Friday, September 7, 2018

Dark Shadows Episode 575 - 9/6/68

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Blair asks Angelique if she'd like to know how Barnabas survived her curse. She says she wants to know. Blair says that Barnabas' life force was transferred to Adam, draining the vampire curse from him. Angelique understands that's why Adam and Barnabas need one another. Blair says the delays in their experiment are due to their needing a life force for his mate. He tells Angelique that he will be the one to provide it. That will give him control of her, and she will control Adam. He asks Angelique who he should choose, considering he's after the most evil woman who ever lived—like Lucrezia Borgia.


Angelique points out that she's dead. He says he wants someone more like the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Anglelique seems to be put off by his teasing, and starts to go upstairs. 


He reminds her that she could benefit from the experiment, curing her of her affliction. She says that if he uses her as the life force, he'll have nothing to worry about.


He says that he would have everything to worry about, and she is to have nothing to do with the experiment.


Jeff is in the lab when Stokes arrives. Stokes asks how all the equipment runs, considering Barnabas hasn't installed electricity in the house. Jeff says Julia had a generator installed. Stokes peeks under the blanket at Adam's mate, saying she's truly incredible.


Adam arrives and asks Stokes what he's doing. He says he came to see Barnabas, who isn't there. Adam asks where Barnabas is, and Jeff explains they went to Collinsport. Jeff says that he's taking care of this part of the experiment. Jeff gives Adam the once-over, saying he can't believe he helped Dr. Lang with the original experiment, as a grave robber. Adam asks what he means. Stokes tries to stop Jeff, but Adam wants to hear what he says. Jeff describes how he collected a rotten collection of parts that Lang used to assemble Adam. Adam asks Stokes if it's true, and Jeff says it's the only way it could be done. He then says it can be undone, and attacks Adam with a scalpel.



Stokes tells Adam that Jeff's help is needed with the experiment, or it might be further delayed. He throws Jeff to the ground. Jeff storms off. Adam tells Stokes to get Jeff to come back and get to work. He adds that if he died tonight, no one would cry for him. He then goes to the table and says soon, his mate will come to life, and she will. Stokes leaves to get Jeff.



Stokes finds Jeff in the foyer at Collinwood. Jeff says he's getting ready to leave with Vicki. Stokes says Adam wants him to get back to work. He adds that he can't make him angrier, and suggests that if he tries to leave with Vicki, they might be in grave danger.



Vicki comes downstairs and is surprised to see Stokes. He says he came to see Barnabas, but he's not home. He leaves, and Jeff asks to talk to Vicki. Adam watches him through the drawing room window. Vicki asks Jeff what's wrong, and he says he has to cancel. She asks what happened, and he says he's tired. He apologizes, and she asks him if there's something else. He says there's nothing wrong, and he really loves her. He promises to call her tomorrow, and leaves.



Angelique wanders around Blair's house in the dark. She then leaves through the front door.

Jeff checks on the body of Adam's mate and reviews Lang's notes. He looks up and sees Angelique. He asks who she is and what she wants, and she says she came to help with the experiment. He asks how she knew how to get there, and she claims she found it from Adam's description. Jeff says she looks familiar. He asks why no one would have told him if she was involved in the experiment. She makes her move, leaning in to embrace him and bite his neck.





Our thoughts

John: So is Blair using reverse psychology on Angelique to make her want to be involved in the experiment? I can't believe he's not smart enough to realize that she'll go against his wishes if she thinks it's for her own benefit.

Christine: Blair says he's always got something to worry about with her around, so why does he keep her around? Just for the pure enjoyment of tormenting her? I hope someday we'll find out more about how these two got involved with each other.

John: How does Jeff go from grave-digger to the scientist in charge of the experiment? That seems like a surgeon letting one of the nurses who laid out the tools take over a complex operation.

Christine: I think it's more like allowing the maintenance crew to perform the surgery.

John: So despite all the time Adam has spent looking into the mirror, the not so professionally stitching didn't clue him in to the fact that he's a bit of a patchwork man? Will this new realization that he's a jumble of dead men cause him more grief?

Christine: He seems primed for an existential crisis at this stage of his development. I wonder how many car trips it took Willie to haul all of Lang's equipment from his laboratory to the basement of the Old House.






3 comments:

Grant said...

It's a little hard to believe the same show that had such problems with chromakey and rubber bats and so on came up with such good effects involving mirrors (like the ones above). But maybe that's like apples and oranges.

Paul Haney said...

I thought vampires don't cast reflections, yet we see Angelique's in the mirror in the basement?

John Scoleri said...

There's an old saying, 'Never let folklore get in the way of an entertaining practical effect.' ;)