yes there's a scene where josette's starting to go off the deep end toward the end of the storyline and natalie goes on about a fictitious tea party for the servants where ben pays her embarrassing attentions to see if josette is really listening to her.

it's actually a serious scene/moment in the plot but again grayson's delivery makes it quite entertaining.

even more obscure DS connection...

neilson starred opposite julie haggarty in "airplane" who made an unbilled cameo appearance as alexandra isles in "reversal of fortune".

flimsy, i know.

i don't doubt for a minute that alot of lacey's overacting as trask came from his direction...

but still lacey himself said on one of the dvd interviews trask was pure melodrama and "mustache twirling at it's best"(his words not mine). it's almost like that classic villain from the silent movie era(broad,over-the-top gestures)except that we could hear trask and to say his voice was abrasive would be an understatement.

and not all DS villians behaved in such a ham-handed fashion...certainly not frid even at his worst. not parker. not selby. and as someone mentioned not james storm either.

i haven't seen any of his other work but just in terms of DS lacey was not exactly subtle. even his early tony peterson was such an obvious riff on "bogey" it was almost laughable.

"dark shadows-the first year" was published by a company called blue whale books.

the address given on the book is p.o.box 480726 los angeles, ca 90048.

contact them they might still have copies available. it's very well done and a must for first year newbies as well as aficionados.

i absolutely adore the first year. as i'm sure you're aware it's not overtly supernatural until the pheonix storyline starts at the end of 1966. it's more an atmosphere of implied mystery that's quite wonderful. i hope you enjoy it.

claude...

this subject has come up here several times recently. i've always been a proponent of the RD-had-a-two-year-contract theory(he appears on the series from early 1968-early 1970)but others more knowledgable(as magnus pointed out)will insist DC liked him so much he had him written into every storyline possible whether it made sense or not thus RD'S absurd preponderance of roles.

yes the ned stuart casting seems to be the most ridiculous given jeff clark's recent departure and so close to the upcoming 1897 parts. unlike chameleon thayer david's immersion in each of his numerous characterizations davis looks and acts virtually the same with each simmering performance. if anything he seems to grow more belligerent over time but that could be in part due to the overheated acting style that typifies the program after 1795. i actually think he's sort of sweet as peter bradford in 1795 and him and alexandra sort of cute together(his only role i can take)but as soon as he shows up as jeff clark in 1968 he drives me insane. across that year the sense of dissonance between his and alexandra's acting styles(her placidness contrasted to his abrasiveness)becomes palpable. hasn't the DS rumor mill always churned out that she disliked working with him intensely?

but yeah i think ned was the worst.

i'll bet we're the only fanbase in the world that could spend days quite enjoyably discussing the minutiae of a fictitious group of people's dinnertime attire.

love it!

gothick...

of course today's showdown is the "better than heroin" catfight between "miss" hoffman and carolyn in the collinwood foyer. it's this scrumptious little subplot at it's "how dare you!" best. meow!

please, please don't forget that the collins family DRESSES for dinner and the cocktail hour and don't be late.

and by all means control yourself. YOU MUST.

did julia get a few new frocks for 1970? as i recall some of the duds were starting to get pretty threadbare by this point. i seem to remember the green tweed suit from 1967 still getting a frequent outing. someone from ABC costuming just kept shortening the hems.

as our "junior sophisticate" kathryn leigh scott seemed to get the most frequent wardrobe replenishment. she and nancy barrett got a couple of MAXISKIRTS around this time.

needless to say liz's insane chartrues caftan thing from 1966 was still in heavy rotation. DCP was obviously determined to get every penny out of that thing.