Into The Storm

It must be the storm season in Collinsport as thunder and lightning never seem to stop, literally and figuratively, in the episodes #96-99.

   Before moving on with the summaries, I'd like to take a moment to honor the infamous "pen" and tell its brief story properly as it starts to play a bigger role in the picture:

THE SILVER PEN was given as a gift to Carolyn Stoddard Collins by Burke Devlin as a random gesture. It's apparently very rare with only six copies ever made. When Carolyn's uncle Roger Collins found out about it, he insisted that it was returned to Burke, since he was the enemy of the family. He collected the pen from Carolyn, however on the night of Bill Malloy's death he lost it. Burke, aware of this, alerted Sheriff Patterson and tried to point out the connection, but was not taken seriously. Days later, Victoria Winters found the pen while wandering on the beach where Malloy "died".  The rest you know (or should know, it's all written in the previous entries dammit!!)

Ok, now with that out of the way..let's go on from where we left off:

• On the way back to Collinwood from Bangor, Vicki and his rescuer Roger get caught up in heavy rain. When Roger's car stalls, they take refuge in an abandoned barrack where they swap disgusting jokes about honeymoons and marriage, then Roger suddenly snaps, shakes Vicki ("withold it you little idiot!!") and warns her about not bringing up the subject of the pen to anyone. When they are saved by Sheriff Patterson, Vicki says nothing of the pen and her suspicions of Burke Devlin being the killer.

The Honeymoon Suite

• The next morning, Vicki is hesitant to face the members of the Collins family. Carolyn is still an annoying adolescent and acts like it. Liz and Vicki have an honest(!) talk about her having no connection to the Collins family once again. Vicki leaves and Roger tries to have Vicki fired..again. Elizabeth is very protective of Vicki against Roger for some reason.

• Vicki visits Sam Evans to look at Betty Hanscome's portrait once again. As a gesture of kindness Sam gives it to her as a gift! Back in Collinwood upon seeing  it, Liz and Roger try to be casual about not seeing the resemblance but Carolyn jumps in and asks Vicki when she had her portrait done. Vicki throws a knowing look.

Vicki and her mom?

• Mrs Johnson starts working in Collinwood (to Matthew the caretaker's annoyance) and snooping around like there's no tomorrow. She is told to remain off the closed off wing and the basement . Of course she goes down to the basement late at night only to find David there. David quickly makes the connection between Mrs Johnson and Burke Devlin working together. She dismisses but comes to an unspoken understanding with him, as David is totally in love with Burke. When David leaves for bed, Mrs Johnson hears the sobbing sound coming from the pad-locked door, to her utter horror!

Not a glitch in the Matrix!

• The next morning, Mrs Johnson overhears Vicki warning Carolyn about Burke Devlin about how he's dangerous without giving the juicy details away. She meets Burke in his hotel room and reports everything (David's discovery of their arrangement to the sobbing and Vicki's statements of him). Burke dismisses the idea of sobbing as a glitch in the ventilation system but is surprised to hear about Vicki.

Burke asks Carolyn out on a date
to ruin the family from inside

• Back at the house, Carolyn gets a call from Burke asking out for a date and once again becomes a ball of sunshine. When Vicki wants to talk her out of it Carolyn tries to prove how much Burke cares about her by finally telling about the pen (and how uncle Roger lost it). Vicki gets terrified!!

I usually cover 5 episodes in a post, but since the next episode is the glorious #100, I will do a seperate entry just for the fun of it! Hope some insane shit happens!! Cheers~

Road Trip! part two

The extraordinary stories from the Bangor trip continues~

Dinner with two Garners

• Frank Garner and Vicki are still having dinner and swapping niceties. Later Frank's father Richard joins them in a successful try at third wheelin' and tells Vicki not to get her hopes high about finding any information in the firm's archieve concerning her family. Frank boos his father's negative attitude and noticing his son's interest in the young woman, Richard reminds him that their client is Elizabeth Stoddard, not Vicki. When the old man leaves, Vicki tells a dramatic story about her years in orphanage and her adventures in Collinwood (from getting locked up to Malloy's ghost, to which Frank just laughs). She feels like she belongs there.

Unlikely Foursome

• Back in Collinsport, Joe and Carolyn run into Maggie and her father Sam Evans in the local bar, the Blue Whale. Carolyn, acting like a ball of utter joy, invites them to their table to show she's totally OK with the dinner date Joe & Maggie had the other day make Maggie jealous. Maggie is saddened by the sight of Joe & Carolyn. Carolyn mentions Vicki's experience with Bill Malloy's ghost, to which Sam Evans reacts suspiciously (refer. götü uçuklamak). And when Carolyn mentions Vicki & Burke being in Bangor together with an undertone of resent, Joe snaps and tells Carolyn he won't be her buttmonkey whenever Burke isn't around. They leave in a hurry, fighting and poor Maggie smiles for the first time that night. Later Joe returns and Sam asks him to walk Maggie home to which he says yes with pleasure, but not before the two flirt by talking about boats again.

