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1212 Gallery
1212
Number

1192

Timeline

1841 PT

Narrator

David Selby

Writer

Gordon Russell

Director

Lela Swift

Broadcast

February 16, 1971
(Tuesday)

Recorded

February 5, 1971
(Friday)

Video

Complete: Disc 123
Collection 25: Disc 3

1212 Gallery
We have 2 images of Dark Shadows 1212

Gabriel is selected to spend a night in the locked room.

Synopsis[]

Teaser

Collinwood in Parallel Time. This is a fateful night in the great house. Once during each generation a member of the family is chosen by lottery to spend the night in a mysterious locked room. All who have entered have either died or gone insane. The terrifying secret harbored in the room has remained unknown, but soon it will be revealed to one person, for Flora Collins has decided that the lottery must be held tonight.

The lottery begins, and everyone draws a slip.

Act I

The lottery comes down to Gabriel and Catherine; Gabriel draws the slip with the “X” and flees the house. Morgan and Quentin chase him into the woods, where they catch him and take him back to Collinwood.

Act II

Julia orders Quentin and Morgan to lock Gabriel in the tower room to keep him from escaping again, and informs Gabriel that he will enter the locked room the following night.

Later, Julia visits Catherine and scolds her over her behavior regarding the lottery and the curse on the family, going as far as blaming her for Melanie’s illness. Julia warns her not to try and prevent Gabriel from going into the locked room.

Quentin and Morgan take Gabriel to the tower room and lock him inside.

Act III

Quentin and Morgan return to the drawing room, where Flora requests the key to the tower room. The men are hesitant to give her the key, thinking he might influence her to release him, but Flora gives them her word and heads upstairs. Quentin decides to treat himself to a drink, but he starts to feel dizzy. Morgan offers to get a doctor, but Quentin tells him he’s merely stressed out.

Flora goes to visit Gabriel, who begs for mercy. Sadly, Flora says she cannot help him, and the family must appease to the curse. She tries to encourage him, but it only upsets him. He attempts to escape, but is immediately stopped by Morgan. Flora leaves the room, and Morgan locks the door again.

Julia enters the drawing room and finds Quentin on the floor, suffering from the plague.

Act IV

Morgan and Catherine are in their bedroom, where Catherine again thinks everyone in the house is acting irrational about the lottery. Morgan is tired of hearing about it, before Catherine tells him that Julia tried to put her in her place earlier in the evening. Just then Julia walks in, and tells them that Quentin has the plague.

A few hours later, a doctor confirms to Flora that Quentin is suffering from the plague. She informs the rest of the family, and requests that Morgan goes and tells Gabriel about Quentin’s condition. Julia decides to tag along, and when they enter the tower room, they find that Gabriel has escaped.

Memorable quotes[]

Morgan: Don't expect me to have any sympathy for him, because I don't!
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Gabriel: Oh, what a lovely little civilized family we are.
Julia: You'll be given anything you want until tomorrow evening...including all the liquor you need.
______________________________________________________________________
Julia (to Catherine): You're new here...new to our ways. Of course, you're entitled to whatever opinions you have. But I would caution you not to try to impose yourself on this house too quickly.
_______________________________________________________________________
Julia: We don't like change. We will not accept it.
______________________________________________________________________
Julia: The curse must be appeased. It is our duty as a family to appease it. There is no other way.
______________________________________________________________________
Flora: Gabriel, we're helpless...helpless to change our destiny. We were born with the curse, and there's nothing we can do about it but try to endure it.

Dramatis personae[]

Background information and notes[]

Production[]

Story[]

Bloopers and continuity errors[]

  • In the teaser Joan Bennett flubs a line: "Five them...five of them are blanks."
  • Flora accidentally says "Be quiet, Quentin" before quickly changing it to "Be quiet, Gabriel."
  • David Selby seems to drop a line he was supposed to say to Gabriel: "Either I hit you and I carry you back...[pause]...but tomorrow night you're going into that room!" There needs to be a companion statement to "Either..." such as "or you come back on your own."
  • At the beginning of Act II Grayson Hall coughs off-screen as Quentin, Morgan, and Gabriel enter Collinwood.
  • Grayson Hall flubs a line when speaking to Catherine in Act II: "Your an ambition...ambitious person."
  • In Act IV when Julia enters Catherine and Morgan's bedroom, Keith Prentice starts to call her "Catherine" before correcting himself.


External Links[]

Dark Shadows - Episode 1212 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Every Day - Episode 1212 - Once in Every Generation

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