Wow, thanks, MB!! It's just about perfect! Barnabas has just told Vicki, This house was not _designed_ to be a tomb. The balustrades, thick with spiderwebs, look like prison bars framing his anguished face. Another great JF moment.

Thanks, Lydia! *blush*

I like your comments about Joe. It would have been fun to see him, say, be in a motorcycle gang on the sly or engage in corporate espionage for Burke. Or what if he had fallen for Vicki?

Yes, JF is fabulous! The authority of his portrayal beginning with this, his very first appearance, has always amazed me. I love the line "The Collins _blood_ has always had a persistent strength."

For the first time, but far from the last, Barnabas's very face is his passport and his entreé into the family. And when Elizabeth invites him to dinner, it's the first but far from the last time he'll have to decline! I also love her warmth and graciousness.

When Barn prepares to leave, he courteously wishes Elizabeth a good night, but gives Victoria a deep, elegant bow--and a smile for her alone. (I would have dissolved into a little puddle on the floor!) He leaves the two ladies utterly captivated by his courtly charm.

Great scene with Barn and David at the Old House. You mean you’re not the man from the portrait in the foyer? David asks, disappointed. How could I be? Barnabas asks reasonably. As though accustomed to dealing with small children, Barnabas treats David quite as an equal and seems perfectly at ease conversing with him. Were the writers already thinking about [spoiler]Sarah?[/spoiler] David tests Barnabas's knowledge of the Old House, and of course Barn passes with flying colors.

And of course, Barnabas's speech at the end of this episode is one the highlights of the whole series. It's beautifully written and delivered with extraordinary intensity. He has ARRIVED!

So many great moments, and everybody has already picked out the dialogue that I would have! Here's another moment from the inimitable Mrs. J, as she and Jason look at the portrait of Barnabas:

I’m sorry to say it, but I think he [Willie] really loved the jewelry in the portrait I’ll bet he'd like to see the real version of that ring up close!

He has! He already has!

Absolutely, Janet. The first time I saw the pre-JK episodes, I was surprised that they had another Willie, because JK and JP worked so well together.

Willie enters the mausoleum, and for the first time, we hear a soprano sax with a background of shuddering violins. The sax plays a chromatic, mysterious, almost serpentine, yearning theme that will forever be associated with the character who makes his first appearance at the end of the next episode. Go Bob Cobert!

I love the shot where we see the portrait of Barnabas with Elizabeth and Vicki reflected the mirror. Soon the mirror will move to its accustomed place at the foot of the stairs.

I've probably seen this ep. four or five times now, and each time it's still amazing. The (left) arm shooting out of the coffin to grab Willie's throat--wow.

Laura might also enjoy Firestarter

Angelique: I Married a Witch, The Witches of Eastwick, possibly Bell, Book and Candle

Jeb and Quentin: I Walked with a Zombie

And of course, for Quentin: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Joe: Moby Dick, Captains Courageous

Parallel Maggie: Rebecca, Suspicion
Parallel Hoffman would also enjoy Suspicion

Bramwell and Catherine: Wuthering Heights

Vicki: Jane Eyre

Congratulations, Lydia! Somehow I missed that before.

I sort of like the idea of the caretaker commuting between cemeteries in an ancient Model T--or maybe even a horse-drawn cart or something.