Shadows on the Wall: Episode 25

    

Before continuing, you may enjoy revisiting our original 50th anniversary summary and commentary: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2016/07/episode-25-72966.html

Then & Now

John: Where's Vicki at when David is snooping around her room? It seems like this is during the time when she should have been teaching him. 

Liz is awfully worked up over Vicki potentially finding out the truth about why she was hired.

Christine: I'm assuming that's because she doesn't want anyone to find out that she's really Vicki's mother. If this theory is correct, it raises the question of who Vicki's father is and whether his identity is the reason why she wants the secret to remain undiscovered. 

Shadows on the Wall

John: Roger walks into the drawing room holding a letter, and Liz somehow knows it's Vicki's letter, and no one asks him what he's doing with it!

Is that the same issue of Mechano David was reading last time?

There's a nice view of the desktop robot today. 

Now that Vicki's got the bleeder valve, she holds all the cards. Will she use it against David? Burke? Or will she find the wreck wherever it's at and replace it, blowing a hole in Roger's story? 

Christine: David is reading a new issue of Mechano magazine this time. Since he gave Vicki his last issue, she may indeed have learned the skills needed to replace the bleeder valve and undermine Roger's claim.

We actually get a good view of all four robots as Vicki searches David's room for her letter. Or is that five? Did the robot from the desk migrate to the bookshelf beside the table with the globe, or is this a new addition to David's robot army?

Are those travel pamphlets on top of David's dresser? Perhaps it's evidence that he's planning to skip town.

What did you notice this time that you had never noticed before?

Shadows on the Wall: Episode 24

    

Before continuing, you may enjoy revisiting our original 50th anniversary summary and commentary: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2016/07/episode-24-72866.html

Then & Now

Christine: Considering the number of packages Carolyn has spread across the table at the Collinsport Inn, it appears she's bought herself a new dress, hat, shoes, and handbag. Shopping seems to have provided a welcome distraction from the day's events. 

John: That's what happens when a young girl is tormented by increasing doubts and uncertainties...

I don't recall the constable getting up and walking into a camera while interrogating Burke!

Shadows on the Wall

Christine: It's quite a full house at the Collinsport Inn, and Maggie appears to be taking orders, serving customers, and running the register all by herself. Where's Susie when she needs her?

John: I want to know who's cooking those burgers.

Christine: It's interesting to see what passes for a meal at the Collinsport Inn in 1966. Not only is it almost entirely devoid of fruits and vegetables (with the exception of the lone lettuce leaf Burke chooses to remove from his ham and cheese sandwich), but the portions are surprisingly modest. The plates are small, the doughnuts are bite-sized, and coffee seems to accompany every meal. Perhaps that diet explains a thing or two about why everyone in Collinsport seems so easily agitated. 

John: Butter and mustard on a sandwich? Maybe Burke truly is crazy.

(Charles?) Bronson is one step closer to Collinwood. I can't remember what Burke is planning.

What did you notice this time that you had never noticed before?

Shadows on the Wall: Episode 23

   

Before continuing, you may enjoy revisiting our original 50th anniversary summary and commentary: https://dsb4idie.blogspot.com/2016/07/episode-23-72766.html

Then & Now

Christine: This episode has me convinced that Vicki really is Elizabeth's daughter and may be the only reason she was hired as a governess. It's not just because Liz told Roger that Vicki received a message from the foundling home that might cause trouble, but also because Vicki seems remarkably ill suited for the job. When David asks if she has ever tried to kill someone and she smiles before replying, "I'm afraid not," it almost sounds as though she regrets never committing murder. I have to wonder what that little girl did to earn a bloody nose, and whether Vicki's only regret was that she stopped there. 

John: So let's stipulate that she's Victoria Collins... do you think she's named Winters for the same reason they named the bastard Jon 'Snow' in Game of Thrones?

I like that today's show could have been an episode CSI: Collinwood. The Constable tells Roger that Liz is a fine woman. Do you think he's interested?

They sure lingered on David contemplating grabbing the wrench to put his fingerprints on it, which made it great when Vicki stopped him from doing so, but then silly when he did so after being admonished about it. 

Christine: The kid is developing a criminally brilliant mind. Perhaps he's learning more than expected from all those magazines he's been reading. And yes, Vicki was named after the season she was left at the foundling home. 

Shadows on the Wall

Christine: Shout out to the props department for creating such a cool Night Crawlers comic book for David to read. It's only visible for a brief moment, but these are the kinds of little details many of us appreciate. Also, is that a ghost appearing in David's mirror behind him during that scene?

John: At first I thought that they had made a mistake making it magazine-sized, rather than comic-sized, but magazines weren't under the same restrictions as comics under the Comics Code Authority (CCA). As a result, they could be a little more risqué, which would explain David's reaction when Vicki walks in on him reading it. 

Is it worth noting that Roger didn't have a drink in the episode?

I can't tell if the robot on David's desk in the end credits is one of those that we've already seen... Perhaps if they get around to creating enhanced Blu Rays of the pre-Barnabas episodes (MPI just announced at San Diego Comic Con that they would be releasing the first volume of the series starting with Barnabas' arrival), we'll be able to better identify David's robot army.

Christine: As a portrait watcher and someone fixated on the minutiae of Dark Shadows, I certainly welcome the possibility of gaining more clarity on the episodes. Remind me I said that when the mutton chops arrive in high definition. 

No doubt Roger pursued a liquid solution after David contaminated the fingerprint evidence on the wrench, but the episode ended before he made his way to the decanter. 

What stood out to you during this viewing of the episode?