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Post by HoudiniDerek on Feb 4, 2007 2:22:31 GMT -5
Right. He chose a perfectly smooth wall to stare at...no reason it would be noticed even staring at it. I always pause that part and check and see nothing to set it off from the rest of the place.
As for Sheila, that is at least plausible.
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Post by MelMac on Feb 4, 2007 2:53:35 GMT -5
I agree, since she obviously didn't know squat about removing anything electrical. No wonder she's got a chip on her shoulder the size of Mt. Fiji. It's like the chandelier and tables. They say it's solid brass, but no one has taken it down either for an estate sale as its expensive. It seemed a little bit convenient to have there so Bill'd get KO'd and Sheila could enter him.
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Post by billswoman on Feb 4, 2007 8:21:09 GMT -5
Jo, I know what you mean about replaying scenes over and over to catch what someone said... Kind of like whacky-snacky, huh? Or black vs. flat... but those are different threads, lol!
Mel, as for leaving the wheelchair, that's been done. The house we moved into when we relocated here to Seattle had had a wheelchair left behind for some reason. It wasn't a great chair, but man, was it fun! My brother and I learned how to wheel around on just the back wheels, including on the linoleum floor. Takes a lot of practice, I tell you what, on the linoleum but once you master it, it's really quite easy. From there, I wanted to give a unicycle a try, but that never came to be. It was funny one time, though: Brother took a dive into the fireplace!
Okay, back on-topic... what I don't get in this ep is why Ralph tells the kids, when they return to the house, to set their lights and all their stuff down on the table and get out. If the kids already have some stuff ready to snag for re-selling, why not just shoo them out the door with flashlights and junk intact? Esp. that cool phone Cyler finds, that thing's awesome.
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Post by MST3Claye on Feb 4, 2007 12:55:19 GMT -5
At a glance yeah, the panel for the safe wouldn't be noticeable but to me when Ralph focuses on it, you can tell the pattern is going different than the rest of the wood grain on the other panelings. As for not collecting what they had so far, I think Ralph wanted to make sure he had all the kids there to get them out safely. Possibly under stress he didn't think to tell them to get the stuff they've found so far. Finished with Willard and not even a passing shot of that room. There was one that came close, but the stairway railing was in the way. It was neat to see the side entrance which I think runs behind the BitB room. I know I am going overboard, but I'd love to find a floor plan or something of that house.. LOL
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Feb 4, 2007 13:03:52 GMT -5
I have noticed that about the safe too, but some paneling has different sections that had to be recut for phone lines or because there was not enough to finish. Yes, it is easy to notice the discrepancy, but not to notice that something was behind it. You ARE a tad too excited, Claye.
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Post by MST3Claye on Feb 4, 2007 19:09:15 GMT -5
I have noticed that about the safe too, but some paneling has different sections that had to be recut for phone lines or because there was not enough to finish. Yes, it is easy to notice the discrepancy, but not to notice that something was behind it. You ARE a tad too excited, Claye. I know, I admit it.
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Post by MyTatuo on Feb 5, 2007 11:44:45 GMT -5
... Okay, back on-topic... what I don't get in this ep is why Ralph tells the kids, when they return to the house, to set their lights and all their stuff down on the table and get out. If the kids already have some stuff ready to snag for re-selling, why not just shoo them out the door with flashlights and junk intact? Esp. that cool phone Cyler finds, that thing's awesome. My guess is he didn't want them taking anything out of the house, so they wouldn't tick off the "current tenants." Why they couldn't take their own flashlights, I don't know. He just wanted them to have their hands free in case they met with some resistance? It's very possible that others before them have "tried" to take stuff out of the house, and been thwarted by Sheila. A little shaking or zapping with the chandelier, and OK, maybe it's not worth it...
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Post by MST3Claye on Feb 5, 2007 19:08:17 GMT -5
Finished with Willard and I have one thought... and not to make anyone think I'm obsessed with this episode or the house... *cough*HD*cough* but anyways. I wonder if the brick wall behind the sliding door is legit. In Willard you don't see it, looks like if anything the sliding door is closed. I've noticed a curtain hanging there plus a couple chairs in front of it. Could be just normal setting for the movie. Who knows. Makes you wonder though.
