Yes! Way to go! It finally makes sense to me too. All these years, I'd been of the opinion that Nathan morphed into a creep simply because it was convenient to the storyline. Not so! Thank you for that excellent insight.

Actually, I think Nathan conveniently, via the writers, turned out to be a heel. Certainly, he didn't start out that way. He even helped Vicki. However, it suited the storyline to have him romance Millicent, even though he was married, and then betray Vicki. It added to the drama. I don't believe that was the original intention for the characater at all. He was a friend to Barnabas -- a true and loyal friend.

Well, I voted with Barnabas, because as someone else said, he put the show on the map and saved it from cancellation. However, I enjoyed the pre-Barnabas episodes immensely and I did start watching the series from day one when I was a kid. The supernatural came into it fairly quickly, even before the Laura/Phoenix storyline. There was Bill Malloy's ghost haunting Vicki when David locked her in a room in the West Wing. As a kid, I found that super-spooky. No, in my opinion, Dark Shadows wasn't your typical soap opera before Barnabas. It was more of a Gothic novel kind of thing.

Now that would have been an interesting twist to bring Adam back to face Jeb for Carolyn's affections! I love that idea. Personally, the Adam storyline was given short shrift, in my opinion. I mean, we were supposed to believe that his connection with Barnabas was what kept Barnabas alive, and that whatever happened to Adam would happen to Barnabas. That fell by the wayside completely. Conversely, when Barnabas once again become a vampire, does Adam suffer the same fate? Too many loose ends there!

Were I to bring Adam back, he'd already have had the promised plastic surgery (Prof. Stokes talked about it) to remove those scars. He'd have traveled extensively and become quite erudite and educated. Next to Jeb, who was a rough guy, he could have swept Carolyn off her feet. Just dreaming, though!

One other observation here: I've read through all the posts, and I have to say I disagree with the feeling that the fest wasn't well-attended. Had there been even more people than there were, it would have been chaos. I don't believe that hotel could have accommodated anything larger. If the powers-that-be wanted a much higher turnout, the venue should have been chosen differently. As it was, too, and is always the case, fans who didn't book their rooms far enough in advance had to spill over to the other hotels provided for that.

My feeling? The same people have been running this festival for decades. Maybe they've just had enough, which is perfectly understandable from a human point of view. However, as the years were passing, it might have been (and still is) a good idea to pass the baton, as it were, to others who would be willing to take over all the planning, etc. It's NOT a fun job, but I believe there are enough devoted fans who would gladly do it.

This is devastating news. There are no adequate words to convey my sadness.

Hi all i saw Shelley Winters in a movie long ago called " Patch Of Blue"
Quite a movie.

That was a wonderful movie. Over the years, I saw her in loads of stuff, and I always marveled at her versatility. She will be missed.

<gasp> Oh, no! I'm out of cigarettes! What happened to my last carton? (gasp, cough)