288

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Number	284
Timeline	1967
Narrator	Alexandra Moltke
Writer	Ron Sproat
Director	John Sedwick
Broadcast	August 2, 1967 (Wednesday)
Recorded	July 14, 1967 (Friday)
Video	Complete: Disc 32 Collection 2: Disc 4

We have 3 images of Dark Shadows 288

Julia discovers that Barnabas has no reflection in a mirror.

Synopsis[]

Teaser

The great estate of Collinwood rests on cliffs high above the sea, and on a quiet afternoon such as this, a familiar sound is the pounding of the surf, waves crashing against sand, only to return to the sea from whence they came. There is a sense of timelessness here for the sea is eternal, as human lives are not. But there are moments when a sense of timelessness can pervade a human mind, moments when the past seems to intermingle with the present. There is one who knows such a moment, not realizing it represents an imminent threat, the approach of a violent and terrifying danger.

David Collins finds Victoria Winters gazing out of the window at the ocean in the drawing room at Collinwood. She is entranced by the melody of Josette's music box, and David points out she's been doing that a lot lately. He confesses that when she is in that state, it's almost as if she's someone else and that fact frightens him.

Act I

Victoria chides David for letting his imagination run wild, and accuses him of trying to scare her. At that moment, Julia Hoffman enters the room and David learns that she will be a guest at Collinwood while she researches her book. Victoria goes to retrieve some privately-printed histories of the Collins Family from the library for Julia. David offers to show Julia the family album, and she peruses the portraits of Joshua Collins, Naomi Collins, Barnabas Collins, and Sarah Collins. David has never seen the picture of Sarah before, and he is surprised by her resemblance to the little girl he encountered playing by the Old House. Both Julia and David find it a strange coincidence that the little girl is also called Sarah.

Act II

David contemplates if his friend Sarah is the same girl in the picture, and if she might be a ghost. Victoria returns with the books, and David goes outside to play. Startled by the portrait of Sarah, Victoria confesses it resembles a sketch of a little girl drawn by Sam Evans. Julia inquires about the restoration of the Old House, and wonders what became of the huge gilded mirrors she saw in an engraving. Victoria believes they might be lost, but notes there are no mirrors in the Old House, except for one in Josette's room. Julia decides to borrow the family album, and plans to show it to Barnabas Collins in an attempt to change his mind about aiding her research.

Act III

Later, Victoria and Burke Devlin are having a date at the Blue Whale. She relates Julia's project to him, and Burke doesn't like the idea of Victoria being involved. He believes the governess has become far too immersed in the legends and ghosts of Collinwood. It seems to affect her strongly, and she confesses to having heard a little girl singing during the night. Upon learning that Victoria spent the night at the Old House, Burke goes ballistic and asks her to promise him she'll never go there again. She refuses; she feels safe and secure at the Old House as if she belongs there.

Act IV

As a storm rumbles overhead, Julia returns to the Old House with the family album in hand. Barnabas answers the door, and is surprised to see her. After a bit of persistence, Barnabas reluctantly allows her inside. While he looks at the portraits contained within the book, Julia reaches for her compact and glances at Barnabas in its mirror. He casts no reflection! When Barnabas catches her, she claims to have been touching up her make-up. Weary of placating her, he returns the book and Julia leaves; Barnabas is clearly worried. She returns to Collinwood where she reports a successful visit to Victoria. Julia has learned everything she needed to know.

Memorable quotes[]

Victoria: Maybe it's because I feel safe... safe and secure, as though I belong there.

Dramatis personae[]

Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
Grayson Hall as Julia Hoffman
Anthony George as Burke Devlin
David Henesy as David Collins
Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters
Bob O'Connell as Bob Rooney (uncredited)

Background information and notes[]

Production[]

Story[]

This is the first episode that mentions that Julia will actually be living at Collinwood.
David shows Julia a portrait of an ancestor also called "David Collins," whom he claims he was named after.
Although David claims to be familiar with the portraits of his ancestors in the family album, he has never seen Sarah's portrait before.
This episode is the first to establish that vampires in the Dark Shadows universe do not cast reflections.
TIMELINE: Day 105 begins, and will end in 289. 5:10pm at the start of the episode. It was the "other night" when Victoria heard Sarah singing.

Bloopers and continuity errors[]

When David and Julia are looking at the pictures in the family album, they are in the order Joshua, David, Naomi, Barnabas, Sarah; but later when Barnabas and Julia are looking at the album, the order is Barnabas, Naomi, Joshua, Sarah. Of course, Julia starts with Barnabas' page and goes backward one page, while Barnabas then goes forward, but even so, the order she recites is different.
It is odd that Victoria does not recognize the portrait of Sarah because, as she herself tells Julia, she saw Sam Evans's sketch of Sarah that the sheriff was showing to people when they were searching for Maggie. Also, Victoria saw Sarah at the top of the stairs after the seance at the Old House (and it's surprising she didn't recognize her from Sam's sketch then as well).
When Julia and Victoria are talking in the drawing room about Julia showing the portrait album to Barnabas, the camera is tipped such that for 15 seconds or so, a stage light in the foyer can be seen.
Grayson Hall stumbles over her lines when she arrives at the Old House.
Julia confirms her suspicions about Barnabas by discovering he has no reflection, but his reflection could be seen in 278 in the mirror in Josette's room as he replaces the music box.
The image that Julia sees in the compact mirror doesn’t really match the line of sight from the mirror to Barnabas. The mirror is reflecting the candelabra and curtains directly behind Julia, but Barnabas is standing further to the left than that.