I wonder if the sponsor during the commercial after Sabrina was wheeled out happened to be "Miss Clairol"?! "Does she or doesn't she? Only her hairdresser (and the werewolf) know for sure."

I really enjoyed the Liz/Julia/Stokes scene, and of course, the final scene with Chris, Julia & the Stuarts. Kids in my neighborhood were freaked out after this episode, since we'd heard the tale about one's hair turning white from fright, but Sabrina was one seriously messed up chick, from head to toe!

Lydia, how cool that this was your first episode of Dark Shadows. No wonder you're still a devoted fan with such great insights. It's one of my favorites, not just because of my Briscoe-holic-ness, but because the story is intriguing on so many levels:

Barnabas' interest in the Jennings siblings: perhaps there's a subtext (which should have been noted in the script) that Barnabas doesn't want little Amy to go through the same trauma that poor Sarah Collins had gone through back in 1795 upon discovering that... well... all big brothers aren't necessarily perfect (or human!).

I think Barnabas had his hand bandaged as a result of his recent scuffle in the mausoleum with the werewolf when Carolyn was being attacked. Ring them bells, Elizabeth!

I wish more time was spent delving into Amy's clairvoyance with regard to Chris' victims. She cried when she'd stare at the full moon, she'd see the pentagram on future victims' faces... was she cursed too on some level?

Great performances by all today. Frid and Grayson were sharp, Nancy Barrett was delightfully catty upon noticing Donna's lust for moody Chris, and Briscoe and Denise Nickerson were almost heartbreaking in their scenes - where so much needed to be said, and yet so much was inherently known between the two. 4 stars for this episode. If this were my first exposure to DS, I'd stay hooked too.

-Sandor

I really enjoyed the performances in this one. The whole cast seemed prepared and together for this DS outing. Nice touches in the scenes where Julia consoles but talks turkey to a forlorn Barnabas, Barnabas consoles a somber Liz, Joe berates a tortured Chris, and with the steady action throughout (disappearing mistresses and children, foggy cemeteries, premature burial obsessions, restless werewolves, child neglect, fallout from vanishing governesses), this would be one of those episodes to get a virgin DSer started on the road to Collins craziness. Much is happening.

Taeylor, thanks so much for bringing this thread to life.

Is there one character who attended the most seances? I would assume Barnabas or Julia, but they were absent from the PT 1970/Angelique seance, the Laura 1967 seance (never seen it, but reading the feedback makes me want to find those episodes pronto), the Stokes-meets-Magda seance, etc. so it may be an even-steven record for several people who sat at the round table with fingers touching, candle burning, eyes closed, storm brewing.

I liked the one where [spoiler]Madame Finley's ghost spoke through a rattled Mrs. Johnson. That one should be coming up on the Watching Project soon. Mrs. Johnson at any seance is worth a look.[/spoiler]

-S

I always liked this period of the series - and not just because of the obvious Briscoe eye candy to come... it brought Barnabas to Collinwood more frequently, and took him out of that self-absorbed "Angelique is comin' to get me again" element. It brought us new characters to care about - and it was easy to transition into caring about Chris and Amy, relative strangers to us viewers, because established characters like Joe, Julia, Carolyn, Barnabas and David cared about them as well.

Yes, some soul of the show went with Alexandra Moltke's departure. At the time, it was reported in the trade papers Alex was leaving the series as she was expecting a baby (she'd been newly married the previous year), so I wonder if fans expected her to reprise her Victoria role after a stint with motherhood, or once the 1897 storyline wrapped up. Betsy Durkin was a gutsier Vicki in her confrontation with Nicholas, but she reverted to a whiny, hand-wringing wimp in scenes with Jeff/Peter (Roger Davis). The writers were wise to fade both Vicki and Peter out (pun intended) as quickly as they did.

Grayson was a hoot when she jumped back and mistook Chris for Tom Jennings at the hospital. I survived the loss of Eve, but looked forward to Marie Wallace returning at some point as a twisted new character. She didn't disappoint us!

Hottest male for me would be - drumroll, please.....   DON BRISCOE!

But since that's old news to those who have read my many Briscoe-esque posts, I've reflected on the topic question, and I actually have a runner-up to Don for "Hot DS Male": John Karlen (on a good day). As mentioned earlier, great eyes!

Gulp! I'm older than Dark Shadows! Well, could be worse - I could be 175 like Barnabas!

Happy Birthday/Anniversary, Dark Shadows.

A very Briscoe-licious episode! Now the fun begins. This period of storyline on DS was particularly scary to me as a kid. The vampire element was back in full force, in living color on ABC.  Tom Jennings was merely a stranger to the viewers, but we were all too familiar with his ultimate fate after Nurse Angelique paid a draining visit to his room. And we sensed Barnabas and Julia would be caught up in the thick of it... as they always seemed to be. "Joooooolia!" I can hear that voice now. Sigh.

Does Tom really look that different from Chris based on this episode? Do DS fans notice any distinct differences in the way Don Briscoe portrayed Tom versus the way he assumed Chris, regardless of the obvious character/plot differences (one's a handyman/doomed vampire, one's an aspiring architect-gone-werewolf-groundskeeper)? Thoughts?