Maggie shows her knowledge of boats

• Burke and his business advisor James Blair (we saw him a couple of other times before but zzz boring) arrive in the same restaurant as Vicki and Frank. Burke asks Vicki if she'll go back to Collinsport with him as he's leaving later that night. She accepts the offer but has to explain there's nothing between them to Frank. They agree on a second date once he looks up her past. 

Mr. Blair has a few words to say
about the infamous pen

• When Frank leaves, Vicky joins Burke's table where she sees James Blair use the exact duplicate of the pen she'd found at the beach where Malloy was killed. He tells her it was a gift from Burke Devlin and Burke's own pen is missing. Vicky, assuming Burke killed Bill Malloy, panics and calls Frank. When she can't reach him, she calls Collinwood and Roger Collins answers. She asks him to come pick her up as she suspects she's in danger from Burke (and tells the whole story). Roger, also in panic for his own reasons, asks her to wait and not talk about it with anyone, especially Burke. Later Vicki tells a half arsed lie to Burke about why not going with him and waits..

That's it so far.. What awaits our characters remains shrouded in a cloud of mist and seaweed!~

Road Trip! interlude

As some of our characters were on an amazing adventure featuring lawyers, dinner dates, new love affairs and thankfully no seaweed (so far)...

...here's what happened in Collinwood

• Roger & Elizabeth try to figure out whether Vicki and Burke's synchronous visit to Bangor is a coincidence or planned, which gives Roger a reason to convince Liz to fire Vicki. Liz insists on saying she choose Vicki cause she was an ordinary girl. (LIES!!)

• The jealous Carolyn also informs her mother about Vicki's reasons for going to Bangor (the portrait and the name) but Liz says Betty Hanscome looked nothing like Vicki. We also learn Betty was either the daughter or niece of the butler Hanscome (nobody remembers his first name it seems) and that they moved away.

• Liz also tells the story of Ned Calder*, the man she was in love with before marrying Carolyn's father (who was more in love with the family money, that bastard) but she didn't accept his wedding proposal and he left. She says Ned was like Carolyn's Joe and if she doesn't want to lose him, she'd better make amends. She calls Joe for a date and flutters out of the room, saying how wonderful the world is (no amount of eye rolling would do justice)

• David draws a picture of Bill Malloy's ghost. Roger slaps him.

*Ned Calder was mentioned previously some time ago when Liz called him for a job offer which he refused. Whether or not he'll make an appearence is to be seen.

Unrelated But As Important!

Stories from the Bangor adventure are TO BE CONTINUED...

Road Trip! part one

The scenery changes in the episodes #91-95, as the story is taken to a nearby city, Bangor, which has only been briefly visited a couple of times so far.

• Thankfully without dragging it for too long, or long at all, Vicki (it's apparently with an "I" now) remembers who the name B.Hanscombe belongs to. Carolyn suggests asking about it to her mother but Vicki refuses knowing Liz always beats around the bush when it comes to Vicki's lineage. Instead, she decides to go to Bangor to visit the law firm Garner & Garner on her own (and tells Carolyn to keep it a secret). She asks Liz for a few days off and is rightfully granted, having dealt with nightmares and ghosts and seaweed. 

• In town, Carolyn's effort to see Burke blows up in her face when Burke, upon hearing the news of Malloy's ghost, insists to drive Vicki to Bangor (he frequently visits that city on business/dark-scheming-to-tear-down-the-Collins-family basis) which drives Carolyn out of her mind. She rushes back to Collinwood to her mother and declares how much she hates Vicki and we wanna slap her. She also slips Vicki's going to Bangor with Burke. We wanna slap her more!

Fastest Moodslinger In The West

• Driving to Bangor, Burke asks about the ghost and with the answer he seems convinced that Malloy was indeed murdered. Vicki once again declares she stays in neutral ground in the battle between Burke vs the Collins. 

Road Trippin'

• The next morning, Vicki has a talk with the old and polite owner of the law firm, Richard Garner who tells her the only Hanscome he knew was the butler in Collinwood (DAT DAT DAAA!!) and the paper she found is a 20-25 y.o. ledger sheet with the names of all the cooks, gardeners, housekeepers etc. that used to work in there (til Liz let go off them when her husband left, speak of post break up depression). 

