I guess it's no secret that I feel almost exactly the opposite of the original premise of this topic. 1970PT is one of my favorite DS storylines, while Leviathans is probably my least favorite. However, the operative word there is "favorite" - it's not at all that I think Leviathans has nothing to offer. The beginning of the storyline is really something quite wonderful - very atmospheric and moody. It might have been extremely interesting had Curtis stuck to his guns and Leviathans had been allowed to play out the way he might have originally envisioned it instead of everything along with the kitchen sink (
) having been thrown into it in a doomed effort to reverse the extremely vocally negative fan reaction. The biggest accomplishment of all that was to dilute what had been great about Leviathans and to all too often introduce incoherent and self-contradictory elements into the mix.
(Other soap producers have had the fortitude to do exactly that when the audiences for their shows have expressed dissatisfaction and those producers have often been greatly rewarded with the eventual outcome once their audiences finally saw how things turned out. But alas, Curtis was ruled by audience response and all too often tweaked the plots accordingly. :- )
But so far as 1970PT goes, I've made several recent posts about the things I really love about it, so I won't repeat myself by going into any of that again.
But I will say that one of the things I really enjoy is that it has a cohesive beginning, middle and end - and what I most love about it is how its focus is more deeply rooted in human drama and manipulation. And one of the best episodes to showcase that is Ep #1055, which is featured in today's slideshow. As I posted last year:
... I love Love LOVE Ep #1055! Joe Caldwell's dialogue is absolutely wonderful, running the gamut from the sublime (ANGELIQUE: "You introduced me to the cold of the tomb, Roger Collins. I felt I could do no less for you." and "Peace? I don't want peace! I want his destruction! And I will have it!") to the sort of absurdity that could only make sense and be said with a straight face on a show like DS (BARNABAS (to Anglelique): "In a matter of minutes you are going to be destroyed. But before you go..."), and the suspense is edge of your seat maddening. I remember being absolutely enthralled when I first watched it back on this day in 1970. Would Roger kill Maggie? What would Angelique do to Roger? Would Roxanne speak? Would Angelique be destroyed? Would Maggie shoot Quentin? And even though I now know what's going to happen, the ep still never fails to be a thrill to watch. Ep #1055 definitely ranks as one of my ten most favorite DS eps.