Excellent analysis, Magnus.
And how quickly I forget about the whole Tim/Trask angle.
And you're really very close to being completely right, Nightfall59 - Amanda bites the dust (literally
) in Leviathan's Ep #934, which originally aired on 1/22/70, and Quentin doesn't meet Daphne until Summer of '70 Ep #1077, which originally aired on 8/11/70.
As for 1897, I know I'm not alone in wishing it had actually lasted longer than it did, though I can also completely understand why the fans who prefer the present day stories wouldn't feel that way. However, I honestly like both the past and the present stories. Eventually I do miss the present day characters when the stories sift to the past. But at the same time I really enjoy seeing the actors get to play different characters in the past. And with 1897 I can honestly say I never missed the present day characters, probably because it features what is quite possibly the best set of characters (with a few exceptions) of almost any DS storyline - plus the dialogue positively crackles.