Gosh, well let me be the first to admit being stunned by your vehement dislike of Barnabas' character. I imagine some others around here are probably taken back. I promise not to come after anybody if they don't like him.
My dislike most likely stems from two things. I didn't see DS until it first came out on video. So first off, I was an adult with extremely decided opinions
and of course, it was 1990ish and I had different a perspective and awareness than I probably would have if I'd been watching the show in 1967 (which would have been some feat as I was not even a glimmer in my then as yet unmarried parents' eyes). That and the fact that my first introduction to Barnabas was watching him going after Maggie Evans with the zeal of a stalker.
While I knew that Barnabas had a rep as the reluctant vampire, watching him in the 1967 episodes there wasn't much indication of that for me. You have to admit, 1967 Barnabas is one nasty guy. And if that wasn't enough for me, there was my brother. He would wander in and out of the room while I was watching the tapes and volunteer various comments: "Boy, is she stacked!" (Vicki in a sweater
) and "Is that the serial killer?" (Barnabas) IIRC, I even tried to explain that Barnabas was
supposed to be the reluctant vampire, but you know, he had kidnapped Maggie and was telling her to forget who she was and trying to make her be Josette. Not an easy thing to try and pass off.
Me: See, he was cursed and made a vampire.
My brother: Okay. So what?
Me: So he's forced to go for victims but he doesn't like being a vampire.
My brother: Well, why did he kidnap that girl?
Me: She's the reincarnation of his lost love.
My brother: Uh huh. Why aren't the cops on to him?
Me: Well . . .
My brother: (Doing an imitation of Barnabas)
You have such a lovely daughter, Mr. Evans.
Me: Don't you have something else you could be doing?
All of this is just my opinion though. And that doesn't necessarily amount to a whole heck of a lot. A friend of mine loathes Willie. Positively and completely despises him. Her first exposure to Willie was when he came back from Wyndcliffe in 1968. That was it. She hates him with a passion. So go figure.