DARK SHADOWS ONLINE PLAY

SCOOBY DOO, WHEREFORE ART THOU?
     Episode 4, performed June 16, 1998

     Teleplay by Zurc2, Vikkie Gee, Sidhe danz, Oblbobl, Nubcat, MsBouchard, MagdaRom, Kay Lhota, KahluaKat, GraemeCree, DS Vicki
     From a Story by Graeme Cree

     CAST
Sidhe danz as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
Nubcat as Carolyn Collins Stoddard Hawkes
Oblbobl as Mrs. Sarah Matilda Johnson
Zurc2 as Barnabas Collins
Vikkie Gee as Dr. Julia Hoffman
Zurc2 as Professor T. Eliot Stokes
MsBouchard as Quentin Collins
DS Vicki as Freddie Jones
KahluaKat as Daphne Blake
Kay Lhota as Velma Dinkley
GraemeCree as Norville Shagworth "Shaggy" Rogers, Scooby Doo
and Jerry Mathers as The Beaver

     THIS WEEK'S GUEST STARS
KahluaKat as Maggie Evans
Vikkie Gee as David Collins
Kay Lhota as the ghost of Charles Delaware Tate

     PLUS, OUR CORRESPONDENT IN BOSTON
MagdaRom as Roger Collins

     PRODUCTION CREW
Sim Coordinator  VikkieGee
Gatekeeper       PeachKoala
Keymaster        Zul
Official Logger  Zurc2
Time Keeper      VikkieGee
Bouncer          PeachKoala
Sim Hostess      Zurc2
Interval         DS Vicki and Zurc2
Vote Tallier     Zurc2

ACT I

Scene 1; West Wing (10 minutes)
      CAST: Velma, Shaggy, Scooby

     * Velma is annoyed. She's been searching the corridors of the West Wing for 20 minutes, looking for a way out, while Shaggy has been wasting time, reading a book.

     * "No waste," explains Shaggy. Those painter's sticks he found earlier were I-Ching wands [footnote 1], and the book explains how to use them. He thinks they can be used to escape. He plans to find the hexagram that will allow him to use astral projection to transport himself outside the West Wing and unlock the door.

     * Velma has heard of I-Ching, but is skeptical. It's probably all nonsense, and even if it isn't, Confucius couldn't master the stuff! What makes Shaggy think that he can?

     * Undaunted, Shaggy throws the wands and starts to go into a trance. Velma, looks at the book, and notices that this stuff is dangerous! People have been killed or gone insane from misusing it.

     * Too late. Shaggy is in the I-Ching trance and can't get away. The door opens and he is drawn inside.

     * The trance ends, and Velma is forced to admit that it isn't all nonsense. Fortunately, the effects are embarrassing rather than dangerous. Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with astral projection, and provide no help in escaping.

     * No matter. Velma has just come up with a much simpler means of escape (i.e. The Old Placemat Under the Door and Letter Opener in the Keyhole Trick). However, Shaggy is not so sure that he WANTS to escape now and risk being seen.

      * Velma explains that that smudge that the ghost had pointed to was actually a drop of phosphorescent paint, and that during her wandering, she found a cache of foodstuffs hidden in the West Wing. Something funny is going on, and they've got to get out and tell the others.

Scene 2; The Old Mill (10 minutes)
     CAST: Freddie, Carolyn, Barnabas, Julia, Daphne

     * Freddie and Carolyn are grateful that Barnabas and Julia have joined them in the search for Daphne. Barnabas is glad to be of help, and suggests that they search the structure up ahead, the so-called Old Mill.

     * From inside the mill, they hear noises. They enter and find Daphne inside trapped at the bottom of a hole in the flooring, with her clothes shredded like Quentin's, but otherwise unharmed.

     * Freddie embraces Daphne, sick with relief that she is okay. Carolyn is a bit jealous, but genuinely relieved as well.

