They should have stayed in 1897...

[AndreDuPres]

...or maybe I'm just brainwashed from watching the whole storyline this weekend.  Nevertheless, the return to 1969 is a total and complete let-down for me; the last 20 or so episodes of 1897 are pure joy--they have the *best* performances of Nancy Barrett as Charity/Pansy, Joan B. as Judith, KLS as Kitty, and Jonathan Frid as Barnabas, and this whole section of the story arc is superb if a little chaotic.  The characters seemed so real and witty and completely interesting compared to the drab modern day ones who had lost whatever pique they once had.  While Leviathan has its good moments, that entire era was just overwhelmingly deplorable plotwise.  I know 1897 dragged a little bit during its middle (Petofi, Aristede, Tim Shaw, Charles D. Tate, and...yuck...Amanda Harris), but it really picked up the pace by its close--if only they had milked it for all it was worth!  Kitty Soames had so much potential and unexplored backstory that was only vaguely hinted at.  I really wanted to find out what happened to Edward and all the other characters...especially Petofi, because he can't possibly have died.  This show can be so frustrating when they just drop intriguing cool stuff and continue onwards with stupidity.

[Barnabas'sBride]

Even though I love the present day characters, I completely understand where you're coming from. A part of me felt that way too, upon seeing the end of 1897 and the beginning of the Leviathians.

While I was watching it, I thought 1897 was good, but it wasn't until it actually ended that I sat back and said "I really enjoyed that storyline", especially near the end. And I also liked many of the 1897 characters - Kitty, Judith, etc.... I liked Angelique's role, and Pansy grew on me so much by the end (due mostly to one scene in particular). The middle did drag, but I can definitely see why 1897 is considered the most popular era of DS.

So a part of me wishes they'd continued 1897 and turned it into the adventures of Barnabas, Kitty/Josette, Quentin, Pansy and Angelique, with Judith, Edward and others.    It would've been fun. If they would've found a way to send Willie back there, it might have been perfect to me. 

[AndreDuPres]

Yes, that would be great!  The Adventures of Kitty and Barnabas!  Willie in 1897...lol.  I really feel like the show found its "place" again in 1897:  after 1795, the Vicki character had become completely obsolete and thus the show was without its foundation.  Since the show *was* a gothic romance, it fit perfectly in an era known for its many gothic novels.  The atmosphere did it for me:  I love those cool suits (I'm wearing one like Quentin's for prom!) and the other costumes as well as all the furniture and stuff associated with the Victorian era.  Maybe I'm biased since I haven't seen the pre-Barnabas episodes which I've heard feature the "normal" characters like Liz and Burke at their best.  Are they any good?  Anyway, the blow that came with 1969 wouldn't have been so bad if they had done a different stoyline than the Leviathans:  I mean, it all hits you so quickly, and you're not given a chance to recover from the abrupt change.  I always wonder what it would be like if Barnabas came back to 1969 with Kitty...Quentin should have been given more stuff to do, too; it's like they totally forgot about 1897 once they got back.

[arashi]

Couldn't agree with you more, except that one of my favorite actors [spoiler]Dennis Patrick[/spoiler] reappears at the beginning of the Leviathan storyline.

I think the return from 1897 would have gone a little smoother had they really followed through with the loose ends left over from the pre-1897 jaunt and tied in a few new storylines from the repercussions of all the history changing that went on while back in time. It just gets too insane and they leave too many threads undone.

[onyx_treasure]

     Lady Kitty was starting out to be an intriguing character.  She had both Barnabas and Edward interested in her but that went nowhere.  She knew Petofi from before but that was barely explored.  She could have hung them all out to dry.  Such a waste.

[Barnabas'sBride]

AndreDuPres- Again, I understand where you're coming from.  The atmosphere of 1897 really did fit the show. It was gothic but also had its bit of horror. I do think DS had found its mark again (after the Adam/Nicholas Blair stuff) with 1897. That's one of the reasons the Leviathian storyline is just disappointing and flat to me. I also wondered what it would've been like if Barnabas had brought Kitty into the future, and if they had done more with Quentin (I can't understand why they don't). I would much rather have seen those (and stories keeping with the mood that 1897 established) instead of seeing the Leviathians. Watching the first Leviathian episodes after 1897 is downright painful for me, hence why I can't help but think of the appeal of them staying in 1897 and continuing with Barnabas, Kitty, Quentin, Pansy, Angelique and Judith, even though I love the present day characters.

