This is why many fans are of the opinion that DS was often successful in spite of DC. There are several instances where the writers or producer Robert Costello did things while DC was away that DC was not happy about - one chief thing being not making Barnabas an all-out evil villain by also giving him a sympathetic side. If Barnabas had not had that sympathetic side, would he even be remembered today? Probably not, or perhaps simply as a footnote.
But we digress from the topic of this thread...