I think he moved to Cincinnati and became a phone telemarketer.  He had to memorize a script that began:  "Hello!  We are willing to offer you a 40% discount right now if you consider having Slapon Aluminum Siding protect your home with our valuable product, guaranteed to..."

Gerard

Since you're watching from the beginning, Janet, I don't want to spoil it for you, but you'll see why Roger had to get a new car.

Gerard

Hey Darren, Craug and I had a running joke about who was the first married couple to sleep in the same bed? does anyone want to take a guess before I write it here?

There is an absolutely hysterical scene in I Love Lucy in which, not Lucy and Ricky are in bed together, but Fred and Ethel.  It is in an episode during which all four are driving across America to Los Angeles and get stuck overnight in a seedy motel.  There are only two bed:  a bunk bed which Lucy and Ricky take, one in the upper, the other in the lower, and a large single bed for Fred and Ethel.  The mattress is so worn and out of shape that it collapses in the middle and both would be smashed together in the bottom of the V.  So Ethel goes through a long, complicated, laborious trial of twisting, tying and stuffing sheets around Fred to secure him to one side and then she crawls in on the other, Lucy and Ricky watching mesmerized.  When Ethel sees their expressions, she nonchalantly shrugs and says:  "Our bed is the same way back home."

Gerard

What an interesting topic.  I loved the 1795/96 and 1897 storylines, of course, but I also did enjoy the adventures set in "modern" times.  That doesn't mean I really liked all of them; I did not care for the whole Adam thing at all.  But it was always good to see the original characters doing "modern" things.

I sometime wonder if the decision to do time travel, to show the Collinses of the past, was to bring up the ratings.  Maybe not at first.  The whole concept of telling the story as to the how and why of Barnabas' vampirism was fantastic and very integral to the overall developing show.  Ratings, I'm sure, definitely went up.  And then came the whole Adam thing, set in the present.  Maybe I'm one of the few who found it disappointing compared to what we had just gone through 175 years earlier, but then maybe other viewers' interest might've wained as well, so something had to be done.  Along came 1897.  Like I said, I really enjoyed it; I can see why DS hit its highest ratings during that plot.  But I also ADORED the "build-up" to it with Quentin and Beth haunting Collinwood.  It was just all so "modern."  I wish it would've lasted longer.  After 1897 came the Leviathans.  Now, I enjoyed that story, but many did not, and the ratings took a tumble.  It's obvious they rushed through it when that realization came just to end it and along came Parallel Time, devised it seems to get most of the main characters out of TV Collinwood and to movie set Collinwood.  When that was over, the producers and writers, maybe concerned about those ratings again, decided to do another time travel to the past since it always worked in bringing more viewers in before.  So, to me, the show changed, from having intact, set-in-present-time stories, to the present time just being a set up for another voyage in time.  Get through it and get back to the past; pull out those costumes and candles.  The thing is, with 1840 (which I didn't care for), it was just a rehashing of 1897 with some 1795 (the witchcraft trial) thrown in; nothing new, same old same old.  So, to me, DS "evolved" from various stories to just one idea:  have some spooks run around in present day for six weeks or less, and then send Barnabas (and Julia and whomever else booked passage) to the past to get rid of those spooks.  When that was done, do it all over again.

Gerard

One of my favorite scenes is when:

[spoiler]Joe has gone completely bonkers, after seeing Chris turn into a werewolf, and wants to protect Amy by "rescuing" her and taking her away.[/spoiler]  What he is really doing is, although his intentions are good but marred by insanity, kidnaping her.  Amy manages to break away.

Watch how she reacts - the look of sheer fright on her face because of what is happening between her and Joe.  It's an absolutely stunning example of what a truly gifted and talented young actress she was.

Gerard

Gerard, thank you for those kind words about Craig. Craig's first operation removed the colon cancer that was 4 years ago. But over the years the cancer kept coming back to different area's. According to Craig he reacted well to the new drugs that Katie Courtic (sp) help make legal in the USA. Those new drugs helped his body to destory lung cancer and other cancers in his body. He told me she gave him his extra years. Last Summer we almost lost him to blot clots, he is still battling those. The brain cancer was dealt with and he healed fast from that and was able to come to this last fest. This is a very tried soul. It certainly lived each day like the song says " Live like you are dieing"

Janet, when I was at the 2003 fest and came upon Craig's table, he was still pretty much setting up, not only his own items, but helping with Diana Millay's as well (and she turned out to be rather a character; she was rushing trying to get things done and was a bit demanding, so things were a bit hectic for him).  On the rare occasions when I've been able to meet celebrities, I try not to be a "star-struck hog," and consume all their time.  Obviously, they have to deal with that all the time and I'm sure it can be trying.  So I try to just tell them how much I appreciate the happiness they've brought me, and then move on so as not to be in their way.  I tried doing that with Craig, since he was so obviously busy.  But he would have none of that.  He took time out to ask me questions about myself (as if I was really an interesting person to him), to have a friendly conversation of true substance (he asked a gazillion questions when he discovered that I had just disembarked in NYC that day from a cruise to Bermuda, envying my tan), even though he had so much to do - displays needed to be put up, boxes needed to be unpacked, and Miss Millay needed tending to.  It didn't matter to him; what mattered was showing friendliness and time to a bothersome fan.  As we conversed, it was becoming apparent that Miss Millay was becoming a bit more frazzled trying to get things done.  I asked, feeling a tad guilty, if I could be of service.  She immediately handed me armsful of books and stands and pointed, saying:  "Put these over here, and those over there."  As I did so, he just looked at me and gave a mischievious giggle, as if to say:  "You shouldn't have asked!  Now you're in for the long haul!"

Gerard

Why would someone who had been a witch for a century work as a servant?

The 401-K?

Gerard