I always think Anthony George had a bit of a raw deal -- face it, Burke Devlin was such a pale version of the embittered, calculating original by the time Barnabas arrived -- character-wise George inherited a much weaker character.

I agree with the comments on 1795 -- Mitch Ryan was probably much too contemporary in both his acting style and physical appearance to have meshed well in that particular time period.

Interesting insights, Stuart.  After having grown comfortable with the rebellious character Ryan created during 1966-67, I can't imagine him trapped in ruffled costumes and 18th century formalities ("Formalities, shmormalities!" I can almost hear him barking, as he trips over his costume).  

George, who seemed to revel in period formalities, seemed better suited to be Jeremiah.  There might have been possibliities for Ryan, however, had he been given a rebellious character to play in 1795 -- or at least a loud, angry one.  Peter Bradford, maybe??  But then poor Vicki would be SO confused ... telling Bradford that he had been flying in a big silverbird over that city in Brazil.  

Anyway, had Ryan played Jeremiah, I probably would have felt worse knowing that his Jeremiah became reduced to that pitiful looking Bandage Man.    

Ben

I know that I'm dating myself by this, but when the ghost of Jeremiah starts to amble about Collinwood, I almost wish that the DS technicians played that "immortal' Three Dog Night song, "Joy To The World."  I'm sure everyone remembers it:  "Jeremiah was a bulldog, was a good friend of mine..."

Bob, you'll know I'm dating myself, too, but this reminds me of a rather sophomoric prank that my eighth grade classmates tried to play on one of our teachers, an older nun.  We convinced her that we wanted to sing "Joy to the World" at our upcoming graduation.  At first she thought it a peculiar choice ("a Christmas carol ... in May?").  But then she agreed ... until she heard the Three Dog Night record.

But would you believe we actually got to sing these other tunes: "We've Only Just Begun," "Get Together," and "Turn, Turn, Turn."  We were groovy, groovy, groovy, weren't we?  

Ben  

So THAT'S what explains Peter Bradford! Thanks for finally putting your finger on it, Luciaphil.

And all this time, I thought Vicki was simply attacted to guys who yelled a lot.

Ben  

Bette, it's been on my calendar for months, and I hope to finalize my plans soon.  Some of my other Chicago-area friends may be going as well.

Looking forward to seeing you and all my DS buds again, as well as meeting more folks from this board.  You're a great bunch!    

Ben

Gerard,

I'm so sorry to hear the sad news about your mom.  May your lifetime of fond memories of her give you comfort and strength during this difficult time.  

Peace,
Ben

I can just see the wily Inspector Clouseau questioning, among others, Roger Collins, Willy Loomis, Angelique Rumson, Buzz Hackett, the Eagle Hill Cemetery Caretaker and, of course, Barnabas Collins in the inspector's own inimitable style.  It would be like a veritable, intended assortment of Dark Shadows blooper sequences!

Hi, Bob:

Yes, I can see him bumbling his way through Collinwood, unwittingly smothering a fire started by Laura Collins, grabbing Vicki's hand during a seance and being transported to 1795 with her, making Barnabas choke by accidentally sitting on his toy soldier, confusing the ghost of Quentin Collins by answering the magic telephone in his French accent, and accidentally locking Barnabas out of his coffin right before sunrise.  

Of course, he doesn't have a clue about the impact of his actions ... Clouseau is really Clou-less.  Unfortunately, he would end up solving way too many mysteries for the writers to keep up with him.

Ben

I was reading a local Chicago newspaper feature on a Peter Sellers film festival underway this month.  The reviewer pointed out Sellers' penchant for playing multiple characters in the same film, and it got me thinking how versatile the well regarded Sellers might have been on DS, which had the same actors playing different characters in ever-changing storylines.  

If we take it a step further, a Blake Edwards-produced DS might even have found Sellers playing multiple characters in a single episode -- including, say, a vampire resting in his coffin as well as the brave soul who stakes him later in the show.

Imagine the quips Sellers and Thayer David could have exchanged about their numerous, widely varying roles.  I can hear Sellers saying, "So, you've got Matthew Morgan, Count Petofi, and Prof. Eliot Stokes?  Well, I'm doing Constable Carter, Sam Evans, AND Burke Devlin -- tomorrow!"

DS did have actors doing more than one role in a single ep: Grayson Hall playing Hoffman the maid and Dr. Julia Hoffman (1970 PT), and Lara Parker playing Alexis Stokes and Angelique Stokes Collins (1970 PT), even though the physical resemblance between the characters in each case was intended.

Sellers, with self-effacing humor, once said that he was able to absorb so many divergent personalities because he didn't have one of his own.

Ben

Bob, those are exactly my thoughts! I didn't realize you already posted this (I'm still new at navigating this board, plus I had to get a Yahoo address in order to register here), so I unwittingly had started a separate thread along these lines. Oops!

Ben 
(but glad to know that great minds think alike)