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491 Gallery
491
Number

485

Timeline

1968

Narrator

Joan Bennett

Writer

Sam Hall

Director

Lela Swift

Broadcast

May 13, 1968
(Monday)

Recorded

May 7, 1968
(Tuesday)

Video

Complete: Disc 52
Collection 7: Disc 4

491 Gallery
We have 9 images of Dark Shadows 491

Barnabas finds that he is no longer a vampire.

Synopsis[]

Teaser

At the great house of Collinwood, a light blazes through the night, while at another house, a dead doctor's dream waits to become reality or failure. One man makes a desperate effort to escape an ancient curse, and a body that was constructed for his spirit to bring him life lies beside him, as yet inanimate, depending on the skill of one pair of hands.

In Dr. Lang's lab, Julia performs the experiment once more. But it appears the experiment is a failure when there are a series of small explosions. Julia stops the experiment, happy to find Barnabas still alive. Barnabas insists on trying again, but Julia says it is too dangerous. He tells her to go downstairs and go through Dr. Lang's journals once again. After Julia leaves, Barnabas looks at the body of Adam, and suddenly Adam opens his eyes.

Act I

Barnabas calls for Julia to come back upstairs, as Adam breaks the straps holding him down. He is unable to speak. Neither Barnabas nor Julia understand how both can be alive, or what it means for Barnabas. Adam moves clumsily, like a child learning to walk. He is also easily distracted. Julia decides to sedate Adam while they decide what to do. She gives him a shot, which causes pain, and Adam attacks Julia.

Act II

Barnabas manages to pull Adam off Julia and lead him to the bed, where Adam eventually succumbs to the sedative and sleeps.

There is a knock at the front door. Elizabeth lets herself into the house.

Act III

Elizabeth has come to ask Dr. Hoffman to come to Collinwood to look at David. Another doctor saw David and found nothing wrong. When Barnabas learns the problem is that David lost his voice, he thinks he knows the cause. He tells Elizabeth that he once had a servant named Ben, and the same thing happened to him, and he got over it, and he is sure the same will happen with David. Nonetheless, Julia agrees to go with Elizabeth to examine David.

Act IV

As dawn approaches, Barnabas wonders what will happen to him. Is he cured or not? Meanwhile, upstairs in the lab, Adam comes out of his sleep, and starts exploring the room. Downstairs, Barnabas and Julia notice the sun has risen, and nothing has happened to Barnabas. Upstairs, Adam accidentally stabs himself with a scalpel, causing him to go on a rampage. Barnabas and Julia rush up to the lab, but neither can control him. For their own safety, they leave the lab and close the door behind them.

Memorable quotes[]

Dramatis personae[]

Background information and notes[]

Production[]

  • The videotape of this episode has poor video and audio quality in several scenes.
  • Sets used this episode: Dr. Lang's Laboratory, Dr. Lang's study and front entrance.
  • The end rolling credits are uneven, and the font is faded.

Story[]

Bloopers and continuity errors[]

  • At the end of the previous episode, Adam was completely covered with a sheet when he opened his eyes. In this episode, most of the teaser is repeated tape from the end of the previous episode, but the very end is new footage reenacting the very end of the previous episode. We see this because when Julia leaves the laboratory, Adam is now uncovered from the sheet and is fully dressed (and, whereas prior to this, he seemed to be unclothed). [I do not believer there is any repeated tape in the teaser, there are minor discernible differences throughout - see next two dot points as examples].
  • At the beginning of the experiment during the teaser the hand of someone off-screen can be briefly seen in the lower-right seemingly prompting Julia to leave the control panel and walk back to check on Barnabas and Adam (this was not the case at the end of the previous episode).
  • During the experiment there are brief close-up shots of some sort of wave or vital signs plotter, the setup of which has been corrected from what was shown at the end of the previous episode.
  • A boom microphone shadow can be seen as Adam is attacking Julia.
  • Barnabas flubs a line when talking to Julia about Adam: "Now we must discover . . . decide what we are going to do with him."
  • Barnabas tells Elizabeth, that he once had a servant named Ben. Vicki has mentioned Ben from her trip to the past. Elizabeth should've realized this. [Or not... Ben is a common name].
  • When Julia says she will give Adam a sedative, she coughs in the middle of her line.
  • Immediately after Julia tells Barnabas that it is one hour until dawn, there is a knock at the front door of Dr. Lang's house. It is Elizabeth, but it is inexplicable why she would be coming an hour before dawn to find Julia regarding David's muteness. This happened some time ago the previous evening, and it doesn't appear that there's an emergency situation.
  • While Julia and Barnabas are arguing whether or not there's enough time for Julia to take Elizabeth back to Collinwood, the camera is on a close-up of Elizabeth's face. Joan Bennett looks to the side a couple of times, seeming to be glancing at the teleprompter or perhaps looking at the camera, wondering why it is still on her when Barnabas and Julia are the ones talking.

External Links []

Dark Shadows - Episode 491 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Every Day - Episode 491 - The Wonder Years

The Dark Shadows Daybook - Episode 491

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 491: What we do with him now is up to us

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 491: 5/13/68

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