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Post by MelMac on Feb 17, 2007 14:54:21 GMT -5
tapestry? Stuff with cobwebs? A chair? I have no idea. HEY! Maybe it's a lamp shade. I'm going to look at it again later on, but I think it's actually part of the chandelier that crashes on Bill. It's got the crosswires that look like crosshairs, so it's at least as you say a lamp shade.
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Post by culpkatt on Apr 30, 2008 1:25:46 GMT -5
It's actually quite possible there was an elevator in the mansion, just not the type we're used to. I've visited a few antique houses that have elevators to get from one floor to the next. These date as early as the 1900s, one of which I remember being in Corpus Christi. Whether or not here, it'd depend on a few factors, such as if there was reason to have one. The one I saw too is reminiscent of the one in "Here's Looking at You Kid," when Ralph is searching to find Bill. A dumbwaiter, however, wouldn't be a good idea given they had a pulley system and it was possible, unless chains were used, for the ropes to break. You'd also need some strength to pull it up. As far as the wall being bricked up, they say in the ep that the mansion used to be linked to the stables, but when it was torn down... there was no use for it so they bricked it up. 'Course, it'd been easier to brick it closer to the edge of the mansion and convert the unused space into a room. So... guess it was a way to create a portal afterall. Another question that is based off of reality and not episode wise..... STABLE?? In the middle of Los Angeles or (storywise) near Century City?? You've seen the GoogleEarth view of it, unless this was pioneer times or something. lol I know I'm going way off tangient here. hehe I own a copy of the script for this episode and the first scene with Ralph meeting Pam's friend, the real estate lawyer, takes place at an isolated house on a hill off somewhere in the countryside. The location they used for shooting was obviously different; the setting changed to a suburban neighborhood. I suppose in the script treatment, Juanita may have pictured the Beast mansion similar to the Psycho house location for example.
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Post by culpkatt on Apr 30, 2008 1:36:52 GMT -5
I got to check out the movie Willard which if you didn't know has our favorite house in it. Well, maybe second favorite for some or maybe third favorite. Now I don't know whether this was filmed in a studio, but the insides basically do look like what we've seen on GAH. The mother of the main character is elderly and feeble. In one scene she rides one of those staircase elevators or escalators, whatever you call those motorized chairs that goes along the railing up the staircase. That can help explain the three stories and the wheelchair at the top of the steps. BTW, the staircase with the motorized chair elevator wasn't the one where the wheelchair comes down the staircase barely missing Ralph and the realtor lady. It's another staircase. At the moment, I'm trying/hoping to see a scene in the famous room. I'm such a geek for this episode. lol I admit I'm a geek for this episode, as well. Depending on how many fire places there are in that house, it's possible that the fourth dimension room (Sheila's purgatory) is the same room Ralph and Bill find the mahogany fire place in. Just a thought.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Apr 30, 2008 1:47:52 GMT -5
Good point, culpkatt. I have to say, Mel, it looks like a lamp shade that fell over.
