I remember when my parents took my brothers and I to the annual air show at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey way back in 1969.  Seeing those USAF Phantom fighter jets flying low and buzzing everyone along the airstrip was great.

Anyway, on the way home, my father tuned the car radio onto WOR 710 AM and the disc jockey played "Quentin's Theme" over the air.  After the song was over, this d.j. remarked that "Quentin's Theme" sounded like the music they played at the skating rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Ever since, whenever I hear "Quentin's Theme," I have this picture in my mind of David Selby and Nancy Barrett skating together at Rockefeller Center, like that comely blonde skater that Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel are seen eyeing out in the film, "Carnal Knowledge."  

Just about my only exposure to Kardashians comes when people on the Internet complain about how ubiquitous they are.

MT,

In his autobiography, entitled "Cosell," the late, lamented Howard Cosell mentioned that former New York Yankee manager and former World War II US Army Ranger, Ralph Houk, once commented on Mr. Cosell's renowned ubiquity, by paying him a "lefthanded compliment," when the Major said to "Humble" Howard:

"You're like 'bleep,' you're everywhere!"    (Sort of like the family, Kardashian, I suppose?)

Bob

Exactly. It's true that's it's next to impossible to avoid seeing photos of the Kim Kardashian, but I've had the pleasure of never seeing any of the reality shows she's done or any of the interviews anyone in the media has conducted with her, so I can honestly say I have absolutely no opinion about her whatsoever.

Hey, MB,

Just so long as you set your TV to always bypass the "E" Channel, and when standing on line at the supermarket checkout, you positively do NOT look at any of the trashy magazines "heralding" the on-going "exploits" of the Kardashian family, then, you'll certainly be okay.

Bob

PS Lookalikes: Bruce Jenner (Kardashian?) and Sandor Rakosi?

Say what you will about Morgan, and I suspect this doesn't help you Bob, but some of us have very fond memories of Morgan's exciting and surprisingly active 1840s trouser snake. 

Mad Morgan did a hysterical cackle with great enthusiasm.  Uhhh... did Morgan have other talents? Tight revealing trousers that helped one "Hel-LO!" wake up in the morning, and a lurid cackle.  That may be it.

Gothick,

Yes, I agree that Morgan did display an hysterical cackle with great enthusiasm.   (Perhaps the late Keith Prentice learned that subtle acting technique, considering that he may very well have been a proud graduate of the "world renowned" William Shatner School of Overacting?) 

As to Morgan's apparent physical appeal, while I've always been an enamored (if not a beguiled) fan of both Katherine Leigh Scott's lovely Maggie Evans and the late Anita Bolster's zaftig Bathia Mapes (alas, the one truly great unrequited love in my life), I have to admit that I've always had a huge "man-crush" on the late Daniel Keyes' character of the Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker!   (I like to think of the Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker as sort of Dark Shadows' "somewhat" mature answer to the rugged "Marlboro Man" of those Marlboro cigarette commercials of the 1960s and the 1970s.)

As to Kim Kardashian, she's sort of the "Ruby Tate of the current American zeitgeist!!!
 (Whatever the heck THAT means!!!)

Bob

Hey, gang,

I happened to be watching the PT 1840 DS episodes recently, and it struck me how truly obnoxious the character of Morgan Collins was on the show.  The guy constantly hassles his "beloved" Catherine during these episodes, argues with his brothers, and really has it in for his cousin, Bramwell Collins.  In fact, I recall Jonathan Frid, as Bramwell in one episode, describing Morgan to Catherine Harridge, as being "spoiled, arrogant and weak."

This guy was one of "Dark Shadows'' "greatest" bete-noires, imo, right up there along with PT 1970 Quentin Collins and 1897's Judith Collins-Trask!   I can't say that I was sorry to see Morgan and Bramwell (along with Kendrick) have that final confrontation on the widow's walk on the top of Collinwood.  (Geronimo!!!)   

And, what can I say about a truly "great" talent like Kim Kardashian?  This woman is like Ava Gardner, Eleanor Roosevelt and Sandra Day O'Connor all rolled into one.  I was glad to hear DS actor Kathryn Leigh Scott  expressing such "great" admiration for shows like "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," when she appeared on George Noory's "Coast-to-CoastAM Show" last summer. 

Of course, Ms. Kardashians's "better" half, singer Kanye West is another "delightful" mensch.  Remember when "Mr. Kardashian" showed himself to be the true gentleman that he is, when he "complimented" singer Taylor Swift for her award (over "Mr. Kardashians's" good pal, Beyonce) on one of those music award shows several years ago?

Nevertheless, Ms. Kardashian and her cheerful companion are certainly to be congratulated on the recent birth of their baby, they named "North" (or is that "North-by-Northwest" or "North to Alaska" or possibly even "Northern Exposure," I really don't know for sure?).

Yes, I think we can all thank the late, lamented attorney and faithful O.J. Simpson defender, Mr. Robert Kardashian, for presenting (or more likely foisting ) his entire Kardashian family on the American psyche!

So, I leave it to you, is it the dour and sullen Morgan Collins or the totally untalented Kim Kardashian, who is more annoying?

