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Current Talk '08 I / Re: Count Petofi
« on: April 03, 2008, 09:49:48 PM »Mysterioso darling, Grayson Hall (Praise be upon Her Name!) mentioned in a fan interview tape recorded in March 1973 (btw, this is the same item that has circulated for years on the fan bootleg market as an interview taped in '74) that the ratings started to go down during the "Quentin/Petofi mind-switch thing." I think she actually uses those words to describe it. I can't recall whether she mentions that they received letters complaining about it or simply that the monthly figures were down during that time--probably both.
I will definitely take Grayson's word for it - especially when the interview was recorded only a few years after the fact.
I've always found it fascinating that Sam Hall said he didn't understand the whole mind-switch plot because I've always thought it was fairly simple to understand. But I suppose I will concede that people who might have missed the initial set up, might have been lost for a time trying to figure out what was going on. Though that said, didn't they go out of their way to frequently mention the switch in the opening voiceovers? But I guess not everyone pays as much attention to them as they should...
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All sorts of arguments keep being mentioned about DS and the ratings and I have come to take all talk of such matters with more than just a scattering of salts. I seem to recall years ago someone trotting out figures that showed that during the early 1967 Laura Collins storyline, the show actually had very respectable viewing figures, which calls into question the notion of the introduction of Barnabas saving a foundering show that had barely registered on anyone's radar theretofore.
There's a topic around here somewhere (for the life of me I can't seem to locate it ) that was started right after it was finally officially confirmed a couple years ago that DS was indeed renewed during the Laura storyline and that the notion that Barnabas' introduction saved the show is a myth. Though Barnabas most certainly brought added media attention which helped DS' ratings to grow - however, there wasn't really substantial ratings improvement until '68 - particularly during the Cassandra/the first half of the Adam period, which always seems to astonish the Adam haters.