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Post by culpkatt on May 7, 2008 14:35:35 GMT -5
I have never enjoyed this episode and I am not sure why. Maybe it is because this house used to have a tunnel that connected to stables, but then one day it became a door to the fourth dimension. Probably wasn't zoned for it either. Of course, wheelchairs are so dangerous...even hurtling down stairs it probably would not have hurt anyone that badly. I guess I didn't know that used bricks had ANY value at all...but apparently they do for some odd reason. The old phone, the fireplace, the chandelier...all of those I get, but not bricks. How did being electrocuted equate to being trapped in the fourth dimension? I have never understood the exposition of this episode, mainly because it lacks it. Especially on how the old lady got killed. Why let Sheila into the house at all if she didn't trust her or want her around? You think she might have put in her will to not let Sheila get the property at all regardless. And how did the old lady get around? If she was an invalid, where was her elevator? You don't climb stairs in a wheelchair, you know. Bill was dead too. How did he become alive again? You would think that Sheila could take over the unconscious body and be fine because Bill was dead and no longer existed. That part was not made clear at all. Something else that drives me nuts is the psychic. Rhonda says that this lady helped the cops FIND someone and Ralph says that this is what he wants. Instead, she tells him all about the fourth dimension and then he does his holograph to find Bill. Why didn't he do that sooner? Why force the psychic into it at all? You think he could have read a book on the fourth dimension or something. Overall, the premise behind this episode was probably great and people loved it, but it makes no sense and is probably Juanita's worst effort in my opinion. And some of her others are not good. I don't think this story needed much exposition since it deals with the supernatural. Some things are better left to the imagination. It's implied that the old lady, Ms. Burrows, knew the house was haunted and felt secure living there, regardless. It wouldn't be too hard for someone to sneak into a mansion and overpower an elderly, invalid woman who lives alone. Perhaps Sheila was murdered by the ghost of Ms. Burrows when she returned to loot the place. An act of revenge, so to speak. The reason for the brick wall being constructed to seal off whatever lay behind it was probably just to put a happy face on something much darker. Maybe something unspeakable happened in there and the occupant at the time figured it would be best to permanently seal off access. The passageway to the stables excuse just sounds a bit like 'spin.' If I was in an old, dark house and saw something flying down toward me from the stairway, even a wheelchair, I'd get the hell out of the way. And then laugh about it later. Human instinct, I guess. I don't think the fourth dimension actually existed behind the brick wall, but Ralph's suit served as an antenna to view the prison where Sheila's spirit was trapped. Maybe her spirit is trapped in the same room she was electrocuted in (existing in an alternate dimension?), forever confined in her own purgatory for murdering the previous occupant. This speculation interests me because it seems plausible that the mahogany fire place room is the same room Sheila's spirit is trapped in. The same room Ralph enters with Bill/Sheila after pushing through the dimensional gateway. Did I mention I'm fascinated with this episode??
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Post by MelMac on May 7, 2008 14:56:30 GMT -5
That's actually an intriguing concept. There's another case in point that it could be possible - that scene where Bill puts up his name onto the fireplace to claim the wood for himself. It disappears in a quick burst of flame. Also, it's the only other place you see true ghostly manifestations (the fire in the fireplace). Yes, we see Shelia's ghost enter Bill's unconscious form, but no one else reacts to it, only the twitch and, in the case of Ralph, seeing Bill's eyes open slightly - but the irises are blue. Will have to look into it, but that does make for a good argument. ********************* Stables would depend on how old the house is. Since the horses naturally wouldn't walk through the hallways, it could be seen as a way for the socially elite to get to their horse without having to walk through what comes out of the south end of the animals and other stuff. It does make sense they would have a walkway for that reason. Of course, we could have a "House" scenario, and someone hung themselves in he room and they sealed it up after the face so no one lived in a cursed room.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on May 7, 2008 16:16:00 GMT -5
Culpkatt, I like some of your analysis, especially with the suit serving as an antenna to the Fourth Dimension...and not that it was behind the wall. However, he should be able to access it anywhere then should he not? The episode was good, but I like shows to make sense (even if some things are left to the imagination) and this one was not in my mind.