Bob

   
PS Maybe Khloe Kardashian-Odom and her husband Lamar Odom can portray Daphne and Quentin in a remake of the 1840 PT storyline?


 

I just spotted Diana the other day in an old TV show...honestly cannot recall which one though.  I think it was something on MeTV or one of the other retro stations.

CastleBee,

I spotted Ms. Millay in an episode of "Father Knows Best," in which she portrayed Bud Anderson's English tutor.  The episode had to have been filmed during the late 1950s.

I must say that as a teenager, Ms. Millay looked especially beautiful.

Bob

I'll take up permanent residence in the one place you failed to mention, Burke's old suite at the Collinsport Inn, but only because the Blue Whale has no sleeping quarters.

Dom,

Yes, Burke's suite in the Collinsport Inn did look pretty good.  However, that room Chris Jennings stayed in at the Collinsport Inn seemed about as "appealing" as one of rooms of those "slightly" sleazy hotels just off 42nd Street in New York City.  (And as the late, great George Carlin once observed about 42nd Street: "They call it 42nd Street because that's about as much time as you'd want to spent there, forty seconds!")

MT,

I agree that Count Petofi's "lair" was kind of cool.  It also reminded me of Dr. Cyrus Longworth's laboratory, minus that iron spiral starcase in the good doctor's lab.

And, what about Barnabas' hideout at, I believe, Shipwreck Cove?  That place seemed to be just the least bit damp and chilly to be comfortable.

Bob

PS Do you think the house that Nicholas Blair was living in during his return to keep an eye on Jeb Hawks and to supervise the success of the Leviathan plot was located on the grounds of the Collinwood estate or was the house located somewhere else in Collinsport?  I don't think that it was ever made clear where that house was exactly situated?   

Hey, gang,

No doubt, many lifelong fans of Dark Shadows have fantasized at one time or another about actually living in the mythical New England fishing village of Collinsport, Maine.  (I know I have!)  And if you've ever travelled to Maine, you know what an incredibly beautiful state Maine truly is, especially at this time of year. 

However, if by some Twilight Zone-like twist of fate or fortune, you were able to become a resident of Collinsport, where would you like to set up digs?  I suppose many Dark Shadows fans/cousins would select the great house of Collinwood as their first choice of residence.  And, many others might want to settle down in the Collins family's first home, that of the Old House.

Perhaps other fans/cousins might opt for one of the smaller residences on the Collins estate, including Matthew Morgan's old cottage, the carriage house (where the newlyweds Jeb and Carolyn Hawks lived for a brief time); then there's the House-by-the-Sea (which warlock Nicholas Blair rented from the Collins family for several months), and I believe, Seaview, where Vicky and Burke were eventually going to move into after they were married.  (Alas, we know that that never happened.)

Other possibilities include the quaint and cozy Evans cottage, which, I believe, was KLS' favorite set on the show.  You know, we never actually got to see the second floor of the Evans cottage.  (It always struck me as funny that Sam and Maggie had their bedrooms on the first floor of the cottage.  I'd have thought that their bedrooms would have been on the second floor?)

Of course, there's always the McGruder Mansion, which we got to see during Dark Shadows' final year on the air.  That place (and I mean the real one and not the replica in the playroom) always looked like a Ken & Barbie dollhouse.  And, then there were the apartment buildings in which Prof. Stokes, Joe Haskell, Tony Peterson and Jeff Clark lived in.  While Prof. Stokes and Tony Peterson's apartments didn't look bad, it looked to as if both Joe Haskell and Jeff Clark lived in flophouses.

As to my own preference, well, I think that Collinwood, as magnificent as it was, was just too darned big.  (And, I'd always be concerned that I might accidentally walk into one of Collinwood's many secret passage ways, and get hopelessly lost, when I was anxiously "searching" for a "water closet" at about four in the morning!)    And, let's not even talk about how much it must have cost to keep the lights, water, heating, etc., on in Collinwood!  

On the other hand, as cool as the Old House is, I don't think that I could ever handle the lack of electricity, hot-and-cold running water, central heating and air conditioning, but MOST of all, I don't think that I could EVER get used to "employing" the chamber pots and outdoor out house(s) which Banabas and Willie, no doubt, made frequent use of.  (I venture to say that the lack of "facilities" in the Old House had to have been the toughest thing for poor Willie to accept/adjust to after he went to "work" for Mr. B.)

Oh yeah, there is also the late, lamented Dr. Eric Lang's house, which looks incredibly like the late, unlamented Rev. Gregory Trask's boarding school of Worthington Hall.  (Dr. Lang's house also kind of reminds me of Herman Munster's homestead at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights, USA, but I digress.)

So, I have to say that I like both the Evans cottage and the House-by-the-Sea, but I'd have to go with Nicholas Blair's former Collinsport residence.  The thought of living by the sea is very appealing to me (barring any future Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy hitting the East coast.)  And, the prospect of living in that isolated house with neither noisy nor nosy neighbors around to annoy me is EXTREMELY appealing!!!

So, which Collinsport/Collinwood house (or apartment) would you like to live in?

Bob