Sadly,, the Sci-Fi Channel didn't even give their nighttime run of the original DS a chance.
They pulled the plug after running just 16 eps, Eps #189-#204, which didn't even reach the introduction of Barnabas.
Those eps simply covered the wrap ups of the Laura and the hit-and-run storylines (and anyone never having seen DS wouldn't have had any idea what they were all about) and the early introductions of Jason and Willie. But then that was also during the period in 2000 that Sci-Fi had just moved the morning showings of DS from 11am to 9am and cut its eps back to 5 instead of 10, so they weren't exactly high on the series at that point.
(It was also during the period that Sci-Fi managed to show those Leviathans eps out of sequence for the third time.
)
As for the original series reappearing once the Depp/DS is released, it would be nice to think that might happen. But no matter how willing some channels might be to run it, Worldvision also has to be willing not to charge an astronomical price for the rights to run it. And in the past they've seemed to be extremely reluctant to do that, which is a chief reason why the original series is no longer being shown anywhere...