Doesn't Days of Our Lives now have a ghost in it?  I don't watch it, but I read a mention of it in a TV Guide.

Gerard

For me, it'll hafta be my massive collection of nautical collectibles stuff.  And then my DS collectibles:  my Marilyn Ross novels, the comic books, the DS soundtrack album, the DS game (sans fangs).  It took me too long to amass that stuff, so I intend to take it with me.

Gerard

I grew up watching it, Ben, in b&w, too, and I imagine that in the grey shades of b&w, many of the effects did appear to be so much better than in color.  I remember the first season of "Lost In Space" was also in b&w, and the special ef-ex were of far greater quality in appearance than the ones used in the next two color seasons.

On Dark Shadows, there were also some ef-ex scenes of exceptional quality.  The one of Josette's ghost walking out of her portrait comes to mind.  It was flawless.  And just the other day, the ghost of Rev. Trask appearing in place of (superimposed over) his skeleton was also very well done, considering they had to line up the blue screen precisely with the zig-zag outline of the bricks.  It matched perfectly.

Like I said in my previous post, even many of today's special f-x are not without their problems.  Many of the computer-generated ones look absolutely phoney, like animation.  Some are well done, others are not.  I remember when the updated American version of "Godzilla" came out a few years ago.  I've always been a big Godzilla fan, but that movie put me right to sleep.  Furthermore, whenever they used the computer generated giant iguana (they made Godzilla a radiation-mutated iguana!), it looked about as real as the cartoon penguins that danced with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins".  However, when they utilized the good, old-fashioned miniature puppet in certain scenes, it looked real.

Gerard

I'm surprised he was never a congressman - or better yet, a lobbyist.

Gerard

Best screamer?  Over all, definitely Nancy Barrett.  But, the best single scene scream goes to Clarice Blackburn as Auntie Abigail when she saw her nephew rise from that casket.

Gerard

POSSIBLE SPOILER.............

Both of my awards go to 1970PT.  Quentin Collins wins for Best Dad.  It just seemed to me that he had a loving relationship with his son Daniel; that photo in Mrs. Angelique Collins' bedroom of pop and son together set the stage for that.  Professor Timothy E. Stokes gets the nod for worst old-man.  True, look at all he did for his lovely daughter Angelique, but what did Daddie Dearest do for his other daughter Alexis?  Parents, in moments of frustration, will say:  "I'm going to kill that kid", but he was being more than just figurative.

Gerard

I would have to say my favorite (because it was so faithful to the book) was the BBC 1978 Louis Jordan miniseries "Dracula".  I always thought it was way too difficult to make a film version of Stoker's novel because it is too long and complex to be shoved into two-to-three hours.

Since we've brought up Stephen King, I would have to say that my favorite theatrical version of his works is "Carrie" (Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie did marvelous jobs and earned their Oscar nominations), and my favorite TV miniseries adaptation would have to be "The Stand".

Gerard

Dear Fellow Dark Shadows Fans,

Oh my god, this is so funny!!!  I think Mark Rainey has provided the definitive and most complete list of truly bad (read good) stinkers!

Sincerely,

Bob the Bartender, a big fan of "Ghidrah, The Three-Headed Monster," and "The Devil's Rain," starring that master of subdued and sophisticated acting, the one and only William Shatner, the Noel Coward of his generation!

And don't forget that other paragon of cool who also appeared in that devilishly rainy movie, Bob, the one, the only John Travolta.

Gerard