July 13, 2003 - 800220 - The Vampire Plant

[vgarci]

This week's program is presented for your review by Kurt (Texas).

For those who do not have the program, you can download it (with or without a Streamload account) at: www.streamload.com/vgarci (http://www.streamload.com/vgarci)

The following introduction is provided by Kurt (Texas):

As I said, this is similar to "Time and again" in that:

- It's written by Ian Martin.
- He plays a kindly, befuddled, "house call" type of doctor in each.
- There are bloodsuckers at work.
- These vampires are also WORKING (intentionally or not) for someone.
- The man we come to view as a protagonist has bad things happen within his family.
- In each play, he decides to take a similar course of action.

Three things:

- This reunites the "Girl talk" team of Teri Keane and Robert Dryden. I think this was one of Dryden's best performances for the RMT.
- The best line in the play occurs on their "honeymoon" night after he (in the voice he used as a college "revolutionary" says he'll treat his new bride's plant with "kid gloves"): "The only gloves I wanted to use on "heebie-jeebie" or whatever were 8 oz. ones." Classic.
- At that same moment, there's a music bed that I can't determine the origin of. It sounds like some kind of percussive string instrument, accompanied by flutes and run through an echo chamber. I listened to this last year, at my wife's store, with my back to a darkened storeroom. I defy anyone to listen intently to that music bed and not get some type of shivers the first time you hear it. (On any other episode it would have been overused, but this one it works perfectly.)

Enjoy, ya'll.[/code]

[brian1984_2001]

This was a great show, also.

I used to soak up this b-movie type horror stuff watching late movies and, of course, on the radio. I loved schlock, and this was schlock!

As an adult, my tastes have become at least a tiny bit more discerning (I think). Therefore, I didn't enjoy it as much today as I would have as a kid.

Still, a good episode. I'm giving it a four although I didn't like it as much as "Time and Again".

Thanks for two great selections!

[geospart]

More Vampyre stories, I am scared... someone definitely is attempting to scare all of us with all these nifty stories of blood sucking plants and clocks. I would give this a 4 but I had issues with the ending, not sure just was not satisfying enough at the end. This one gets a three as well but another strong 3. The wife kind of reminds me of the wife from I Warn You Three Times.. I guess because when she tires of someone she eliminates them. I heard this one as a kid and it scared the you know what out of me, primarily because my dad had a lot of plants and one was a Venus Fly Trap. I have this uncontrollable urge to watch Day Of The Triffids now.

:evil: :roll: :twisted:

[dnagle]

This show had a compelling concept, both in the plant itself and the way the woman used it to gain wealth and power. So she was preying on her victim in the same way the plant was. I would have liked to have her character explained - how she had come to get these plants and become so evil that she became their ilk. The main character (first-person) is also interesting (and desirous of something), in that he is presented as a 'momma's boy' but is thoroughly seduced by his lady-friend. Sound quality slipped toward the end but that is a small price to pay for having these shows available once again. I continue to enjoy the SOTW.

[vgarci]

What a great story. It reminded me of the classic tale, "The Body Snatchers", but this story had it's own interesting distinctions. I enjoyed the overbearing mother and the momma's boy storyline and I also enjoyed notion of the heartless and conniving wife. Justice was served when the wife met her end. The actors were excellent but unfortunately, the third act of the program I have was very hard to hear and this program is an excellent candidate for replacement.

[vgarci]

Dan,
I can certainly appreciate your comment about building of the wife character. I,too, would have appreciated some background information but I'm not sure what I would have cut to make the 42 minute timeframe.