I remember bursting into tears when my parents told me they had read in the TV GUIDE that DS was being cancelled! They encouraged me to start a petition to save the show and then mail it to ABC. I went around the neighborhood and at school and got people to sign my petition - I even convinced my six year-old brother to add his John Hancock. I was very proud when I sent that petition in to ABC. I think a short while after DS ended I received this jovial form letter from ABC thanking me for watching DS but life is full of changes...

In recent times, it seems viewers are much more organized and aggressive in protesting the cancellation of a series. I like it when they besiege networks with some sort of symbol connected to the program being axed. JERICHO fans, for example, sent in peanuts while ROSWELL viewers mailed in bottles of hot sauce. Which leads me to the question: if DS was on today and being cancelled, what would DS fans send into ABC to protest its removal from the airwaves?

I would love to see a modern day Trask family in a DS redeux.  I've always thought of the Trasks as the thorns in the sides of the Collins family members. I can picture a contemporary Rev. Trask as the head of a cult-like congregation. Trask would convince his followers that Collinwood is a place of eviil and its inhabitants must be punished. This version of Trask could also go on a mission to "clean up" Collinsport and try to shut the Blue Whale down or harrass the "working girls" on the waterfront. Rev. Trask could have a haughty wife who wants to bring "family values" to Collinsport but it is revealed she is having an affair with some guy on the side. There could also be some socially maladjusted Trask children.

Also, I can imagine a really first-rate antiquarian bookshop in Collinsport. It's a family-owned and operated business and they have been booksellers to the Collins family for generations. They have also supplied the Collins family with many "specialized" volumes - books on witchcraft, black magic, the supernatural, etc. The business would be valued by the Collins family for being discreet.

Finally, I want to see what Collinsport is like on Halloween night. Are the villagers in such mortal danger that they remain home behind locked doors? Do tricker or treaters find themselves terrorized by a bevy of evil spirits roaming the countryside on that particular night? Is Collinwood decorated?

Maybe nothing happens on the night. On BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, all the "big and little bads" took the night off and left Halloween to the "amateurs"! Maybe Collinsport is "evil-free" on that night and Halloween is celebrated in full force. Maybe the town, trading on its spooky image, hosts a big Halloween bash that attracts tourists. There would be graveyard tours and field trips to Widow's Hill.

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard: Joan Crawford
Barnabas Collins: Montgomery Clift
Roger Collins: James Mason
Carolyn Stoddard: Carroll Baker
David Collins: Kevin Corcoran
Quentin Collins: James Dean
Victoria Winters: Jean Simmons
Willie Loomis: Sal Mineo
Dr. Julia Hoffman: Ava Gardner
Angelique: Elizabeth Taylor
Prof. Stokes: Peter Ustinov
Maggie Evans: Natalie Wood
Amy Jennings: Haley Mills
Laura Collins: Lana Turner
Burke Devilin: William Holden
Mrs. Johnson: Thelma Ritter
Joe Haskell: Rock Hudson
Buzz Hackett: Marlon Brando
Sam Evans: Spencer Tracy

Judah Zachary: Marie Antoinette

Josette: The Virgin Suicides

The great John Barrymore was a member of a legendary acting dynasty.

That dynasty included John's brother, Lionel. Lionel Barrymore was in CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS and AH, WILDERNESS!

Both CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS and AH, WILDERNESS! featured Mickey Rooney in supporting roles.

Mickey Rooney's co-star in several Andy Hardy and MGM musicals was Judy Garland. The legendary Judy Garland was one of the stars of A STAR IS BORN.

James Mason played Garland's husband in A STAR IS BORN. He was also in a film called JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.

Thayer David also appeared in JTTCOTE, breaking our hearts when he ate Gertrude the duck for dinner. We could never imagine David doing that as Prof. Stokes on DS, but we are sure Matthew Morgan and Count Petofi would dine on duck.

Forest Whitaker was a regular on the third season of THE SHIELD.

The star of THE SHIELD is Michael Chiklis. Chiklis has appeared in both of the FANTASTIC FOUR films with Julian McMahon.

Julian McMahon is one of the stars of NIP/TUCK. McMahon's character has adopted a son.

Georg Stanford Brown made several apperances on NIP/TUCK in the role of the biological father of McMahon's adopted son. Brown was once married to Tyne Daly.

Tyne Daly, Brown's ex-wife, was one of the stars of CAGNEY AND LACEY.

John Karlen portrayed Daly's husband on CAGNEY AND LACEY and we know him as Willie Loomis and other DS characters.

Oh, I don't think Quentin would be a homophobe - I just don't think he would be interested in a movie about two gay men falling in love. However, like many straight men, he would love girl-on-girl action! He probably subscribes to Showtime just to catch the L WORD!