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| ← 189 → | |
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| Number |
186 |
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| Narrator | |
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| Broadcast | |
| Recorded |
March 8, 1967 |
| Video | |
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| We have 3 images of Dark Shadows 189 | |
Joe plays detective and uncovers a secret, while Victoria's attempts to alert the watchful Mrs. Johnson of the danger afford David the opportunity to escape to meet with his mother.
Synopsis
Teaser
- My name is Victoria Winters. A long night at last is over, and the dawn even without sun has come like a dim and not-too-distant hope. A hope that fear will finally vanish with the gray clouds that still hover over Collinwood. A hope that we have survived, that safety has come at last and yet the clouds still hide the sun, and one feels in their brooding presence something still hidden, still unknown.
Victoria has sat vigil all night; in the morning, David wakes up early and Victoria tells him he should go back to sleep. David can sense that Victoria is afraid and he begs her not to be. Victoria says she's not afraid anymore now that it's morning... although she still looks worried.
Act I
David learns that despite Victoria's sleep-deprived state, they are to have lessons. Victoria plans to sequester David in his room; Mrs. Johnson comes up and half blabs that Laura left, allowing David to deduce the other half. Victoria apologizes to David for his 'loss.' David insists that he'll be okay. At the Collinsport Inn, Burke watches Laura leave on the Hartland bus and reports to Maggie, who herself breathes a giant sigh of relief. Joe comes in, and is not as relieved as Maggie that Laura's gone. Maggie recaps the plot point that Laura was to have acted last night, and didn't, and is now gone. Joe continues to have an uneasy feeling he can't shake. Burke points out that the paper gave yesterday's date as that of Laura and David Radcliff's death, and buys Joe a cup of coffee. He plans to visit David to start their fishing trip. Joe wants an eye kept on David.
Act II
Maggie apologizes to Joe for scolding him and tells him that the big difference Laura's leaving will make has already affected Sam. Sam slept like a baby though he hasn't started painting. Joe didn't sleep well, nor did Maggie. Maggie remarks that "last night, about 2," she saw Sam sleeping peacefully. After a remark on his 3 o'clock activities, Joe realizes that 3 last night and 3 this morning can be used colloquially to mean the same thing. He races off to 'check on something.' At Collinwood, Burke and Victoria are quibbling over who can spend time with David the most efficiently. He also strong-arms Victoria into their first date, which will occur this evening after she rests and he and David return from their fishing trip. Victoria reluctantly agrees, but she implores Burke to eagle-eye David.
Act III
While David is with Mrs. Johnson at Collinwood, Burke and a fretful Victoria have dinner at the Blue Whale. Victoria admits she may only be worried because she's gotten so used to being worried. At Collinwood, Mrs. Johnson and David argue about his bedtime and his being eagle-eyed. Mrs. Johnson complains of being tired of David's shenanigans. More quibbling—should David finish his homework or go to bed? Get a book or stay in his room? Etc. At 10:15, he is almost finished with his homework and asks for a snack. This, however, would violate Mrs. Johnson's rule ("no clean plate, no late night snacks"). She promises him a glass of milk when he's finished. David's 50th attempt to get Mrs. Johnson to leave finally arouses her suspicion. Has Mrs. Johnson won?
Act IV
Back at the Blue Whale, Victoria tells an anecdote about winning an essay contest as a youth at the Foundling Home, after which she fainted. Burke congratulates her on forgetting about worrying about David. Joe rushes in and reminds the duo of the wording in the paper, and how they assumed reading last night meant "the day before the date of the newspaper article (e.g., October 25)." Joe points out his linguistic discovery, and although Burke attempts to calm the immediately-riled Victoria by pointing out that Haskell is only guessing, Joe regrettably informs them that the actual date of the Radcliffs' death was today's date, at 2:30AM, not yesterday's date. Victoria wants to go to Collinwood, but Burke gives her money to make a call there instead. At Collinwood, Mrs. Johnson pulls David by the ear to his bed. The phone rings, affording David the opportunity to escape while Mrs. Johnson gets it. Victoria frets as no one answers. Finally, Mrs. Johnson picks up and Victoria yells at Mrs. Johnson to check on David, whom she just left, and Mrs. Johnson's calls are unheeded as he is gone. Mrs. Johnson goes ballistic, screaming David's name.
Memorable quotes
- Mrs. Johnson: I've been trying to hold onto my patience this live-long night and it's letting go!
- Mrs. Johnson (to David): Look here, I'm not tired of anything except your shenanigans!
Dramatis personae
- ← Mitchell Ryan as Burke Devlin →
- ← Clarice Blackburn as Sarah Johnson →
- ← Kathryn Leigh Scott as Maggie Evans →
- ← Joel Crothers as Joe Haskell →
- ← David Henesy as David Collins →
- ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters →
Background information and notes
Production
- This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 191.
- The opening title card flashes several times.
Story
- The downstairs telephone is so loud it can be heard all the way up in David's room.
- Victoria once won a short story contest at the Foundling Home and promptly fainted.
- Once again we see that even though Collinwood has at least four phones downstairs (front hall, drawing room, study, and kitchen/dining area), there are apparently no phones upstairs near the bedrooms. Later in the series a telephone will be seen in Elizabeth's room.
- TIMELINE: Today's date is October 26, 1967. 10:15pm: David and Mrs. Johnson argue. 10:30pm: Mrs. Johnson can't find David.
Bloopers and continuity errors
- Mitchell Ryan mistakenly calls Victoria, "Maggie." As a result just before the break at the end of Act II, Alexandra Moltke and Mitchell Ryan begin to smile at each other and break character as the camera moves in closer.
- Victoria says that she would prefer that David stays with her rather than going fishing with Burke, although in the previous episode, she insisted that Burke must take him even if Laura leaves town.
- One of the few times where the Blue Whale jukebox is in a different location from its usual place at the end of the bar (1, 137, 190, 893).
- In the coffee shop Burke tells Maggie that Laura left on the Hartland bus. But in the previous episode (188) Laura said that she would take a bus to Boston, and soon after Roger told Burke and Vicky that he had reserved a seat for Laura on the Boston bus.
- At the coffee shop as Burke and Maggie discuss Laura's departure, a crew member can be heard taking a telephone call: "Hello... Yuh..."
- As Joe Haskell sits down at the counter of the coffee shop, the camera angle exposes the top edge of the diner set.
- When Joe realizes that Laura and David Radcliffe's death might have occurred on this date rather than yesterday, he rushes out of the diner "to check up on something" (to look up the date of Laura and David Radcliffe's deaths) when it's clearly early in the day. Laura has just left on the bus, and they had established in the previous episode that she would be leaving in the morning. Also, Maggie says it's a little early for Joe's coffee break when he comes in. However, it isn't until around 10:30 pm when Joe rushes to the Blue Whale to tell Vicky about his discovery regarding the date. Joe's rushing out of the diner clearly indicates that he is planning to confirm the date then, and given the urgency of the situation, it's not clear why he waits until late that evening to tell anyone.