Dark Shadows Episode 362 - 11/14/67

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In the dark, the phone rings in Julia's room, and she answers it. She hears Dave's voice telling her that she will die soon. He elaborates about just how soon it might be. She hangs up and sees the handle turning on her door. She calls out asking who's there, and Barnabas enters.

He asks if she's alright. She asks how long he's been in the house. He says Carolyn told him she was in the house alone and he wanted to check and see if she was alright. He asks why she's in the dark, and why she appears distressed. She says it must be the storm, and he comes in and shows her that the lights are working. She tells him that his plan to drive her out of her mind is not working.

He asks if she saw the ghost of Woodard again, and he tries to convince her he has nothing to do with what she's seen. She asks him to leave, and he says perhaps she can get some rest now. She says if he is doing these things, she'll do anything if he'll please stop. He asks her to trust him, and she sends him away. Outside her room, he smiles. She locks the door behind him.

Leaving the house, Barnabas meets Carolyn. He confirms Julia is terrified, and will spend the rest of her life in a home for the incurably insane. Carolyn says he's being cruel. He tells her that he still needs the notebook. She says she knows the combination to the safe. She tricked Peterson in to locking something in his safe, and she watched him open it, memorizing the combination. Barnabas tells her that she will get the keys to Peterson's office and return them before he knows it.

Tony and Carolyn enter his apartment. She watches as he puts his keys in his coat pocket. She flirts with him, and he tells her he's not sure if he buys her or not. She says she wants two things. She asks him to get more comfortable, and to fix her a drink. He says he's comfortable, and goes into the other room to get her a drink.

She grabs his keys and puts them into her purse. He comes out with drinks, and she says she just realized she was supposed to run an errand for her uncle. She says she'll be back soon, and he says he's not fond of the games she's playing. He offers to go with her, and she says it would be better if he doesn't. He gives her an hour. She gives him a kiss and leaves him holding two drinks.

Julia paces in her room. She hears the front door, and calls for Carolyn and Roger. She hears Roger enter. He describes the terrible storm that flooded some of the backroads. He asks if she's alright, and why she called for Carolyn. She says she's out. Roger says she must be out with Tony Peterson. Julia is surprised that they're seeing each other. Roger is angry that she's out with someone who insulted him and the entire family. He says it has become a pattern with her. She bids him goodnight, and then picks up the phone to call Peterson. She tells him she needs to see him tonight, and that she'll be at his door in ten minutes, before hanging up the phone.

Peterson asks if she always barges in on people uninvited. She says she knows he's expecting Carolyn, and that she's using him to get at Julia's notebook. She says he can't trust Carolyn, and he agrees that he probably can't trust anyone at Collinwood, including her. She asks if her notebook is in a bank vault. He says no. She asks if it's still in his office, and he tells her he has it in his apartment. He offers to show her if she promises to leave after he shows it to her. He goes to get his keys and finds that they're gone.

Carolyn uses the keys to get into Peterson's office. She opens his safe and rifles through it, looking for Julia's notebook. She's shocked to find that it isn't there. The light comes on and she turns to find Peterson standing over her.

Our thoughts
                                                               
John: The ghost of Dave was a lot more talkative today than he was yesterday. Telling her that she might die today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. Or tonight. Or before the next commercial break...

Christine: That was hilarious! I thought he was going to keep suggesting possible death dates. Barnabas is such a scoundrel to show up with a smirk to gloat over her distress.

John: Nice twist, having Peterson move the notebook out of his work safe. Of course, one can only wonder where it's locked up in his apartment that requires a key.

Christine: I like how Roger noted Carolyn's pattern for being attracted to "insolent young men who want to damage the family name." Will she ever find a nice young man for herself?

John: So if Carolyn had his keys, how did Peterson get to his office? Is his apartment within walking distance? I can't believe Julia would drive him and NOT come in with him. Still, it leaves Carolyn with quite a bit of explaining to do.

Christine: Tony sure seems awkward with the ladies. Carolyn invites herself up to his apartment with obvious intentions and when she tries to get him out of his jacket, he refuses, with arms folded. He's certainly no Burke Devlin.

Carolyn: Well, surely you're not going to ask me why I wanted to come here.
Tony: Well, you asked me to take you to dinner, then you asked me to bring you up here.
Usually the man issues both invitations.

