The Beginning, Collection Two - Disc 4

Episodes 63 - 70

Airdates: Sept. 21 - 30, 1966


THE PLOT

Matthew Morgan, the Collins' manservant, decides he's going to settle the trouble with Burke himself - violently. His assault on Burke has the opposite effect of the one intended, though, leading Burke to an angry confrontation with Roger at Collinwood. When the direct approach fails to win him any results, Burke conspires to use other methods to prove a connection between the Collins family and the death of Bill Malloy, enlisting the aid of Bill's grieving housekeeper (Clarice Blackburn).

Burke isn't the only one investigating. Though Sherriff Patterson (Dana Elcar)'s words indicate that he's leaning toward a verdict of "accidental drowning," he seems progressively more inclined to at least consider foul play. And when Vicki reluctantly supports Roger's loose alibi, the sherriff's suspicions fall on the only other likely suspect: Sam Evans - who took a suspiciously long time to make the short journey from his house to the cannery...


THOUGHTS

This disc gets off to a bad start with Episode 63, which is an important episode in that it really kick-starts Matthew's threats against Burke... but is unfortunately a deadly dull 20 minutes. Episodes 64 and 65 are better, but feel "off" somehow, with almost all of the actors seeming to struggle to get through their lines. Matthew's assault on Burke, and the exchange leading up to it, suffer from weak staging and unusually stilted acting from two of the series' more reliable thesps.

Things pick up again after that point. Episode 66 sees the performers back on form, and the momentum begins to build again. That momentum continues through most of the rest of the disc, and by Episode 67, I found myself once again gripped by the proceedings. Even so, certain repetitive interactions, notably involving Caroline simpering about how "Burke couldn't have done/said this," or "Uncle Roger wouldn't do such a thing," are progressively wearing thin enough to make me want to reach into the screen and throttle the stupid girl - who continues to be played by an actress whose work is far better than the often idiotic character she's been given to portray.


Cast & Characters

Speaking of actresses who are better than their material, I haven't yet said much in these reviews about Kathryn Leigh Scott. Episode 67 sees some excellent scenes for Maggie, who in rapid sequence has varied interactions with Carolyn, Burke, Sam, and Sherriff Patterson. Scott handles the shifting dynamics of these scenes superbly. Maggie is frosty to Burke, but commiserates with Carolyn about being unable to hate Burke no matter how much she feels she should. She is defiant to the sherriff, but playful and empathetic with her father. After her sympathetic but slightly sad, "You don't mind if I don't believe you?" to her father, I actually paused the disc to observe aloud to myself how much better Kathryn Leigh Scott is than the near-nothing she's been given to work with up to this point. I only hope the writers and producers noticed, and that she will get more and better material in the future.

Joan Bennett gets a plum bit in Episode 65, though. As Burke comes to Collinwood, spoiling for a fight as he insists on waiting for Roger, Liz abandons her efforts to force him to leave. She changes tactics, instead being excessively pleasant, offering him tea, ushering Vicki the room to "entertain" him. As she leaves to prepare the tea, Vicki demands to know what Burke thinks he's doing here. "I'm not so sure myself," a chagrined Burke replies. "I think I'm having tea."

Liz's attempt to disarm Burke with courtesy is a much better effort at dealing with Burke than either Roger's (largely impotent) bluster or Matthew's threats. Burke Devlin has been established as a character who does not respond well to intimidation. Matthew's threat to kill him, and his physical assault, actually spur Burke to going to Collinwood on this disc - something which probably would not have happened otherwise. As with his pushing Bill's body back into the water, Matthew's actions here may be intended to help the Collins family, but they are actually having the opposite effect.

Finally, the episodes on this disc are notable for introducing a new character, who seems set to become a major one at least in the short term: Clarice Blackburn's Mrs. Johnson, whose grief over Bill's death provides Burke with an unexpected opportunity. Blackburn's big scene opposite Mitchell Ryan in Episode 69 is well-played by both actors, though the character is still too new to really judge as yet.


Gaffe of the Week

There are a number of amusing little gaffes in Episode 65. A painfully visible boom shadow takes up about a quarter of the frame for several seconds. Later, Joan Bennett stumbles over her lines, referring to Burke as "Roger." Instead of just proceeding with the line reading, she makes matters infinitely worse, calling attention to the gaffe by backing up - several words later - to correct her mistake. This is fair recompense for Mitchell Ryan's stumble early in the episode, in which he forgets his line in the midst of giving a forceful speech, and flails around blindly for several seconds before recapturing the gist of his monologue.

