by cindyrae77 » Sun Nov 23, 2014 2:17 pm
My experience with watching BATB was much different. I watched the original episodes, caught some on VHS tape with my VCR, mourned the passing of the series, and oddly, had a hard time watching them again, because I knew it was 'gone.' There was no internet (at least for me) in those days, and very few people owned a computer. It was like other shows I had liked (only different, of course) in that it came, struggled to stay on the air, and was then 'gone.' Too soon, and harshly ended. I watched it all until the end, cheering for Vincent, and wishing for a magical resurrection of some kind, and also still finding it in me to like the character and actress who played Diana, (there, I said it,) and I also found Gabriel wonderfully evil, and written over the top in a couple of places, but still, we had to have somebody to replace Tony Jay, since like our Catherine, he seemed to be 'really dead.' (All typed with a very painful sigh which we will not dwell on.)
All is to say my exposure came at the 'one a week' variety, and sometimes not that, when the show was interrupted, which it seemed to be, from time to time. My 'taking in' of the relationship is somewhat differently colored, therefore. (That is not to say that you are not correct. Just that as far as I was concerned, it STILL took us all the way to "Orphans" for a real, non-spiritual kiss. And that was more a kiss of thanks than one of passion. It took until 'you know what' to hear Vincent tell Catherine "I love you." (Cathy had been tossing that word around since 'Shades of Grey' I think, and said it openly in The Outsiders.) At the time, I think I felt that AHL was just a ratings 'game' that got played on the audience. When S2 began, they seemed no closer physically, and no more apt to discuss a future together, (what its limits would be, what its potential, and so forth.) I knew this was '80's television.' That having the male and female lead 'break' the romantic tension in the relationship was all but the kiss of death, (no pun intended.) I'd seen that happen to 'Moonlighting.' The writers very literally seemed not to know what to do with David and Maddie after the big furniture breaking roll on the floor consummation scene. (Shrug)
For those reasons and others, I don't know that I 'parsed' the relationship into the S1- they're finding their way, S2- they seem to be committed now, so off we go. They were 'a couple' to me since the beginning, with weekly episodes feeding us some new drama, and a romantic 'entanglement' -a reason why the romance wasn't going to work- (Greg no name, Elliot, Providence, Elliot, again, Lisa, come S2, Elliot again, and so forth) every sweeps month or so. ("Sweeps month might be an American term. It the time BATB aired, it was in November, February and May, I think. Those were the months the networks used to peg how much commercial air time could sell for on their shows. The higher the ratings, the higher the income, for CBS and the other networks. Because of that, those months usually featured episodes with something 'extra.' A two parter, or a big villain, or a declaration of love, or... something.)
Since finding the fandom, I have rewatched several episodes/several pivotal scenes here and there, often to get 'what really got said' vs. what I remember being said' right. I watched the show in its original run and in reruns, and again, some. So your recollection and revelations about how the love story DID have moments of 'sorting itself out' are much clearer than mine, and I can see how watching the show on a 'daily' basis helped with that. My experience had no such 'flow.' I was immersed in the plot (Vincent has a brother? Really?) as much as anything else. I didn't know this was going to become something I would analyze, one day, then hyper analyze. (big smile) Finding fan fiction sites was a revelation. (And yes, those aren't 'the show.' But considering how the show ended, I surely didn't mind that they were there. Just the opposite. I blessed the fates that brave, creative people had taken a pen to this, and tried to 'fix' what needed fixing, and let the story spin out, some more.
For your sake, when we duel some more, it MIGHT be more 'coherent' of me to stick with episode expansions that more closely align with the episodes we've recently discussed on the board. I am therefore less likely to inject statements or attitudes for the characters that seem 'out of order' with the series, (a thing I barely paid attention to as I dabbled my way through early fan fictions).
---
Having typed all that... I think the opening of Chamber Music is a gem. (And, it's a 'necessary gem.' It shows them enjoying each other and themselves, unrestrained by care. It lets us be privy to what he is thinking about her as he watches her, ("She walks in beauty...") -I wish I could get that kind of voice over in the "Anniversary chamber scene" of A Gentle Rain."- (smile.) Too often the 'together' moment for them in the show is at the end, (the balcony scene) where the cares of the episode get wrapped up, and we fade to the end theme. This one had a different pace. Here, we get a lovely 'together moment' in the beginning. Catherine is laughing. Vincent is broadly smiling. Rain soaks her, then him, and they embrace in it, as the concert 'ends,' but the evening is an unqualified success. He is in love. She is in love. They've discussed that they were perhaps near each other sometimes, without knowing it. It's unabashedly romantic, and lovely, and gives us a 'glimpse' into their happiness. (Endless angst and trials make for some great fan fiction. But in 'real life' they are tiresome, and you start to wonder why the couple is together if everything is always so hard.) MuC, and a few brief flashes of episodes here and there let us see "Ah. This. Yes, this. This is why they are together. This is what they get and give to each other, as they fall more deeply in love." (As opposed to Vincent telling Mouse how he feels, or Catherine telling Father "Of course, I'm here. What did you expect.") They are together on what can only be described (in mundane terms) as a 'date.' And they make another one, for Thursday night, before they part. Vincent's voice ("Then I'll come for you. On Thursday.") drips honey and loving intentions. He's looking forward to seeing her again, before they even part. He might even be hoping it rains, again. He can't take his eyes off her as she leaves, and Byron is what pops into his head.
It's all good.
