Diaries of the Dark

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.

Episode dated 1-2-67 In this particular episode, Roger has Elizabeth’s attorney, Richard Gardner (Hugh Franklin, who really, really struggled with his lines throughout, flubbing sometimes and having to improvise after stumbling over dialogue he’d forgotten mid-sentence) come to Collinwood to discuss a divorce from Laura so he can be rid of her. Laura wants David. That’s it. Roger is willing to concede. It wasn’t like Roger loved David that much, and, truthfully, he wants her gone so Burke Devlin wouldn’t attempt to persuade her to “come to his side” in regards to a new trial to clear his name against the wrongful manslaughter charge. Richard’s field isn’t divorce law, so he brings along his son, Frank (Conard Fowkes) who is. Roger simply wants to be free of Laura and done quickly. Richard tries to tell him that doing so won’t be easy considering Elizabeth’s attachment to David and distrust of Laura. The episode has Frank spilling the news to Victoria that she may be out of...