I have completely lost track of the dates--this installment covers an assortment of them, so sorry 'bout the lack of dates
Fashion notes first . . .
Vicki's tent dress. Ugh. I know that Moltke became pregnant at some point here, but this thing is just plain scary. Red and blue and it's a tent. Then Maggie had the blue and red dress, I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but when she was standing next to KLS who had the short sleeved number, it looked way too scary for words. Speaking of KLS, they so should not have put her in a-line frocks. She was too skinny for them and they just sort of hang on her. And the shoes. Oh. My. God.
I have more attractive shoes than that. They were like tan and her dress was navy and red. No. No. No.
Sam. Everybody sing: "I wear my sun glasses at night." Regardless of the problems that David Ford was having, why they hell did they find it necessary to keep the man in dark glasses
all the time? Like he would seriously be wearing them if he was sleeping??? All it takes is for you to roll over once and then crunch go the glasses. It just doesn't happen, people.
Joe in the suits. Now don't get me wrong, I think Joel Crothers would probably look good in a Maytag uniform, but since when did the character go all Ward Cleaver? He was supposed to be a regular guy, a lowly worker--like most of us--why not keep him looking casual?
Roger's been disappointing me sartorially speaking for some time now. I am less than wild about the plaid suit and that belted jacket thing (shuddering).
I've commented about Joan's short-sleeved bright green dress, but I really do like this. It's the icky bow that kills the look. I loved the gold belt though.
It's been said on the other boards already, but what an outfit to meet your maker in. Granted Cassandra already knows Satan pretty well, but that butterfly dress is just evil, scary, bad (sorry, Gothick). It gives new meaning to that oft-quoted axiom that one should be careful about wardrobe choices in case one gets hit by a bus.
Did rather like Joan's dark dress with the ruffles. They're awfully hard to wear, but she can pull it off. She had on my all time favorite outfit though shortly after that--it's the dark blue velvet robe thingy. She always looked stunning in that one.
The brown suit of Barnabas. Call the fashion police now (oops, I guess that would be me). Color was too icky for words and it was um, almost shiny. Of course, Frid was probably just pleased to have something fresher to wear, but not a fan of the brown suit.
And lastly, the debonair Mr. Blair. The hat, alas, needed to go. Color me skeptical, but I have a hard time believing that Satan's little helper would wear a hat with a jaunty little feather in it. Loved the gloves though and that suit which depending on the lighting looked like anything from teal to gray.
Onto the shows . . .
Cassandra on fire. I liked it
And yes, I'm sick that way. Forgive me for being annoyed with her, but having just sat through repeated scenes of Liz going on and on and on about death, well, someone needed to pay.
Sam's hospital room. I couldn't help but notice that enormous flower arrangement in his room. Aside from the questionable value of that--he's blind, no? Wouldn't he appreciate something else better? I am wondering who would have sprung for that sucker.
Cassandra couldn't have been more transparent if she tried with Vicki. I personally would have told her that Sam quoted Oscar Wilde (I think it was Wilde) and his last words were: "either this wall paper goes or I do," but that's just me. Color me unsurprised that Cassandra totally missed the barb about her "not understanding." She's hardly the sharpest knife in the drawer. The surprise was that Vicki was the one to sling the jibe Cassandra's way.
"The devil has painted your hair" (snicker) One of the few good lines in the episodes I saw. God, I love Trask. He's so entertaining. I do have to say however, what a half-assed way to tie someone to a tree. It was a much more impressive exorcism than we have been treated to before.
Overall, btw, these episodes were less than impressive. I normally would say something more tactful, but again after watching these particular episodes, I'm going to be blunt: the writing absolutely and totally sucked. There were moments when it felt like someone was beating my head against the wall, the writing was that bad.
The continuity, well, there was none. Yes, Roger has mellowed, but c'mon, he referred to Sam as "a friend." Uh huh. Considering that before this the kindest thing he ever said about Sam was that he was "a drunken bum," it's atrocious to now hear him going on like they were buddies or even casual social acquaintances.
And then the interminable, "if Trask's skeleton is gone/there [I stopped caring which it was after awhile], then Cassandra is really gone," dialogue. Yeah. Uh huh. That and the "oh, no, someone answered the phone but then put it down--Stokes must be in trouble--let's rush over there NOW!" thing. I realize they needed to get Barnabas and Julia to Stokes' to create tension and all that, but give me a bloody break.
As for Liz's obsession with death. It's dumb. It got old in the first five minutes and I'm sorry, but TPTB should have caught on to that ASAP. They had supernatural stuff happening all over the place like a hail storm, couldn't they have sent her out of town to nurse a sick relative or on business instead?
The dialogue. Oy. "'Liz,' what kind of a name is that?" Yeah, the nickname for Elizabeth is just so new. No, people. It's not like they were calling her Saffron or Buffy. Elizabeth and its derivatives have been around for centuries, even in 18th century Maine (but then this is the same show that had Barnabas deciding that "Margaret," a name held by queens and saints, was too "common").
It was all I could do not to break through the wall myself and commit Elizabeth already. I just love how the thrust of Barnabas and Julia's concern is not for Elizabeth, herself, but for themselves. Hello? Like if Liz
were to call Barnabas a vampire anyone would actually believe her?
The writing just blew chunks. Vile, trite, and banal.
The tower room. It never ceases to amaze me how inept the folks at Collinwood were at storage. Apparently they had never heard of dust sheets or packing crates, because every disused room always looks like the Grateful Dead had stayed there.
I guess Stokes lives in an apartment after all. I do hope his walls are rather thick or he must have some very entertained/scared neighbors.
The high point of these episodes was the arrival of the nefarious Mr. Blair. I've always liked Tricky Nicky. He's a fairly straightforward villain (no inner turmoil there), but he's just sooo much fun. HAA brings so much panache to the part. It was highly enjoyable to see him running rings around Julia and Barnabas. I do wish that the SciFi channel wouldn't cut so much from these episodes--if they have to cut, then for godsakes they had oodles of opportunities during the endless loops of repetitive dialogue, why cut the good stuff?
Willie and his shotgun. I'm going to quote from VampWillow, "bored now."
Really, really liked the scene with Karlen and HAA. Some nice work there.
And that is all for now!
Luciaphil