Dark Shadows Episode 361 - 11/13/67

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Sarah says she knows who Julia is, and what she did to Dr. Woodard. Julia explains it was Barnabas, and Sarah says she helped him, and she shouldn't have. Sarah says she liked Dr. Woodard. Julia asks if she'll protect her if Barnabas tries to harm her. Sarah says she has to go, and disappears. Julia calls for Sarah, and finds herself locked in the mausoleum.

She calls for help, hoping the caretaker will hear her. She goes to light a cigarette and hears the sound of a man sobbing. She tries to convince herself that it was the wind, when she hears a woman's shrieking laughter. She leans on the wall by Sarah's crypt and discovers blood oozing down the wall. She hears the mausoleum door open, and approaching it slowly, she makes her way out.

Julia returns to Collinwood and calls for Mrs. Stoddard. Carolyn comes out and says her mother is in Bangor. She asks about Roger and she says he's out. Julia asks if they're alone with Mrs. Johnson, and Carolyn tells her that it's Mrs. Johnson's night off, and she's about to leave so Julia will be all alone. Julia notices there's no longer any blood on her hands. She asks Carolyn not to go, but she refuses, telling Julia she'll be all alone in the house.

Julia sits down to play solitaire, and is distracted by noises outside. The windows are blown open, and she blames the wind as she closes them. The front doors swing open, and she looks to see if Roger or Carolyn returned. Again, she believes it must have been the wind. She approaches the fireplace, and the flames within flare up.

At first she thinks that Barnabas is torturing her, and then she thinks it's Dave coming back to haunt her. London Bridge plays on the piano, and she slams the lid covering the keys shut. She yells out that she's not afraid, when she sees a silhouetted figure by the window.

Upstairs, Julia runs into her room where she thinks she'll be safe. The lights don't go off, but Julia acts as if they did. She tries to leave but the door to her room is stuck. She calls out for help. She tries the phone, but it doesn't work. She lights a candle and it is blown out. She sees a ghost near the window, and she calls out asking if it's Dave, and pleads to be left alone.

The phone rings, and she answers it, she hears Dave's voice telling her that she will die soon. After hanging up, she hears sounds outside her door.

Our thoughts
                                                               
John: I don't know that Grayson Hall was built for putting on a one-man show. As her husband, writer Sam Hall pointed out in a DVD extra, she has a tendency to overact. He wasn't kidding!

Christine: I think her overacting made what could have been an otherwise dull episode entertaining to watch and surely a fright fest for the kiddies. I'm surprised you failed to appreciate our first real sign of gore on the show with the copious amounts of blood oozing from Sarah's grave. How cool was that?

John: So do you think someone was asleep at the wheel when it came to the lighting for the episode? She was clearly playing as if there was none, despite the set being lit normally throughout the entire bedroom scene. I'll bet Dan Curtis was not pleased when he saw the episode. 

Christine: Most definitely. The lamps went out without any change in the lighting. It would have been much scarier had she actually been getting a phone call from Dave in the dark.

John: What's with the crazy camera tricks when Julia watches her door? Was she smoking regular cigarettes?

Christine: It may indicate her descent into madness, especially since the scene is reversed, or it could be she's been attending Dr. Leary's lectures.

John: It's worth noting that at this point, they were advertising that coming this Friday we'll be taking a trip to the past with Victoria Winters to learn the secret of the chained coffin!

Dark Shadows Episode 359 - 11/9/67

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Mrs. Johnson finds Julia in her bedroom trying to take down the draperies on the windows. Julia explains she'd be more comfortable if the room is lighter. Mrs. Johnson says she'll ask Mrs. Stoddard, and Julia asks her not to. She says she saw someone behind them yesterday. Mrs. Johnson says if she saw someone, she needs to tell Mr. Collins and Mrs. Stoddard. Julia suggests it must have been a nightmare. Mrs. Johnson says Julia hasn't been the same since Dr. Woodard's funeral. Julia snaps at her and apologizes. She says she saw him last night, and while she knows it wasn't real, it frightened her. She hears Woodard's voice saying it was no dream. She asks Mrs. Johnson if she heard the voice, and cries for help as she sits down in her chair.

