I've always found the off screen killing of Burke very odd for a number of reasons. Apparently the writers didn't know what to do with Burke, but instead of having a final dramatic confrontation with Barnabas, he was killed in a plane crash. Story wise I think this was poor, since it seemed like a very convenient way to (perhaps they thought temporarily?) get rid of Burke. If I'm correct a new writer replaced Malcom Marmorstein around this period, Joe Caldwell, and that may have affected the change. Perhaps another reason was because Dr. Woodard was recently killed off, and they thought it would have been repetitive if Burke was done in the same way. Or, he was too well liked by the audience. Still, I think it would have been better to either keep Burke alive and remain a rival and potential trhreat to Barnabas or kill him off in a dramatic way.

The period following Dr. Woodard's death seemed particularly morbid, aside from the aging of Barnabas the writers seemed to be biding their time for the 1795 storyline.         

I was watching the episode where Maggie escapes from Barnabas' cell in the basement of the old house and wondered how others felt about the conclusion. Maggie successfully escapes and makes her way onto the beach but drops to the ground exhausted. Barnabas finds her and is about to kill her when Sam hears Maggie's screams. Barnabas runs and hides as Sam finds Maggie.

Only a few episodes earlier Barnabas was ready to kill both Willie and Maggie. It has been explained that Barnabas has superhuman strength (tearing apart the bars in Dr. Woodard's offfice) in addition to his vampiric powers, so why didn't he just kill Sam and then Maggie? Why did he run? I think it would have made more sense if Sam had been with Sherrif Patterson and his men, or Barnabas thought they were with him, but this was never mentioned. Is there a logical explanation for Barnabas running away and allowing Sam to rescue his daughter?     

I've been watching the pre-Barnabas episodes of DS and enjoying them quite a bit. There were some very good characters in those beginning episodes, one in particular was Bill Malloy, the manager of the Cannery. The actor who played him was very good and likable. Unfortunately, when one discovers secrets at Colinwood you know the character is not long for the world. The early Roger Collins was a horrible person, filled with sarcasm for just about everyone and pure hatred for his son David. David was pretty nasty himself, although not without motivation. I also enjoyed the outdoor scenery and the kitchen. They sure could eat back then, we rarely saw a morsel of food once Barnabas arrived. And they drank a ton of Coffee! It would have nice to have seen Mrs. Johnson or Willie serving a meal on occasion. It was also nice to see Roger and Joe in their offices. Do they all disappear later because of space reasons?

I alos enjoyed the early versions of Sam Evans and Matthew Morgan. The actors were very good, although I can't complain about replacements David Ford and Thayer David. Mitchell Ryan was another fine actorc who held the show together in those early episodes, and Vicky was a spunky character that was much bette then the dope she turned into later on.

Nick C.     

I've been watching the 1840/Judah Zachary storyline and, with three episiodes to go, I thought I'd add a few comments

SPOILERS
This storyline was well acted and had many surprises from day to day. Gerard Stiles was a great villain, even though there were so many people to hate in this period. Edith, Samantha, Gabriel, Trask of course. The writers always seem to have problems coming to the conclusion of a storyline and transitioning to the next one. The story seemed to slow down in the last few weeks, and while 1840PT needed to be introduced, it should have been done more leisurly, with less time spent on every episode towards the end. Everyone was interested in that room! Daphne is busy staring into the room while she is in a hurry to meet up with Quentin!

You know the story is coming to a conclusion in DS when everyone is killed off!

I liked the way Barnabas began to appreciate Angelique, as well as the softening of the character. It made some sense since we got a backstory that she was around a lot longer and was seduced by Judah Zachary. The other good moment was Angelique's reluctantly helping Quentin. Barnabas telling Angelique that he knew she was still selfish and could not change was a good moment. Of course A does help Quentin, at her expense - still  for selfish reasons, to try to hold onto Barnabas. An improvement, but in character.

1840PT looks somewhat interesting, but I would have liked to see the show go out in a contemporary setting. Perhaps it would have been better if the show ended a few weeks earlier, with B&J returning to 1971, as they do at the end of this storyline.

Nick Caputo                 

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.