Depressing is good sometimes, much more interesting than happy, IMO lol ....
Yes, angst *is* the conventional foundation of a soap opera.
However, IMO the DS writers got inexcusably lazy about writing many of their non-supernatural characters after the early episodes, and a lot of the dialogue is lethargic, to say the least (sometimes, even for the characters they were *interested* in writing). It's unfortunate, because even with witchcraft, vampirism, ghosts, and mad scientists at the fore of the storylines, the others who weren't in the know about everything that was happening didn't have to be made incompresensibly stupid or practically invisible for the plots to go forward...*especially* since they were dealing with the paranormal, IMO. So much of what happened in Collinsport was logically inexplicable that no one needed to be written as a moron to wonder what was going on.
In the very early episodes, the stories dealt with some very human problems in addition to ghosts, and much of the dialogue was exceptional. Liz was a formidable presence, even hiding out at Collinwood -- early scenes between her and Roger, and her and Jason, were priceless. Suddenly, she gets to wander around like a zombie whose biggest decision in life is the color of satin that will line her coffin.
Roger was much more interesting when he had all the makings of a sneaky, jaded, and morally weak man -- mocking, distrustful, and cynical (much like the one he got to play in AMC years later), but before we know it, he's a good guy who's always away on business trips.
Also, early on, both Maggie and Vicki had some intelligence. Vicki had decent reasoning powers, at least, and I've never figured out what prompted them to dumb her down to such a degree. Maggie was sassy as well as smart, yet by the time we get to the end of the kidnapping sequence, little -- if any -- of her original personality remains. Now I can see how trauma could prompt certain mental or behavioral changes -- and often only to a point, and for a limited duration -- but she was hynotized to forget everything that happened, anyway, so theoretically, she should have become the same old Maggie. Instead, more often than not, she gets vapid dialogue that makes her sound like she got her mind wiped.
There's a scene between KLS and Frid just before 1897 begins, in which Maggie says somethng to Barnabas that is so patently ludicrous that I nearly choked the first time I saw it.
Cheers,
Linda