Carolyn entertains Peterson in the garden. He says he expects Roger to come out and run him off the property. Carolyn tells him she enjoyed dinner. He describes her as rich, spoiled, silly—and impossible. She asks if she's changed his opinion of her, and kisses him. They hear a dog howl in the distance. Carolyn steps away from Peterson, and asks if he's free for lunch tomorrow. He asks if they can finish tonight, first. She tells him she needs to talk to him about Julia Hoffman, as she's worried about her. He asks her what happened to her, and she tells him he'd better go, as she's gotten a headache. He says she's sounding like Julia the night she came to his office. He tells her he doesn't think it's very healthy living in Collinwood. As he leaves, he tells her he's busy for lunch tomorrow.

Julia hears the dog howling from her room. She tries to convince herself that she's safe in her room, and that there are no ghosts. She considers returning to Windcliff, and forgetting about Barnabas. She finds Dr. Woodard's lab coat on the floor. When she picks it up, a rat scurries away. She pounds on her door pleading to be let out. Mrs. Johnson comes in and asks what's wrong. Julia says there was a rat. Mrs. Johnson denies there being any rats in the house. Julia says it came from under the coat, and Mrs. Johnson tells her there's no coat. Carolyn enters and asks what's wrong. Mrs. Johnson says Julia saw a rat, and she'll set out some rat poison and leaves. Julia tells Carolyn to tell Barnabas that she'll fight back, because she knows his weaknesses too She says she knows the thin line between love and hate.

Barnabas admits to Carolyn that Julia does know his weaknesses. He asks her if she thinks Julia would really harm him. There's a knock on the door, and he sends Carolyn away. He answers it, and invites Julia in. He offers her a drink, and she tells him that she knows he's responsible for the strange things happening to her. He denies it, and she says she underestimated his psychic powers. He describes her seeing a figure in her room, and hearing Dr. Woodard's voice. She tells him that she made the figure appear, and he says that he knows about it because he saw it himself, last night in the old house. He says Woodard accused him for being responsible for his death. Julia points out that he was. Barnabas says he's developing a conscience. He says he's undergoing a spiritual change. Barnabas says he realizes that he cannot recreate Josette. Julia accuses him of lying. He says he'd never give up that dream. She says she doesn't believe Dave Woodard came to see him. He tells Julia that he doesn't want her to be alone. He says she offered the best of herself, and he chose to ignore it. He asks her to help him, and says that he cares for her and needs her. He tells her that they will spend the evening together tomorrow to sort it all out. She's skeptical, even as he kisses her hand before she leaves. Carolyn emerges and says that was very cruel of him. She says Julia really loves him, and he could have found another way. He tells her she's tired, and in a trance-like state, she agrees that she is tired.

Our thoughts
                                                               
John: So if Peterson doesn't really like (or trust) Carolyn, is he really just hanging out with her in the hopes of getting lucky? At least Burke Devlin was plotting against the family when he toyed with her.

Christine: He knows she developed a sudden interest in him the day Julia gave him her notebook, so he may be taking advantage of her friendliness until she reveals what she's really after. What was up with Barnabas calling her in with the dogs? He was the one who wanted her to put the make on Peterson and now he's spoiling her game.

John: Our first rat sighting on Dark Shadows! Though by the sound of it, it could have been a bat sighting, as they appear to use the same squeaky sound effect. One thing I do want to know - are we to believe the lab coat and rat were figments of her imagination, or did Barnabas' trusty rat servant drag the coat away before Mrs. Johnson arrived?

Christine: It may have been part of the magic his Indian friend taught him, or it could just be that the initial ghost visit troubled her so much that she's hallucinating now. I liked the way the lab coat started moving before she lifted it up.

John: Even under his influence, Carolyn finds Barnabas' toying with Julia's affections as particularly rude. And once again, there's specific mention about Barnabas being responsible for Woodard's death, which doesn't phase Carolyn at all.

Christine: Barnabas certainly knows how to turn on the charm when he needs to. I'm surprised she wasn't more skeptical, but since it's what she wanted to hear, it's understandable that she could be so easily fooled. She's obviously thinking like a woman instead of like a doctor again.

Dark Shadows Episode 358 - 11/8/67

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Carolyn goes to Barnabas to tell him she saw Julia's notebook. He asks if she recovered it, and Carolyn explains that a lawyer who was visiting her uncle took Julia into town. He angrily asks if she let Hoffman tell a lawyer about him. She said they were alone together on the ride to his office. She describes how she went into his office after Julia left, and she saw him put the notebook in his safe.

