Diaries of the Dark

I think one of the great tragedies of the early years was no real resolution to Victoria's past, her lineage and true identity. To dedicate so much time and effort early in the show to who this governess is and how Liz Stoddard felt compelled to hire her and support her in the foundling home, the whole mystery of it, and not resolve it is rather troublesome. Dangling the carrot and never feeding it to us, only to allow us to nibble, is rather frustrating. Why bother?

Gotta love a soap opera, right? During the Mitch Ryan / Burke era, before Barnabas was unleashed from his coffin by Willie, it took nearly four episodes before getting through the first night! Vicky has been through question after question while we were introduced to nearly all the principle cast members.

Episode 1-5-67 Well, Roger’s on the warpath. He threatens to shoot Burke at gunpoint for “being on his property” when Devlin attempts to make out with Laura (“You’re still my wife!”). Burke has got some cajones, let me tell you, as he faces off with Roger, and actually grabs the rifle as it was fired off. This face-off is a major development in this ongoing storyline involving the three of these characters. Roger tells Burke he’ll kill him if Devlin goes near Laura. An outright threat that shouldn’t be taken lightly (of course, Roger’s always blowing smoke that gives you little more than a cough), but Burke doesn’t flinch. I think this event really further emasculates Roger and Burke is built as a major force to be reckoned with because if he will look a rifle shot and not blink, that says verbal threats are meaningless. Roger then tears into Laura after she pleads with Burke to exit stage left. Roger even questions if David is his after informing her that if she even thinks...

Episode dated 1-4-67 The whole point of Laura at the onset is to establish her as an enigma. She’s purposely mysterious and her behavior is aloof and obviously she conceals a bit from all around her. Laura wants David; Roger doesn’t. Elizabeth does. A dead body is seemingly unrecognizable, and it’ll take a bit of forensics (as Sheriff Patterson mentions, “they’re getting a bit good at that now…”) to give it an identity. That bit of business alone raises a lot of uneasy questions about Laura herself. Was she the cause of the dead body? Why was the body burnt alive? Why was it in Laura’s apartment specifically? When Sheriff Patterson gives Laura a “pleasant interrogation”, as Roger looks on in bemused interest, she seems to know nothing except her whereabouts prior to arriving at Collins Port, the travel spots between Phoenix and her present location. With a burnt apartment, Roger does raise the question of where she’ll make residence with David.    ...

Episode dated 1-3-67 “Stay loose, Sam.”—Sheriff Patterson “That’s why I’m here.”—Sam Loomis, downing shots of scotch at the ole pub. At the Blue Whale, a notable location Sam spends much of his time, needs (or maybe feels compelled is better termed for how he feels) to know updates on Laura. Roger would soon him not call the Collinwood home, but yet Sam can’t resist due to his unsettled nerves (sure the liquor can’t be helping, either). The gloves come off and the bare knuckles are exposed as Burke Devlin enters the Blue Whale looking to confront Sam about coming to his side now that Laura has returned to Collins Port (or as Burke puts it, “the winning side”), eventually greeting Roger who answered Sam’s call about meeting him for a talk about their current developing predicament. Burke is loud and vocal about his goal to encourage a new trial to clear his name with Laura, now a completely different woman than the reckless, selfish person she once was, setting the fa...

Watching Tim Burton's Dark Shadows, while the tone may not be exactly as many of us fans would perhaps like or appreciate, it did give us Josette's plunge from Widow's Hill. With Burton's artistic vision, we do get a beautifully rendered, Gothic treatment of the fall we often heard so much about on our beloved soap. That's at least something to admire from what many consider to be a slap in the face, a mocking of the soap.