Episode 85 - 10/21/66

Vicki is locked in a room in the abandoned part of Collinwood. She calls for help, but no one can hear her.

Liz broods in the drawing room as she worries about Vicki. Carolyn comes in looking for her raincoat, and Liz asks if Joe is coming back for her. Carolyn says she's going out on her own. She said she apologized to Joe, and then he told her he had a date with someone else. Liz lectures Carolyn. She says that it was she who ran off to Bangor to meet another man. Carolyn refuses to hear it and runs off.

Sam drops in to the Blue Whale, and ignores a request from Burke to join him. Sam calls home to tell Maggie he'll be home shortly. He finds out she's hosting Joe for dinner, and suggests she might want to avoid a hornets nest. Burke convinces Sam to join him for a drink, promising not to bring up Bill Malloy.

Carolyn heads out into the rain. Liz pleads with Carolyn to help her stay and look for Vicki, but she refuses.

Vicki explores possible exits from the room, but the window is barred.

Sam and Burke continue to throw down drinks, just like old times. They discuss ghosts up at Collinwood. Burke says there's one person he wouldn't want to scare in Collinwood—Vicki Winters. Bill comes up in discussion, in particular his ghost. They begin singing Bill's favorite sea shanty, "What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor," when Carolyn arrives. Burke invites her to join them. Burke says she should have brought Vicki, and Carolyn starts to leave. Burke asks if Carolyn is hungry and Sam realizes he has to get home for dinner with Maggie and her guest. Carolyn realizes it's Joe. Sam leaves, and Burke asks Carolyn what they're going to do. Carolyn says that's entirely up to him.

The ghost of Bill Malloy appears in the room with Vicki, singing his shanty. He calls for her to wake up. He warns her to get away before she's killed. He walks through the door and Vicki is sure she's dreaming. She runs to the door to see water and seaweed on the floor.

Our thoughts

John: Yes! We welcome the Ghost of Bill Malloy to Collinwood, in what I truly hope will be the first of many such appearances! This is even more exciting than Josette's stepping out of the portrait a few weeks back. Of course, it would have been nice of him to open the door for Vicki, as opposed to just warning her...

Christine: Dan Curtis is continuing his experimentation with ghosts and watching the ratings go through the roof, so the supernatural element is around the corner. What's more exciting about this ghost is that it's a former character and he speaks! Unfortunately the loop above shows that the water and seaweed were on the floor before he appeared, though maybe he showed up earlier when we weren't looking.

John: Liz finally sets Carolyn straight. It's about time someone called her out on how she's jealous of Joe despite having spent the past few weeks pining over Burke Devlin in front of him.

Christine: It was super sweet when Liz told Carolyn, "You think your world's coming to an end because for once Joe didn't jump the minute you snapped your fingers, and if you want to know, I'm delighted." Too bad she was covering her ears at the time, though she wouldn't have heard it anyway.

John: I began to wonder how many times they'd loop Cobert's creepy music cue while Vicki was trapped in the locked room. But I will forgive them for that for giving us another Friday send-off, ghost-style!

Christine: That would be Cue 81: Theremin Whee and it played 7 times, which is probably significant, though I think perhaps the record was skipping. Speaking of Cobert's music cues, I'm glad to hear his selections are being played once again on the Blue Whale jukebox in today's episode.

Episode 84 - 10/20/66

David leads Vicki through the closed portion of the house. She gets upset when he doesn't lead her to her missing pen as promised. He explains how he spends time here with his friends that live in this part of the house.

Carolyn returns home and her mother asks where she's been, and if she's seen David. She once again apologizes for her behavior. She tells her mother that she thinks she loves Joe.

Carolyn calls Joe to apologize and invites him over. Liz comes downstairs, unable to find Vicki.

David starts screaming for help, demonstrating to Vicki that if she screamed, no one would hear her. He says that sometimes dead people come to visit him.

Joe arrives, dressed to the nines. Carolyn assumes of course that it's all for her.

David says he can't find Vicki's pen, but maybe his friends can. Vicki tries to leave but the door is locked. Vicki tells David to stop trying to frighten her. Vicki realizes that David lied about the pen to get her into this part of the house and scare her. He unlocks the door, and asks her to blow out the candle. When she does, he closes the door and locks her in. David sneaks back into the main part of the house.

Carolyn apologizes to Joe, again. He interrupts her and says he came because she told him to come over immediately. He says when she wasn't around, he made other plans for the evening. She says it must be special if he's so dressed up. He explains that he was invited to dinner by a friend. When it slips that his friend is a 'she', Carolyn flies into a jealous rage. She sends him out telling him she never wants to see him again. This time, for real.

David appears on the stairway, and his aunt asks him if he's seen Vicki. He says she must have gone for a walk.

Vicki calls out to David to let her out as she hugs the door as thunder and lightning cracks outside.

