting the moves on Barnabas? Just how much did they make her forget in the Original Series? Shouldn't she be terrified of him? See, they've already told Stokes about Barnabas, so why the charade in the beginning? It's an interesting concept, the soul taking on part of the personality of the body it inhabits. We see it happen over on the Doctor Who end of things, with The Master hopping between bodies for a time, and taking on aspects of their ways. Stokes seems to know the mysterious spirit children, though isn't particularly friendly with them. I think that, if, in the process of the cleaning, the Turkey came back to life on me, I'd swear off meat, or at least poultry, after I'd set fire to my kitchen and fled for fear of my life. Why is Quentin so patronizing of Maggie? Why can't he just be honest? Ghosts attacking people in their dreams. And Stokes knows more than he lets on. Ah, I see, not Stokes, but something driving him like a car. And so begins the long line of horrors brought about by the residents of Collinwood trying to fight Strix, years ago.
Episode 9 - The Christmas Presence - Part Three. Plenty of existential musing on the nature of Quentin's existence. It occurs to me, they really haven't talked about Quentin's nature at all in these. They've gone into detail about Angelique and Barnabas, but aside from a mention of the fact that Quentin's immortal, they haven't really discussed how, or why, and no-one's really said anything about werewolves as of yet. Are these not the tunnels Maggie used to escape Barnabas? Why does she not know of them? Ah, splitting up, the perfect plan! Nothing ever goes wrong when you split up! Left is always the correct option. Ha! Willie's drinking saved him from the evil, for a time. Ironic. Wait, just how long has Stokes been sleeping in the basement? Has he been there the whole of the last six years or so? Lord, that's disturbing. I like the idea that the dream creature wants Barnabas because he's sleeping while everyone else is awake. Just whose body is Barnabas inhabiting? Urk, what a way to go... or not? Strange. Ha! Normal, he says! Oh hey, a letter from Carolyn! Oh, wait, that's got some sinister undertones given what's to come... The final scene, while, in universe, is Barnabas saying goodbye to Josette, out here in the real world it almost sounds like a send-off to the Barnabas of old, a farewell to Jonathan Frid. I wonder where Stokes has been. Did he just leave after Christmas? He certainly hasn't been around since.
Episode 10 - The Rage Beneath - Part One. AH. Maggie's got her memories back. Is this a good thing or bad, I wonder. Oh, is Charlotte's lost hubby from The Book of Temptation coming to play in this one? Is it wrong of me that I think Susan and Quentin make a cute couple? Oh Quentin, you're not fooling anyone. Ghost pirates! Singing shanties! There's been a recurring theme of ghostly voices chanting songs in this season of the full-casts. Ah, the green flame, sign of lost sailors returning from the depths. Disney's Pirates movies may have made me rather blaze to the whole thing. Barnabas now has a real coffin and everything, just like a proper vampire. I swear, every time we cut to the Blue Whale, not only is the same song playing, but it always starts from the same bit of the song, like someone's just rewound it to the beginning right before we cut back every time. You know, as soon as they stop the guarded barbs, Ed and Quentin get along fairly well. Thackery is such a cool name. Ed really gets into his element talking about his sailing days, and spinning a good old yarn. I like how Angelique is just sitting around chatting with ghost pirates like it's nothing. "Oh we have guests for tea. I see they are ghosts, how quaint!" I sometimes forget this is a soap opera, in theory, so the love quadrangles sometimes take me by surprise. Gravenor was the solid rival of Barnabas' father, in business, and, it seems, in the bedroom. Still, a shame that everything had to burn. Ah, I see Gravenor's ghost wants some good old fashioned payback. I wonder what took him so long to come back to port. What a deliciously gravelly laugh our Mr Gravenor has. And so, the Lorelei comes to roost, while Barnabas and Angelique will soon be drowned in the attic. I must say, I think this is the best opening episode of any of these short serials yet.
Episode 11 - The Rage Beneath - Part Two. So Angelique is a ghost of some sort. Interesting. I love how both Susan and Maggie are just super stoked that there's actually paying guests in the inn. Collinsport slowly repopulates after Angelique freed all the trapped souls back in episode 3. Barnabas joins us at the docks. Something on the ship recognizes him. And the town goes black. Supernaturally so. Gravenor finally shows himself back in the house. And declares that he will avenge himself against the Collins family for their alleged wrongs. This episode is much shorter than usual, while the previous was longer. Together, they'd average about normal episode length. Not a whole lot to say about this one, really.
Episode 12 - The Rage Beneath - Part Three. And we skip ahead to the next morning, where everyone wakes up and no one remembers what happened. Barnabas' coffin is gone, and Maggie refuses the possibility of being returned to Windcliff (and really, can you blame her?) The logistics of vampire coffins are discussed. Maggie gets possessed again and wanders off. Susan and Ed really are great characters, aren't they? I'm glad they stick around for the next two seasons. It's nice to have them as a sort of grounded point of view. Maggie is very steeped in the supernatural, even if she's "normal" herself. Ed and Susan are just normal folk who have the misfortune of living in Collinsport, and most the most of it despite it. I love that they make distinctions between different types of ghosts. Angelique is not for one minute fooled by the spirit riding around in Maggie's body. Barnabas reveals that he was the one, furious at this man who was trying to blackmail his father, set flame to the shipyards all those years ago. Gravenor is outraged that a woman, let alone a witch, has stepped foot on his boat. Old fashioned superstitions abound. I'm kind of surprised ghostly pirates haven't popped up before, given that the series is about a cursed fishing fleet family. O Willie, poor Willie. It's good to know that he finally gets some respect and happiness later on by the time Return to Collinwood rolls around. The pirates may have made a small mistake by pissing off Angelique. I notice that people not believing that she could possibly be that powerful is a bit of a recurring theme. Oh, the ship's on fire. Well then. The entire plot hinged on the fact that Angelique was too proud to protect Maggie from outside influence. And, surprisingly, we end the season with Quentin and Barnabas dead in the fire...
Looking at the dates, it was something like three and a half years before that cliffhanger got resolved. Talk about a hanging plot thread. All in all, a decent enough season. The opening, The House of Despair, wasn't perhaps the best in the world, as it over-explained somethings and barely touched others. We went the entire season without one mention of Quentin's curses, aside from the fact that he's immortal, and spent a perhaps inordinate amount of time on Barnabas and Angelique. As Quentin was set up as the central figure, the one trying to pull the family back together and mend relations with the town, perhaps more time should have been spent making the plots more about him than having him be a bit of a guest in them. Book of Temptation largely focused on Angelique and Maggie, Christmas Presence was again on the Barnabas, Maggie, Angelique triangle, with Quentin getting written out of most of the final episode, and this one was about Barnabas' actions as a boy coming back to haunt him. We'll see how the balance is in the next season. As I mentioned back in The House of Despair, aside from our trio we had Willie, Maggie, and newcomers (at the time) Ed and Susan as the primary cast for the season, with a major guest character in each story. The House of Despair had Strix, who doubles as Barnabas moving forward. The Book of Temptation has Charlotte. The Christmas Presence has Stokes. And this last one has Gravenor. I'm a little surprised Stokes didn't stick around, important character that he is. It'd be interesting to have Gravenor return as a regular recurring character in the next season after Bloodlust. Have him set up a new fishing fleet in the town, now that the Collins fleet is down and the mine is presumably not going to be a thing anymore. Could be interesting. Shades of Burke trying to play business rival Roger from the early episodes.
Anyway, tomorrow will begin with Kingdom of the Dead, Part One, where we begin the exciting adventures of Reverend Hartswood! And, oh yeah, some stuff happens to the Collinses, or something.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 18, 2015 0:18:00 GMT
Slight delay getting started today, as the quite excellent The Black Hole came out, over in The Early Adventures range. It also features the magnificent David Warner.
Anyway... On, to Kingdom of the Dead - Part One. We begin with a recap of The Rage Beneath. I wish David Warner was the voice inside my head. The Voice asks Quentin to begin the story, and we start at the inn, where good old Angelique is behind the counter, serving coffee. Wait, what? Quentin is confused. Maggie is missing, and hey it's Verne! In the flesh, finally. He's been mentioned many a time, but I think this is the first time we actually get to hear him acted out. Willie's hiding Maggie, for fear that she'll be arrested, or worse, taken back to Windcliff. Quentin and Barnabas are trapped... somewhere, their memories a bit fuzzy, being forced to recount stories for David Warner. Angelique wanders down to The Blue Whale and converses with Ed about what happened to The Lorelei. She's somehow being involved in the strange story visions happening to Quentin and Barnabas. Oh, Ed and Susan are apparently helping shelter Maggie. We are in The Kingdom of The Dead. Is this Dark Shadows' version of Heaven? Hmm. Make that Sheol. Sheol seems more appropriate for how it's presented. We learn Seraph's (David Warner's) name about a third of the way through. Strange visions abound. Barnabas is forced to relive a twisted parody of Maggie being Josette. He resists, but succumbs. The track ends right as Barnabas goes to bite this vision of Maggie. It's just at a third of the way in, and would have made a lovely episode end, were this also split into three episodes per release, as the prior season was.
