One of my favorite episodes in all of DS is when [spoiler]Dr. Julia Hoffman tracks Quentin's portrait, disguised by a painting by Charles Delaware Tate of a landscape, "A view of South Wales," to its current owner, Conde-Nast type tycoon Schuyler "Sky" Rumson... only to learn that Rumson bought the painting as a gift for his wife... none other than Angelique, the former Mrs. Barnabas Collins!  I just love how the two actresses play the scene... and so far as I am aware, this is the last time we see the two together in their fully-developed personalities; when next Julia sees Angelique, she's more or less an amnesiac living in 1840.  But, I digress... I had kind of an ugly day yesterday, and when I settled in at home decided to watch this episode again.[/spoiler]

I was very amused to see that the bill Dr. Hoffman found in Harrison Monroe's papers for the painting actually listed the work's title as "Q View of South Wales"!  Evidently, somebody on the production team had quite the sense of humor.  And although I own the episode as an MPI VHS, it was clear enough to spot what was going on. Too rich!

G.

Do we have any idea who the actress is in the shot of Millicent with Josette's fan in today's slideshow?  From the costume it looks as if the character is meant to be a maid.

I think I have only ever seen that episode once, although I do have it on videotape.  Time to watch it again.

I know it's absurdly predictable of me, but I love the shot of the Countess with Bradford.  Love to see Herself looking so regal!

G.

Can I just share that I'm finding the special V Day heart of an evilly glaring Laura Collins to be a raging HOOT?

The whole thing is (to my odd sense of humor) a perfect comment on the whole insanity of that "holiday."

I'd love to know which scene the image is from.  It reminds me of that wonderful moment when Laura is doing one of her spells at the fireplace and Liz taps her on the shoulder to have Laura turn and practically hiss with bared teeth.  Great, classic stuff.

Folks, there was no CGI back then.  It was all, every inch, just Diana Millay... doing her thing!

G.

Fans, towards the end of a somewhat stressful weekend, I felt in need of a treat, and pulled out my ageing (getting on to 15 years old now) VHS of Roger Vadim's film "Blood and Roses" (originally titled in French, "Et mourir de plaisir"--To die of pleasure!).  I'd forgotten just how many of the elements we know and love in DS were present in this early 1960s feature film.  A family curse, a resemblance to a mysterious portrait, a costume ball, a mystical melody that heralds the appearance of the vampire, the withering of a rose as a sign of the vampire's touch, a symbol-laden prophetic dream (brilliantly filmed by cinematographer Claude Renoir), 18th century personalities impinging on a 20th century setting, and, most strikingly, [spoiler]the appearance of a bloodstained white dress in a mirror, a sequence restaged in the 1795 storyline in the scenes where Angelique was preparing for her wedding to Barnabas.[/spoiler]
Maddeningly, the movie appears to be unavailable in any format.  The Paramount VHS release is the US theatrical print which is missing something like 15 minutes of footage that was in the original European release.  For years, I've been hoping that a restored print would be made available.  I can only guess that the source materials for this simply do not exist.

Nevertheless, the movie is something to keep your eye out for, if you're in the mood for something "in the vein of" DS (Patti, I honest-to-Goddess did not mean to commit that tacky pun!).  I actually think scenes from this movie play more like the original television DS than either hoDS or NoDS did.

G.

Dear Fans, back in the mid 90s, there was a series on called Poltergeist: the Legacy.  It was about a group of people investigating supernatural/paranormal occurrences around the world, and was set in a spooky mansion on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay area.  There were a number of episodes that reminded me of DS, and the situation between the head of the group (played by wonderful Dutch character actor Derek de Lint) and the psychiatrist, Dr. Rachel Corrigan (portrayed by the equally fabulous Helen Shaver) had a certain resonance between a certain tormented member of the Undead and his own "Physician to the Vampire."

A friend alerted me that MGM are releasing the first season of this series on DVD.  Season one is slated for an early Feb release.  I have mixed feelings about this, given what a mess MGM made of the DS revival series release.  Am hoping that the reviews demonstrate better handling of this series, though I have to say that the mock-up of the box artwork does not inspire confidence...

I am posting this here for the benefit of other fans of both shows who may be interested.

Best, G.

A big thank you to the Mysterious Benefactor for today's beautiful series of images from episode 113.  It's been on my list of episodes I need to track down and add to my collection.  I'll have to see if I can figure out which of the MPI Collector's series tapes it's on and order it as a little Yuletide amuse-gueule.

I've been wanting to see Clarice's scene when she expresses Mrs Johnson's emotions at the unmasking of the killer.  I can tell just from the captures that I'm in for quite a treat.  Looks as if David Henesy did an exceptional job in that show, too.

Thanks again!

G.

Can someone please help out an aging fan?  I'm totally blocking the name of the fabulous actress who guested as Mrs Purdy in today's 1840 episode (in the slideshow).  She played a couple of roles on DS--mostly day work--and had a marvelous little cameo as Mrs Pettibone in hoDS (the movie).

I'm very annoyed with myself for forgetting her name.  Wasn't she also Buffie Harrington's landlady in PT 1970?

G.

Just doffing my cap once again to that most glamorous and generous of men, the Mysterious Benefactor--I'm about to DIE here over the fabulous captures in today's shows!

It's hard to choose, particularly given the DELICIOUS Louis Edmonds smirks on view in today's 1966 show, but I find it hard to beat the grand, goofy extravagance of Grayson Hall emoting Dr. Hoffman's HORROR at the ghastly results of her experiment!

It's another photo finish moment here on the DS boards!

Many thanks, MB, for making my day yet again.

G. posting from a very soggy New England outpost