Garner & Garner

• Then enter the charming son and the other half of Garner & Garner and the potential love interest for Vicki: Frank Garner! He shows more interest in Vicki than his father and promises to look through every single file until he finds something. The two later have a lunch date where Vicki learns Richard Garner was the Collins family's lawyer at Burke's trial.

• Meanwhile in his office, Richard Garner calls Liz to inform her about Vicki's visit and questions and says he has everything under control. Hmph..lawyers!!

as a lot of things happen in the Bangor episodes, this entry is 

TO BE CONTINUED..

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Another five episodes (#86-90) have passed and here's the situation:

Two Kisses

• Burke and Carolyn kiss in Burke's hotel room. After she leaves, he makes clear for us that he's using her (yes he speaks to himself). 

• Meanwhile, Maggie and Joe have a date at her place, talking about boats and stuff. Joe's impressed and Maggie is definetly in love. They agree on another date and Joe puts a lil kiss on Maggie's cheek (she totally looked like she'll write it in her diary right after he left, though bet she's gonna say it was a kiss on the lips for the sake of dramatic licence)

                                         

• With everybody kissing and Vicky still missing, Liz finds out about David's key to the closed off section and takes it away and doesn't even relate it to Victoria. But she doesn't forget to punish David with severe kissing! (She's the caring aunt afterall)

Secret Passage

• But Roger doesn't buy David's innocent act (like father; like son) and shocks us by opening a secret door to the closed-off-wing by simply pushing a button in the drawing room, a system only he knows obviously. He sneaks in when everyone's sleeping and finds the room Vicky was locked in. We think he's gonna let her rot in there forever but instead he does this: Makes ghostly sounds, tells her to leave Collinwood, bangs on the door (hence the title of the post) til she almost faints and then heroically opens the door to save her (puh-leaze). Our innocent Vicky, who so far has only been gently forcing the door or calling silently for help, fall for it and jumps into Roger's evil evil arms, sobbing.

Saved by the Devil

• The next morning, everybody has learnt about Bill Malloy's visit from the beyond and Vicky decides to leave Collinwood...again (so far she's tried two or three other times). Carolyn the spoiled princess shows intimacy towards Vicky (course she would, now that she got kissed by Burke that slut) and insists that she stays (as she actually needs a friend to gossip about Burke, her words not mine)

The infamous seaweed

• Liz & Roger, bothered by the news of the ghost sighting, decide to go to that room to find some evidence (some other time I would have questioned the logic of it if it weren't for the seaweed on the floor) and actually do find the it, still wet and drippin'. They now believe Vicky. Then Liz burns it in the fireplace and asks Matthew to change the locks on the door opening to the closed off wing (totally unaware of Roger's Scooby-Doo style secret panel in the drawing room).

  

• David isn't even remotely punished. Vicky, as she's too nice a person, feels sorry for him. We learn more about his dark side, how much he loves funerals and how he plays games about them, specially that of his father's. He also used to have a kitten which he loved...and drowned. And when he learns about Vicky's experience with Bill Malloy's ghost, he says he loves her too, now that he's not the only one who can see them. We also learn he usually speaks to two ghosts in the room he locked Vicky in, Josette Collins' and one other unnamed girl.

Ghost Buddies

• Vicky and Carolyn also visit that room (well, they've built the set, they gotta use it) but they can't find the seaweed (this show seriously needs an academical analysis of its association with seaweed). However, among the clutter of old stuff, Vicky finds a paper belonging to Liz's law firm Garner & Garner and on it written the name, B. Hanscombe which sounds familiar but she can't remember (I wouldn't have either if I hadn't looked it up the other day for an entry...it's the full name of the woman, Betty, who Sam Evans drew a portrait of). So it should definetly convince Vicky to change her mind about leaving once she remembers

• Oh and something about Burke trying to buy the rival fishing company and Collins' employees by throwing money into their faces. Zzz~

ps. I really loved the consistent thunder & lightning effects throughout the episodes of Vicky's lockdown, it added to the mood big time.

Wow Bob Wow!*

      Alright, I'm back on the marathon again. With a strange push, I've watched 5 episodes in a row the other night (#81-85) and geez what a difference those five episodes made! Here are quick notes ~

•    Sarah Johnson was finally invited up to Collinwood and got the job as the housekeeper! (Matthew the caretaker is kinda suspicious. Maybe he's just jealous) Also Mrs Johnson openly expressed her dislike of Burke Devlin to his face. Their partnership is officially for business.

The agent is in!

