What's it about: Moments after
welcoming his guests to a party, millionaire Harrison Pierce is murdered. But
his death is only the first of many as, trapped on an isolated island, his
guests start to die in increasingly bizarre ways. Attorney Tony Peterson must
join forces with a woman who destroyed his life years before, the beautiful but
deadly Cassandra Collins. But can she be trusted? And what really is the secret
of the mysterious Death Mask?
PI: Cassandra Collins practically destroyed Tony's life and
as you can imagine he isn't best pleased when they run into each other at
Harrison's party. His reputation was shot thanks to her games, half of
Collinwood thinking that he caused the break up between Cassandra and her
beau. He never gets involved with anyone from a clients family...not after last
time. He was dating Carolyn Stoddard, daughter of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard,
the head of the Collins family when Cassandra showed up as Roger Collins' new
wife. The witch soon had him under his spell. Things didn't really get better
when he left Collinsport, he always wanted more out of being a lawyer than just
the basics. He genuinely wanted to help people, to make a difference but
instead it has been boring. Sealing corporate deals and the like. It is
probably a welcome relief from the monotony that the woman who wrecked his life
has walked back into it. Anything to add a little spice. He always fancied
himself as a bit of a gumshoe. His father was a fisherman for the Collins
Fleet. He died in a boating accident when Tony was in his teens. He blamed the
Collins' for being cheap and comprising safety. His mother worked hard to give
him the opportunity to go to college and she didn't live to see him pass. He
build his practice in Collinsport because he resented the family and wanted to
make thing better for those who worked there.
Standout Performance: So much of this story relies on the
chemistry between Jerry Lacy and Lara Parker and so it pleases me to report
that their relationship really sings in their hands.
Great Ideas: Summoned to a party on an isolated island, the
host found dead, the suspects being picked off one by one...if you are going to
borrow from the murder mystery genre then you might as well take your
inspiration from the best and The Death Mask had a strong feeling of And Then
There Were None about it. Because Cassandra and Tony are meeting again for the
first time there is the opportunity for him to introduce the guests (aka the
suspects) and feed us a little information about them. Marilyn Wedgwood, heir
to the Wedgwood publishing fortune - drowning her sorrows at parties after her
husband died. Dr David Stone, Pierce's private physician and old friend and
friendly rival collector. Horace and Evelyn Saunders, Pierce's cousin and his
wife. James Rice, Pierce's nephew. Sharon Rice, the niece, who clearly has a
thing for Tony. Pierce only throws his parties to chow of the latest in his
cabinet of curiosities. The stranger, the better. His relatives angry that he
is wasting their inheritance on useless trinkets. All the family have their
debts and have their reasons to get their hands on his money. We've got all the
ingredients for the perfect drawing room mystery. Rice is the next to go,
strangled and it turns out he was having an affair with the maid. Stone next.
Akasha is the fifth element, the master of the other four elements. The
original Death Mask was supposed to give the wearer power. That's all you get
plot wise because there is no point in listening to a mystery if you know the
ending...needless to say I guessed the wrong murderer and was completely hoodwinked by the writer!
Musical Cues: Being a complete novice to the series I have
no idea if the opening titles are authentic...and a quick trip to youtube and I
can confirm that they are! It's a nicely, subtly menacing piece that still
manages to suggest the melodrama to come. It reminded me of the theme to The
Nightmare Man in all the best ways, except Dark Shadows came first of course.
1 comment:
I'm so glad your reviewing 'Dark Shadows', its my favourite series ever! When are you going to get around to reviewing all 1225 episodes of the original series? Episode by episode naturally!
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