The second third begins with Maggie screaming, the real Maggie. When Willie investigates, she's got bite marks on her neck. Willie's furious at Barnabas. Seraph is delighted. A vampire! He's intrigued; he's never met one before, only ruling over those who die. Seraph is God, or Death, or something of the sort, but man doesn't really believe anymore, so The Kingdom isn't as grand as it once was. It was Gravenor who alerted Seraph to Barnabas' existence, and was allowed back into the land of the living in order to draw Barnabas in. Seraph wants to trade places with Barnabas. Since Barnabas can't die, will never grow old, they'll never need to switch back, and Seraph will be free to walk the earth, no longer trapped in his kingdom with the dead. It's interesting. We've run into The Devil and his demons so very much in this series, I suppose it was inevitable that we'd run into angels or God at some point. Willie takes Maggie to hide out in a run-down chapel, and they run into one Reverend Hartswood. ¤¤¤¤ yeah, it's Isaiah! Willie totally recognizes a Trask when he sees one. Quentin is trapped in his dream, where Angelique has replaced Maggie behind the coffee bar. Hartswood is a bit off. Has he been just sort of eking it out in the cemetary for the past ten years or so? How did he know Willie's name? Quentin gets fed up with the illusion, and smashes the music player, among other things. He takes control of the dream, and makes his music start playing. Angelique tries to keep playing the dream, but Quentin's not having any of it. Angelique reveals that Quentin's dream was her way in, and Quentin laughs as he realizes she's only here to rescue Barnabas. Maggie gets her memories back, and suddenly knows who and what Barnabas is, and what he's done to her. Angelique gives up Quentin in order to save Barnabas. Quentin isn't happy. Even Quentin is a bit exasperated that it's always about Barnabas and Angelique. The music builds to crescendo, as we come to the forty minute mark, just at two thirds of the way through. The wolves howl, and there's a pounding on the door. Barnabas has come for Maggie.
So far, this is an out and out continuation of the previous season. We've got two new cast members in the form of Hartswood and Seraph, but we've lost Gravenor. Oh, we picked up Verne as well, almost forgot about him. So we've got Quentin, Barnabas, Angelique, and Seraph on the supernatural side of things, with Willie, Maggie, Ed, Susan, and Verne representing the common folk. We didn't even start the season off with a train ride, instead picking up directly where The Rage Beneath left off. If this were also split into smaller episodes per release, I'd be tempted to count the whole of it as one big twenty-four episode season. Maggie gives Barnabas a good tongue-lashing. Barnabas is horrified to discover that the illusion from earlier wasn't, and that Maggie actually got bitten, which removes all the veils on her mind. She knows exactly what's going on now. Hartswood whimpers scripture in the back of the church, upset that these strangers have disturbed his placid life holed up in a corner of the world. The angels will apparently rise up and unite the world in death. Ominous stuff. Why can't angels rise up and serve everyone tea or something? Barnabas basically says ¤¤¤¤ it and vows to come for Willie and Maggie when the sun sets again. Willie turns to the Griffins, and Susan puts her foot down, saying they'll help when Ed doesn't want to get involved in "Collinwood business". Quentin bargains for his freedom, explaining that, like Barnabas, he can not die a natural death, and can thus serve the same purpose of gate opener that Seraph wanted Barnabas for. Seraph leaps at the chance, but Quentin will need to sacrifice an innocent life to preserve his freedom. This is a side of Quentin we haven't seen much of in the audios. In these, he's usually been the noble figure, helping out, unwillingly, begrudgingly, but helping, and trying to preserve lives where he can. Here, though, he's willing to murder for his freedom. The thing is, he's not really out of character. There's no unexplained personality change, there's no hidden turn, it's just Quentin being Quentin, but taken to the extreme. As we close in on the end of this release, he's already regretting the promise, now that he's out again in the land of the living. And ah, here we are, back at Windcliff. Home sweet home. By the way, I love Lysette Anthony's voice, as well as the character of Doctor Rankin. I kind of want her to come back somehow. And we end on Seraph revealing himself to Hartswood, saying that he will be Isaiah's angel.
I can understand why they chose to make this one big hour-long thing instead of splitting it up in to three episodes. However, I almost feel like this decision was made late in the day, as there's clear breaks right around where the episodes would be split. I'll have to keep an eye on the tracks in subsequent parts to see if this holds true all the way through. This isn't the first time Big Finish has done this. Over in the Unbounds, the first few go through the same thing. There's clear episode breaks in Auld Mortality as well, even though it, like this, is one big release.
As far as things go, like I said above this isn't so much an opener to a new season as it is a continuation of the previous one. Not that that's a bad thing, really, but it's in no way new listener friendly, so I wouldn't recommend it as a jumping on point. I think this is the first time in the 1980's audios that Quentin's portrait has been mentioned at all, finally giving us the source for his immortality. As far as listeners are concerned, at least, those who started with The House of Despair and haven't heard any of the dramatic readings, Quentin has, after thirteen episodes, been revealed to be Dark Shadows' own Dorian Gray, with still no mention of werewolves at all.
The hints about Hartswood's past are intriguing. We get some of it in Beyond the Grave, but there's still more. He was already squatting in the cemetery by then. You've got to wonder about what event it was. Seraph says that he claimed to hear the dead? And he talks of voices. And he knew Willie's name, without being told. I hope we get to hear his story some day. Perhaps, now that the dramatic readings are intermingling with the full-casts, we'll get some fill-in audios, including some stuff with our poor reverend. Oh Isaiah. I think it's really sad that there's finally a Trask who does the work of God, but it's a god like Seraph, with sinister designs on the world. The Trasks just can't catch a break, can they?
Anyway, sorry for only getting through the one part today. Tomorrow with be part two at the very least.