Way more than you asked for, I know. (smiling as always,)
Cindy
My experience with watching BATB was much different. I watched the original episodes, caught some on VHS tape with my VCR, mourned the passing of the series, and oddly, had a hard time watching them again, because I knew it was 'gone.' There was no internet (at least for me) in those days, and very few people owned a computer. It was like other shows I had liked (only different, of course) in that it came, struggled to stay on the air, and was then 'gone.' Too soon, and harshly ended. I watched it all until the end, cheering for Vincent, and wishing for a magical resurrection of some kind, and also still finding it in me to like the character and actress who played Diana, (there, I said it,) and I also found Gabriel wonderfully evil, and written over the top in a couple of places, but still, we had to have somebody to replace Tony Jay, since like our Catherine, he seemed to be 'really dead.' (All typed with a very painful sigh which we will not dwell on.)
All is to say my exposure came at the 'one a week' variety, and sometimes not that, when the show was interrupted, which it seemed to be, from time to time. My 'taking in' of the relationship is somewhat differently colored, therefore. (That is not to say that you are not correct. Just that as far as I was concerned, it STILL took us all the way to "Orphans" for a real, non-spiritual kiss. And that was more a kiss of thanks than one of passion. It took until 'you know what' to hear Vincent tell Catherine "I love you." (Cathy had been tossing that word around since 'Shades of Grey' I think, and said it openly in The Outsiders.) At the time, I think I felt that AHL was just a ratings 'game' that got played on the audience. When S2 began, they seemed no closer physically, and no more apt to discuss a future together, (what its limits would be, what its potential, and so forth.) I knew this was '80's television.' That having the male and female lead 'break' the romantic tension in the relationship was all but the kiss of death, (no pun intended.) I'd seen that happen to 'Moonlighting.' The writers very literally seemed not to know what to do with David and Maddie after the big furniture breaking roll on the floor consummation scene. (Shrug)
For those reasons and others, I don't know that I 'parsed' the relationship into the S1- they're finding their way, S2- they seem to be committed now, so off we go. They were 'a couple' to me since the beginning, with weekly episodes feeding us some new drama, and a romantic 'entanglement' -a reason why the romance wasn't going to work- (Greg no name, Elliot, Providence, Elliot, again, Lisa, come S2, Elliot again, and so forth) every sweeps month or so. ("Sweeps month might be an American term. It the time BATB aired, it was in November, February and May, I think. Those were the months the networks used to peg how much commercial air time could sell for on their shows. The higher the ratings, the higher the income, for CBS and the other networks. Because of that, those months usually featured episodes with something 'extra.' A two parter, or a big villain, or a declaration of love, or... something.)
Since finding the fandom, I have rewatched several episodes/several pivotal scenes here and there, often to get 'what really got said' vs. what I remember being said' right. I watched the show in its original run and in reruns, and again, some. So your recollection and revelations about how the love story DID have moments of 'sorting itself out' are much clearer than mine, and I can see how watching the show on a 'daily' basis helped with that. My experience had no such 'flow.' I was immersed in the plot (Vincent has a brother? Really?) as much as anything else. I didn't know this was going to become something I would analyze, one day, then hyper analyze. (big smile) Finding fan fiction sites was a revelation. (And yes, those aren't 'the show.' But considering how the show ended, I surely didn't mind that they were there. Just the opposite. I blessed the fates that brave, creative people had taken a pen to this, and tried to 'fix' what needed fixing, and let the story spin out, some more.
For your sake, when we duel some more, it MIGHT be more 'coherent' of me to stick with episode expansions that more closely align with the episodes we've recently discussed on the board. I am therefore less likely to inject statements or attitudes for the characters that seem 'out of order' with the series, (a thing I barely paid attention to as I dabbled my way through early fan fictions).
---
Having typed all that... I think the opening of Chamber Music is a gem. (And, it's a 'necessary gem.' It shows them enjoying each other and themselves, unrestrained by care. It lets us be privy to what he is thinking about her as he watches her, ("She walks in beauty...") -I wish I could get that kind of voice over in the "Anniversary chamber scene" of A Gentle Rain."- (smile.) Too often the 'together' moment for them in the show is at the end, (the balcony scene) where the cares of the episode get wrapped up, and we fade to the end theme. This one had a different pace. Here, we get a lovely 'together moment' in the beginning. Catherine is laughing. Vincent is broadly smiling. Rain soaks her, then him, and they embrace in it, as the concert 'ends,' but the evening is an unqualified success. He is in love. She is in love. They've discussed that they were perhaps near each other sometimes, without knowing it. It's unabashedly romantic, and lovely, and gives us a 'glimpse' into their happiness. (Endless angst and trials make for some great fan fiction. But in 'real life' they are tiresome, and you start to wonder why the couple is together if everything is always so hard.) MuC, and a few brief flashes of episodes here and there let us see "Ah. This. Yes, this. This is why they are together. This is what they get and give to each other, as they fall more deeply in love." (As opposed to Vincent telling Mouse how he feels, or Catherine telling Father "Of course, I'm here. What did you expect.") They are together on what can only be described (in mundane terms) as a 'date.' And they make another one, for Thursday night, before they part. Vincent's voice ("Then I'll come for you. On Thursday.") drips honey and loving intentions. He's looking forward to seeing her again, before they even part. He might even be hoping it rains, again. He can't take his eyes off her as she leaves, and Byron is what pops into his head.
It's all good.
Way more than you asked for, I know. (smiling as always,)
Cindy