As I recall it,

[spoiler]When Angelique comes to the secret room to stake Barnabas after his death in 1796, and he rises to find her standing there with a stake at his heart, he makes a sarcastic comment about the curse and how since she "loves" him so much, she should be first in line to die.  I can't recall now whether he alluded to her being a victim of her own curse after her "death" in 1840.  Sam Hall's notes allude to her appearing as a ghost in the present, had they actually done the return-to-1971 storyline.

Lifting a hex is a very tricky thing to accomplish, but I'll spare you the nattering about magickal technique which isn't really relevant to this forum.  She could well have been able to make it possible for him to become human again, but the basic hex that anyone who loved him would die might still have had an influence over how events played out in 1841.  It's an interesting thing I had never really pondered before--probably because the writing was so loosey-goosey at that stage of the game.[/spoiler]

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.

I love Sebastian's leather pants, too.  And I love the memories of Jeb Hawkes' personal Naga totem, that he had with him always, that the trousers bring forth.

Christopher Pennock was quite the luscious bit of crumpet during his DS years.  The roles he played tended to belie the considerable sexual "zing" he could bring to the camera, which was an interesting way of using him on the show.

G.

In Season 1 of the TV series Beastmaster (starring Daniel Goddard), there was an episode that featured a Phoenix as the villain.  From what I can recall (it's been, what, 6 or 7 years now), the character worshipped a solar Deity and had had a longstanding relationship with the tribe of the Sula, the Beastmaster's home tribe.

This Phoenix was male and seemed vaguely Aztec-inspired.  The show came out of Australia and I very much doubt whether they were familiar with the Dark Shadows Phoenix storyline.

Best, G.

Luciaphil darling, thanks for another sharply-written overview!  I just love reading what you have to say about these shows.

I really missed Francis Swann after his departure from the series.  That said, I recall finding the scene of Mrs Johnson telling Burke about the revelation of Matthew's guilt in the death of her beloved Bill Malloy strangely lacking in emotional punch.  I'm not sure what expected from Mrs J in this day's show; a vitriolic calling-down of the forces of Biblical Nemesis upon Matthew's head, perhaps; a lament for Bill's feckless faith in those no-good Collinses, perhaps; even, perhaps tears and a sense of regret for the great loneliness she feels all over again with the irrevocable fact of Mr. Malloy's death.  The little scene in Burke's room at the seedy Collinsport Inn is so much less than any of that.  The excellent scene between Mrs J and devious Davey does make up a little for the disappointment I felt here, but only partly so.

I really regret the dumbing-down of Mrs J's character.  As originally written (and I think she was more or less the creation of Francis Swann?)  she was a marvelously realistic summing-up of the kind of nosey biddy who tends to make stirring the shit her personal business in every small town.  I would have loved to have heard the original Mrs J's observations upon the 1967 antics of Barnabas and Julia...

I wonder whether something happened to the original tape of the second show, and what you're seeing is that, in fact, they were all tired and anxious to go home.  I seem to recall one of the books mentioning that at least once, there was a technical problem with a tape and they had to work on Sunday, or something, to make it up.

G.

What I remember about Passions is Tabitha throwing her demonic ventriloquist-dummy child into the washer as punishment and an iris-insert of Juliet Mills telling the audience with a big wink not to try this at home.

I may be hallucinating again, but I seem to recall hearing that the boy who played Tommy died a couple of years ago.

It seems odd that Passions has lasted so long, but then one contemplates just how long Friends lasted.  From what I can determine, that show was about a lot of vapid people yapping about absolutely nothing.

G. the cranky Yankee

Connie, you're a genius!!!

in adoration,

Steve

Hey Penny Dreadful, I honestly don't recall the details, but what I do remember is that a lot of gossip was bandied about (which per Board regulations can't be discussed here, but perhaps someone will fill you in via PM).  I had a bad feeling about that thing from the get-go, and I know some fans who participated in it in good faith--it really left a BAD taste in everybody's mouth.

It all reminds me of this time at one of the old DS convocations when Joan Bennett was still living.  Joan was sitting on stage when KLS was taking a starry-eyed trip down memory lane about what a wonderful place DS to work and what a warm, caring, family feeling there was amongst cast and crew. Apparently, Joan gave one of her famous sharp looks, raised an eyebrow and said "WHAT show did you say you were on again, Dear?"  LOVE to have seen that...

G.