Barnabas tells her they are going to drive to the lawyer's office. He realizes that it's almost dawn, and he sends Carolyn to get the notebook. She says she can't break into the safe. Barnabas asks if the lawyer is attractive, and tells Carolyn that she will do what she must do. Barnabas then says he has an alternative solution for Dr. Hoffman. He'll discredit her as being insane. He pulls out a syringe and shows it to Carolyn. He says Hoffman saw it in the doctor's body and will remember it well.

Carolyn and Peterson have a drink at The Blue Whale. She tries to flirt with him, and he asks why she's tracked him down twice. She gets him to admit she's pretty, but he doesn't fall to her whims. He offers to buy her dinner, but she declines. He asks if she'd be interested in him if Julia Hoffman wasn't his client. She tells him to call her later.

In Collinwood, Carolyn comes downstairs as Julia returns home. She tells Julia that she should have let her drive her to town, and that nothing will stop Barnabas.

In her room, Julia sees a syringe on a table and says that it can't be the one used to kill Woodard, as she burned it. She then realizes that it is the one, and wonders how it got there. At first she suspects Dave Woodard, despite his being dead. She realizes that it would have to be Barnabas, and that Carolyn must have put it in her room. She grabs it and leaves her room.

Peterson calls Carolyn, and once again invites her to dinner. Julia comes downstairs, grabs the phone from her and hangs it up. She shows her the syringe and tells her that she knows Barnabas made her put it in her room. Carolyn asks her why it upsets her so. Julia is obviously distraught.

Carolyn goes to see Barnabas, who says he is performing a ritual, or experiment as she might call it. Carolyn tells him that Julia was very upset. Barnabas tells Carolyn about secrets he learned from an Indian in Barbados. He says he learned the secret magic number of the universe. Carolyn thinks he's teasing her. He says he gained the power to plant a germ in someone's mind, and watch the disease spread. He tells Carolyn that she will no longer doubt magic. He performs an incantation as she watches, confused. She gasps as he disappears.

Julia lies in bed, tossing and turning. She hears something and sits up. She sees a figure in the shadows. Dave Woodard's voice asks why she killed him, and tells her that he'll never let her forget. She collapses on her bed, the figure disappears, and outside her window a bat flaps his wings.

Our thoughts
                                                                
John: So Barnabas saved the syringe used to kill Dr. Woodard? As a souvenir? Funny how he casually mentions it to Carolyn, and she doesn't bat an eye (no pun intended)

Christine: He must have suspected he'd need it in case she decided to turn against him for forcing her to help him kill Woodard.

John: Um, did we miss something here? When we last saw Carolyn and Peterson, he was grilling her in his office. Now they're on a date at The Blue Whale? I wonder what Carolyn told him to put his mind at ease...

Christine: He did say that she'd seen him 3 times in the last 18 hours, so it seems we missed out on her second visit to Peterson at the courthouse. He remembered her first bikini, so she probably didn't have to work too hard to get him to spend his hard earned cash buying her drinks at the local pub. 

John: That voice at the end sounded like it could have been the original Doctor Woodard (even if it was a just a conjuring trick by Barnabas). Probably not our original actor, or they would have shown him outside of a silhouette. Makes me long for the days of Bill Malloy's ghostly figure showing up in Collinwood.

Christine: It is Peter Turgeon's voice speaking for Woodard, but the silhouette belongs to good ol' Peter Murphy, who was last seen playing Barnabas' elderly head in Episode 348. It's a mystery why they used Turgeon's voice but not his body. Bill Malloy's ghost really knew how to cut a frightening figure. He was not one to hide in the shadows.

Dark Shadows Episode 341 - 10/16/67

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A bat appears outside the window of Woodard's office. Barnabas materializes inside, and Julia pleads with Barnabas to let her talk to him. Woodard says he won't go along with them, and asks what Barnabas plans to do. He replies nothing, and says Dr. Hoffman will take care of it. Woodard says death isn't his first fear. Barnabas dares him to say what he fears. He says he prefers anything to becoming the undead, and regrets he won't be able to destroy Barnabas. Julia tells Woodard that she's trying to cure Barnabas. Woodard refuses again, and says that if he is turned, he'll attempt to destroy himself, but not before telling everyone about what Barnabas is.