•     The Pen that I've mentioned before has started to cause some trouble. Burke, knowing Roger had lost it on the night of Bill Malloy's death, visits the beach where Bill had died in an attempt to find it and tie Bill's death with Roger. Roger, meanwhile steals the pen from Vicky, who actually had found it, and buries it somewhere (on Widows' Hill I guess). 

Mendacity, murder and now theft

•     Vicky blames David for the disappearance of the pen, who in return decides to get even with her. The Closed Off Section of the house is finally visited as David (who is revealed to have a key) cons Vicky into believing he hid the pen there. After circling through the dark, old corridors David locks Vicky up in an old room where David says nobody will hear her scream and ghosts will visit her at night. (It was established throughout those episodes as a legend by other characters that the locked part of the house was swarming with ghosts and ghouls)

Visit to the Dark Side

•     Totally indifferent to the disapperance of Vicky, Carolyn the queen of mood swings shows extreme expression of emotions before/during/after Joe Haskell, who's had enough of her shit, announces he has an "innocent" dinner date with Maggie (who is now totally head over heels for him). Carolyn breaks up with him on the spot, Joe goes on to his date nonetheless and Carolyn once again flirts with a drunk Burke Devlin at the local bar and this time they look like they're really gonna eat each other.

Joe shows Carolyn who the boss is

•     The last but the BEST: Vicky, now tired and lying on the old bed after hours of slight calls for help (my grandmother would do better..and seriously, what's with me and my grandma) wakes up to an otherworldly voice calling her name and sees the FREAKIN' GHOST OF NOBODY BUT OUR DEAR OLD BILL MALLOY (and covered in seaweed)! He warns her to leave Collinwood before she is murdered too and then vanishes. Vicky tries to convince herself that she was dreaming only to see the leftovers of the seaweed on the floor!!!!!!!!!!!!! She screams in terror at the sight of her first and our second ghost~

Not a clump of seaweed afterall!

*for more info, please visit Twin Peaks (pop. 51,201)

Introduction to Drama 101: Bill

WHO KILLED BILL MALLOY?

Not a clump of seaweed!

     The lifeless body of Collins Fishing Fleet and Canary's manager was discovered by Vicky and Carolyn when they were out on the Widows' Hill one night and they saw it down on the shore. They rushed into the house and told what they'd seen. Elizabeth sent Matthew the caretaker to the scene to confirm the claim. He came back saying it was only a trick of the moonlight and what they'd seen was nothing but a clump of seaweed. It took some persuasion to change their minds but they accepted it in the end. However, sometime later Matthew admited to Elizabeth that it was the body of Bill Malloy (who'd gone missing recently) and he let it go back in the ocean cause he didn't want outsiders prying and disturbing his mistress' comfort. Angry but understanding his reasoning, Elizabeth reported the incident to the sheriff. She was also very sad as Bill was not only her trusted employee but also her friend. His body was later found by the coastguard and sent for autopsy.

     Just before Malloy went missing, he had planned a meeting with Burke, Roger and Sam to finally reveal the truth about the old car accident. While waiting for the autopsy result, Burke went around accusing Roger and Sam for the death, so sure he was murdered. Both Roger and Sam showed suspicious behaviors and both had a reason to keep Bill Malloy quiet. 

     It was determined he died at a closeby shore and got carried to the Widows' Hill by the tide. He had a blow to his head but it could have been inflicted postmortem by the rocks. Then the autopsy result came and it was ruled out as "accidental death due to drowning".

Burke vs The Collins

     After the news Roger showed emotions of utter joy. Sam was sorta relieved as it's hard to tell from his ever-sour face. But Burke Devlin was furious and declared open war against the Collins'. He took Mrs Johnson, Malloy's housekeeper under his wings and planned a scheme to uncover the truth from within.

The infamous pen

     Then recently, a strange thing has happened. Victoria, while walking around at the beach where Bill was supposed to have drowned, found a pen, which belonged to Burke Devlin but was in Roger's possession at the time.

     Since this is neither a romantic quest to find one's origin nor an act of revenge for an accident that happened over a decade ago, the death of Bill Malloy remains the most pressing mystery in Collinsport.

Introduction to Drama 101: Burke

THE MYSTERY OF A TEN YEAR OLD CAR ACCIDENT

     Ten years ago, a man died in a car crash. When his then-friend Roger Collins testified against him at the court, Burke was charged guilty, sentenced to five years in prison (kinda short, don't ya think?). He spent another five years going around and getting very rich (tell me how and I'll go now) before coming back to Collinwood to do one thing and one thing only: Avenge his unjust imprisonment and destroy Roger Collins and the Collins Dynasty (OK, maybe more than one thing). 