Our thoughts

John: Does the thunder soundtrack only play in the closed portion of the house? I don't think we've had inclement weather in Collinwood in weeks.

Christine: It's a gothic storm heralding the ghosts of Collinwood. It could be that Vicki is about to join them.

John: Carolyn sure was nice to Joe. Demanding that he come see her, and independently deciding that he's going to take her to the most expensive restaurant in town. Of course by the end of the episode, she's back to hating him.

Christine: She had big plans for the both of them. She even thought she might...lead him on some more.

John: David's evil streak reaches new heights. Vicki, trapped alone in a room where no one can hear her pleas for help... and this is not even a Friday afternoon cliffhanger!

Christine: Do remember that this is the same child who got away with attempted murder of his own father. At least he left her some provisions and a candle.

Episode 83 - 10/19/66

Vicki can't find her pen on David's desk. They search his room for it.

Roger digs a hole, buries the pen in it, and moves a rock on top of the pen's grave.

Vicki and David continue searching his room for it, unsuccessfully. Vicki suggests that David may have borrowed it and he denies it.

Roger returns home and hears Vicki and David arguing about something. Roger tells them to stop arguing, and offers to buy a replacement pen. Roger asks Vicki to join him in the drawing room and goes downstairs. David is surprised that his father stood up for him.

Joe stops in the diner and lets Maggie know that he was offered a promotion he turned down, and that Carolyn told him she didn't want to see him again. Maggie has Joe pegged. Joe says he and Carolyn may never understand one another. He asks Maggie for advice. She suggests one option is finding a new girl.

Vicki and Roger discuss David. He implores her to forget about the pen. Again, he offers to replace it. She says she's not concerned about the pen, but accepting David's behavior. He convinces her to forget about it for the good of all, and to never bring it up again.

Maggie continues to flirt with Joe. They talk about the ghosts up at Collinwood. Maggie says she'd rather have the little cottage she shares with her Dad than the big house on the hill. Maggie invites Joe to dinner.

David stares into his crystal ball when his father enters. Roger gives him a pen, and asks him to forget all about Vicki's pen, and never mention it to anyone.

David finds Vicki in the drawing room. When he confirms that no one else is home, he runs upstairs. Joe stops by to see Carolyn. He asks Vicki if she thinks he's an idiot for constantly letting Carolyn treat him poorly, and she jokingly says yes. Joe says he's resigning from the idiot's union, and going home to prepare for a date.

Back upstairs, David tells Vicki she can have her pen, and points her to the closed off section of the house. She says they can't get in, and David produces a key. David opens the door and leads her inside.

Our thoughts

John: This episode only survives in a Kinescope, a filmed recording of the television broadcast.

Christine: It's not ideal, but watchable. Roger is instigating trouble with his demonic son in order to solve the problem of Miss Winters. He is a very bad man.

John: Not sure if Joe gets Maggie's hint, but by the end of the episode, they've got a dinner date, so we'll see what this does to his relationship with Carolyn.

Christine: Carolyn continues to cycle through treating him badly and then apologizing for it. Maggie will probably be more consistent with her affection, so it's likely the beginning of the end of Carolyn and Joe's relationship.

John: When Vicki tells David that only the two of them are in the house, where's Liz? Did she suddenly decide to take off after 18 years?

Christine: Perhaps she took Mrs. Johnson over to visit Matthew at his cottage so they could get chummy. She hasn't been off the grounds in 18 years, but that doesn't mean she hasn't left the house. She could be tooling around the old house or out exploring Widow's Hill. Though I do get the point that the writers may not have been thinking too carefully about explaining that very well.

Episode 82 - 10/18/66

David gazes into his crystal ball when Vicki comes in to work on his math schoolwork. David tells her that Burke knows his father killed Bill Malloy, and that Burke's going to prove it.

Burke finds the Sheriff in the diner reading a detective story. Burke tells him that he had been up to lookout point. He asks if the Sheriff had searched the area up there. He spells out the scenario of the missing pen, noting that if Roger lost it at lookout point, it could confirm his guilt. The Sheriff all but ignores him.

Vicki and Roger work on his homework, and he notices her cool pen.

Burke reiterates that Roger had to have lost the pen between his house and the meeting in his office the night of Bill's death. He implores the Sheriff to investigate the pen, and eventually drives him out of the diner.

David tells Vicki that Mrs. Johnson is coming to live with them. He then says he's going to be a millionaire when he grows up - after he partners with Burke Devlin. Roger walks in on them as Vicki describes finding her pen on the beach. Roger asks to see it as Vicki suggests that perhaps she should post it in a local lost and found. The phone rings downstairs, and Roger goes to get it. David points out that he's taking Vicki's pen and he gives it back to her.

Downstairs, Roger answers the phone. It's Burke, demanding that Roger bring him his fountain pen.

