Back during the original broadcast, I was always feeling sorry for Barnabas. I missed both 1968 and 1795, and when I first saw him, he was the hapless victim of Cass/Angelique, stuggling to redeem himself and live a halfway decent life. Even as an adult when I see Barnabas' shortcomings with a much less bedazzled eye, Jonathan Frid's performance often wrings my heartstrings.
Willie is one of the finest tragic characters in the entire series. I really wish they had resolved his storyline towards the end and allowed him to go off with his Roxanne and enjoy a happy married life. Over the period of the series, he is definitely a man who gets way more misery to endure than he ever deserved. And, of course, John Karlen's wonderful acting imbued the character with a lot more than was there on the printed page.
Some of the characters that people can't stand, such as Count Petofi, Cassandra Collins, and Jeb Hawkes, are among my favorites on the show because the actors portray them so magnificently and really show the charisma that these evil supernatural beings possess.
Magda is another wonderful tragic character. Even though she is responsible for nearly everything that happens to her, I find myself riveted every time I watch the episodes where she encounters yet another layer of tragedy in her life. Even though Magda was larger than life, I felt that Grayson played her with wonderful subtlety, and I think there was more of the real Grayson in Magda than in Julia.
I could go on and on ... wonderful topic ... but the last one I'll mention is Buzz Hackett. Well, if I had been living in C'port back in the glory days of '67, Miss "Poor Little Rich Girl" Carolyn Stoddard wouldn't have had 5 seconds to jerk Buzz around on the love-chain, because I would have nailed that boy and made him forget Blondie ever existed!
It's a big job but somebody has to do it,
Gothick
