I agree that the sci-fi element isn't as stong as it looks on the face of it. The Longworth- Yaeger thing in Parallel Time was more about the good vs evil that the original "Jekyll and Hyde" underscored. It's more about an imbalance in the light and dark sides of human nature, which results in mayhem and horror. As for Leviathan, the Lovecraftian idea of a race of ancient, subterranian "things" which are brought forth through occult means, is definitely supernatural, as far as I'm concerned. I agree that parallel time is more likely a supernaturally-based rip in the continuum, just as
[spoiler]Quentin's 1840 "stairway through time" seemed more about alchemy and the occult than the "science" of, say, H G Wells' "The Time Machine." Personally, I always enjoyed both the Leviathan and Parallel Time storylines, though not my absolute favorites. I recall the main complaint in the soap mags of the time to be, in general, the poor crafting and characterizations, particularly in the Leviathan story. People were, indeed, unhappy about Barnabas being a villian, though I found that intriguing and somewhat (overused DS word alert) terrifying. I remember that, as a child, I was always confident that Barnabas would come to his senses, and the wait for that eventuality added much to the suspense and enjoyment of the story for me (and, most likely, many others). I also remember, when I was first watching the story, that I and many of my friends at school used to revel in imitating the "heavy breathing" Leviathan monster (much to the horror of the adults around us), and that we were all obsessed with Barnabas' taped intonation of : "There is no margin for error. Punishment is necessary." Funny the things you pick up as a kid, huh? I was ten years old at the time.[/spoiler]
I felt that there was a change in tone and mood in the Leviathan/Parallel Time stories, but it was not about SciFi, for me, it was about pushing the gothic envelope into different areas, something DC always seemed to push his creative team to do.
Petofi