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Post by omega on Nov 18, 2015 2:02:55 GMT
David Warner automatically makes something at least 50% better. So when he's on something a great as Dark Shadows, it only gets better.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 19, 2015 0:00:56 GMT
A bit under the weather, so I may be less robust today. Kingdom of the Dead - Part Two. Quentin ain't happy. Even he is tired of everything being about Barnabas. Ah, poor old Hartswood is caught up in Seraph's schemes. Hey it's David! Oh wait, we're not supposed to know that. Woo Doctor Rankin! Why do I love that character so? I now recognize three distinct tunes that play in The Blue Whale. Hartswood lies to Ed & Susan, saying Maggie is "an old friend of the family". Oooh if only he new hehehe... Susan and Ed are having a bit of a tiff... ripe for Susan to run into Quentin's open arms. And Hartswood begins his long familiarity with The Blue Whale. And Seraph moves in to the Inn. Lysette Anthony has a voice like poisoned honey, it's beautiful. I love it. They should get her back to play Julia or something. Explain it away as possession, or body hopping, or something. Just get her back to play the same sort of character. The prostitute got a bit real a bit quickly. I mean, damn. Seraph, playing everyone against each other. And Track Seven ending on Seraph's "We need to talk" brings us exactly a third of the way through this release. Quentin is sick of playing the good guy, and just wants a night off. Rankin actually reminds me much of how Julia was depicted in Clothes of Sand and Echoes of Insanity. Quentin, putting the moves on Susan. I know it's wrong, but I just love them as a couple. Interesting, Seraph is linked to Maggie, somehow. Ah, The Reverend is creeping around inside Hartswood's head. Just what is his deal?? Susan visits the house, and Angelique visits Maggie. The orderly explains that Rankin was brought in to the asylum with a cloth over her head, so none could see her face. Someone peaked, and within four days she'd taken over and begun devouring the souls of the patients and staff alike. Atta girl. The good Reverend Trask guides, from inside his head, our dear Reverend Hartswood to the Old House, where he comes across Angelique, and he's brought a burning torch. Track Thirteen ends with here screams, and brings us to just about two thirds of the way through the running time. Quentin despairs at his family's legacy, and drinks with Susan in the sitting room. Ed shows up to rescue Angelique. Susan talks up Ed, but is a bit frustrated that he's just ignoring the supernatural stuff. Meanwhile, on a different part of the estate, Ed reveals he's been bewitched. So Ed's the witch's servant, and Susan's falling for our Not-Mister-Gray. Maggie breaks in to the session room to confront our dear Doctor Rankin. Seraph sends Willie to find Quentin, in order to help Maggie. He is slightly embarrassed to have interrupted Quentin and Susan, despite their protests that there's nothing going on. So just what the hell is Rankin? Most of the creatures and spooks to appear in Dark Shadows are at least somewhat based on folklore or movie/literature monsters, but she's this faceless being who feeds on fear, or something. And oh look, Barnabas has run into Susan. Oh dear. She's just all sorts of caught up in this, isn't she? Rankin just needs to feed, she's so hungry, and gets a shotgun to the face from our Miss Maggie Evans. As we close, Seraph releases Hartswood's inner Isaiah Trask. Barnabas drinks of Susan. And the orderly is revealed to be the long lost David Collins. A lot going on in this one, but it's a bit of a slow build until the end. David's still a bit of a whiny so and so, but at least he was sort of looking out for Maggie. Susan's in it up to her neck (heh). Ed's bewitched, Willie's in for it, Seraph is tied to Maggie somehow. Seems like nobody in particular came out on top in this one. Every on of the players on the board is the worse for wear by the end, with the possible exception of Hartswood, who's gone super mode and is now a full on Trask. Whether that's a good thing or not is up to personal interpretation. I really liked this release. As I've said, I enjoyed Rankin, and it was nice getting David back. That's another two new cast members to the list, by the way, on top of Seraph, Trask, and Verne. Since I've been treating each of these as sets of three episodes strung together in anthology format, I guess you could say we're either six episodes in to the second season, or seventeen episodes in to the larger chronicle. Either way, things are bubbling along nicely. Moving on. Kingdom of the Dead - Part Three. Quentin, Maggie, Willie, and David arrive back at the house on the hill, and there's immediately a dead body in the drawing room. David laments that nothing's changed, and Quentin sadly welcomes him home. Oh Susan. Poor poor Susan. Seraph, under the name of Charles Evans, has invited the town to a masquerade. How... theatrical. Ed does "brainwashed servant" quite well. David shows off his medical skill examining the body. Verne puts in an appearance, and is completely unphased that the body has disappeared while they weren't looking. David and Quentin talk about what happened when the family fled Strix's invasion. I wonder why Maggie doesn't assume he's her mother's brother. Oh hey some references to the childhood stuff from Clothes of Sand. Quentin assumes Angelique is behind the dead body. Oh hey, we finally, finally, learn that Quentin's a werewolf. There's much confusion as to what's up with Trask. Is he an older character, revived? Is he a new Trask, who's been made aware of his heritage? Is he possessed? Seriously, what's up? They kept mistaking him for Reverend Trask, and, to my surprise, the wiki tells me that this does not refer to Gregory, but a prior, timeline-wise, character. So is Isaiah this Reverend reborn? The Wiki tells me that this is the same Trask who possesses Tony later in Vengeance. Intriguing. Was that the first Trask to get involved with things? The Ball Begins. Ed is a bit perturbed. This is a bit too high society for him. Susan knows she shouldn't be flirting with Quentin, at least not in front of Ed, and is having second thoughts about how friendly she's been lately. Quentin's not too happy about it. And hey, look, it's Rankin, still alive, coming for the good Reverend Trask. Barnabas flounders around David, who flounders around Angelique. Again, why don't they just tell him? I don't get it. Maggie and William arrive. Willie gets up in Barnabas' face. Go Willie! Angelique is desperate for just a nice dance with Barnabas. Are they still married? Or does the fact they're both dead negate that? They do certainly seem like the happy bickering couple. Meanwhile, Barnabas is sour over Willie getting in his face about Maggie, and thus decides to muck about with Susan's head when she goes off to dance with Quentin. Saints all round, this family, I swear. As they fight over her, she runs off, and discovers the same mysterious dead girl that Quentin found earlier. Someone's messing with the Collinses. Angelique is not amused, and even sends Ed away when comes over to comfort his mistress... Quentin is utterly surprised that the phone lines aren't working. Ed's back to his take-charge self. And Willie's going to play the hero. Isaiah's losing faith, and Rankin, sated, for the moment, leaves for The Ball. ¤¤¤¤ yeah Isaiah! Trask steps up to fight the evil, Ed is not impressed, and even Willie thinks he's crazy. And David figures out what's stalking them. Even Barnabas wants to know what the hell Rankin is. God I love how crazy devout Isaiah is. Damn, this is a meaty episode. So, David's fear is "The Ghost of Quentin Collins". What? How is that a thing? Can someone fill me in on that? Is it the ghost of the first Quentin, the one ours is named after? Our non-supernatural heroes arrive and try to get into the ball. Oh... I've seen enough horror movies to know what's about to happen to Verne. Oh... and there it is. Oooh, that wasn't pretty. Poor Verne Oh damn they're going to let Quentin out into the moonlight. You know, I haven't seen this in the show. I'm willing to bet that my mental image is a wee bit different to what the effects budget allowed for at the time hahah! Outside, Trask sets up a bonfire and begins to pray. And, it... works? Damn, I wouldn't have thought. Go Isaiah! Inside, Rankin gets lured into a trap. She mocks Death, and Death leaves her to the wolf. This just isn't going to be a good day for her. Oh dear. And now she's the one that's terrified. And something answered Trask's prayers, but it apparently wasn't Seraph. I wonder what's answering Isaiah's calls. Angelique manages to get Quentin turned back right before he disembowels the lot of them. Quentin is horrified that he enjoyed that so much. And Trask is horrified of what his master has planned, but he wants reassurance that this angel really is of the Lord's flock. So. We're all set. Next up is the final release of Kingdom of the Dead. We lost Rankin and Verne in this one, so we're down two cast members. We've still got Quentin, Barnabas, Angelique, and David up in Collinwood, and Maggie, Susan, Ed, Trask, and Willie down in town. Of those, Willie's the only one who's not tied to someone else at the moment, with Susan slaved to Barnabas, Ed slaved to Angelique, and both Trask and Maggie under Seraph's spell. There was a lot more meat on this one. A lot happened, even though it was in the span of a single twenty-four hour period or so. I'm quite enjoying the contiguous plot. The first season of Full-Casts was quite nice, but it was very much separated into four separate stories, with tangential links to one another. Kingdom of the Dead picked up right where Rage Beneath ended and has so far been one single through-thread.I think this would have worked fine divided up into individual episodes. Perhaps if Stokes, or the ghost of Charlotte, had stuck around, the first season wouldn't have felt so disconnected. They could have been given roles in this, easily enough. Charlotte was implied to have had something to do with Gravenor, but nothing was made of that. She could have been the one leading him through Collinwood, or to Maggie, and have been banished with him at the end of The Rage Beneath. Stokes could have tried to help out during the pirate incursions, and could have been a participant in the happenings of Kingdom of the Dead. Just little things like that would have gone a long way to making Book of the Temptation and Christmas Presence feel actually consequential, instead of, in retrospect, not really having any lasting affect on anything. We could have skipped from The House of Despair to The Rage Beneath, really, for all that the inter two stories had any lasting affect on anything at all. Tomorrow will be the finale of Kingdom of the Dead, and perhaps a bit more, depending on how I'm feeling.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 19, 2015 22:32:33 GMT
Kingdom of the Dead - Part Four.
We open on wedding bells, and Angelique's cackling laughter. Susan's dreaming. She's getting married to Quentin! Yuss! And then she wakes up. Pity. :/ Bit of foreshadowing there, but not in the way I'd like. Man, Isaiah is getting the shaft left right and center. No one in town really respects him, and Seraph brushes him off and treats him like a stoogey. Maggie's kind to him, but that's about it. Quentin drops his pretenses a bit and gives Susan some protection. And goes to break his deal. Man's got a spine, and has made his piece. And then David starts scheming... Oh David. I'd almost forgotten that this was once the little boy that tried to kill his own father and locked his governess in a forgotten wing of the house to potentially starve to death. Who played with ghosts and hated everyone. And now he's old enough to plot grander things... It's weird thinking about the fact that Angelique is technically David's Step-Mother. When Susan's told about Verne's 'suicide', she asks how Kate is holding up. Is this Miss Ripperton, already in town? I marvel at the Trask family ability to rationalize away anything and everything, to fool not just others, but themselves. And what is it about Maggie that causes supernatural nasties to be drawn to her, like moths to a flame? Seriously. Barnabas, The Sandman, Seraph, Quentin, Blair, and that's just the ones I know of from the audios! I feel sorry for her. She's in for a sad awakening when Seraph stops brainwashing her.
