I was thinking of a post I read where someone wondered what Angelique saw in the dull Sky Rumson. It didn't appear to make sense that she would fall for him, but then it hit me that it DID make sense. Angeliqe always sought out men in a position . Her attraction to Barnabas was partially due to his position as a member of the wealthy Collins family. She makes note of this in an early episode, she being a lowly servant. Sky was wealthy and this gave Angelique the opportunity to live well. Even later, when she found someone like Joe Haaskell attractive, she had little use for him because he was a lowly working, blue colllar guy.

Barnabus had other relationship problems. He would never work out with Angelique for one specific reason. She was someone who had a mind of her own and was not docile and proper. Barnabus was attracted to women who were proper and whom he could protect. He was a typical male chauvinist in this respect and did not want a woman to challenge him. When he picked Maggie for the next Josette it could not work out because she had a strong will and that turned him off. Its also the reason he could never fall in love with Julia. He could care for her, certainly, but never love an independent,  intelligent woman. 

B & A did have a love/hate relationship, in many ways, and there were certainly stong feelings between them, although with B it was mostly lust and with A obsession as well. She saw what she wanted and would  not give it up, instead of logically trying to latch onto another wealthy man.

Those are my thoughts on the relations of B & A. I'd be interested in hearing comments, pro or con. Being new here I may have missed out on some earlier discussions, so I apologize if this has all been discussed before.

Now I recall the scene. Thanks for refreshing my memory, Markyboo!

I'm thrilled there's another Buzz fan on here, we are a rare breed!  

Buzz was a real character and livened things up on DS for a while. If you think about it, he was also one of the more sincere characters. One of my favorite scenes is with him and Jason, where Jason tries to bribe Buzz and he was having none of it. He really "dug" Carolyn. If Liz only would have know of Carolyns later choices in boyfriends, she might have been elated over Buzz! With Buzz, what you saw was what you got!

I think Dan Curtis was attempting to copy the Hammer films that were then very popular. In doing so he took away the unique qualities that made the series a success and turned Barnabas into a Christopher Lee killing machine. A real disapointment since DC used the same characters from the series and could have either presesnted a new take or given the "big budget" (bigger certainly than the TV show) to a storyline, perhaps the 1795 storyline, or the introduction of Barnabus.

Nick      

i was similarly surprised during the leviathan episodes when they mentioned sam evans and jason mcguire.i really appreciate those rare nods to continuity.

I don't recall the Sam Evans reference but I suspect Jason was mentioned because of the return of Paul Stoddard (and I am the only one who was totally freaked when Paul was revealed to be same actor who played Jason, Dennis Patrick!) It just did not work for me.

Nick

Ah! Another Buzz!  Welcome, welcome!  Is your name really Buzz or are you just a fan of the leather-clad one!   

Hi BuzzH,

I didn't mean to steal you monicker, I noticed it after I used mine. Are there room for two Buzzzes here? No, my real name is Nick but I always got a kick out of Buzz and love the Buzz-isms. Buzz always seemed to be a (excuse the expression) square peg in the DS universe, although I think it would have been funny to have had a Buzz/Barnabas meeting (which I don't think ever happened).   

I'm new to these boards but a long time DS fan. I've been looking for something to read about the show that wasn't totally uncritical and have found a goldmine with Luciaphil's columns.  They are iluminating, thought provoking and laugh out loud funny at times (and I love the discussions on the fashions as well). I don't agree with all your opinions on the show, but that's good.

I have been reading many of the posts on my way home from work and do agree on so many things. the absolute agony of watching Roger Davis, the fatal combination of Davis and Addison Powell (as an actor he was much better doing voicce overs), the brilliance of Thayer David and the inanities of some of the stories. When DS was good, it was very good, when it was bad it was painful.

I'n currently watching the Daphne/Gerard/Playroom period and find it very hard to continue. Besides the storyline being repetitive there is the pure stupidity of David, who should have learned from the lasyt time he was possesed! "Don't tell the adults!" Good God! This kid really needs help! Go play house with Hallie! Is this kid maladjusted? At least he could go out to a ball game once in a while or have a collection of Marvel Comics in his room. And, as I believe you noted, Quentin can't find a girlfriend and has to be obsessed over a ghost? Ignoring what Barnabas and Julia told him about the future? Wow! And Carolyn with the Astrologer/Jeb lookalike. She can't pivk a stable guy, can she. I think she should phone Buzz, compared to everyone else, he was about the best boyfriend she ever had!

I do think I'm going to take a break from this storyline for a while. Does it get any better like, quickly? Please, let me know. I'm tempted to watch the Pre-Barnabus episodes since I haven't see them all and can get the first 2 dvd's from NetFlix. Should I?

Thanks again for your brilliant commentary and I hope there is more to come. I grew up with DS in the 1960s and have enjoyed watching it again in the mid-1980s when it appeared first on NBC in New York and then on New Jersey Network. I've attended a few conventions many years ago and was partiucularly impressed with Jonathan Frid, who turned out to be a very pleasant individual with a great sense of humor. Despite the faults of the show, his presence, as well as the acting of people like Thayer David, Louis Edmonds, Lara Parker and many others, combined with the sets and the writing (when it was sharp) was unique.