willie...

so true.since barnabas began to travel back and forth in time with the frequency that some people go to the dentist,and always with the intention of preventing some or other "disaster" and where he invariably becomes distracted by some s.y.t.,you'd think that he'd try and prevent the grand daddy of all collinwood disasters,his own curse,but then again he wouldn't be alive in the 1960's and we would have no show.

as for quentin,it's true that before barnabas and julia entered 1970 parallel-time they weren't quite sure how to fit quentin into the proceedings...but when they returned the writing for quentin had changed and they tried to act like he had always been one of the gang at collinwood.

a sloppy piece of storytelling and continuity that always irritated me to no end for some reason.

there is often a bit of misconception about who remembers the quentin hauntings and who doesn't.

there seems to be a theory that since barnabas prevents quentin from being killed in 1897 than his ghost never haunted collinwood in the present and thus only barnabas,julia and "we" the viewer recall these events.

however today's slideshow makes it very clear that in fact david and amy both remember the hauntings.several other people(liz comes to mind)do as well.

later on however it's never quite satisfactorily explained as to why everyone readily accepts quentin into the household and no longer equate him with the ghost that caused them so much grief.

i was quite entertained by the brief return of "bad" barnabas and his return to an antagonistic relationship with julia during the early part of this stryline.

the barnabas-and-julia-fight-the-monster-of-the-week show gets on my nerves at times.
i think both barnabas and julia are more interesting characters when they are morally conflicted.

my impression is that originally the werewolf plot and the leviathan plot were not intended to overlap but trying to weave them together late in the storyline was just an example of how clumsy the writing got(not to mention the out-of-left-field inclusion of vicki and peter)towards the end when negative viewer reaction threw the whole thing out of whack.

G is for the Great God Ra...who laura gains her powers from.

one of the main differences between 1966 laura and 1897 laura is that 1897 is a much broader canvas than 1966 populated by dozens of characters and already bursting with supernatural menace in the form of vampires,witches,werewolves and so on.so laura isn't as big a player.considering everything else going on i'm somewhat surprised that dan curtis even bothered to revive this early character(although i'm very glad he did).

1966 was a much smaller show.she's the main threat and for the most part the rest of the show was still plotted like a traditional soap opera(one of the subplots that ran concurrently was joe and maggie's early courtship).so laura was more of a menacing presence and,as gothick pointed out,a much more subtle and nuanced character who quite owns this storyline.she's a very interesting transitional figure in the history of the show who often gets overshadowed by her male counterparts.

today's slideshow features the premier of one of my favorite characters and the start of a storyline that's an all time favorite as well.

the minute laura collins walked into the coffee shop(in a hat and gloves no less!)i was hooked.even before the whole pheonix thing started i found diana millay's attitude and delivery to be so langorous and weird i was fascinated.

i always remember i watched it during the winter and curling up under a blanket when it was cold and dark outside and just being mesmerized by this strange woman and storyline.i enjoyed the 1966 episodes alot but this is when things really got cooking for me.it's beyond catty!

love it!

i'll play a bit of the "spoilsport" here without spoiling everything.

since adam is so intrinsically involved in barnabas' "cure" there are past/future time periods where adam in not extant where,indeed,barnabas once again finds himself at the mercy of the curse.

that said by 1968 the series of course was known as a "vampire show" yet for a signifigant period of time(the period katrina mentions here)barnabas was not in fact in the vampire state.

i wonder if this had anything to do with the somewhat abrupt decision to turn angelique into a vampire in 1968 and also introduce the tom jennings character...to add a "vampire element" back to the show without barnabas himself reverting to that condition.

welcome katrina,

the clothes come up here alot.they are often the subject of mockery(the shoes in particular are objects of much derision)but i rather like them as well.

maggie's quilted maxi-skirt has been the topic of considerable discussion(a long-standing debate has been as to whether or not this garment is in fact a pair of bell-bottom pants).i prefer to think of it as a skirt but it's a mystery lost to the sands of time.

julia is also on the recieving end of much criticism but in general i think she looks quite chic(especially after she cuts her hair short).but as gothick mentions the burnt-orange tweed,farm fresh in 1968,has had it by 1970.

some of the clothes were truly ugly but mostly i think they just look dated(and in some cases majorly overworn).

one thing that i always think makes the clothing look so striking is because of the way the jaunty 1960's palette plays against the dark,somber,heavy interiors.on other shows filmed during the same time period that used contemporary sets(think "that girl!")they don't look so jarring.