Episode Studies by Clayton Barr enik1138-at-popapostle-dot-com |
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Cliffhangers!
Episode 7
Didja Notice? At the beginning of this chapter, Dracula pens in his journal that he is certain that if Kurt Van Helsing has managed to track Mary down to Antoinette's, his able apprentice has disposed of him for good. So, is Dracula more certain of his apprentice than he is of himself? For he has already failed several times in previous chapters to dispose of Van Helsing!The woman who plays Mary's undead mother Amanda (Louise Sorel) looks a lot like the actress who plays Mary, Carol Anne Baxter. Good casting choice. After having been clobbered and apparently knocked unconscious by Mary's mother at 9:17 in the episode, Antoinette is holding an ice bag to the back of her head! I didn't know vampires could get bruised and sore from a beating! Apparently in this version of the Dracula legend, he is unable to transform into a bat. At the end of the chapter, he attempts to leap up to the hole in the ceiling of his prison, but in human form only; if he could turn into a bat he could have easily escaped. The cliffhanger ending this week: in a twist, this time it's the villain caught in the cliffhanger! Dracula is trapped unprotected in an old silo while the rising sun begins to shine through a hole in the ceiling, slowly scorching from him his undead life! Don't miss Chapter XIII: SEALED IN BLOOD
Didja Notice? As seen at 26:22 in the episode, why would the Chimerans, who come from another planet, use Roman numerals on their equipment dials?!  At 29:24 in the episode, the boom microphone is visible at the top of the screen. The cliffhanger ending this week: Princess Maya is trapped in a giant spider web with a giant spider! Don't miss Chapter 10: THE LAST GASP
Didja Know? A local fisherman and river guide named Miguel gives Susan a demonstration of the ferociousness of piranha in the river by lowering a large dead fish on a string into the water briefly and pulling it back up as nothing but bones and a head. Later he himself falls into the river and is devoured. This ferociousness of piranha is largely mythical, often promulgated in Hollywood productions. Though they are voracious meat eaters, they are actually omnivorous and do not normally attack living prey larger than themselves. Didja Notice? After Miguel demonstrates to Susan that there are piranha in the river, she comments, "Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water." This is a paraphrasing of the tag line of Jaws 2, the 1978 sequel to Jaws. As Susan and Olga are about to escape by boat, Olga unties the bowline at 44:11 in the episode. Then, when Jack jumps in a few seconds later, it appears to be tied off again but magically unloops itself from the dock at 44:31! The cliffhanger ending this week: Clinging to a tree branch which breaks under her weight, Susan is about to plunge into the piranha-filled river! Don't miss Chapter Nine: WHEELS OF DESTRUCTION
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