Roger arrives and explains that he lost the pen. He offers to replace it. Burke explains that he thinks Roger lost the pen at lookout point, where he met Bill and pushed him off the cliff. Roger denies it, as the Sheriff walks in, as he forgot to pay his bill when Burke drove him out earlier. Burke thinks someone found the pen, and when word gets out, Roger won't be able to deny his involvement in Bill's death.

David asks Vicki about the pen. He really likes it. She says she may give it to him someday, if he does his lessons and works hard. David pouts that he knew there would be a catch. Roger returns and asks her to meet him in the drawing room.

Roger brings up his prior offer to work for his friends in Florida. She reiterates that she doesn't want to leave. He explains that Burke is still plotting against them. He suggests that she just leave, and that he'd be happy to pay her a few thousand dollars for her trouble. She refuses. David bursts in and after Roger leaves. David closes the door and says he knows she found the pen at lookout point by checking his crystal ball.

Upstairs, Roger sits in front of David's crystal ball. He picks up Vicki's pen and pockets it before slinking out of the room.

Our thoughts

John: Burke tells Roger he's at the Blue Whale, but Roger goes straight to the diner and finds him there. Roger must have known Burke meant to say he was at the diner, as he didn't hear Collinsport's greatest hits on the jukebox.

Christine: That's very observant of you. I didn't catch that. It could be that Roger went to the diner hoping to purposely miss him at the Blue Whale and Burke had the foresight to know that's what he would do.

John: So Roger finally has the pen. All his problems are solved, as long as he can keep David and Vicki away from Burke Devlin. Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to buy off Vicki to get her out of town. So much for their newfound relationship.

Christine: He may be able to restrict David's movements, but it certainly spells doom for Miss Winters. 

John: We're still waiting for Mrs. Johnson to arrive. As if there wasn't enough turmoil in Collinwood already.

Episode 81 - 10/17/66

In the diner, Matthew sits down with Burke Devlin. Burke tells him to find another table. Matthew asks Burke why he wants to own Collinwood. Matthew says the place will burn down before Burke owns it. As he's leaving, Matthew spills the beans about Mrs. Stoddard's scheduling an interview with Mrs. Johnson. After he leaves, Burke phones Mrs. Johnson and demands that she keeps him updated with how the interview goes.

Back in Collinwood, Liz admonishes Matthew for talking to Burke. Liz tells him that she'll do everything she can to prevent Devlin from hurting anyone at Collinwood. Matthew asks if she's sure she wants to hire Mrs. Johnson to help her. Liz says if she does, it's because it's what she thinks is best.

Matthew is outside trimming the hedges when a cab pulls up with Mrs. Johnson.

Liz invites her into the drawing room. She explains that she hasn't had a full staff in the house in many years. She said that Bill always spoke highly of  Mrs. Johnson, and that she was the first person Liz thought of when she considered bringing someone on to help with cooking and light housekeeping. Liz asks if she knows Burke Devlin. Mrs. Johnson says she's not a gossip, and she respects others privacy. Liz gives her a tour of the house.

Liz says she'd like some time to think about it, and she'll contact Mrs. Johnson once she's made her decision. She asks Matthew to take Mrs. Johnson back into town, and then sits in the drawing room pondering her decision.

Matthew and Mrs. Johnson stop into the diner so she can have lunch. Matthew mentions the ghosts in Collinwood, and asks why Mrs. Johnson doesn't go live with her daughter. Mrs. Johnson tells Matthew that she was loyal to Bill, and she would be loyal to Mrs. Collins. Matthew leaves, and she goes to meet with Burke.

Burke asks when she starts, and Mrs. Johnson explains Mrs. Stoddard needs time. Burke tells her she must have loused it up if she didn't get hired. She tells him she's not a fool, and she doesn't like to be treated like one. Burke suggests she go home and wait for Mrs. Stoddard's call. He's going to lookout point to look for clues.

Matthew returns, and Liz asks for his opinion on Mrs. Johnson. He defers to her decision, and Liz picks up the phone and calls Mrs. Johnson to make the offer.

Our thoughts

John: Once again, we're left hanging after Friday's reveal to Roger that Vicki has Burke Devlin's missing pen. Argh!

Christine: Vicki said it was out of ink so she's obviously gone off to the store to get some.

John: Burke refers to lookout point as the place WHERE Bill Malloy was murdered. If we didn't know better, I'd say that was a telling statement...

Christine: He could be a suspect. Perhaps he's so twisted in his desire for revenge that he was willing to commit murder just to frame Roger.

John: Sounds like Burke and Mrs. Johnson are going to have a tumultuous relationship. I have a hunch that things may not work out as he originally planned.

Christine: I like that she is not intimidated by him. She's got more guts than Roger Collins, though we'll see if she remains fearless in the face of the ghosts of Collinwood.