Ah, and there it is. He undoes the magic. And Maggie starts breaking down. Quentin's drunk, resigned to fate. And Susan shows up, and admits that she wants to spend her final night, if that's what it is, with Quentin. She doesn't want to talk about Ed. That decision... isn't going to work out so well for her. And Seraph reveals to Maggie... the truth. Oh dear. Oooooh dear. I don't think she was ready for that. I wonder what pendant Barnabas was talking about there? Crimson Pearl, perhaps? "I am one of those terrible things" is such a great quote from Quentin. He turns down Susan, for her own good, and sends her back to Ed. I'm rather proud of the guy; that had to have been hard for him. Angelique's got a point; She's not going to let a little thing like death get in the way stalking her man. Barnabas is a bit of a tool. You know, David might just be the scariest of the bunch. Ah, Ed's not happy. Granted, I wouldn't be either, if I found out my wife was cheating, or thinking about it. Maggie and Angelique have a little chat. Many Isaiah just can't catch a break. You gotta wonder why he just always gets the short end of the stick. Ah, David's set up Susan. You know, I was almost beginning to like the little bastard. I think this is the first time we've seen (heard?) Barnabas turning into a bat in the audios. And Seraph begins the ceremony; Susan is to be sacrificed.
A lot of things coming to a head. This is the end of the season, right here, whether we're talking about the last four large releases, or the larger twenty four episode saga. Quentin arrives and is trapped in the chapel with Seraph and Susan. Only a death can free them, and Susan's the only one in the room who can die. Ah, but she's one of Barnabas' victims, so this ritual isn't going to work. Whoops. And Isaiah is the one who pulls the trigger. Sad sad days. Poor poor Susan. Seraph lays a curse on Quentin. Though it's probably only figurative, it's interesting to think on it. Does this mean that even without the painting Quentin would live forever? Either way, he's leaving town. :/ And Maggie just tells Barnabas to ¤¤¤¤ off. Wow. Calls him out. Banishes him from town. And he does it. Damn. There's something amusing and sad about Willie and Isaiah becoming drinking buddies. Carolyn runs into Quentin at the station on his way out, and begs him to stay. And then, after he's gone, cackles that he's out of the way, and the Age of Petofi will begin! Well then. Hrm.
That was rather packed, wasn't it? A lot going on, but most of it wrap-up. We get the end of the half-year tryst of Quentin and Susan. We get the end of Seraph's scheming and his return to the underworld. We get Barnabas and Quentin leaving town, while David assumes his role as head of the family and Carolyn returns to the house on the hill. We also get some set-up for what's to come. Willie and Ed's mother seem to have an eye for each other. Isaiah is busy getting acquainted with a bottle. Susan's been part of a ritual to become the grim reaper, which didn't work, but to a lesser degree than we thought, as we shall soon see. Would be interesting to find that Seraph is still around, in a diminished state, given what we see of Susan in Bloodlust. Him moving in to the inn, semi-permanently, as "Charles Evans - retired angel", could be something. I don't think anyone would really complain about having David Warner around as a semi-regular cast member. I also want Rankin back. I think she did a good turn as an early Julia type psychologist before they revealed her supernatural nature, and it would be cool to have her back. I just love her voice. Get her back to play Julia or something, via possession or some excuse. They could explain it away if they wanted to. But yeah. Petofi. That guy gets around, doesn't he? How old is he anyway? He's been around for a good while.
All in all, I quite liked Kingdom of the Dead. Listening to it again (this is just my second time), I have a much better understanding and appreciation of the characters and relationships. I feel like I got a lot more out of it this go-round.
That seems like a decent enough stopping point for the day.
Tomorrow we'll get started on Snowflake and Bloodlust.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 21, 2015 0:54:07 GMT
Very much a "Episode 0" to the thirteen part Bloodlust, Snowflake is a first person dictation to tape to a friend by one private investigator who's been hired by a "Mr Snowflake" to investigate whether or not Collinsport, as a whole, "believes in ghosts". The identity of Snowflake is obvious, in hindsight, having listened to Bloodlust before, but upon release I recall there was a lot of speculation and assumptions that the person in the cave was Snowflake and responsible for the short play's outcome. In retrospect, however, I think it's safe to say she wasn't, and that Snowflake left a surprise in the wine. Ed's just recently found out Susan's dead, and Rhonda is sheriff, so this is shortly after the finale of Kingdom of the Dead. It's a good little teaser, and gets us in the mood for what's to come.
Episode 1 begins with an opening monologue by this season's woman-onna-train Melody, anxious to arrive in town and begin her new exciting life with her new husband Michael. Oh, dear, you may have chosen somewhat unwisely. Just maybe. It's possible. Mike's a big nerdy boyscout, and Melody wants adventures. Oh it's their honeymoon! If this were a visual novel, I wouldn't be able to see the screen for all the plot flags being thrown around. I want to pause to say that I adore the theremin and heartbeat redux of the main Dark Shadows theme music. It's simply spellbinding. The Inn scene (re)introduces us to Ed's mum, Ed, and Isaiah, introduces us to new townsfolk Frankie, Jackie, and Cody, and name-checking Kate again. Melody claims Collinsport already feels like home, and gives a sad story about her parents dying under mysterious circumstances when she was young. And she had some spooky happenings when she worked at her book shop in New York. They're really really pushing her as a new Victoria Winters type. This scene alone brings our cast list to larger than the prior full-casts combined. Hey, it's Susan! ¤¤¤¤ yeah! So we've got a ghost in town. Sweet. With Quentin and Barnabas out of the picture, we need some new supernatural types hanging about to flesh (heh) out the cast a bit. Kate makes an appearance, at last. I was surprised to find the serendipitous name-check of a "Kate" in Kingdom of the Dead. I'm sure they didn't plan that to match up so well like that, but it did, and it's nice. Makes things feel more connected. Melody dreamily wonders if she's a long lost Collins, come to inherit her diamond mine. And then she gets viciously attacked, and dies. Well then. So much for that.
Whereas Kingdom of the dead really felt like the second half of a larger season, this is very much the start of something new. And it was a good introductory episode to boot. Strangers ride into town on the train, and we get to see the town through their eyes. We meet all the locals (Maggie, Ed, Jessica, Susan, Frankie, Jackie, Cody, Rhonda, Isaiah, and Kate), and get told about the Collinses and Collinwood (and its new mining operation). We get some proof that the supernatural exists, via Susan, and we get an attack (and a death!) and some obvious (and thus incorrect) suspects. Good episode. Really establishes Mike's character, and lets us get to know everybody else's fairly decently. And the sound design was simply divine (or arcane, as the case may be).
Episode 2. Hey it's Amy! Looking back, from 2013's The Phantom Bride onwards really is setting this up. Establishing the Cunningham family, dropping names (Mike knows Amy), Beyond the Grave, etc. Which makes sense, considering that Bloodlust was produced by the same people who were handling the Dramatic Readings from release 33 on. I wonder what happened to Sabrina and Stiles and the Stokeses and such. Anyway, we begin by re-meeting Amy, and her (somewhat) new husband, Andrew Cunningham, his son (from a previous marriage) Harry, and their toddler Tom. I think it's cute that Jackie thinks "pill" is an adequate insult. Amy begins getting reacquainted with the locals, while Andrew begins chatting up everything female in sight. Waterhouse does a wonderful job playing the schmoozing creep of a husband. He's great. I love it. Ed's getting set up as the obvious fall-guy, so of course it can't be him. Kate walks in and dominates Andrew without even trying. Ha! I like Jackie and Cody. They speak to me. Remind me of my high-school days. Ha! I hadn't noticed Harry trying to superstitiously get a picture of Cody before. Heheh. So Cody said that he first heard the whispering under Widow's Hill a few weeks ago, which places Snowflake closer to this end of the timejump, rather than nearer to Kingdom of the Dead. My mistake. They keep namechecking Mrs Grayson. A call from the hospital reveals that Melody's body's been drained of blood. Dun dun duuuuuuuun!
You know, it just occurred to me that Sebastian Shaw must have just been twiddling his thumbs over at Windcliff while Rankin devoured everybody. I'm guessing he was too far gone for her to bother with, given his mental state in Return to Collinwood.
