i don't care for the BF audiodramas. to me they are dreary and depressing. and Parker's Mary Sue fiction veers so far outside OS canon i cannot take them seriously. but because the OS stars are involved in these productions they are considered the "real deal" by many fans.

I take the audiodramas seriously and consider them canon because the cast is continuing the story. But that's not the sole reason. The audio series is the only continuation of the show that has paid attention to continuity and told quality stories appeal to DS fans and also those unfamililar with the series. They have quite a following in the UK and have won several awards. They've resurrected characters I'd never thought I'd hear again like, Hallie Stokes, Amanda Harris, Danielle Roget/Eve and a host of others. I was dreading the return of Roger Davis as Charles Delaware Tate. I was prepared to loathe it because I really don't like his acting style on DS. They managed to record a very poignant and touching story that was as haunting as it was tragic. Do they always get the continuity correct? No they don't. They've made some errors, but then so did the original show. They couldn't decide how old certain characters were or whether Angelique was a child in Martinique or over 100 years old. I think it holds together with the orignal series remarkably well. I think it's a testament to the quality of the stories that they've released over 60 stories and lasted ten years.
One thing they did NOT get wrong was "Cassandra Collins." Many fans think that they just decided to call Angelique Cassandra in order to pair her up with Tony. That did not happen. Angelique was using the alias to gain entry to an island in order to obtain an artifact she desired. Angelique Collins does not exist. She has no ID, no friends, or references. Casssandra Collins is the former wife of Roger Collins. This identity got her invited to the private island where she met up with Tony and they were forced to work together. Their relationship developed and well..any more would be spoilers. Attention was paid to continuity though, unlike the way Cassandra was handled by Gold Key.

For a very limited time BF is offering Panic starring David Selby and Susan Sullivan for 3 bucks as a download.
https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/panic-1152

What also struck me was the way that this book didn't even seem to fit very well into her own continuity. I read it a few months ago and I'm already vague on many of the details, but isn't Barnabas supposed to be human in 1972 of the Harper/Perkerverse? Maybe this takes place before the cure. If so then where is Julia?  Again, I read an advance copy of this, so I'm foggy on the details but it does not seem to mesh with her own books. i'd love to stand corrrected on that.

1989 has the same day to date configuration as 2017. I've not looked at the calendar in years, if not decades. I'm putting that one up this upcoming year. 1995 and 2006 will work as well. Is this solution as good as having a new calendar? No, but it works. I did this a few years ago when I found a Shadows Con calendar on EBay illustrated by Barb Fister-Liltz. It was nice to have a blast from the past up on a wall.

I forgot to add the reason I jumped to that conclusion. One year the Festival had a bunch of videos on their schedule entitled "Bloopers and Treasures" and of course soon after that DVD was released.

Perhaps if you go to a site like Amazon and look at the reviews there might be information on what's to be found on the individual releases. For example, I looked up Fan Favorites there and one of the reviews had the episodes listed for that title.   https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Shadows-Favorites-Jonathan-Frid/dp/B006Z7Z3ZO/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1470178683&sr=1-1&keywords=%22Dark+Shadows%22+Fan+favorites

Monica's given me some tidbits on the NoDS shoot and, according to her at least, DC "hated kids".

I think it would be interesting if you wrote an article on some of these tidbits, or perhaps published an interview with her!

did it? when? i was just there for the day Saturday.

I believe the 04 pilot aired on Saturday in the mid afternoon. It was not in the program. It may have been Friday night though. The whole thing is blurring together.