Getting the year wrong

[Widows Wail]

If all of a vampire's fatal victims become vampires themselves, then the world would soon be populated by vampires.  I can suspend my disbelief more easily if there is some "extra" effort necessary to make a particular victim a vampire.

The 1991 DS series is a good example of how this issue was confused.  All though Barnabas killed several victims, only Daphne became a vampire.  No explanation was offered.  Although, fans have attempted to explain it.

Some things to consider in the theory.
If you remember [spoiler]Daphne was not killed at first , Barnabas attacked her and fed from her, but she was found alive. Later she was "drained", and became a vampire. She was clearly under his spell, since he was able to drawl her to the stairs, or she was able to sense he was in the house, later he drew her out to the garden and killed her. Carolyn and Willie were also under Barnabas's spell by merely being bitten.[/spoiler]

[Mysterious Benefactor]

they did a flashback with carolyn groves playing vicki and kept saying it was 1796.

That was because at that point in the story the year had changed from 1795 to 1796. In Ep #366 (the first 1795 episode), Nathan reads from Barnabas and Josette's wedding invitation that the date of their upcoming wedding is to be December 20, 1795 - and later in the original storyline, but in an episode (Ep #420) prior to the events dealt with in the flashback in question, Nathan picks a wedding date of March 2nd and Millicent complains it's only a month away, making it February (and, actually, Ep #420 was originally aired on February 2nd). Though it certainlty doesn't help that the opening monologues continue to refer to the year as 1795 even after the year had changed to 1796.  :-

[IluvBarnabas]

[spoiler]In 1897, when Kitty goes to the Old house and sees the portrait of Josette, it says Boswell 1797....we NEVER saw the aritist's name on the portrait before[/spoiler] and we never do see it there again afterwards.

I have no idea why they kept changing the year from 1795 to 1796 or 1797. Then again that's the LEAST of some of the show's problems with inconsincities.

[Lydia]

I have no idea why they kept changing the year from 1795 to 1796 or 1797.

Because the writers were too lazy to go outside and ask the fans, "What year was the 1790s flashback?"

[Raineypark]

I have no idea why they kept changing the year from 1795 to 1796 or 1797.

Because the writers were too lazy to go outside and ask the fans, "What year was the 1790s flashback?"

Oh my god, what a perfect comment!!! .......if only they had created a group of fans they could call on when they no longer had a clue what they had already done...... in some cases  it would have worked  better than asking one another!!!