Anyway, good second episode. More introductions and such. We get Amy's new family, and get to see how each of them interacts with the town. Andrew starts schmoozing and trying to ingratiate himself everywhere with a smug sense of superiority. Harry immediately gets roped in to hanging out with the other local kids. And Amy catches up with Maggie and Kate over a bottle of wine. We also get to see how the other townsfolk react to the Cunninghams. No one seems particularly impressed with Andrew, Harry just gets swept along in Jackie's wake along with Cody, and everyone's pleased to see Amy come home, and is overjoyed to hear she's married and has children. One more character addition, we get to hear, over the radio, Rhonda's deputy. So far, the only overtly supernatural thing to happen has been Susan, though Melody not having any blood in her body certainly starts casting out some serious implications (as well as moving our eyes away from obvious suspect Ed).
Episode 3 begins with morning for the Cunninghams. And Frankie & Kate. And the Tates (plus Cody). And Ed and Susan. It's kind of funny to hear Ed complaining to Susan about her murder, and her consoling him about it. Only in Collinsport. And Trask, waking up on the beach. Does he just not have a home? I love Isaiah. I really feel for the guy. I think it's nice to see that Rhonda seems a bit sweet on him. Hmm. She says he reminds her of her father. Makes you wonder. Mike used to study supernatural guff with Amy back in Salem University. Interesting course study for a noted skeptic. I miss my Polaroid camera. Amy begins to shake the docility of married life and start doing a little investigating of her own. You know, I'd be more trusting of David if I hadn't heard the end of the previous season. I mean, what's that mine really for? Although, at first blush, it seems pretty legit, I must admit. Harry plays a good Peter Parker and gets some nice pictures around town. Ed almost gets into trouble at the inn. Townsfolk are pretty tight-knit, covering for each other. And Andrew goes to the whispering cave to pay our favorite witch a visit. Why is Angelique speaking so much French? I mean, I know she's French, but she's never shown this penchant for her native tongue before, in the audios at least. My theory, she was bored in that cave and has been learning French to pass the time. Adds to her allure and all. That'd be so like her. Andrew wants her to make him rich. And that's the only reason he's moved to town. Looks like Maggie's the better of Angelique since the last time we saw her. Given her preternatural knowledge near the end of Kingdom of the Dead (brief though it was), I'm not terribly surprised. Oops, Harry was there the whole time. Surprisingly, they start to bond a little. Wasn't expecting that. Melody's mysteriously boring past intrigues Sheriff Tate. Some needle-marks on her arm reveal that she may not have been such a goody-two-shoes after all. Interesting.
Here we begin ramping up the supernatural stuff. Susan shows up some more, and we run into Angelique and her cave of damned souls. Andrew wants her to make all his debts to go away, and there may be a vampire on the loose. Good stuff. This was, again, more set up. We're still in the phase of things where we're meeting new characters and learning about who everybody is. And we've got enough potential suspects to keep things interesting, while at the same time there's various pieces of evidence to rationalize away how it can't be them. Ed seems the obvious suspect at the moment, but I'm pretty sure he's not a vampire, so I think we'll look elsewhere for the time being. Harry asked Cody if he wanted to be in a picture last episode, but immediately brushes off Jackie when she offers to pose for him. It's odd seeing Angelique play mentor to the kid.
All in all, we've opened strong.
More Bloodlust when we reconvene next week.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 24, 2015 0:35:33 GMT
Episode 4 opens with Andrew coming home. What begins as a bit of nice couple talk between him and Amy turns in to him being a bit of a patronizing git. Interesting that he seems to be under the impression that Amy "doesn't believe in that stuff" when talking about Maggie's meetings on supernatural happenings about town. Sheriff Tate tries rationalizing out what happened to Melody and, hypothetically, considers the vampiric option, but still comes to conclusion that some good old fashioned police work is necessary. Susan shows up and Frankie can't really doubt Ed's sanity anymore. Aaaand we also find out that Quentin wasn't the first fling Susan had. The first time I listened to this, I hadn't heard the other full-casts, so I didn't know that her indiscretions were a bit of a regular thing. Though I guess Quentin was the first one out in the open. Hrm. Why does everyone say witch like it's an insult? All the witches in the series wear it like a badge of honor. "When does a group turn into a mob?" is a superb quote from Jackie. Oh, so Andrew does know a bit about Amy's past, and has been rummaging through her old books. Which makes their talk at the beginning of the episode even more assholish in hindsight, as he was just manipulating her into being subservient. What an ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤. And he moved down to Collinsport for the sole purpose of getting Angelique to make him rich. Trask is an intriguing study of a sympathetic yet pathetic character. He just wanted to do The Lord's work, and look where that got him. Andrew tries to talk big to Angelique, and even sets her fire, but as soon as she gets out the ¤¤¤¤ hits the fan, and Andrew starts ¤¤¤¤ting bricks. He runs home, and Tommy is suddenly a teenager. Whoops. Nice character episode for the adult Cunninghams. We get to see more of Andrew's nature, as well as seeing Amy crawl out of her shell a bit and start to put her foot down. Also nice to see that Rhonda isn't discounting the supernatural, but also isn't letting it get in the way of her job. Would be interesting to maybe get a set of dramatic readings set between Kingdom and Bloodlust, showing Angelique getting banished to the cave, Trask getting enthralled to Angelique, Rhonda stepping up, maybe a mystery about the mine that misdirects away from what's really going on, etc... Could maybe even reveal that the real Stokes wasn't back at all and it was still the dreamlands creature inhabiting him, and he's been helping out with all this behind the scenes. Susan coming back, Or something. Just some thoughts. Episode 5 opens with Amy and Harry not having it anymore. They basically tell Andrew to sit down and shut up. Andrew tries to turn this around on Amy, but she's still not having any of it. You go girl! He's basically been walking all over her for the last three episodes, so it's nice to see her just saying no more no more. Kate is super excited to maybe prove the supernatural exists, so that she can prove to everyone that she's not crazy, due to the cover-up of what happened back in Beyond the Grave. Jessica gives Ed a loving and heartfelt speech about moving on and finding love, which is somewhat dampened by the fact that we the listeners know that Susan's probably floating behind her with an amused expression on her face. Amy tells Andrew to get out. She shows Andrew the door, and then tells Harry to show her the cave, because she's going to give Angelique a piece of her mind. Frankie tries to explain to Kate how living in Collinsport means you just have to accept things and move on. How you just need to keep on keeping on. Oh! We get confirmation that Kate has been around during the events of the last two full-cast seasons. We get a nice little moment of joy from Amy when she starts realizing all the wonderful foods she can now share with her son. And then she's says she's not going to be passive anymore. It's a wonderful moment of triumph that we've been building to for a bit. Tom loves bacon. He's a real man now. Frankie and Kate are weirdly great for each other. But there's definitely something going on with the mine. Frankie almost seems like there's some mental trigger that doesn't allow him to talk about it. Angelique is a little jealous of how strong Amy and her kids are. And she seems genuinely worried about Isaiah. Looks like Susan can sense when someone is about to die. And, oh, dear. Looks like it's Jessica and Andrew. But, hey, it's Quentin! Now we can get this party started! I notice these episodes have been varying in length from twenty some-odd minutes to nearly forty five. Despite that, none of them have felt dragging at all. Things take exactly as long as they need to. Refreshing. Episode 6 begins with Quentin eating breakfast at the inn. He chides Maggie for being a little close-minded. Maggie sadly tells him just to go. And then Rhonda walks in to tell Amy the bad news. But Jessica's alive, so there's that. Susan has a weird attack of foresight. You've got to admit, Maggie's got a point. A werewolf attack on the night Quentin shows up? I, too, would be awfully suspicious. Oh. Wow. David gets in a barb about Susan when Quentin comes to visit. Quentin is looking for Angelique. Ah. I see. He wants a quick hit of wolfie times. God he sounds like a junkie. It's kind of sad. :/ Ooooooh Harry's got a secret. Oh, and Tom has a problem. Oh dear. Maggie's black and white certainties begin to crumble down around her as Quentin points out that Tom is technically one of those "monsters" she wants to run off and that there are otherwise quite normal people of Collinsport who have done quite horrible things of their own. Cody does what all teenagers do: smuggle alcohol past the adults. Again, reminds me of my high-school days. How does Trask pay for his drinks? Does Angelique give him an allowance? Like, this is legitimately bothering me. Maggie tries to have a peaceful awareness meeting, and Ed starts mudd-slinging at the Collinses. That seems to be his go-to answer for all of life's problems, isn't it? Bit of a grudge, there. Ed whips the crowd into a mob. Well there's your answer Jackie. Now you know. Oh ¤¤¤¤, Ed's got supplies and everything. Flashlights and Guns. Hardly torches and pitchforks. Did he