In one shot it looks like he has an earring in his left ear too!

Me neither. I'm married but was never divorced. If it's a case of abandonment, maybe that would make things go faster--?

Welcome back, Janet. May your wickedness remain undiminished!

Here's the IMDB page for Michael Hadge. He's done a bit of acting and some producing, notably with Al Pacino.

Even though I'm only reading my own summaries (and the Robservations) of these episodes, I'm enjoying Buzz much more this time around. (I've seen the entire series from beginning to end twice through, and the part from Barnabas on about three more times, I think.)

Luckily, we still have a few more Jason episodes. He's one of the best villains ever, isn't he!

In Carolyn's bedroom, we see her oval, full-length mirror for the first time, but far from the last. Jason tells her she's hurting her mother, just as her father did, but Carolyn refuses to budge.

Buzz is an awful dancer, but Carolyn doesn't seem to mind. He wants to go someplace where they can "really swing." His idea of a swinging place is the thriving metropolis of Logansport. He seems much more likable this time around and seems perfectly content: I like the bike I got and the chick I got, he tells Jason.

Kudos to the director, Lela Swift, for timing the last scene to perfection. As a particularly dreadful imitation Tijuana Brass tune starts up (and is heard throughout the ensuing conversation), Carolyn emerges and ironically greets her stepfather-to-be. He just tried to buy me off, Buzz reports. Carolyn hangs all over Buzz but waits a bit tensely till Buzz says, But I turned him down. Let’s leave before he offers me a sidecar too.  Sarcastically Carolyn tells Jason, Don't wait up for us, Jason. Pleasant dreams. But I know your dreams are always pleasant, because all you ever dream about is _money_, she adds as she leaves. Jason’s face is a study in consternation as he lights a cigarette. The awful music comes to a punchline conclusion right on time.

That's a thought, Lydia. Maybe Sam hung on to the engagement ring even when times got bad. Especially after Maggie's mom died, it would have huge sentimental value for Sam and Maggie.

I love what Willie says about his servitude--and kudos to John Karlen: Maggie asks Willie if he's ever tried to escape. I’ve tried, Willie says sadly, but I never could. I have to drive into town almost every day. Sometimes I’ve tried to just keep on driving, hoping to get a thousand miles away. But Barnabas’s power is too strong to resist, and I’ve been compelled to come back every time. My will isn’t my own, he sighs. I guess I’m doomed.

I'm not so sure that Sarah doesn't notice Maggie. I think, as I said elsewhere, that Sarah is only just beginning to awaken, as it were, so taking a bodily form might have been all she could manage at first. I'll bet the first person she looked for was Barnabas, and she must be incredibly confused and upset at the change in him. We don't know how long she's been watching him, but she probably knows what he's been up to, even if she doesn't understand it. So I don't think it's an accident that our first sight of her is near Maggie's prison cell. And we know that she observes Maggie and Willie's conversation. But after all, she's just a kid in a bewildering situation, so naturally she would revert to the kind of repetitive behavior that provides kids with reassurance--like singing a song or tossing a ball over and over again.

The scene with David and Sarah is really poignant--you can't help feeling sorry for this little girl lost. But she actually speaks directly to another person for the first time, so she's getting stronger.

I still remember how completely stunned I was when I heard Sarah's first words to Maggie at the end of this episode--one of the highlights of the whole series, IMHO.

I never warmed up to Anthony George as Burke, for reasons I explained in another thread: Ryan was totally believable as a guy who had done hard time, then roamed the world making his fortune. George (referred to in some places as Burke Lite) seems as if he might have gotten a parking ticket and traveled as far as-- Augusta. I have to admit that George was a better fit as Jeremiah than Ryan would have been.

But once the whole cannery vs. cannery story was dropped when the show went supernatural, Burke became extraneous. It would have been fun to see Buzz kept on as a fly in the Collins ointment. He might even have made a very interesting Jeremiah!

In one scene in Episode 4, two characters tell us they were big fans of Dark Shadows!