Revenge on the rocks

     As the show progressed, we learnt Burke and Roger were bff's back in the day. Burke was seeing a woman named Laura, whom we also learn married Roger after the trial (Also the minor mystery of what had happened between Roger & Laura will unravel after the #125th episode as she will join the cast). Burke was drunk at the time of the accident but is positively sure Roger was driving the car, not himself. 

     Sam Evans, the local artist, also somehow got involved, probably as a witness. He was bribed by Roger but has been rather stressful since Burke came back. In case something happened to him, he handed a letter that explains the whole deal to his daughter Maggie who put it away in a safe. The existence of the letter is known to Roger and it seems it'll play a big part in the future.
     Bill Malloy, using his intuition, almost solved the case in an attempt to help the other innocent members of the Collins Family out of Burke's clutches.
     He was very close to expose Roger and Sam when he unexpectedly died. 

Introduction to Drama 101: Victoria

OK, before moving on with the episodes (I'm still stuck on #80 while helping my millions of loyal fans catch up BUT the clock on the left is ticking) here are the main plots of the show so far:

THE ORIGIN of VICTORIA WINTERS

Can it be~?

     Though the start point of the show, not much has been done about it as Miss Winters herself had to be involved in other events. So far, the only thing she's done is to discuss it with people, mostly with Elizabeth asking her why she choose her for the job and Elizabeth always found some excuses such as she'd been suggested by a family friend and such. But we know she's lying. Burke Devlin also had a file on her (as he was determined to destroy the Collins family, he also had Vicky checked out by a private detective) but it wasn't very helpful. One more important thing came up when she was invited to have dinner at the Evans': She found a painting of a woman that looks exactly like her. Sam explained it was about 25 years old and the woman, named Betty, had disappeared after the portrait was finished.

G is for Ghosts

          Although widely known as a supernatural show, the original idea behind Dark Shadows was to remain in the waters of the gothic genre and function as a regular soap in core. For the first 50 episodes or so, the existence of the supernatural was only hinted, usually through the use of metaphors (for example the ghosts were referred to as the bad, lingering memories) or explained away as illusions, such as banging of the shutters or the sound of wind.

          But there have been instances where our friends from the other worlds appear to be more than just metaphors. So before vampires, witches, phoenixes and ghouls invade Collinwood (one thinks of Ray Bradbury's novel From the Dust Returned or the Addams Family), here's a quick list of hinted and more-than-hinted paranormal instances up to episode 80!! *enter theremin music*

Sobbing Sound From the Basement

The mystery door is at the back!

     During one of her first nights at Collinwood, Victoria Winters heard a strange wailing sound echoing in the house. She eventually followed it down to the creepy basement where she discovered the sounds were coming from behind a locked door, which she later learnt was a storeroom kept locked by the mistress of the house, Elizabeth Stoddard. The sounds were explained away as the wind echoing through cracks and pipes. Vicky wasn't convinced at first (and neither were we) but seems to have forgot about it now (but we haven't). The legend has it that it is the ghost of Josette Collins, one of their ancestors that jumped off to her death from the Widows' Hill (see below) at a young age. The true nature of what's behind that door is yet to be seen!

The Widows' Hill

(history taken from Dark Shadows Wiki - a site I wanna avoid for spoilers)

"The widows were women who hung around the cliff in Collinsport, Maine in the early 19th Century, looking out to sea for their husbands to return. When Jeremiah Collins decided to build his mansion Collinwood on the hill, he sent the widows home, telling them to keep their grief to themselves. Some folks in town claimed that the widows never left the hill and that their ghosts still haunted the cliff 150 years later."

Vicky chillin' on the hill!

The wind sounds a little creepy here alright and it could have easily been dismissed as wind only, if it weren't for David who claims the widows talk to him and give him messages from the beyond. Throughout history two women (one of them being Josette Collins, the other unknown) have killed themselves at that point, and the legend has it there will be a third one (I vote Mrs. Johnson). A hang out location for the residents of Collinwood when they're bored/depressed/accused of murder, it was also the place where the body of poor Bill Malloy was first found by Vicky and Carolyn as it washed up on the shore. 

the Self Opening Book

They're hereeeee~

     The first official evidence of the paranormal activity in 

the show was  when one night when nobody was around, the old Collins Family Book opened itself to the specific page dedicated to Josette Collins.  I'll say that certain somebody is trying to make contact ;) 

(Later we were teased about that scene a couple of times...once we saw a close up of the book, opening again, only to find out it was Carolyn actually doing it. And another time we saw it on the floor, the same page open but it was David who'd put it there -he claims he can talk with her ghost)

The Mystery Figure

Dark Shadowed!