plan this out? Mike seems a little out of his depth. He seems to fall to pieces a lot. Oh. Oh. Isaiah's getting a beating from the mob. And Ed's just laughing. What the hell Ed. And here's Barnabas to put everyone back in their places. So. Some powerful stuff this last episode. When "concerned citizens" turns into mob justice. Good on Rhonda for protecting Angelique, even in the face of an unruly, and armed, mob. You know, I'm kind of surprised that Susan hasn't told Ed the specifics of her death. Or maybe I'm not. It would implicate either Trask or Quentin, even though it really wasn't either of their faults, and given how Ed's acting, Isaiah would probably have been dead on the beach a lot sooner. This is the halfway-point, really. If you count Snowflake, we're seven episodes in to this fourteen episode thing. Angelique, Quentin, and Barnabas are gathered. Ed, Maggie, and Mike are on the other side of things. Rhonda's just trying to do her job and keep people from doing anything they'll regret. And a lot of people are dead. Onwards, to the second half Episode 7 opens on Barnabas awakening at sunset. He's less than happy about the situation. The three immortals start throwing barbs at each other before coming to the conclusion that someone might be setting them up. Rhonda is calling a town meeting to discuss the recent happenings. Ah yes, this town meeting. I remember this episode. Rhonda tries to carry on like a sane human being while Ed and Mike become overly emotional and begin stirring up the crowd. Kate feeds both sides as she tries to get a good scoop. Various regulars comment as the proceedings proceed. I'm making this out to be kind of boring, but the whole thing's just dripping with tension and a sort of slow burn. The sound design really goes a long way towards selling the simmering pot of boiling bile that this is. Rhonda calls in Isaiah to show the crowd the beating he's received, and then Maggie, bless her poor deluded heart, tries to downplay the incident and turn it around. Makes me sad. She's usually the sane and rational one. Maggie calls out Rhonda, and asks to step down. Maggie isn't even pretending to not threaten Quentin anymore. Maggie just keeps doing the "why are you making me hurt you?" routine. What the hell, Maggie? One gets the impression that the whole meeting is being manipulated somehow. Everyone's running a bit edgier than usual, and then an attack happens, right in the middle of everyone, and suddenly there's a fox in the henhouse and the chickens are running around with their heads cut off. Maggie protests, and says there's just no way she could replace Rhonda, but once the position is readily given to her, thanks to the conveniently timed attack on Harry, she's suddenly a bit drunk with power. It's like everyone's gone mad. Just absolutely mad. Oh, and Harry and Cody kiss. So that was the secret Harry was so worried about. So. Yeah. Anyway. That just happened. Come to think of it, outside of the usual wham moment of any given episode, each one has, more or less, had a big new name show up, yeah? The first had newcomers Mike and Melody, as well as the surprise reveal that Susan's ghost is hanging around. Two had The Cunninghams, coming to town. Three had the revelation of Angelique, down in the whispering caves. Four didn't really have one, but five ended with Quentin popping up, and six similarly ended with Barnabas rolling in like a thunderstorm. This episode has the wham hey it's Carolyn scene. Welcome to the second half of the season.
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Post by Rob Morris on Nov 24, 2015 8:11:53 GMT
Oh, I don't know. Four ends up with Tommy arriving, and I think that's pretty momentous. It's probably my favourite episode ending of anything ever, with the episode 6 cliffhanger being a close second.
Love the town meeting too. The moment where Rhonda just throws it all away in a moment - "and you never shut up about it" - is just a breathtaking moment: someone we've been rooting for saying something unforgivably stupid and thoughtless that basically means they're shooting themselves in the foot. I remember my hand flew to my mouth when I first read that bit and I went "oh no".
Enjoying the reviews very much. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by omega on Nov 24, 2015 10:34:20 GMT
Oh, I don't know. Four ends up with Tommy arriving, and I think that's pretty momentous. It's probably my favourite episode ending of anything ever, with the episode 6 cliffhanger being a close second. Love the town meeting too. The moment where Rhonda just throws it all away in a moment - "and you never shut up about it" - is just a breathtaking moment: someone we've been rooting for saying something unforgivably stupid and thoughtless that basically means they're shooting themselves in the foot. I remember my hand flew to my mouth when I first read that bit and I went "oh no". In support of Rhonda, she's probably been having Ed getting all passive-aggressive about the lack of activity on the investigation into Susan's death since Kingdom of the Dead ended. He's certainly getting more aggressive over it now. Now Mike has been harping on about how he's lost Melody, no wonder Rhonda is lashing out. She's trying her best but she's out of her depth, which further increases tension, further fueling the bloodlust.
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Post by Rob Morris on Nov 24, 2015 17:11:30 GMT
Oh absolutely, she's at the end of her tether. Let's face it stress levels among Collinsport's Finest Police Department must be pretty high almost all the time, but the pressure here is massive for her. So it's totally understandable.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 26, 2015 0:09:02 GMT
Was consuming Confessions yesterday. Good stuff. And now we resume our regularly scheduled programming... Episode 8 opens with Maggie assuming office. Right, that happened. Harry's in the hospital with Cody (they make a cute couple), and is worried that Amy may have something to do with things. He doesn't really trust witches right now. Understandably, I suppose. Quentin's furious with Angelique about Tom. She's flippant until he points out the boy's a descendant of his and it's a full moon later, at which point Angelique has an "oh god I'm so sorry ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤" moment. It really makes me sad seeing Maggie on the slippery slope like this. Yes, it's paved with good intentions, but it's still the road to hell. She's all but decided that any non-humans need to be rounded up and taken care of, simply because they're not 100% human. Which just raises all sorts of questions. Will Amy get incarcerated, for knowing some magic? She's human, but she's also a bit of a witch. She starts with a curfew, which isn't the worst thing in the world. We'll see how steep the slope is. I really like the burgeoning familial relationship between Rhonda and Isaiah. It's nice to see Trask free of outside influence, but it's sad to see that he's lost so much of his past due to Seraph's tampering. Tom's naivety and innocence is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Cody's line about "Dad doesn't mind, he cuts up dead bodies all the time" reminds me of my school life. My mother teaches gross anatomy at a medical university, so it was a handy bully deterrent to let them know my mother cut up dead people for a living. I like Jackie. She's a good kid, has a good head on her shoulders. It'd be nice if she turned out to be the sheriff during the Return to Collinwood period. Rhonda starts investigating again after some encouraging and kind words from our resident Reverend. No. No no no no no. Isaiah noooooooooooooo. Saddest episode. Quentin breaks the bad news to Tom, who doesn't quite understand. And Angelique and Barnabas are going to go on the warpath. But first, to spend a pleasant night in each other's arms. And necks. So. Yeah. Isaiah's dead. Right when it looked like he might get some answers as to who he was, what his life was before Collinsport, before Hartswood. Maggie's doing genetic purity tests. "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear." Oh Maggie. Don't you know who you sound like? Ten and a half hours of Dark Shadows left before I've gone through pretty much the entirety of the Big Finish backlog. I've been doing these write-ups with an air towards evaluating the story as it unfolds, but, as someone who has heard these before, I just want to comment that they've done a really good job of making everything line up for the eventual reveal. Episode 9 opens with Quentin sealing Tom in in the family mausoleum. Poor Tom. Kate's ¤¤¤¤ed up. Like, she probably needs mental health. But at least it appears to be in a "get drunk in the graveyard" sort of way, rather than anything harmful. Well, harmful to anyone else. God, no one in this town ever catches a break. I'm not sure who's worse, between Ed and Mike, when it comes to talking Maggie into making horrible decisions under the guise of helping the community. Kate's been caught with her hand in the cookie ja- er... filing cabinet. Oh, dear, Frankie's going to be pissed. Rhonda starts putting puzzle pieces together, and gets the sad news about Trask. Ah, yes, Frankie's pissed. Again, understandably so. Maggie runs into Barnabas up on the hill. And then Rhonda. And then smacks her across the face. Rhonda is not pleased. What the hell Maggie? Quentin brings Angelique some of Amy's old books, and she gets to work seeing what's going on in Collindwood. Carolyn's chanting spells in the drawing room. Times have changed, apparently. Susan was the one who helped Trask pass over, and gives Frankie some relationship advice. And we close on Barnabas feeding on Kate. Well ¤¤¤¤ he's done it now. Everything's just going to pot. Episode 10 opens on Tom having a bit of a fever dream in the morning, having passed the night. He felt so alive. What a line. Sent chills down my spine. Barnabas is back, and deflects Angelique's questions while returning to his coffin. Kate wakes, feeling hung over, only having fuzzy memories of what happened last night. She feels like death. So we've got Amy, Tom, and Kate; The