How's about Rachel Griffiths as Julia? Although Helena Bonham Carter would be a great choice.

Personally, I kind of see Emmy Rossum as Vicki - she's young, innocent, beautiful, and if they decided to go the Vicki/Josette route, she'd be the perfect Josette.

What about Anthony Stewart Head (from Buffy) as Roger Collins?

Well Magnus, I get your point, but it isn't that I find the Dream Curse to be so bad it's laughable - that's not what I take from any particular storyline of DS.  Let me attempt to clarify.

Even some of my less favorite storylines on DS are still better than almost anything else I've ever seen on television.  It's more that I know lots of fans find the Dream Curse unfocused, but that's the element of the story that I like.  There were so many things going on, and you never knew what was going to happen next.  Aside from Adam, this particular wasn't really derived from something else so it seems fresh, and sometimes like the writers weren't even quite sure where they were going to take it, so there's always an element of surprise, which is groovy.

Admittedly, there's a camp factor going on, esp. with the Nick/Angelique sideline, and that certainly has some appeal.  But the storyline itself I find compelling - interesting, involving, unforgettable - it's the first DVD set of  "Dark Shadows" that I bought. Don't get me wrong - the show means a lot to me too - I'm always pulling for it! 

Angelique "Cassandra" or "Valerie" or "Miranda" Bouchard Collins
Danielle "the most evil woman of the 18th century" Roget
Alexis "I'm NOT Angelique" Stokes, and her sister,
Alexis "I secretly am Angelique" Stokes

I just finished watching the 1840 storyline last night, and am definitely among the confused.  The way it looks to me, the Collinwood to which Barnabas, Julia and Stokes returned would almost have to be a parallel time 1971. 

If they changed the way 1840 had originally happened, creating a new future, wouldn't the old timeline have to still be in existence somewhere?  I can't remember which cousin posted about this - it was a long time ago - but basically they thought that the 1795/6 that Victoria Winters visited had to be a different one than what Barnabas remembered, since he remembered Phyllis Wick (not Vicki) as the governess, even after Vicki's return from the past.

[Spoilery]

Similarly, since Angelique gets killed in 1840 and Roxanne does too, neither of them can have been around in the regular present day storyline.  That changes the storyline so much that a present day without Cassandra/Angelique or the vampire Roxanne would have to be a parallel timeline, since they figured pretty heavily in what had come before on the show.

It's pretty mind-boggling because if Barn & co. really changed the past that much, so that the present day Collins family had no memory of Gerard (or Daphne, whom 1970 Quentin was in love with, remember?) how could the 1971 we saw be the same as the one they left?  It would be so altered, a viewer would need a score card to keep up. 

In this "new" 1971 Collinwood, what happened with Dr. Lang and Adam in 1968?  Who knows?  Angelique wasn't there to affect that.  Is Tom Jennings still alive?  He must be, there was no vampire Angelique.  What about the Leviathans?  Angelique was a major help in defeating them.  Is Maggie at Wyndclyffe?  She shouldn't be, since it was her victimization by vampire Roxanne that finally drove her over the edge.

Really, it's just too much.

By the way, Mysterious Benefactor - you said upthread that the writers had some plans for what they'd do with "present day" Collinwood after they'd finished with PT1841.  Do you know what those plans were?

It's great to see this thread!  Especially since I'm just now watching the episode arc in which Charity goes permanently Pansy.  Have to say, I most liked Charity when she was under Barnabas's influence, and then liked her even more when Petofi caused the permanent possesion.  After a bit, Chansy (or, Pansity?) seemed to adjust, and to really revel in her new personality.  Am kind of wondering how much of her new persona was the result of the 'secret' Charity coming to the fore and how much was the result of Pansy - it's almost like the posession allowed Charity to become the woman she'd always secretly longed to be.  Loved her relationship with Judith late in the storyline.

Unfortunately, there are parts of the series that I've never seen (many of the pre-Barnabas episodes and the latter part of 1841PT).  But I have to say, some of the storylines that I found less than compelling the first time around (like Leviathans and the Dream Curse/Adam 1968 story), I really enjoyed on second viewing.

Like several others have mentioned, I think there are moments in every storyline, maybe even in every episode that are worth repeated viewings.  With that being said, I'm not in a rush to see 1795 again soon, but only because I just got done watching that a couple months ago.

I have to admit that on the nights when I have trouble sleeping (this is one of them!), instead of counting sheep, I sometimes imagine I'm a long-lost cousin, recently arrived at the great house of Collinwood.  I go over the layout of the mansion in my head, and imagine what all the Collins family members (and perennial guest Dr. Julia Hoffman) are getting up to at 1:00am!