Not only is this the best DS board, it's the best of any board.

For those who have been part of this board for a number of years, it's like a "home away from home."

I've been away from it for three weeks (two weeks on vacation without readily available Internet access), and I'm afraid I'm going to go a little overboard in posting now that I have a chance.

Can't believe how much I've learned from participating in this forum, not only about DS, but about history, costumes, music, the television industry, and more!

And of course none of this would be possible without the dedication and hard work of the forum managers, especially MysteriousBenefactor and Midnight!

(Confidential to Gerard:  I hope you're keeping warm ... )

The same opera will be broadcast on the radio on January 1, 2005.  The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts live performances every Saturday from 1PM to 5PM ET when the opera is in season.

Thanks for letting us know about the NPR broadcast.  Not sure what my family has planned for New Year's Day, but I'll try to catch it.  Although, if some of her photos are any indication, one would be missing a lot only hearing her voice -- kind of like hearing Lara Parker but not seeing her.

 

What fun to be in NYC during the holidays!

 

Funny, port is the one that I think tastes like "cough syprup" (as my dad used to call cough medicine - must be an old term).

I do think that sherry, like many alcoholic beverages, is an acquired taste, but once one's palate becomes more discriminating with age, one finds it a true pleasure.  Liqueurs, though, haven't presented any barrier ... my parents always served Cointreau, Drambuie, Grand Marnier when entertaining, and even as kids (or at least teenagers) we were always allowed to taste these.

Terry, please do post if you buy the Chartreuse -- consider it Dark Shadows research!

(I probably won't be online, though, till after Jan. 10)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

 

I've not paid too much attention in the past to the DVD releases of DS.  Paying for cable in order to get DS the past few years and buying tapes to record the entire series was a significant financial commitment for me, and to then begin buying the DVDs has seemed out of the question.  Now I'm getting worried though, since I've been reading recently that VCRs will be phased out very quickly in the next couple of years once HDTV becomes the standard.  Already it's difficult to even find blank VHS tapes to buy at places like Best Buy and I was told that everyone now has TIVO, which I don't really even know what it is.

Last week I received a catalogue in the mail from MPI and took note of the DVD releases.  A comment and a question come to mind.  I roughly added up what it would cost to purchase all the DVD sets of DS listed in the catalogue, and it came to about $2,000 -- and that's only about midway through the 1897 storyline.  So the entire set would be at least $4,000.  Or substantially more, since:  the DVD collection apparently begins with the Barnabas storyline!  I had thought that they started at the beginning of the series, but those were not listed in the catalogue!

It's disheartening to learn that all the videos I've carefully selected over the years and the things I've taped will do me little good in the near future.

I had seen part of the commercial last week and although it did catch my eye, I didn't know it was for Borders (guess I didn't watch it closely enough all the way through).  Was surprised to learn here that my former employer of a few years back is now doing TV ads.

KLS's appearance is almost subliminal ... and no, she is not the one saying the line that someone quoted above ... her voice isn't heard although she does appears to be talking in those few brief frames, but we don't hear what she's saying.

I'll grant that at least there was some character development (or characterizations, which is not meant to be a slight) and fully formed thoughts in "Wicked," but, treading on dangerous ground here since so many people are so enthusiastic about "Wicked", I personally found the book distasteful.  It perverts everything that made Baum's works so wonderful - completely subverting both the spirit of the original, not to mention the spiritual.  On top of that Maguire's writing tended to make me gag.  On the whole, the book was far better received by readers who were not familiar with Baum's books.  Thank you, Maine Girl, for your very detailed critique of "Hawkes Harbor."  I don't know if you're right or not, but Hawkes Harbor sounds dreadful, at least to those readers who are inclined to analyze the finer points.

Thank you for straightening out the quotes, Midnite 

Do I put him with the greats of Marlon Brando, Sean Penn, Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino?  Of course not but he is a very fine actor who has given me many great memories of my childhood and I thank him for that.

Hmm, I don't know about that, Murph!  I think we would really have to see all of the actors performing comparable (or the same) roles and in the same media (i.e., all doing the performance on live TV, or all performing the role on film, etc.)

As far as "stars" or "great actors" are concerned, I personally think that most of them are fine actors who for some reason or another made it big ... and that many of their supporting and unsung fellow actors are equally talented.

I see that Don Briscoe was in "Come Back, Little Sheba."  For anyone familiar with that play, one immediately knows which character he played!

(I agree, it has been a depressing day overall ...)