# Lateral Thinking Puzzles - third time is best! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214 "2023-07-18T13:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 187
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3721 "2025-08-03T00:53:06Z")
reply to Fretful\_Porpentine: Did the painting have the power to cause people to fall in / out of love? No Could any storyline involving the painter have achieved the purpose of showing off this set? Or did it have to be a storyline about Carol and Tony breaking up, specifically? Plotwise they could have done just about anything. But for the logistical non-plot reason, this was a choice that made sense. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3722 "2025-08-03T01:08:05Z")
Is the show Dark Shadows? Is the subject of the painting a vampire, or other immortal/ undead/ long-lived person? Is the painting an antique, in-plot? Does the plot involve someone recognizing an antique painting as a picture of their partner? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2025, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3723 "2025-08-03T13:38:43Z")
- reply to Peter\_Morris: Is the show Dark Shadows? Yes Is the subject of the painting a vampire No, or other immortal/ undead/ long-lived person? Yes Is the painting an antique, in-plot? I think we are supposed to think so. Not sure though. Does the plot involve someone recognizing an antique painting as a picture of their partner? Yes ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3724 "2025-08-08T16:38:36Z")
Okay, it seems that interest in this has fizzled so here is the answer: Carol and Tony broke up because of the way Dark Shadows was filmed at the time. Like some other soaps of the era, a Dark Shadows episode was filmed in its entirety as if it was in front of a live audience. Editing was an expensive luxury not in the budget. So if an actor muffed their lines, or the boom mike cast an inadvertant shadow, or a vampire put their fangs in wrong, it showed up that way in the episode. Supposedly they even figured in the commercial breaks into the filming and paused for just that length of time. One time a serious fire broke out on the set and the characters continued their scene while the crew doused the burning studio. Anyway, the story called for witch Angelique to be aging rapidly. Her nemesis had commissioned the clueless but talented painter Sam to slowly age a pretty portrait of the witch from a young woman into an old hag. For some supernatural reason not fully explained, that slow aging of the portrait also would age the witch character. So because Carol and Tony were the actors available that day, they had a long tearful break-up scene. This gave the actress X plenty of time to get all her aging make-up applied, so that she could appear at the end of the episode as having rapidly aged from the start of the episode. The whole lengthy break-up scene was just a production delay so the “X” actress would have time to be aged for the final climactic scene in the artist’s studio. Otherwise the scene was unimportant to the plot. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3725 "2025-08-08T16:55:45Z")
I can guarantee you that I would have NEVER figured this out. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3726 "2025-08-08T18:55:20Z")
Really all I was looking for was that the break-up scene was there so that another character could exchange costume and make-up. Today that would not happen outside of live drama, but in the days of early TV it was almost like live drama. Watching the episode now it is strange to think how different putting on a daytime TV drama was in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3727 "2025-08-08T19:46:49Z")
If you will indulge me, here is another lateral thinking problem on a similar issue: * * * On Dark Shadows in 1967, Sam Evans, an artist, is rendered blind by witch Angelique, supposedly so that the painter can never again paint a portrait to age the witch. It is also an act of revenge by Angelique. The character of Sam Evans would remain blind for the remainder of his time on the show (a few months later he is killed off). However, none of the plot reasons had anything to do with why the character of Sam Evans became blind. The actor who played Sam Evans was David Ford. And he specifically asked the shows writers to blind his character and they complied. Why did David Ford want his character on the show to become blind? ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3728 "2025-08-08T21:16:59Z")
Did he want his character to not have to react to something that would be plainly visible? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3729 "2025-08-08T22:04:10Z")
Was he himself blind, or in process of becoming so? Did he want better representation for blind people, whether or not he himself was blind or in process of becoming so? ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3730 "2025-08-08T23:26:29Z")
Did his character wear sunglasses and if so, did David Ford want to use this to market his own line of sun glasses? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3731 "2025-08-08T23:40:03Z")
Was David Ford going blind for real? Was it to honor someone who was really blind? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3732 "2025-08-09T00:05:48Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > Did he want his character to not have to react to something that would be plainly visible? No. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3733 "2025-08-09T00:06:35Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Was he himself blind, or in process of becoming so? > > Did he want better representation for blind people, whether or not he himself was blind or in process of becoming so? No to all. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3734 "2025-08-09T00:08:40Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Did his character wear sunglasses and if so, did David Ford want to use this to market his own line of sun glasses? His blind character did wear dark glasses but was not marketing them for himself or anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3735 "2025-08-09T00:09:12Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Was David Ford going blind for real? > Was it to honor someone who was really blind? No to all. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3736 "2025-08-09T00:17:10Z")
Did he proactively request it for reasons of his own (reasons that had nothing to do with the show)? Did he suggest it as a solution to a problem that had arisen on the show, maybe behind the scenes? ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3737 "2025-08-09T00:19:54Z")
did the actor David Ford want to personally benefit from this, or was it strictly for the development of the character. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3738 "2025-08-09T00:30:25Z")
reply to dirtball: Did he proactively request it for reasons of his own (reasons that had nothing to do with the show)? It had to do with the show. Did he suggest it as a solution to a problem that had arisen on the show, maybe behind the scenes? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3739 "2025-08-09T00:31:54Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > did the actor David Ford want to personally benefit from this, or was it strictly for the development of the character. It was a benefit for both David Ford and his character. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3740 "2025-08-09T01:17:03Z")
was the fact that the glasses hid his face an important aspect? For example (but not limited to) did David Ford have to play two characters and the glasses allowed for some camouflage from the audience perspective….or maybe he was a twin, and it was a way to distinguish the blind twin from the other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=186) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=188)