how do you think the 91 origin story played out compared to this one?
Was it better that the story line was originally unplanned or planned?
Not just in terms of continuity, but the general feel of the story.
While I had some problems with the '91 series, the plots I thought were tighter and had less inconsistencies, which I think helped by their reviewing the problems with the original series scripts.(Of course, they had one one-hour show per week, so it HAD to move more quickly) Some notable, I feel, improvements included Jeremiah and Barnabas being brothers rather than uncle and nephew, although they were about the same age, and having Vickie as Josette's reincarnation rather than Maggie. Now this did push Maggie into being a background character, who now was romatically linked to Roger. Joe Haskell was still with Carolyn as the series went.
On the other hand, I didn't like the recasting of the present day caharcters into the past characters as much, as since I felt the people of Collinsport sort of had recurring themes in their destinies, I like for example having Roger being Joshua better than having Roger transmute into Trask. Now the reason they did this, was so Roy Thinnes could play Trask, which I think he liked better than playing Roger. Some people such as Jean Simmons had the same roles, Elizabeth and Naomi, and Dr. Hoffman was the Countess DuPres again, but Willie was now Ben Stokes. I could discuss performances and character differences, but thats another whole can of Collins packed fish. I mention it because I think it does affect how you relate to the characters.
Another improvement, so to speak, in the '91 series, were that Vickie was a stronger character, while she was in Trask's trumped up charges, she was less an ingenue than in the original series. Stronger willed, less clueless. (Although, it should have been more obvious that the same Josette and Vickie were the same, it sure was to the viewers.)
By the way, is is just me, or when I see the show, with what look more like stage-like (or for that matter, the wax museum look and lit) studio sets, its more real to me than the movies or '91 when they were shot on locations?
Michael