     * Daphnes's memory is vague on what happened. She remembers some kind of animal trying to attack, and somehow rushing into the Mill to escape from it, and being trapped there. Her story seems to match Quentin's, right down to the trauma induced memory loss, and the torn clothing, but no actual wounds. Could it be that whatever it was wanted to frighten them, but not to hurt them? [footnote 2]

     * Barnabas seems as happy to see Daphne safe as everyone else is. So happy in fact, that he accidentally calls her "Josette". Julia insistently asks to have a word with Barnabas, ALONE!!!

     * Freddie and Carolyn help lead Daphne back to Collinwood, and continue to question her about her experiences. Barnabas and Julia stay behind to talk. Julia is livid.

     * Barnabas tries to argue that the "Josette" business was just a silly slip. Julia will have none of it. We are NOT going to have that again! Barnabas is a normal person now, and must begin to act like one. No more killing, and NO more kidnapping beautiful young women and trying to brainwash them into being Josette. And besides, why does he have to chase these pretty young things when SHE loves him and is here for him right now??

     * What was that? Well, yes, she DID say it. What about a little sugar for Julia, hmm? Barnabas is taken aback. Of course he had known that she felt that way, but at first he disliked her, and by the time he changed his mind about that, he was too afraid of her being hurt by the curse [footnote 3] to allow himself to feel the same way. But now that you mention it, the curse is gone, and a little rethinking of their relationship might be in order.

     * Barnabas is confused. Yes he does have the same kind of feelings for Julia, but he also loves Angelique, and her spirit seems to have returned for purposes as yet unknown. He needs to think. They embrace and leave the Mill.

Scene 3; Collinwood Drawing Room and Kitchen (10 minutes)
     CAST: Elizabeth, Professor Stokes, Mrs. Johnson, Maggie

     * Professor Stokes stops by Collinwood, looking for Barnabas and Julia.

     * In the kitchen, Maggie and Mrs. Johnson have Excedrin Headache number 1246. Mrs. Johnson mixes up her grandmother's guaranteed Sure Fire Hangover Remedy, explaining carefully that she's never used it before, and this is the time to see if it works. Both of them chat pleasantly.

     * No, Barnabas and Julia aren't there, explains Liz, but why doesn't the Professor just wait in the Drawing Room for them to return. It would really be no trouble.

     * Liz questions Stokes about his work, taking a great interest in everything he says. The conversation soon becomes quite flirtatious.

     * Maggie and Mrs. Johnson coming from the kitchen, enter the Foyer and overhear the conversation. They quickly assume the traditional Collins ear-to-door pose, and exchange knowing glances.

END OF ACT I

INTERVAL (10 minutes)

ACT II (Ball 1)

Scene 1; The Mystery Machine (10 minutes)
     CAST: Carolyn, Shaggy, Scooby, Liz, Daphne

     * After their recent harrowing experiences, Liz has offered to take Shaggy and Daphne on a tour of the Collins Cannery to give them a chance to get out of the house (and also to make it perfectly obvious to Daphne what business the family is in).

     * Driving to the Cannery in the Mystery Machine was NOT however what Liz had in mind, but she went along with it to be agreeable. Actually though, she doesn't mind it that much, once they get going.

     * Carolyn on the other hand feels a bit claustrophobic, and chats with Daphne about life on the road. Sure, the thing is bigger than a car, but actually living out of it seems like it would be incredibly cramped.

     * Daphne has a choice. Realizing that Carolyn is interested in Freddie, she knows that she can either paint a glowing picture of the traveling life, or accentuate the hardships and things she had to give up when she started doing this. She decides.

     * Shaggy (and Scooby) are primarily interested in whether the Cannery Tour includes free samples. He chats lightly with Liz, who by now is positively enjoying the van ride.

     * Going down an incline, Shaggy tries to hit the brakes, and finds out that there aren't any. The van careens through a wooden fence at the bottom of the hill and off the road into a field.