Episode 66 has fewer botched lines, but one very noticeable technical gaffe. Near the end of the episode, a camera is apparently jostled, prompting a premature cut to another camera, which has to make a fast (very awkward-looking) move to get into position.


Final Note

The Gothic atmosphere that was so striking in the early episodes sees a welcome return in the final episode of this disc. Episode 70 - the closing episode of this disc, and of The Beginning: Collection Two - introduces us to "the old house," the original Collinwood estate. The film sequences that show Vicki and David walking to the estate, then out again, are surprisingly effective. Even the graininess of the film stock is an asset, creating a murky and otherworldly feel as the ghost of Josette Collins makes her first (but presumably not last) appearance.


Previous: Episodes 54 - 62
Next: Episodes 71 - 79 (not yet reviewed)


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The Beginning, Collection Two - Disc 2

Episodes 45 - 53

Airdates: August 26 - Sept. 7, 1966


THE PLOT

Bill Malloy meets with Burke once more, to offer him Roger Collins "on a silver platter," in exchange for Burke's promise to stop his move against the rest of the Collins family. He tells Burke to meet him at Roger's office at eleven o'clock that night, at which time Malloy will play his "hole card," to wrap up the entire sordid mess in one go.

However, Malloy forgot a certain saying about the best-laid plans. Before the night is through, there will be a death in Collinsport!


THOUGHTS

Though there a few episodes of pure filler (Episode 48 being a particular offender), this disc is mostly engrossing. There was nothing really compelling me to watch more than one episode at a time, and it took me a few weeks to watch my way through it. But with rare exceptions, every time I sat down to watch an episode, my attention was held.

In my last review, I observed that some of the Gothic atmosphere was creeping back into the show. That continues with this disc. The episodes set at the house have quite a bit of atmosphere, with the shows set during the night in which Caroline and Vicki see the dead body having some effectively eerie moments.

Cast & Characters

One thought regarding the other characters' reactions to David.  Of course, David genuinely is a despicable little monster at this point in the series.  But when he complains that his father hates him, everyone rejects that as ridiculous... no matter how many times we directly see Roger expressing his loathing for David!  It's not exactly helping David to pretend to him that his father feels differently.  David knows better, and he knows that Vicki and Elizabeth know better.  So every time Vicki or Elizabeth tell the boy that his father doesn't hate him, they're only proving to David that they can't be trusted to tell him the truth.  Vicki is, incidentally, an appallingly bad teacher from the glimpses we get of her teaching David his "lessons."  Reciting facts to a child from a book is a sure way to make that child tune out.  It's certainly no way to make him learn.  And any time he happens to get interested ("Could you transport a dead body down a river?"), Vicki shuts him down - rather than follow up on that interest.  Sure, transporting a dead body is ghoulish.  But if David's interested in that example, then it's a valid example to use within a legitimate lesson. 

Moving away from Vicki and David to characters who are actually interesting, let's turn our attention to Bill Malloy.  Frank Schofield is terrific as Malloy bullies, cajoles, and threatens Roger and Sam to make sure that they come to his meeting. The ever-steady Schofield has done a fantastic job from his first appearance at portraying a man whose loyalty to the Collins family, specifically Elizabeth, is so strong that he is willing to sacrifice just about anything for their interests. He lays it out for Roger that, as he sees it, the choice is between Roger's welfare and the family's. To see the previously taciturn, unflappable Malloy practically spitting and growling at Roger and Sam is very effective, and Schofield's performance is a big part of what makes it work so well.

Schofield makes a strong impression, which helps to sell it when Elizabeth labels Malloy "the most reliable man (she's) ever known." Roger remains far from reliable - and for a character who's basically the villain of the piece, he remains a largely stupid villain. He tells lies that are easily penetrated, insists on calling and visiting Sam while at the same time insisting to Sam that it's important they not be seen together (um, step one genius - Stop spending so much time around him), and ping-pongs between icy cool and irrational outbursts. Despite his campier tendencies, Louis Edmonds actually is doing a fine job of playing Roger, and even at investing Roger with intelligence on a scene-by-scene basis. But the character, as written, makes too many contradictory and downright stupid decisions to come across as anything but a moron by this point.


Final Note

Though the series is not hooking me the way it was in Discs 2 and 3 of the first collection, it does continue to be enjoyable. I'm only sitting down to it here and there, as is obvious from the rate of these reviews - two to three episodes per week seems to have settled into being the average. But when I watch it, I usually enjoy it, often enough to carry me through the occasional episode of dull filler. The increasing atmosphere is a good sign, and the disappearance and evident demise of one of the major supporting players seems likely to make for some intriguing plot turns as the show moves forward.


Previous: Episodes 36 - 44
Next: Episodes 54 - 62


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