     One stormy night (it's always a night), Vicky was alone in the drawing room of Collinwood doing god knows what. All of a sudden, the power went out. She set a very gothic mood by lighting a candle and to her shock, a cloaked shape silhouetted by the lightning appeared at the door sill. Scared, she asked for who it was but got no answer. The next moment it was gone.

David's Crystal Ball

David should try his luck at Hogwarts.

     It was a gift by Burke Devlin, in a plot to win his trust. David claims to see things in it but being a pathological liar, nobody believes him. However, people don't seem to notice that he claimed Bill Malloy was dead (even before his body was found, when he was missing) and that his father, Roger, had killed him. The latter is hopefully to be seen. Whether it's the magic of the crystal ball or not, David's connection to the supernatural is undeniable.


The Old House & The (Dancing) Ghost of Josette Collins

the Lady in White

      In the ground-breaking episode #70, we learn of The Old House's existence. Located in woods near Collinwood, this now abandoned place had originally been the first Collins house. We also learn that David likes to hang out there to speak with ghosts, specifically that of Josette Collins'. Vicky, wanting to prove that ghosts don't exist (how easily she forgot about the dark figure breaks my heart) takes him there one evening and as eerie as it is, they see no ghosts. David explains Josette is cursed to haunt the grounds of Collinwood, until the third person dies at the Widows' Hill. Then once they leave, we have our first live(!) ghost encounter. The ghost of Josette Collins, dressed in a wedding gown, comes out of her portrait over the fireplace as if using an invisible stairs and wanders dances around the house, to our shock, amazement and relief. This is also the first time we actually get to believe David. So far, our experiences with ghosts (as we are the only witnesses) places us in the same place as he. He believes, we believe and bet Mulder would believe too! 

*

BONUS MYSTERY: The Disapperance of Maggie's Wig

The Truth Is Out There

It was there for a few seconds, then gone without any explanation. The mystery still remains.. <<twilight zone theme here>>

     That's it folks. It'll be a little while until we get more glimpses of the, how should I say, hardcore creatures!! I'll update as much as I can, since this is the aspect of the show that I'm most into~

Sorry MJ, you'll have to wait your turn!

Who's Who part II

moving on to the townies,

Sam Evans

A painter who somehow got involved with Burke's manslaughter case. Got paid a large amount of hush money at the time by Roger Collins. Has been somewhat of an alcoholic ever since. After Burke's return to town, he has been on the edge of breaking down. Gets pushed around by Roger to keep quiet. This secret has fouled his relationship with his daughter Maggie. A good man caught in a bad situation. (I can't stand him, he's such a passive character that's only good at sulking. If I watch this show when I'm tired, my mind always wanders off during his scenes. Kill him ALREADY!!)

Maggie Evans

Daughter of Sam, Maggie is a waitress at the local diner. She's a laid back, happy-go-lucky sort of person. Worried about her father's suspicious behaviours. She made friends with Vicky when she first arrived in town. Used to like Burke when he would pose for her father's paintings when they were younger but right now she's resentful towards him and Roger Collins for causing her father problems. She isn't very fond of the Collins family and their house, Collinwood. Recently, started to show some affection to Joe Haskell, Carolyn's boyfriend. (A very decent character. I like her more when she works with Vicky to uncover the secrets, it gives the show a momentum. The actress wore a horrible short blonde wig during her first appearance, then it got lost..for better)

Joe Haskell

An honest local guy, working as a fisherman at the Collins fishing fleet. He hangs on to the idea of marrying his girlfriend Carolyn one day, despite her obvious distance to the offer. Is very cold towards Burke Devlin as Carolyn is interested in him. He has a very good relationship with Elizabeth but Carolyn's uncle Roger doesn't think of him highly, since he's a mere fisherman. (Like him, but his only distinctive trait seems to be being in love with Carolyn. I read he gets together with Maggie at one point. Good for them!! Guess, we'll just sit and wait.)