Scene 2; The Old House (10 minutes)
     CAST: Barnabas, Julia, Quentin, Tate

     * Quentin's portrait has completely stopped protecting him from the werewolf curse. Yet, Quentin has not aged to look like a 101 year old man, so the portrait is still protecting him from that. This suggests some kind of deliberate tampering. Barnabas, Julia and Quentin agree that the only way to find out what is happening is to summon the spirit of the man who painted the portrait back in 1897: Charles Delaware Tate[footnote 4].

     * They wonder who might be responsible, and which one of them Tate's spirit might choose to speak through. Quentin believes Petofi is behind the problems with the portrait. Julia believes that Tate will speak through her because she saw him shortly before he was killed in 1969.

     * They begin the seance. Tate's ghost comes, but rather than speaking through one of them, he speaks through the portrait itself!

     * They ask him who is responsible for what is happening. Well, actually Tate himself is responsible. He apologizes, but explains that his spirit was unable to return unless it were summoned. Interfering with the portrait was the only way of making someone want to summon him.

     * Well then, why did he want to be summoned? Tate explains that the greatest landscape he ever did, "Sunset Over the Irish Sea" is lost. He didn't know where it was when he was alive, but he now knows that the canvas was painted over with primer and later reused by Sam Evans. It now lies in a stack of Evans paintings in Collinwood's West Wing. All they need do is recover it, restore it, and sell it to a dealer for the world to appreciate.

     * That's it? Tate put them through all this fuss just for a picture? What will the painting do for him, they ask?

     * It won't do anything for him, except make him happy. It was his greatest landscape, and he never liked critics like Stokes claiming that he did wonderful portraits but mediocre landscapes. He wants it seen and appreciated, and thinks it's really not too much to ask, considering that he's told them where it is and all. And especially considering that Quentin will continue to change into the wolf until they've done as he asks.

     * How do they even know that Tate IS responsible, and that he can or will allow the portrait to work again if they do as he asks? They don't, but no other recourse is obvious, and there is little to lose by trying. They agree to honor his request. Tate's spirit departs, and the seance ends.

Scene 3; Collinwood Drawing Room (10 minutes)
     CAST: Mrs. Johnson, Velma, Freddie, Maggie, David

     * Velma hangs up the phone. Good news. No serious damage to either the Mystery Machine or its occupants. But funny thing; the police report showed deliberate tampering. The brakes went out because the van's bleeder valve had been removed.

     * Mrs. Johnson and Maggie immediately think of David. Why, wonder Velma and Freddie? They explain that David had done exactly the same thing to his father, Roger's car five years previously [footnote 5].

     * They call in David, who denies everything. Mrs. Johnson takes him upstairs to question him further.

     * Freddie, Velma, and Maggie review the facts, and try to make sense out of them:
           1) Shaggy heard heartbeats coming out of the portrait
           2) The spirit calling herself Valerie Collins appeared twice, but each time seemed to aid them.
           3) The figure in the West Wing has also appeared twice, but tried to scare them away.
           4) Quentin, Daphne and almost Shaggy were attacked by a wolf in the woods.

     * What does it mean? Freddie has been to the library, and confirmed the stories that Mr. Wells the Innkeeper and Donna Freelander were attacked and killed by a wolf a few years previously [footnote 6].

     * Velma points out the phosphorescent paint and food supply she found in the West Wing, and thinks they indicate a fake ghost. She further theorizes that the ghost and the wolf are the same person. The fact that neither Quentin nor Daphne was injured when attacked indicates that somebody was trying to frighten them, not kill them.

     * Maggie suggests that since the bleeder valve and wolf are both based on incidents in Collinsport's recent past, that whoever it is is someone who was around back then and knows about those things.

     * Freddie and Velma believe that the prime suspects are Roger and Stokes. According to Maggie, Stokes had been flirting with Liz earlier (Maggie was not around early enough to know that Liz started it). Could he have designs on Collinwood? Roger on the other hand may be chafing that his sister owns the house and family business and want to frighten her away. He DID disappear just before the ghost first appeared.

     * But Roger went to Boston, argues Maggie. He SAID he did, but does anyone know for sure?

