It's good to see that lively discussions have been going on over the past few weeks when I've been absent.  I'm a bit relieved to find that several others have also fallen behind in their intentions to contribute to this discussion.  I was enjoying the revival series, but other things began to take precedence.  In my case, I became involved in tracing some genealogical links that have proved to be beyond anything I ever hoped to find, and which no one going into genealogy can reasonably expect to find.  In going through some notes I had taken from a mailing list posting about a year ago, I noticed a reference to an article in German that was said to refer to one of my family lines in northeastern France.  I was able to obtain a copy of the article from a library in Mainz, and with translation help from a co-worker (as well as laboriously typing long segments of the article into online translators with mixed results), have learned that my earliest known ancestor, who is mentioned by name, was part of a line that has been traced back an additional 300 years. It's really almost too much to take in.

I had also set aside the 1991 series because I was getting ahead of myself, and instead began watching my DVDs of the 1995 and 1840 segment of the original series.  It's a little hard going back and forth between the two because they seem to evoke two different worlds and I'm unable to fully engage in both at the same time.

Hopefully I'll be able to post on the 1991 series again soon.  But as someone else has mentioned, much of what I have thought about the episodes has already been well stated here.

P.S. Hard to believe it's December already. The Christmas theme here came as surprise. Very nicely done but a little hard on my eyes. I put the posts in "print" mode and can read them better that way.

- Philippe

I was mistaken about what message I get every time I start up my computer.  It's not for SP3, which I think I did install.  It's for Dell Support Center 2.0.  From what I've read about it, I don't think it would be of much use to me, and there are some nefarious aspects to it.  But there's no way to get rid of that prompt window permanently.

What is annoying me now from Microfsoft is a prompt to install "Windows Genuine Advantage Notification."  That sounds completely useless to me ... but there's no way to get rid of the notification unless I install the damn thing.

Any thoughts on "Windows Genuine Advantage Notification", Mozilla 3.0, or Dell Support Center 2.0?

Thanks,

Philippe

For some reason (probably Halloween), a blurb came up on one of my internet news pages about the last person executed for witchcraft in Europe (Switzerland, 1782). Technically, she was executed for poisoning, but it was accusations of witchcraft that led to the charges.  Here's a link to one of the more thorough accounts of the case that I found in a quick search:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7003128.stm

What year was it that Quentin Collins was on trial for witchcraft and threatened with beheading?

I don't know anything about Barbara Steele other than not caring for her during my first go-round with the 1991 series. I have more appreciation for her upon revisiting the series now. I'm anxious now to re-watch "Black Sunday" after several years. I did like her in that. But reading these brief excerpts from the interview with her makes me want to find out more about her. Based on her comments, I see someone with a penetrating intelligence and a very interesting person.

I saw a new edition of "Dracula" just out recently that provides tons of annotations. I missed out on purchasing Leonard Wolf's "The Essential Dracula" when it came out as a trade paperback a few years ago and then disappeared before I could get it, which has been a disappointment to me ever since. "The New Annotated Dracula," edited by Leslie S. Klinger and published by Norton just might make up for my lingering sense of loss. It's an attractive but hefty tome (with a hefty price to match). It looks like it has lots of good information for a fresh reading of "Dracula." It also has chunks of information I would rather not have in the same book, such as covering nearly every other vampire that has appeared in books, comics, film, whatever. At any rate, in a discussion of filmed vampires, there is a respectful recounting of "Dark Shadows."

the scene in the mausoleum was quite chilling.ben cross deserves kudos for his hissing,hate spewing delivery.barbara steel was awesome too.it was the first time this series reached it's aim in terms of being something of a sophisticated adult drama with a frightening supernatural edge as opposed to something more adolescent.

That scene was reallly bleak.  For the first time I had an understanding of Barnabas' horror at having to return to the coffin. Despairing. And yet our sympathies with him grow because he is willing to make this self sacrifice in order to spare others.

(That promo did a good job of hinting at things without giving too much away – I also found it helpful in making sure I had the right episode!)

When I put on the DVD with episode 5, it was late, I thought I'd just watch a few minutes and relax a bit - but soon found I was totally unprepared for what was to come. Now, I‘m anxious to view it again.  This episode was powerful and disturbing.  Beginning with Maggie’s fleeting visions of the aged Barnabas, this episode took a truly flesh-crawling turn.  The way that scene was done, and the actress playing Maggie's expressions, was very believable.  Then, the setup begins, with Carolyn walking into the Old House - a big “uh-oh” ... (couldn’t Willie have locked the damn door when he left?).

Barnabas’s appearance was as shocking as that scene in the cellar in “Psycho.” His attack on Carolyn was vicious and terrifying, but what made it even more disturbing was that she is his own flesh and blood.  And what made that disturbing realization even worse was Barnabas’s agony over what he’d done.  On second thought, I don’t honestly know whether I want to watch that part again.  The emotions are so raw, so intense.  It was very well done, well acted by all three of the actors in that scene, and very effective – maybe too effective.
 
Julia really turned out to be a [rhymes with “witch”]. I mean, yeah, she had a right to be hurt and angry, but that doesn’t mean you drop your professional ethics (“do no harm”) or even your humanity.
 
The interiors, furnishings, and lighting of the scenes in the Old House, especially, are incredible.  Absolutely beautiful.
 
Overall, I think the 1991 series is doing a better job with the material than HODS did.  In large part, that’s probably due to the fact that the TV series makes it possible to give the material the time it deserves, for example in fleshing out the characters.

What I disliked more than that dream [in Ep #4], though, was Professor Woodard's having instantaneously become a vampire.  I didn't like the similar scene with Thayer David in HODS, either.  I've always thought of vampirism as a long, drawn-out process, so this suddenly becoming a vampire just doesn't fit in with my beliefs.

If this was the episode where Sarah led Victoria into the room with the diary, I thought that was very nicely done.   Understated and spooky.  It even made me ponder the question of whether those who have gone on might return to guide us - perhaps not in so visible a way as this, but I could see this scene as almost symbolic of what I feel can occur within the interior of a person.

I also noted Jean Simmons' well-acted but all-to-brief scene, one which I didn't remember from a previous viewing.

If this was the episode where a photographic negative of Angelique comes blowing out of the fireplace for unknown reasons, that was yet one more thing I really disliked.  If I weren't already a DS fan, I probably would have turned off the TV with that scene and forgotten about ever watching the show again.

As someone else mentioned, fortunately, there was then Episode 5 ...

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