Dark Shadows Diary, Episode 18

Episode 18: Procrastination Theatre
July 20, 1966

I've been dreading this moment since starting this feature several weeks ago: The first episode of DARK SHADOWS where nothing happens.

There's no right way to handle this problem. My OCD demands I mindlessly document whatever plot points are provided, and move on. But I'm not writing this for people unfamiliar with the program. This feature isn't  meant to supplant the television show, but to supplement it. That being said, it also feels like a cheat to add a log entry that reads "Nothing of interest happened today. Move along." So, excuse me as I search for a happy medium.

David is still upset about Roger's near-death experience, mostly because he's the one responsible for it. The boy approaches his father, who remains dismissive of the child, but offers a chilly apology for his behavior. Vicky tries to understand David's increasingly erratic behavior without success, and is later subjected to an interrogation by Roger Collins about Burke Devlin's visit to the mansion.

David still has possession of the bleeder valve he took off his father's car, which is a ticking plot-bomb waiting to go off ... assuming he doesn't toss it into the ocean, which he really ought to do.

As I said, nothing much happens in this episode. There are a few dramatic confrontations to dress thing up a little, but anyone familiar with DARK SHADOWS knows the episode for what it really is: an effort to slow down a storyline that was moving too fast for daily audiences to follow. You'll see this time and again throughout the course of the series. Don't be surprised if some of these entries become much, much shorter than others when we hit these narrative speedbumps.