End of ACT II (Lieber)

FOOTNOTES
     These footnotes by the way, are not necessarily things that need to be worked into the actual sim. They simply provide possibly interesting background information for people who may not have seen all of Dark Shadows.

     [footnote 1]: The I-Ching of Dark Shadows bears (so I'm told) only a passing resemblance to the I-Ching of real life. It involves the use of 6 "wands" (black painters sticks, with a white rectangle on one side of them in the middle). The wands are cast on a table, and fall to form one of 64 patterns called hexagrams. The subject sits in front of the hexagram, closes his or her eyes, and concentrates (going into a trance), until he visualizes a closed metal door with the hexagram in question on it. He continues concentrating until the door opens, his astral body enters the room beyond, and is affected in one way or another.
   The effect of entering the room varies, depending on which hexagram was thrown. The 49th hexagram, the hexagram of change, was used by Barnabas, Julia, and others to travel through time. Different hexagrams have different effects, ranging from death or madness to visions of the future. Only a handful of the 64 hexagrams were explored on the show. [go back]

     [footnote 2]: For those of you playing along at home who may be confused as to what is going on here, Daphne has been hypnotized to forget her experiences in the Old House, and been given a post hypnotic suggestion to vaguely recall an animal attack.
   She was stranded in the Old Mill by Barnabas and Julia, who then joined the search party specifically for the purpose of steering the search in that direction, so that she could be found quickly. Julia's use of hypnotism in this manner was a frequent plot point in the show, being used to monkey with the memories of Maggie and Vicki, among others. Her clothes were shredded by Julia, to make the wolf story more plausible. Since the existence of the wolf could no longer be hidden, at least it could be used to cover up what had happened to Daphne, so that she could be set free.
   People who have seen Julia hypnotize people's memories away on the show would instantly recognize what it meant when Julia pulled the medallion out at the end of the last episode, and, knowing that she planned to hypnotize Daphne, piece together the remaining events in the chain. To others, this might otherwise seem mysterious. [go back]

     [footnote 3]: Part of the vampire curse originally placed on Barnabas by Angelique was that anyone who loved him would die. As a result, Barnabas has avoided romantic involvement with Julia, for her own protection. Now however, the curse is gone, voluntarily lifted by the same person who put it on in the first place, and Barnabas is just beginning to realize that this may change things. [go back]

     [footnote 4]: Again, for those of you playing along at home, Charles Delaware Tate was the artist who painted the portrait of Quentin. Thanks to magical powers supplied by Count Andreas Petofi, the portrait drained Quentin's werewolf curse into itself. Every full moon, the portrait changed into a wolf instead of Quentin. In addition, the portrait began to age, rather than Quentin.
   Petofi's motives were far from altruistic. He merely wanted Quentin immortal and uncursed to hijack his body. Petofi wanted to travel into the future, and needed to have a host body existing in the future for him to inhabit, however that part is not important to this story. The important part is to know what the portrait does, and that Tate painted it.
     Tate lived until 1969. He was killed when Chris Jennings, a descendant of Quentin (and therefore also a victim of the werewolf curse) tried to force him to paint a portrait like Quentin's to protect him. Unfortunately, by this time Tate no longer had the power. The portrait failed to halt the curse, and Jennings transformed into the wolf and killed Tate.
     (Sorry to go into excessive detail, but DS does have over 1200 episodes, and one can't assume that everybody knows everything about it). [go back]

     [footnote 5]:   Yes, David did indeed try to kill his father by sabotaging his car at the very beginning of the show (episode 15, in fact). He was quite the little monster back then. He wasn't nearly so bad by 1971, but you know how it is. Once you've got the reputation, people always suspect you from then on. [go back]

     [footnote 6]: Mr. Wells the Innkeeper (played by Conrad Bain of Different Strokes fame) was killed in the Collinsport Inn when he broke in on Chris Jennings right after he had transformed into the wolf (episode 632). Donna Freelander was an out-of-town friend of Carolyn's who came for a visit, and who made the fatal mistake of trying a little too hard to get a date with the aforementioned Mr Jennings (episode 674). [go back]