I'd have to find a way to get Willie back to 1897 so, he could join the little group. I'd miss him too much not to. 

arashi- I definitely think that they could've added in that actor and character very easily to any storyline, Leviathians or no. There was so much storyline potential there.

onyx treasure- I agree, they wasted Kitty. To be safe....
[spoiler]I would never have taken the character back to 1795 and killed her off. I would've kept her and the storyline of her being the reincarnation of Josette, whether still in 1897, or in present day. I really don't like how at times, they made it seem like she was two different people. It would've been more interesting and worth exploring if Josette and Kitty were simply two sides to one coin, and both personalities made up one woman. I would've loved to have seen a fully developed storyline between her and Barnabas with that idea in mind.[/spoiler]

[MagnusTrask]

Well, who wouldn't escape the 20th century given a chance?    (Though the 21st is inferior so far).   But I think 1897 ran out of steam a bit early, with the Q/Petofi bodyswap business, which was silly.    

[arashi]

arashi- I definitely think that they could've added in that actor and character very easily to any storyline, Leviathians or no. There was so much storyline potential there.

Seriously. What a waste of character! Even with the Leviathans in there they could have done so much more than they did.

[MagnusTrask]

andre...  i agree.    One thing i'd like to point out about the end of 1897 was how satisfying it was, that the ending was so unsatisfying.   I mean, after all that agony, all that work, BC has to return with mixed results (David well, Jennings still cursed, Petofi's fate maddeningly unclear).    The other characters' stories are finished in interestingly unsettling ways.   Looking back, thinking about it, the end to 1897 that had seemed anticlimactic and frustrating originally now seemed more interesting because of how up-in-the-air and chaotic it was.

They definitely should have pursued connections between 1897 and 1970 further.     I loved seeing Q pop up, alive, and I loved the centegenarian Charles D Tate, ranting and raving in his own weird little world.

[AndreDuPres]

Yes, you brought up a good point about all the suffering and such Barnabas went through only to be brainwashed and completely changed:  I think the viewers were "robbed" of seeing his reaction to everything that had just happened (the fight with Petofi, Quentin's departure, Judith's revenge and Edward's ill-fated marriage proposal), especially his separation from Kitty/Josette--come on, it's his one true love, and she just committed suicide AGAIN!  Instead of the touching pathos after Josette's original fall off Widow's Hill in 1795 where Barnabas is consumed with grief and then rage, we just see hooded cult people prance around muttering some ridiculous mumbo-jumbo and then woosh! Barnanbas is transported to 1970 where everyone is confused and milling around in his absence.  The viewer is given no time to reflect over 1897:  he's automatically thrown into the Leviathan storyline with little to no bridge in between.  Oh, well, at least the rather poor transition gives us something to talk about.  I'm actually looking forward to the next DVD set despite it being in the beginning-middle of the Leviathan mess:  there are good moments ahead, fortunately.

[MagnusTrask]

I may never have seen that transition, when originally shown.   I certainly had zero memories of the entire Leviathan storyline when I got hold of DS tapes in 2002 or so.    When the hooded characters showed up, I was fascinated.    From what little I could gather from what they said, it sounded as if anything were possible at this point, even the launching of events into the far distant future, which is what it actually sounded like to me, watching the tapes... or aliens, anything.     It seemed that after the intricate symphony they'd just managed to pull off with 1897, all the interweaved storylines with the innumerable characters, all the elaborate sets and costumes, with the story progressing significantly with every half hour episode (unlike soaps usually--- they certainly knew people were watching at this point, and knew they didn't have to keep running over the same set of recent events to fill people in who'd missed a few)--- it seemed as if they maight be confident enough to try almost anything.

Unfortunately, it seems they were exhausted from all that, and needed to slow the pace down, with a simple storyline that crept along forever with almost nothing taking place in the course of any particular week.