He accepts his fate, and Barnabas tells Julia to proceed. She removes the hypodermic from her purse. Woodard shames Julia, who says she can't kill her friend. Barnabas tells her to give him the syringe. He takes it and as he's about to inject him, Woodard looks over Barnabas' shoulder and says, "Sarah." Barnabas hesitates, turns and asks where she is. Woodard tries to escape, and Barnabas grabs him and injects him while London Bridge plays in the background.

Barnabas poses Woodard's body in his desk chair. Julia is upset and asks to leave.

Barnabas asks her to check him to confirm there are no other signs of foul play. She can't bring herself to look at him. She says she knows the medicine she prepared. He asks if she planned to leave the hypodermic needle on the table. She asks if they can go. Barnabas asks if she plans to leave her notebook. She collects it from Woodard's pocket. The phone rings and they stare at it.

In his office, the sheriff asks Dave to answer his phone.

Barnabas and Julia leave the office, and Julia hears Woodard's voice say she no longer has friends. She asks Barnabas if she heard him. Barnabas says he knows a dead man when he sees one.

Sam Evans is drinking in The Blue Whale when the sheriff walks in. He asks the bartender if Woodard showed up. Sam asks if he's looking for Dave, and says he was there about two hours ago. The sheriff says Dave called, telling him he was coming to see him, and never showed up. Sam asks if he had to go to the hospital, and the sheriff confirms that they're looking for him, too. Sam asks if the sheriff checked his office. He tells Sam he called and there was no answer. Sam asks if Dave was on to something. Sam says he was rushed out when he stopped by earlier. There's a scream outside, and several folks run out. The sheriff returns and says it was just a woman afraid of a bat. Sam is suddenly worried about Dave. He says he's going to check his office. As they start to leave, outside the window of the bar they see a bat. The sheriff tells Sam they've got overworked imaginations.

Woodard's dead body is slumped in his chair when the sheriff and Sam arrive and knock at the door. The sheriff asks Sam to break the door down, and after doing so, they find his body. The sheriff starts to call the hospital, and Sam says it's too late. Sam suggests he was murdered, and the sheriff agrees, but says there's no sign of foul play. He says they'll find out soon enough. He calls the coroner.

Julia throws the syringe used to kill Woodard into the fireplace. Barnabas credits her for assisting in Woodard's murder. She says she'll give it all up, and starts to throw her notebook into the fireplace. Barnabas stops her, and tells her that he's now the only friend she has. She again hears Woodard's voice telling her she has no friends.

Our thoughts
                                                                
John: Nice try using the old 'Hey, it's your sister's ghost' trick, Dave. Too bad that Sarah didn't find you worthy of saving. Who can blame me for being off by a day. Didn't the murders always used to happen on Fridays?

Christine: It's a new era on Dark Shadows, where an innocent man can be murdered in cold blood on a Monday. Truly horrifying! The impact may have been greater had Gerringer still been in the role. We were still getting to know Peter Turgeon as Woodard. Barnabas seems to relish tormenting Julia.

John: There's a new sheriff in town. And he's still no Dana Elcar.

Christine: No, he's far more incompetent than Elcar as Sheriff. If it weren't for Sam, Woodard's body may not have been discovered for a few more days. Sam even had to be the one to break down the door to his office.

John: Was throwing the murder weapon into Barnabas' fireplace the best idea? It will be interesting to see if we haven't in fact seen the last of Dr. Woodard. Will his ghost return? And won't his mysterious death lead David to believe that Barnabas had to be responsible?

Christine: Yeah, I'm not sure if that will entirely dispose of the evidence. It seems Woodard has already begun to haunt Julia, reminding her that she no longer has friends. David probably doesn't need crystal ball confirmation to know that Barnabas is responsible.

Sheriff Patterson: A woman got a little scared because she saw a bat. 

Sam: A bat?

Sheriff Patterson: You know how women are. They're afraid they'll get caught in their hair.  

Sam: Women who are afraid of bats shouldn't hang around the waterfront. There are always bats flying around here at night. But she didn't have to scream like that.

Sheriff Patterson: Yeah, for a minute I thought I had a murder on my hands.