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Post by MST3Claye on May 7, 2008 20:38:16 GMT -5
Wow, couldn't believe how hard it was to find the the original post. I figure I'd go through the points with quotes. I have never enjoyed this episode and I am not sure why. Maybe it is because this house used to have a tunnel that connected to stables, but then one day it became a door to the fourth dimension. Probably wasn't zoned for it either. Hmm.. ok well considering that it is possibly a bricked off room, bringing the feeling of mystery into the story. It's possibly the only place left in the house to trap Sheila after the old lady got her. Metal things hurtling down steps at a certain speed, well could cause injury, plus the surprise of seeing something at the last minute coming straight towards you. Does that include the mahogany whatever that Bill was interested in? I didn't get the fireplace actually. Was it just the framing of it that can be sold or what? Gotta agree with you here, it lacks definition. Possibly they only think it was electrocution but she got her another way? Only part of it was shown to us like how someone is knocked unconscious and a little stream of smoke indicated a spirit possession. Why not if you can trap her in a room beyond the fourth dimension? That can be answered with the movie Willard. In that movie, the ill mother who stayed in the upper story could come down via one of those staircase escalator lift type deals. Agreed.. With Bill not there, Ralph probably panicked. We've seen and discussed before on how both sorta help each other out whether calming or leadership, etc. Ralph had an emergency on his hands, and I seem to remember him saying he wouldn't put the suit on after his first encounter with The Beast. As for the psychic, maybe the fact that she's a psychic is supposed to be the convincing answer for us. Best. Episode. Ever.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on May 7, 2008 20:55:55 GMT -5
Apparently the old lady could NOT trap her in the fourth dimension though. She got out. While the movie WILLARD might help, you do not see such a contraption in the scenes in the house for GAH. I can see Ralph panicking. That makes some sense. I know you think it is the best episode ever, but I do not. There were much better ones, especially that involved Pam. ;D
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Post by MST3Claye on May 7, 2008 21:21:38 GMT -5
Like Devil in the Deep Blue Sea? "I bet the rack in the dungeon is lovely.." ;D
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Post by MelMac on May 7, 2008 21:33:27 GMT -5
Apparently the old lady could NOT trap her in the fourth dimension though. She got out. While the movie WILLARD might help, you do not see such a contraption in the scenes in the house for GAH. I can see Ralph panicking. That makes some sense. I know you think it is the best episode ever, but I do not. There were much better ones, especially that involved Pam. ;D This makes me really wish I had a camera when I visited Corpus Christi a while back so I could show the picture. It'd make it easier to explain. In the case of the elevator in a mansion I saw there, it was discrete and you had to pay close attention to the walls to see where it was (though I have seen them have sliding wood doors). People kept them hidden so it didn't show their invalidity or handicap. It would be similar to how FDR went to great lengths to not be photographed in his wheelchair he had to use because of his bout with polio. Of course, there is one photo that was taken, but the poor fellow basically was thrown out after taking it. As far as what the elevator looks like - think of the one in "Here's Looking at You Kid," or if you're a "Doctor Who" fan, watch the Seventh Doctor ep "Ghostlight." The elevator uses a grill to close before you close the door and go up and down the floors. ********************** HD's quote: Claye's quote: It depends, but yes, actually they'd have some value - but it'd depend for what. Going through antique stores in Gruene and New Braunfels, I noticed they sold any type of possible antique. The two most popular odd ones - telephone insulators and dowels they used in an old cotton mill factory that closed in late 2005/2006. There were not super expensive (the dowels were $2-$2.50 each), but they did sell like flap jacks. And, both are sought out by collectors - the $1 investment I put into a telephone insulator at a rummage sale is valued at a minimum of $8. I need to do more research to see if it's a rarer one, though I have seen a few that could be considered more valuable such as blue or brown glass ones. So, in the case of the bricks, given the mystery and intrigue of the mansion, people would have interest in collecting a piece of history. Given Ralph's estimate of per brick, I would say that he was estimating how much collectors/artists would buy them for. Selling the bricks for construction, however, I don't think they'd have as much value as people tend to not reuse bricks except for restoration purposes on the facades of houses to make them more accurate to the time. The mahogany, however, I think would depend on how it was sold. My guess would be that the class carefully took off the wood only and sold them as panels and finals. Most wood decorations in the home are not actually part of the foundation, therefore they didn't have to remove the entire fireplace. Now, if they bungled it up, i.e. chopped it up unevenly or broke the finals, they'd gotten less than the value of it. The wood itself is highly sought after for its beauty and durability, therefore its value was very high. It's why Bill tried to call dibs for it. *************************** One thing I will concede - I wish Pam did make an appearance in it because I think, based on a sequel story written by Claye, that she'd been helpful in stopping Shelia. Either that or have it as someone said where she was possessed by Shelia and it really cause problems. Of course, there could've been a fun scene where Pam either hit Ralph or Bill as Shelia then when she was Pam, not know why either was mad at her for doing it. Then they'd know something's wrong.
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Post by maxwellian on May 7, 2008 23:34:20 GMT -5
Personally, the ONE thing that really irritates me about this episode is Sheila's voice coming from Bill's mouth. Do his vocal chords magically change when he's possessed? Might've been more interesting if they'd cast June Foray as Sheila. LOL. Other than that, love this episode! ;D
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