Interesting topic.  Unlike many fans, I've never felt the impulse to own Josette's music box, Barnabas' ring or his cane, though the latter is VERY cool and magickal.

What I did crave and demanded until my own set was given to me were Magda's tarot cards (I didn't realize that they were originally owned by the Countess du Pres until many years after the run of the original broadcast).  I went to the library, checked out Eden Gray's tarot books, and made my own traced copies of the major arcana cards until I got my own deck as a Christmas present in 1970.  The deck I was given was the "IJJ" Swiss one (so called because of the Jupiter and Juno cards that are said to be unique to this deck), which was the same one used by Magda.  Back in the Sixties, it was still very difficult to find tarot cards.  I really wanted a Pamela Colman Smith (aka "Rider Waite") deck because I loved the images so much, but had to wait until just a few years ago when I finally bought one for myself.

Other props I loved on the show were the painted Egyptian-looking coffer that held Count Petofi's hand (and was often glimpsed on an end table in the upstairs corridor in the present-day episodes), the Naga box, Laura's scarab, and, of course ... THE AFGHAN!!!

Does Cassandra Collins' wig collection count as a prop?  That would be on my list, too.

Gothick

Wow, I'd forgotten that Craig had diabetes.  I believe I had read it somewhere, can't recall where.  I lost an online friend to that illness last year. Please forgive me if I hit a nerve with my crass comments.  I'm just cheap white trash from Chesapeake Bay country.

At least Cheryl you have the consolation that Craig isn't forgotten since his performances are currently on the air.   He'll have some new fans at this year's DS Festival!

Best wishes,

Steve

Jennifer, he was licking his lips because he kept noticing how TIGHT Big Nathan's trousers were!  hee hee!

Wasn't there a character on Hogan's heroes who wore one of those little caps like Noah had?  He looked really cute in that little hat.

Now I'm thinking of him as "Keebler Cookie Elf Noah"!

Steve the terminally silly

Count me among those of the "less is more" school as far as special effects are concerned.

I think why I keep going back to DS is because the fact that it is basically live theatre on tape gives it an edgy quality and dynamism that makes it unique.  As I've said elsewhere, it creates its own category.

Entertainment today has become all about effect.  Substance has gone by the wayside.  One of the many reasons I feel strongly not in favor of remaking DS is that the kind of theatricality that made it so colorful and so compelling is no longer permitted in media entertainment, except for a small handful of visionary directors (Todd Haynes comes to mind as one).

Plus, the squeaky little toy bats are just so damned cute.

Gothick

This was hysterical!  It's been close to ten years (maybe more) since I last saw these shows, though I have them on tape.  Reading your hilarious comments really makes me want to take them down and look at them again.  Thayer must have had a blast in those tavern scenes.

Looking forward to future comments from you, Henry. And your little dog too!  Arf!

Steve

Since I have an innate dislike for rankings, gradings, and those ENDLESS top 10 lists with which our media industrial military entertainment complex insists upon saturating us, I'll simply comment upon Grayson's different roles.  I cherish every moment she was on the screen ... words spoken from the heart.

Dr. Julia Hoffman--the first role I saw her in as a child in 1968, and I instantly fell under her spell.  Never had seen anyone like her before, and there never will be another like her again.  My sister used to get annoyed by her distinctive "Julia" way of chopping up a sentence--note that that is JULIA's way of speaking, not Grayson's, because in other roles she didn't do this.  I often wonder whether Grayson actually knew a woman doctor (or academic?) who spoke in this peculiar manner and based Julia's speech patterns upon her.  Even as a child I loved her way of speaking; it turned even the most banal statements into little bits of poetry, to my ears.  I also loved Julia's movements, a unique mixture of awkwardness and grace, that seemed to embody a rare spirit of courage, tenacity, and feistiness.  I can't help thinking of Julia when Bob Costello described Grayson as "a gutsy broad" (and made it quite clear that that was also a description that came from the heart--he really doted on her).

Magda was Grayson's favorite role, and I'm often amazed by the subtle moments she weaves into the brash, extravagant, proud gestures, the fiery speeches, the deft put-downs, the peppery bits of Rom wisdom.  Sam came up with the role of Magda, one fan who knew the family told me, because Grayson actually had Rom bloodlines in her heritage.

Natalie is wonderful to watch because Grayson played this kind of role onstage so much (and, incidentally, Magda may have had a bit of her 1962 role in The Buskers in her).  She could have easily let Natalie's humane wit and emotionality get lost in those huge costumes, those endless bits of business with the tarot cards, beauty marks, and so on, but from start to finish, you never forget that Natalie is a woman with a fierce loyalty to her family and her own unique code of conduct.  

I personally think that some of Grayson's finest acting on the series was in her scenes as housekeeper Julia Hoffman in Parallel Time 1970. What Stuart said about her performance as Carlotta is even more true of her work as Hoffman; for some reason I like Hoffman better as a character, perhaps because they were not able to excise Hoffman's essential attachment to Angelique (in the NoDS film, it is Carlotta's physical body that enables Angelique to materialize in this world, and whenever Angelique and Quentin make love, she feels their passion within her own being--these scenes were cut from the final version of NoDS).

My favorite scenes of PT Julia Collins (1841) were the very early ones at the tail end of the 1840 storyline.  I loved seeing G with long hair, and I thought it would have been more interesting if she had played the Matriarch as seemed to be suggested by the fact that she was originally "MISSUS Collins."  In the actual PT 1841 storyline, I liked her scenes with Kendrick (John Karlen) best because both actors seemed to be on the same page, and G got to play Julia's genuine desire to keep her niece from getting hurt.

Constance was hardly more than a walk-on, but she did have a bit of fun with it.  I enjoyed seeing her in the costume and do (even if it seemed completely wrong for 1660--oh well!).

Goddess, what a screed!  I did try to avoid posting to this topic ... now you see why ...

Gothick

Hahaha Jennifer!  Well, if I were Carolyn, it wouldn't be Chris' NECK I would be feasting upon, if you know what I mean ...!

And Henry, I believe that in the 1990 interview in Fangs for the Memories, they actually asked Don whether anyone had suggested he play that scene sans pj BOTTOMS! (dreaming & sighing)

Best,  Gothick