The Big Finish reading is not something I would classify as audio drama. Most of the 4 CDs are read exclusively by Lara. It's heavily abridged. I believe the entire modern storyline was cut out. There are brief portions that are read with Andrew Collins. I don't recall who he played, but it wasn't Barnabas as is the case in the audio dramas. It might  have been Diablos or whatever he was called in the novel. The four cds must run about 5 hours compared to the 16 hours in the complete reading done recently.

As an avid Big Finish fan, I consider the edited version to be a part of their canon. They cut the parts that would contradict their work. Other than that, there's little point to having that release now. It's been supplanted by the more recent, unabridged version.

If the series had continued, there were tentative plans to bring Sheryl Lee back as another character, though with red hair. Maybe that's the direction they're taking.

That's CRAZY!! They can't do that!!! THE AUDIENCE WILL GET CONFUSED!!! That would be her THIRD character. No TV show ever does that!

what drove me absolutely insane was after 1970PT everyone suddenly acted like Quentin was an ordinary member of the family who had always been around. it was very sloppy writing/continuity. 

I always thought that as well Michael! He didn't even have a portrait (that the family knew about) as credentials. All he had as "proof" of his pedigree was his "resemblance" to the ghost no one should have been remembering!

Julianna McCarthy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were at that same California convention.

They were not at the 91 Con in LA. I have all the panels on video tape. They may have gone there another year or perhaps NYC in 91.

I am conflicted about the '12 series. What I mostly object to was the radical change in the character of Barnabas. As Frid himself stated, Barnabas played the lie. In '12 we get Depp coming out of the coffin proclaiming for all to hear that he is a vampire!  It makes him seem like an imbecile. Being a vampire got him entombed and now he's emerged and is showing off?  Elizabeth is ok with this blood sucker being loose in her home? I also HATE the "LOVE??" scene with Angelique.  She's ruined his life and he's in bed with her? Totally unnecessary and not even funny.  If you hooked me up a to a meter that showed how much I loved or loathed something you'd see it bounce back and forth like a pendulum. There's a lot to love. Depp's performance, regardless of how a scene was written is fantastic. I love the scenes that ran parallel to Cooper's performance. I for one, do not care for the tone. I would have preferred a more serious horror movie. I would not have excised all of the comedy. I thought the scenes about Barnabas adjusting to the 20th Century were spot on. I also loved most of the performances by the actors. The casting was terrific. I still watch it from time to time but I forward scan past certain scenes if no one else is watching with me.

Is Violet Welles still alive? I've never heard about her passing away.

I didn't read the whole description and got more than I bargained for. As a "special feature" they included a show with Katherine Leigh-Scott. The quality of the KLS interview is only fair. It looks like it came from a VHS tape and has lots of audio drop outs. It's very watchable though and was a nice surprise. The Lara Parker segment comes with 9 minutes of "deleted scenes." I found the DVD enjoyable even though it really doesn't contain anything really new or surprising. What can I say? I'm a completist!