Bill Malloy

He was the manager of the Collins Fishing Fleet and Cannery before dying under mysterious circumstances. Before his death, learning of Burke Devlin's intentions of bringing down the Collins family, he agreed to work with him to expose the truth about the accident 10 years ago. In return, Burke would leave Elizabeth and her daughter alone. He seemed to have discovered the connection between Roger, Sam & the accident but before he could go any further with it, his dead body appered on the shores of Widows' Hill, where Collinwood is located and started the ongoing mystery of "Who Killed Bill Malloy?" Although recently, his death was ruled out as accident by the coroner, the unsatisfied Burke is set to uncover the mystery surrounding his death. (He was a good actor and a good character, that's all I can say. RIP)

Sheriff George Patterson

Well, he is the sheriff of the town. He claims his loyalties are not bought by the Collins family and he does a fair job but Burke doesn't believe him. The death of Bill Malloy surely forced him to work overtime. His office is visited barged into by every suspect in the case who wanted to get a piece of information from him...or his desk, literally. He works hard to establish his authority, to no avail. (His coffee is terrible.. so I heard)

Sarah Johnson

Mrs. Johnson is a new addition to the series but she was previously mentioned a lot. She had been Bill Malloy's housekeeper for many many years, she was practically his wife (they didn't share a bed, she said. She wished they did;) Sort of unstable, she strongly believes he was killed. Recently formed a hidden alliance with Burke Devlin in a plot where she is set to move up to the Collinwood as a housekeeper and be his inside agent. Clever!! (She's new and crazy but I like watching her. She's supposed to go for the job for almost 10 episodes or so. I hate the soap logic sometimes! Go on already!!! Should be fun to watch her work on the inside, unless of course David the little devil pushes her off the Widows' Hill or something)

~ fin (so far) ~ 

Who's Who

     The premise is pretty simple:

          "One night, a young woman arrives at the town of Collinsport, Maine where she's to work for the descendants of the family that built the town: The Collins. On the same train also comes a man who's come back to the town after 10 years. The arrival of these two people, who seek to uncover the truth about their pasts, will open a door to a world of mysteries and secrets that connects to the Collins family and whoever comes in contact with them."

^ Pretty neat, huh? Tried to make it sound as mysterious as possible :)

And nooow, the characters:

Victoria "Vicky" Winters

The aforementioned young woman that comes to Collinsport to work as a governess (fancy word for babysitter/tutor). She was raised and lived at an orphanage until she gets a very mysterious invitation to work for the Collins family. Thinking secrets of her past may be lying there, she accepts the job, unaware of the events that she will be sucked into. She's yet to find out anything~ (She's pretty sweet, but sometimes I wanna smack her in the face; she can be too nice even when someone's putting her down. Yet, she's one of my faves..And she has an uncanny resemblance to her)

Burke Devlin

Used to be resident of the town, Burke, now a rich man, comes back for revenge after spending 5 years in prison for a manslaughter charge he claims he was not guilty of. He swears revenge on the Collins family, especially on Roger Collins, his old pal and now enemy and will go any distance to uncover the truth. (Is supposed to be very charming but I don't see it. I also know this actor from Halloween 6 and Dharma & Greg but he obviously doesn't remember me or his time doing this show since he was mostly drunk during the shootings and got fired later on <---Fact!)

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard

The aristocratic matriarch of the Collins family that stays strong in the face of trouble yet has a caring nature. She kinda sorta looks like Victoria, but their connection is unknown. She's the one that sent the invitation to her. A woman with a hidden troubled past, she hasn't left the grounds of her mansion, Collinwood, in 18 years after her husband left. Very protective of her family. (She's simply delightful to watch, the way she walks, talks is simply delicious. And because she talks fast, the actress Joan Bennett has a tendency to stutter her lines and sometimes confuse the names, and it surely adds to the delightfullness;)

Roger Collins

Elizabeth's brother, the evil man on the show. Came back to town with his son a couple of months ago after some unexplained incident with his wife, Laura (who's so far only mentioned). Used to be good friends with Burke, until the car accident 10 years ago that resulted in the death of a person. Burke, drunk at the time, believes he was set up by Roger, who will use any person and any opportunity for his favour, even his own son. (I hate every moment that he's on. 'Nuff said)

Carolyn Collins Stoddard

Ever-romantic teenage daughter of Elizabeth. Lived in Collinwood all her life, she is a little naive and easy to manipulate. Though she has a boyfriend that she takes granted for, she's smitten by Burke Devlin, knowing pretty well he's after her family. Also has a crush on her uncle Roger (he calls her "kitten"..yuck! Obviously has daddy issues since she never knew hers). A little nosy and never afraid to speak her mind, she's known for her unstable mood swings. (Well, she used to be fun but recently has become annoying. I like her when she's on good terms with Victoria and not having jealous fits over Burke Devlin. The way she talks, all dreamy, is sometimes too much)

David Collins

The evil son of Roger's. Though it's quite obvious that his hard nature is due to neglect, it doesn't change the fact that this Village-Of-The-Damned runaway has attempted to kill his father by tampering with his car, started a secret friendship with the family's enemy Burke and was involved in many more shenanigans only during the first 80 episodes. The first words he spoke to Vicky, his tutor, were "I.HATE.YOU." He claims he can see and speak with ghosts of Collinwood and has a crystal ball that leads him to believe he can look into the future. Positively hates his father, is a notorious liar but torn between his loyalties to his aunt Elizabeth and Burke Devlin. (He totally has a boy crush on Burke Devlin. Despite the troublesomeness of the character, the actor is terrific!)