Witch, The Wolf, and The Vampire. Interesting. Sometimes I forget that these take place in the eighties, but then they play a jingle from the radio or something. Even Maggie thinks she sounds horrible. Amy points out how draconian she's being. Maggie just wants to run away and have a quiet drink with Amy and Kate. I'm super surprised that Collinsport has hundreds of people in it, when we only ever really see maybe twenty. I suppose it's never the same twenty, but still. Maggie's priorities are messed up. Quentin lets Amy in on the family lineage. Amy is understandably furious with him. But in a nice speech about family and righting one's mistakes, Quentin convinces her to help him check out Collinwood. What year did touch-dial phones come into vogue? Not sure why it surprises me that The Whale has one. Oh, Frankie and Susan only kissed. A long time ago. I guess that's better than a tryst. Makes me feel better about that whole thing. David's cool demeanor just gives up and melts in the face of Amy pouring on the charm. Maggie tries to convince Jackie this is all for the best. Oooo David gives us a nice flashback to Strix's invasion of Collinwood and his subsequent entrapment at Windcliff. Frankie and food. Two birds one stone. Oh if she only knew. Jackie comes right out and calls Maggie Sheriff Hitler. And David reveals he's been keeping everyone distracted with a spell for the whole damn day. Sheesh there's a lot going on in this town. "Is that a hand?!" is another great line. Oh dear. And now the long long buildup to Kate's dinnertime. Bad times for all. Kate's feeding at The Whale. Tom's transforming into the wolf. David and Carolyn are weaving spells in the air. And so many people are dying. Oh jeez. And Mike tells Maggie she's one of the monsters. What an end to the episode. So. Yeah. We're wrapping up. Three episodes from the end and we're beginning to reveal things. A lot going on in that episode. We're done with the setup and the next few episodes are, for the most part, going to be nothing but payoffs. We've got a little over two hours left to go. I really appreciate them letting the episodes be as long, or as short, as needed, and not sticking to a fixed runtime. Not a whole lot to say about this one really. I think the most interesting revelation is David's flashback to the late Seventies when Strix attacks. We get some nice references to things we never actually saw ("We all had the same dreams!"), and get to see everyone high-tailing it out of their while Barnabas falls to the demon. It brings things together, makes everything feel connected. Was a nice touch. I wonder if Stokes investigating the resident's strange dreams is what lead him to discover the dreamlands, and the creatures therein. Episode 11 opens in the aftermath of Kate devouring Frankie. Maggie's dumbfounded. To her credit, she has herself locked up with the rest of them. The same rules for her as everyone else. Well, at least she sticks to her convictions, misguided as they are. The kids are in shock. Amy's afraid and furious and upset. Barnabas' memories have been tampered with. First he remember Maggie, then Amy, then Ed, then Quentin, then Mike, then Angelique, and on and on and on. Whoever it is is toying with his mind. Jackie and the boys tell Rhonda what happened, and she just refuses to believe it's so cut and dry. ¤¤¤¤ it, Sheriff Rhonda Tate is back on the job. So David and Carolyn now have a Vampire, a Wolf, and Witch to blame all the attacks on. Which rather begs the question of where the initial attacks came from. Uh, keeping Kate down in the cells with all those other people probably isn't the best of ideas. I mean, does she not have the strength to just bust her way out of there? Oh, wait, Rhonda's busting people out anyway. And Maggie has to do something very difficult. Jackie just calls out Maggie. She's probably the only one who has been just open about how she feels this whole series. And we finally get the big reveal about The Hand of Petofi. Oh Petofi. That bastard's just been messing with people for ages. Just ages. How old is that guy? I mean, he's dead, but so is Angelique, so that doesn't really mean anything. And the gang goes up to Collinwood to confront Petofi's hand, and the two Collinses under its command. Episode 12 is... Episode 12 is probably my favorite episode of the series. It's a beautiful two-hander between Maggie and Angelique. These two pretty much hate each other. Oh jeeze Petofi is old. I wonder if he had anything to do with The Crimson Pearl ending up where it did. He's from at least the 1740s. Oh jesus Maggie just shut the ¤¤¤¤ up and stop blaming others. You started this Maggie. es, there were others helping move things along in the direction they wanted. But you were the one who started this incident. And she's just so overjoyed when Angelique reveals that there's a big shiny button that Maggie can press to just kill everyone even vaguely supernatural on planet. And Maggie just wants to use it. No hesitation. Maggie really is coming off as the bad guy here. We get a really powerful scene when Angelique summons Isaiah's body from the morgue. She makes Maggie look at all the abuse he went through in her name. Maggie is suitably appalled. And the two women clean his body, and give him some prayer, and charms. They vacillate between touching connections and stinging bile at each. Maggie thinks she's a monster. Actually Maggie being a succubus would make a whole heap of sense. I mean, all the damn men and monsters that pass through town just seem to bend in her direction. I just can't believe that Maggie just firmly believes that it's perfectly okay and right to just murder every othernatural person on the planet. I mean, seriously. And she has the audacity to tell Angelique that nobody loves her when the only man who probably did care is dead at their feet. And then blame Angelique for everything that's going on. And accuses her of trickery and confusion when Angelique just tells her the truth. "This town doesn't deserved to have him buried in its ground." Angelique truly cared about that man. And Maggie just won't let her kill herself. And we then send Isaiah off. And Maggie and Angelique head off to the mine to defeat Petofi's plot. Such a beautiful episode. Really, my favorite one. It's such a nice cooldown from the frenetic pace of the last few. A nice breath, before we plunge into the end. Episode 13. Here we go. David's leading everyone around on a leash (in one case quite literally) before Ed shows up with a gun to point. Looks like he might get to shoot a Collins today after all. Petofi appears to be riding around in David's head. Everyone gets separated. Carolyn sicks Tom on Mike. Ed shoots Barnabas (that won't do much). Susan shows up to show Ed he's being a moron. Tricks and illusions and magic and deception. Rhonda laughs at Petofi's ability to insult her ability to keep a husband. David reveals the horrifying truth, the thing that's been causing everyone to destroy each other in the street. Maggie's horrified to find that it isn't anything at all. She's been doing it all on her own. Quentin and Amy get chased around by Tom while being bombarded by illusions and lies. And the reveal comes. It's been Mike all along. And we get bombarded with flashbacks. To be perfectly honest, I felt this part was a bit weak. It all becomes a bit scooby doo at this point. If only poor pitiful Mike hadn't been poor pitiful Mike, if only the world hadn't laughed at him, if only he hadn't found a book full of the ramblings of mad Count Petofi. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids and their dog! I guess, technically, he does get away with it, before Angelique stops it. But still. We spend a good chunk of the episode with Mike monologueing like a comic-book villain. After the powerhouse of the previous episode, it was a bit of a downturn. But then he finally shuts up and drops the hand down the mine and the world begin to end and we get back to the episode. Angelique gives a good speech, before jumping in after it and using her power to stop the hand, killing her in the process. We cut ahead a bit. They're preparing a Collins family photo. And Willie shows up! Will wonders never cease? Jessica's awake, and so is Ed. Susan called him an ambulance. How touching. Jessica sure is chipper. Doesn't mind the scars and comments on how good of a sleep the coma was. And she's got her Willie Lumis back in town. Yeah, that's the stuff. They take the photo, and Maggie lets everyone know that Willie found Joe, and Maggie's leaving, to go join Joe Haskell. Good for her. But first, she wants to just forget everything, and asks Amy to alter her memory. At least, of the supernatural stuff. I don't particularly agree with her decision, but I can see why she'd want it that way. And, of course, we have to line things up for Return to Collinwood. ;P That was a good series. Really good. I hope we get another full-cast series sometime soon. Maybe a 2003 series? Where we redux Return, and do Vengeance, and go beyond. I'm off for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and possibly Friday, so at latest we'll reconvene Monday for the post-Bloodlust set of dramatic readings, starting with Panic, featuring the story of how Quentin met his wife after leaving town at the end of Kingdom of the Dead.
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Post by omega on Nov 26, 2015 1:09:24 GMT
Are you getting a sense of apprehensiveness that the listen through is soon ending? I get that when reaching the end of something great. Then I remember that the end is only the beginning of binging on something else!
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 27, 2015 17:42:19 GMT
Not so much apprehensiveness as a sort of "aww it's almost over :/ " feeling about the whole thing.
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Post by Trace on Nov 28, 2015 2:37:48 GMT
By the way, Srandom, I've been wanting to tell you that I look forward to reading each of your posts in this thread when I have the time to devote to it! I starting reading the first and was really enjoying it...but I had too many distractions and they really need my full attention!
