I am half way through DVD collection 5 which has been fast moving and fantastic! At first the going back in time thing seemed a little silly what with all the same faces but it wasnt long till I was hooked. One thing I seem to sense is that the characters in this past incarnation of 1795(?) have more depth than the ones in the present e.g.

Joshua Collins has that conflict between love of his family and his mastery over them. But also he worries about what people think of him and seems open to fear of the supernatural events around him.
Barnabas Collins was pretty deep to start with but as a human I find him very likeable and his character has just been fleshed out in so many ways by this time trip.
Nathan (hope that name is right) is now not just the one dimensional boyfriend of Maggie Evans but is a happy go lucky but serious and honourable military man, who cares about his career but wants to protect Vicky Winters.
Mother Collins (sorry forgot her name) has her struggles with alcholism while trying to keep her family together.
Josette Collins is now the guilt ridden haunted and confused woman who seems just that bit deeper and more convincing than Maggie Evans.

There's more that could be said on this, but my point is: Did they get new writers in or something for this time travel bit? I Thought DS was great and with this development its getting even better!

I was just wondering if there might be any good quality audio clips from DS. I found the dark shadows soundbites site through another thread about images, but the quality isnt that great (though it was great to have the Josette speech by Barnabas. I wouldnt mind some extended audio from the show rather than super short one sentence clips.

Jonathon Frid speaks in a way Ive not heard much before. Has anyone else noticed? He seems to linger on the "T" sound at the end of a word. And sometimes with the "S" sound too. I think it really adds to his mysterious character and that great voice.