Matthew Morgan
The caretaker of Collinwood. Has been living on the grounds for 18 years. Very faithful to Elizabeth. His only interest is her well-being, which can be a little extreme to the point of hiding a dead body (*see Bill Malloy) and attempting murder (*Burke Devlin). Despite his bulky figure and unusual methods of portraying loyalty, his intentions seem to be good. Seems to know great deal about the secrets of Collinwood (One of those mysterious, creepy characters. The original actor was a bit older but got replaced after few episodes. Not necessarily a favorite of mine)

To be continued...

Collinwood, the big house sitting on the Widows' Hill 

130 years old.

One wing is closed off. What lies behind it is still a mystery.

As  creepy and majestic as Manderley.

ps. I shamelessly borrowed those images from the net. Hope nobody minds. 

Not Your Grandma's Soap

          "Soap opera" means grandmother. It also means the end of the cartoon broadcast and the impending evening news.

          That's why they used to feel so boring. We didn't watch them at our home so that's why my association with them is with my grandmother, not her home per se, cause she tended to find a perfectly comfy place in front of the TV around 6.00 pm wherever she was. (I never got the old women's fascination with those shows, sweet old grandmothers in their cozy lil homes observing a life of betrayal, sex and lies. Actually, yeah I kinda understand now.) It was mostly "the Young & the Restless" (*fun fact#1: In Turkey it was named "Yalan Rüzgarı"/"The Wind of Lie" cause they obviously wanted to fit it with the  initials)

Evolution is a long, long process

          Then I sort of grew up and for some reason the American soaps stopped airing and left their place instead to Brazilian ones, which I still hate. Then CNBC-e started to show "Passions" and which started out to be innocent let's-check-it-out's turned into me watching it whenever I can (hey Spike also watched it, so can't be that bad). I was never a fan but I was curious. I liked how they prolonged a storyline until it was on the ground kicking like a dying giraffe..I liked how different actors would perform the same characters over time (and very dramatically)..I liked how there were always various mysteries & schemes going on. Then I stopped watching, maybe because they stopped showing. But since then I've always like the concept of the soaps, if not the soaps themselves.

          Recently, thanks to the internet, I've learnt about the existence of a supernatural soap called Dark Shadows that originally ran between 1966-1971. It had vampires, witches, werewolves and took place in a gothic setting (I mean who doesn't love Hitchcock's "Rebecca"?). After a year of not thinking about it, here I am, watching it from the beginning. 

          It's surely camp, but sometimes I even marvel at the way they web out a storyline. The quality of production is actually bad, they were shooting using live-tape (a system that I can't really understand) and all the scenes had to be done in one take each. But the fact that the cameras (they use 3) try to find focus when characters move, or actors looking at the prompters when they forget their lines but try not to be obvious bout it, or props sometimes falling and shaking during the scenes doesn't ruin the experience, they make it all the more fun!

          So, with the Tim Burton's adaptation as a feature film coming up (yeah yeah, once again with J.Depp and H.B.Carter) I feel lucky that I discovered it before the hype, though I don't actually think anybody who's impressed with the film will actually want to watch the whole thing.

          Anywaaayz, about the blog...despite this one post- it will be fun. It is about me getting on my grandma suit and watching and sharing my observations every now and then. Fans of the show are always welcome, I'll also encourage my close friends to visit as well if they don't want to hear me rant about it all the time (yes, you Melis!!! You!!) but I'd like to see this mostly as my pink series diary! (i hope the irony of calling a black & white show pink doesn't miss)

          And those who have no idea what's going on, as the next post I will try to write a short summary on what has happened in the last 80 episodes of Dark Shadows so there's no way of escaping (Hear that Melis?!)

          And I promise this is the longest I will ever write!! (Well I had to inform my hundreds of fans about what this is all about)

           And I expect an invitation to the premiere of the film when it comes out by Mr. Burton himself as on the sly I'm basically doing a free publicity for his film (and it's also on my birthday)!!

New Year's Eve. My grandma trying to solve a web of lies and deceit like every grandma should.

Also raise your hand if you wish the fashion of the early 90's never do a comeback.