You may have read one of my responses to you over in "The Confessions of Dorian Gray" thread regarding chronological listening, and my feeling about "Dark Shadows" is the same....I like release order the best. I guess I've been conditioned that way--starting with "Dark Shadows" on TV. I like jumping around in time and piecing the story together with only the material available to date at the time of original release.
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Post by Zagreus on Nov 28, 2015 17:34:08 GMT
While I generally go in for release order (it's how I binge-listen to Big Finish Doctor Who), I decided to do something a little different on this one and I think it's turned out well. I have a functional understanding of the show and, sitting down to look at the audios, I made the conscious decision to do a chronological listen-through so that I'd be introduced to stuff in a somewhat organic order. We started with an explanation of Angelique, Barnabas, and Josette, and moved on from there. Each generation of Collinses got introduced and explained a bit, and the compounding supernatural elements added up over time gradually. We started with a scorned lover cursing her husband into a vampire and paying for it in hell, and now, centuries later in the timeline, we've got ghosts and witches and werewolves and vampires and demons and warlocks and possessions and resurrections and dream creatures and mummies and so on and so forth ad infinitum. Starting cold with The House of Despair is a bit daunting (trust me, I know ), but going through it in chronological order I now understand a lot more of what's going on and who people are and how they relate to one another. All in all, I think it's a worthy experiment that has paid off well. Glad you're enjoying the writeups.
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Post by Zagreus on Dec 1, 2015 0:22:27 GMT
I find myself putting this off. Not wanting it to be over. Or maybe it's just because it's been busy at work.
Now that the Bloodlust has ended, it's time for the Panic...
While the framing sequence takes place after Bloodlust, with Quentin teaching Tom how to make French Toast (adorably), the flashback takes place between Kingdom of the Dead and his return in Bloodlust. There was something like a six month gap between the two series, timelinewise, so it's nice to hear a bit about what went on betwixt them. I am amused by his description of her a a terrifying creature, hard headed and quick to anger. Tom's semi-frequent interruptions to Quentin's story help to keep us grounded, though it might be interesting to download the mp3 files and edit out the framing sequence, see if it's still coherent.
Just checked the runtime, this could easily be split into two or three episodes. I'll keep an ear out for appropriate cliffhangers/stopping points around the relevant time markers. Might also be worth seeing if I can chop-edit all the dramatic readings into episodes of the same length as the full-casts. See how many episodes we end up with then.
I like the random linguistic asides. Reminds me of daily life with my father growing up. A lot of this evokes The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Forest in the back of an antique shop. Lost in a forest of the night. Olde gods and werewolves. Etc, etc, etc. Lela is certainly an interesting character. There are terrible things out there, waiting in the dark.
For the record, there is, in fact, a nice break about halfway through the dramatization. Quentin being suitably appalled by English "coffee" is quite satisfying.
I'm afraid that I rather saw the "twist" coming, as this is a story about how Quentin met his wife. Rather, how Lela Quick will be "Quick no more" is rather obvious, and it just becomes a game of "wait for the characters to figure it out". I also appreciate the dig at British University System, and the layouts thereof. The say the name, they get the marriage, and Pan is a little bored and a little spiteful, and tries to get Lela to back out of it, by showing her just what Quentin is. To her credit, she sticks by her new husband, partially because it's the right thing to do, but also just to spite the trickster. I think I like her.
And once we join Quentin back in the present, Lela shows up to admonish him for not inviting her over to the family home. I do hope she sticks around for the next set of audios, readings or full-casts or whathaveyou.
Anyway, it looks like that's all I'm getting to today.
Might not be the worst idea to do one a day. Draw it out like a proper season and such.
Tomorrow, we join Barnabas, Julia, and Professor Stokes in the mysterious depths of Egypt as they combat the curse of a terrible pharaoh.
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Post by omega on Dec 1, 2015 0:45:43 GMT
Finally, a woman in Quentin's life who doesn't die or suffer a horrible fate shortly after meeting him! Although she is based in Collinwood now, so who knows what could happen.
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Post by Zagreus on Dec 1, 2015 23:37:04 GMT
And now for Barnabas Collins, in an exciting adventure with The Mummy!
Ah, The Curse of Shurafa. I really enjoyed this release on first listen. It pushes all the right buttons for me. The framing sequence is more or less concurrent with that of Panic. While Quentin is in the kitchen making french toast with Tom, Barnabas is telling Hary stories in the sitting room, by the fire. I talked of some editing yesterday, to make Panic two half-hour episodes. I've also, in the past, talked about figuring out the overlapping timeline of the 1973 audios and doing cutting and splicing to intersperse the storylines and see how many half-hour episodes I'd come up with. It'd be interesting to do the same with these.
The tale being related takes place during Barnabas' journeys in Egypt, back in 1973 prior to returning in time for The Night Whispers (one assumes). Stokes, Barnabas, and Julia wander through the streets and come to observe a funeral. This is that rarest of things, a Julia-heavy episode. After the burial, the undead strike! I do this no justice. The prose of the narration is superb, and the sound design makes this more than just a B-Horror Mummy Adventure (TM). This dramatization is truly a romance of horror, and by god I love every second of it.
A nice mention of Amy's time in Cairo with Stokes.
I love how Barnabas was like "well it's good the zombies aren't after us, moving on!" but that he was overruled by the others' curiosity.
Like Panic, the story is occasionally intercut with commentary from Harry, as remarks of whatever Barnabas happens to be going on about at the time. Harry asks how Barnabas could tell they were possessed. We get a nice commentary from Barnabas about how he can tell, from the look behind their eyes. The anger and fear from the loss of control as another rides their body. He gets very serious and angry for a second, before apologizing and moving on with the story. At first blush it's a nice character moment, as he remembers. On second listen, it's some nice groundwork and foreshadowing of what's to come.
The description of the fly-ridden zombies piques my interest. I've always liked insect monsters and such, and am terribly fond of egyptian lore and mummy movies, so this whole thing is like a basket of goodies for me.
It's a bit funny to hear about Barnabas being a bit out of his depth while Julia and Stokes go about their research.
This Shurafa doesn't sound like a nice person. The description of the maggot torture is particularly gruesome. And now his spirit lingers, through the flies. Delightful stuff. It's apparent fairly early on that Julia's been possessed or affected in some fashion.
Oh god the first time I listened was through speakers, and not a pair of headphones (I'm currently at work), so I never caught the subtle sound effects going on during some choice scenes, like the flies wriggling under the dead man's eyes.
A bit after the halfway mark, we are introduced to a new wrinkle, in the form of the blood ritual, which now ends in Nazira. The weakening of the bloodline is what has allowed the dearly departed pharaoh to begin to rise again. Shurafa, or at least an avatar, staggers in, and states simply that Barnabas will join him, and kill the girl. It's horribly pragmatic that the townsfolk are dragging away the not-quite-dead hosts and throwing them to the fire. Gruesome.
Shurafa resorts to, as put, simply blackmail, threatening the infected Julia unless Barnabas kills the girl. Barnabas begins the bite, before Julia recovers a bit and admonishes him. And by that I mean she smacks him upside the head. Atta girl.
I must confess I'm having a hard time commenting on this one, as I really just want to sit and listen to it. Which gets in the way of me actually getting work done as I listen, and they frown on that a bit in the office. ;P
The description of the fly-animated mummy is magnificent. And the revelation that he wants Barnabas due to his vampiric nature, is somewhat... predictable? It seems that every other malevolent force wants Quentin in order to unleash his curse at their foes or wants Barnabas because he has a damn near immortal body.
Nice little Julia soundbites.
The solution, such as it is, is very clever. The flies had been feasting on thousands throughout the city. Ergo, the entire damn city could now be bloodline keepers for a new sealing spell. Elegant.
One wonders how they would have managed this lord of flies on the show proper.
Back in the present, Barnabas reveals that he's known Shurafa's been possessing Harry the whole time. Barnabas mentions Shurafa lurking behind the scenes in Tangiers during the Kingdom / Bloodlust gap. Another adventure I'd love to hear. But Shurafa's not here for Barnabas, he just wants to know where Julia is, to make use of her knowledge of blood and curses. And Barnabas reveals that Shurafa's greatest mistake was pissing of Harry's mother, Amy Cunningham. Hwelp, he's in for it now. Pity, it could have been interesting having him around as a recurring presence. Poor bastard. But I suppose we have enough immortals running around.
Tomorrow, we join Jackie and Jessica at The Blue Whale, while a frankly unsettling guy moves in on them both.
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Post by Rob Morris on Dec 2, 2015 12:05:56 GMT
Glad you still enjoyed it on second listen. I must confess I was a bit hesitant to pop into the forum today just in case,
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