Airdates: August 15 - 25, 1966
THE PLOT
Burke continues investigating the Collins holdings, and it isn't long before his inquiries are noticed by Elizabeth Collins' loyal fleet manager, Bill Malloy. He reports to Elizabeth, telling her that Burke is not only looking into her business holdings, but everything she owns. When Liz admits to him that she is genuinely worried, Bill decides to take matters into his own hands. He arranges to meet with Burke. But he isn't there to threaten him. He offers Burke a deal. Leave the innocent members of the Collins family alone, and he will do everything in his power to clear Burke's name.
Meanwhile, the issue with David now settled, Roger's paranoia about Burke returns full force. He pressures Sam to refuse a hefty commission to paint Burke's portrait. When Sam is unable to back out of the deal, Roger pressures him again, this time to leave town. When bullying escalates to threatening, Sam finally decides that it might be time for some action on his part...
THOUGHTS
The first part of this disc was very slow going for me. Episodes 36 - 38 reinforced my impression from the previous disc: That with the resolution of the bleeder valve subplot, the show didn't quite seem to know where to go next. I started to become rather bored with the series, and it began feeling like a job to put the disc in to watch an episode. Look back at my reviews of Collection One, Discs Two and Three - the show had me, really had me. Not very far into this disc, it almost lost me again.
In the second half of this disc, it caught my attention again. The Roger/Sam material went from tedious wheel-spinning to suddenly rather interesting, as Sam finally realized that it's he, and not Roger, who has the upper hand in this situation (he promptly forgets that again in the next episode, but it's still interesting). Bill Malloy's investigation was an interesting and unexpected new turn for the story, and after a week or so of forcing myself to watch one episode every 3 - 4 days, I suddenly downed two episodes in one sitting for the first time since Burke found the bleeder valve in his sofa cushion.
Cast & Characters
I think David Ford will be just fine as Sam. I still prefer Mark Allen's version, if only because he did a better job of showing a truly haunted man. David Ford seems to struggle more with that aspect of the character. He's very good when Sam is easygoing, but his performance dips into forced tics when Sam is under stress. Still, he's doing fine in the role, and I'm sure after another couple of discs I will stop mentally recasting his scenes with Mark Allen.
Roger Collins... He isn't very bright, is he? He desperately doesn't want Burke connecting him and Sam. So what does he do? Runs to Sam every chance he gets to pressure him into altering his agreement to paint Burke's portrait, including at least one meeting in public! He's like a cartoon evil mastermind, coming up with plans that seem designed to guarantee his own downfall.
The best character scene on the disc comes in Episode 39... not coincidentally, the episode that got me actually wanting to watch again after several episodes of tedium. The meeting between Burke and Bill is a scene that works on almost every level. It is not a long scene - just a couple of minutes on each side of a commercial break. That fits with the two characters, both of whom are what would be termed "serious men." Bill brushes aside Burke's mask of easygoing small-talk and gets straight to the point. Recognizing the situation, Burke drops the act and meets Bill on his own terms. The result is an excellent scene, very well-played by arguably the series' two best actors.
Episode 40 sees Malloy showing a more ruthless side. He faces down Roger unblinkingly, in a very entertaining scene. But when he questions Sam one-on-one, he begins plying the man with drink. He even says a couple of deliberately unpleasant things to make Sam drink harder, to make his tongue looser. It's effective, but it does cast Malloy in a more unlikable light than had previously been the case. Frank Schofield is excellent as ever, and he manages to show this darker edge to Malloy in a way that feels fully consistent with the character we've been watching all along.
Recasting of the Week
Wow, two discs and two characters recast. At this rate, they'll overturn the entire supporting cast by Disc Eight!
Thayer David takes over the role of Matthew Morgan, and the credits announcer doesn't even blink for him. In fairness, Matthew's role is much smaller than Sam's, with George Mitchell only having racked up three appearances in the preceding 30+ episodes, so it's not as though David has to replace someone who had a chance to really make much of an impression. I suppose if Matthew is meant to be intimidating, burly Thayer David is considerably more dangerous-looking than thin and wiry George Mitchell was. In terms of performance, there isn't much to judge as yet, though he seems as capable an actor as his predecessor.
Gaffe of the Week
Episode 44 ends the disc on a high note, with things definitely happening at an accelerating rate. This episode also sees an appearance by the Collins banker, played by Patrick McVey. Hopefully this will be a one-off appearance, because McVey garbles every other line, stammering and tripping over his own tongue, and seeming to throw off the other actors too. The impression of a grand gaffe is sealed when Joan Bennett leaves the room temporarily and has to struggle with a wobbly door to close it.
Final Note
Though the wheel-spinning episodes just about had me ready to give up on the series, the last 4 - 5 episodes on this disc rekindled my interest. I doubt I'll go back to downing a disc a week, but now that events are actually in motion again, there's probably little chance of my giving up. I'm sure there will be some other rough patches like the one spanning the end of the last disc and the beginning of this one, but it is at least encouraging to know that the series can pull itself out of those patches and go back to delivering some pretty good drama.
Previous: Episodes 28 - 35
Next: Episodes 45 - 53
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Don't give up on the series! The best is yet to come. The Bill Malloy plot line will turn into something very interesting that'll involve nearly the entire cast. Supernatural elements will also be introduced. You are in for a treat!
ReplyDeleteThayer David played in 225 episodes, and will go on to play eleven different roles, Matthew Morgan being the first of them. He's a great character actor, and before appearing on Dark Shadows, he was probably most well-known in films as the baddie Count Saknussem in 1959's "Journey to the Center of the Earth." He was also well-known as the fight promoter George Jergens in "Rocky."
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