Posted by Vlad on February 11, 2002 at 16:02:39:
In Reply to: Re: Does the Aged Barnabas Remind You of Someone Else? posted by CastleBee on February 11, 2002 at 11:44:26:

DC did a rarity here by hiring one of the best men in make up for DS.

I agree; I thought Barnabas's old-age makeup was very impressive -- much better than Angelique's old-age makeup much later, and other makeup effects that seemed to use a lot of greasepaint at other times in the series. Even his hair had an aged, whispy texture.

I've had the interesting and sometimes confusing experience of watching the current episodes in the morning and my tapes of the 1991 series in the evening. The aging of Barnabas coincided on the same day for me! I couldn't remember if it was the 1991 Julia who goaded Barnabas on, or the 1967 Julia, etc., when I would watch the "other" version some hours later.

The HODS and 1991 old-age makeups were even more drastic, more ghastly and probably more realistic if someone were to age to 200 years old, but the original series did a very decent job, as did Frid with his performance.

-Vlad

Posted by Vlad on February 06, 2002 at 19:34:31:
In Reply to: Re: Salem Witchcraft and Parker's Novel posted by VAM on February 05, 2002 at 19:10:58:

Let me put it this way, you came away beleiving the theory. I am not quite sure but my guess is that it was her thesis.
Looking forward to seeing what direction Ms. Parker takes in her novel!

VAM,

Not to beat the topic to death, but I did NOT say I believed the theory. I just said I had a more open mind about it than I had before. I did not have time to elaborate on what I see as the "gaps and inconsistencies" that I mentioned, which do not allow me to embrace the theory at this point.

The show did not provide a forum for other scholars who may disagree with this woman's theory about the ergot fungus.

My main reason for posting this was because I felt I may have come down rather hard on Lara Parker when I posted about this a year ago.

-Vlad

Originally posted by Vlad on the Dark Shadows: General Discussion Forum on February 05, 2002 at 18:28:48:

About a year ago (by my best guess), we had a discussion on this board (I think I probably started it) about Lara Parker's intention to use the historical events at Salem as part of her next Dark Shadows novel. (We know that she is working on this novel, and that there are plans for it to be published by Tor Books).

In published remarks, Ms. Parker talked about Barnabas 'tripping' and about hallucinations leading to the witchcraft craze, based on a theory that the Salem incident was caused by a reaction to the ergot fungus on rye. I vehemently expressed my view that this theory was a lot of balderdash and hoped that Parker would change her mind about using it. One of my main objections was that the Salem case was just one case in the history of New England witch crazes, and those in America were a drop in the bucket of witch crazes spanning centuries in Europe. It seemed unlikely that this ergot fungus being present in bread would just happen to be the culprit on two contents and spanning hundreds of years, and always resulting in accusations of witchcraft.

Although I still have reservations about that theory, I'm not quite so ready to dismiss it after seeing a program on PBS's "Secrets of the Dead" series last week. The show was originally aired last season, though I had missed it then (and wasn't too concerned about having missed it since I knew it was promoting this theory). Well, anyway, this time I watched the show and I have to say that it was fascinating and that they presented a strong case. The psychologist who proposed the theory did a lot of research into diaries and other sources at the time and found a lot of references to people having strange hallucinations, etc. What's more, evidence of this fungus contamination was then found in Europe, answering one of my objections.

Although I'm not ready to eat my hat -- there were many gaps and inconsistencies that were not addressed in this program, and it's certainly not the last word on the subject -- I do want to express that I am more open-minded about the theory and the possibility of Ms. Parker using it in her novel.

- Vlad

Posted by Vlad on February 01, 2002 at 14:49:46:
In Reply to: TLATKLS on Matlock - NOW! posted by RingoCollins on January 31, 2002 at 09:04:52:

Wish I had known ahead of time that KLS was on, but I consoled myself thinking that I may have seen that episode about a year ago, if it was the one where she played a judge and was on some TV panel or something.

What's funny is, when I got home a couple of hours later, I turned on the TV, and a DIFFERENT episode of "Matlock" was on -- this one with Roger Davis. I think he was playing the leader of some sort of cult, but I only watched a few minutes.

- Vlad

Posted by Vlad on January 29, 2002 at 17:59:32:
In Reply to: Re: New DS series??? posted by Birdie on January 29, 2002 at 10:52:57:

Hi, everyone - just had to make a post here - this month marks my three-year anniversary posting on this board (or its VantageNet board incarnation). Glad to see so many familiar faces are still around - as well as so many new posters! Guess I'm in it for the long haul, going on year number four!

It was so exciting to read about the possibility of a new DS series. It's good that we've been cautioned not to expect too much, though - there have been several attempts to revive DS since the 1991 series, from what I understand - most recently the proposed Broadway musical that seems to have died. Even if plans proceed, I think it would be overly optimistic to think that a new series would air next fall. Many shows for next fall have already been in production for some time, and a new DS series would have to be written, cast, locations found, etc. I don't see how that could possibly be done by next fall and have a quality production. Of course I could be wrong here.

Like other posters, I would like to see Jean Simmons return - she's an actress of grace and dignity who apparently has said in the past that she would be interested in doing DS again. Like others, I dread the thought that the show could be aimed at the "Buffy" crowd - even though the original series' most ardent followers were kids, I think DS was far more sophisticated and thoughtful (with notable exceptions, to be sure), than a lot of the junk that's on TV today. The '91 revival series had its moments, but somehow lacked the depth and mystery of the original, IMO. If only a new series would also use the talents of original cast members - they'd have to find young actors, too - if only they go with interesting talent rather than teen show fresh-faced bimbos. I don't know what Fox's demographics are, but from what some have said, it seems they aim for the teen set.

I never saw "Twin Peaks," but if a new series could stir up that kind of broad-based interest and atmosphere - someone mentioned an edginess, and that would be important to capture. There were many, many unsettling things in the original series.

An authentic setting would also be crucial if the series were to be done, today, IMO. That fake model house looked so cheesy in the opening credits of the '91 series, and everything was so obviously California.

So many good ideas among posters here - if only DC Productions would seriously consider what fans have said in the past and currently. Not that people are in any way unanimous, but at least the majority seem to feel that we don't need a fourth rehash of the Barnabas-released-from-the-coffin story. And the troubled David has been done to death, too, though that seems to be one of DC's special interests. (And I cringe at the thought of American child actors for the most part).

At first I didn't like the idea of a "next generation" storyline for a new series, but the more I think about it, the more that seems like the way to go. A sort of "Return to Collinwood," with the new generation of Collinses probing the family secrets of the past. Perhaps a descendant of Quentin Collins arrives at Collinwood and confronts the original Quentin, who lives as a recluse on the estate. Jean Simmons was superb as the unhinged old crone Miss Havisham in a cable remake of "Great Expecations"; it would be great to see her sink her acting chops into something like that. For the most part it's hard to see new actors step into the roles so impressed in our minds by the original cast members (e.g., Angelique), that's partly why it seems to me that there should be new characters, with the old ones played only by original cast members. An exception might be Ben Cross, who I thought was a chilling yet sensual Barnabas. But it would be hard to see yet a third Barnabas, unless he were relegated to a minor character.

So either a "next generation," or else a parallel DS world, like they did with "Night of DS." Those would be my ideas of what might work.

- Vlad