The eye makeup on the women doesn't bother me; but they used WAY too much eyeliner on Jonathan Frid! I realize the intent of "stage" make-up so the features are all clearly visible but when they go in for tight close-ups of Frid and some of the other male actors like Astredo, the eyeliner is far too obvious.
I'd love to know how the makeup person who thought Nicholas Blair's widow's peak needed to be somewhere down around the bridge of HAA's nose ever got through cosmetology school...not to mention the days when the graying sideburns looked a little like a disco sweatband.
In the Barnabas vampire scenes, they really got carried away making him look "undead", and I sometimes think there were days when the makeup crew thought they were filming exclusively under those eerie green-yellow lights...the ghoulish look does play better under those, but too much is god-awful under the ordinary TV lighting.
Theater stage makeup is excessively pronounced because the audience sees it from a distance -- even the "up close" seats are more than a few feet away. As you say, though, television cameras are right next to the action, and filming close-ups to boot, so while I can see a need for pancake and more pronounced color to offset the bright lights, TV makeup doesn't need to be gobbed on in a caricature.
Cheers,
Linda
