i'm sorry.

but i just have to go here...

i don't want to offend any of the numerous quentin fans here(sorry,annie)but i'm currently watching dvd set 22(the 1995 and summer of 1970 eps.).

for the life of me i simply do not understand what quentin is doing at collinwood in the present.

don't get me wrong.i like david selby as quentin as a malevolent ghost during the 1968 episodes.he absolutely carries the 1897 storyline and in a "parallel time" like 1970pt. the writers were free do do what they wanted with this character.

but in "real time" he needed a 'raison d' etre' and i don't think that the writers came up with one other than the fact that quentin had become enormously popular with fans and that david selby likely had a contract.otherwise he is an extremely boring and unecessary character.with barnabas we already have one former villian cast as anti-hero but when quentin goes nice things get a bit top heavy.at least with barnabas he retains an element of unpredictability and dangerousness.

i think the thing that irritated me the most here was that quentin strolls around collinwood with liz like he owns the place and in a lame-o attempt to recapture some of the magic of 1897 quentin resides in his old room gramaphone and all.this dosen't make alot of sense to me...

but by this point the writing was so sloppy i suppose i shouldn't be surprised.

they were indeed capable of producing a rain-like effect when they wanted to.

i recall one episode shortly after they returned to the present from 1795.

[spoiler]vicki and julia decide to go to the collins mausoleum to look for clues on vicki's whereabouts during the seance.after they depart carolyn stares wistfully out of the drawing room windows as they are pounded by sheets of rain.[/spoiler]

it created a memorable effect.i wish they had done it more often.

later in that same episode.

[spoiler]when vicki and julia arrive at the mausoleum they are bone dry(it would have been unbecoming for our leading ladies to appear with runny mascara and undone hair)but they encounter jeff clark.his rain slicker is covered with these sort of glycerin drops that simulate raindrops.i think there were some dotting his hair as well.[/spoiler]

if i recall correctly in one early episode when roger and vicki are driving back from bangor the car is rained on as well.

i'm in the camp that enjoyed both storylines.

while they are both deeply flawed i found enough there to hold my attention.perhaps that each of these storylines lasted for only about three months makes them easy to take.longer and i'm sure i would have lost interest.

there was something visually interesting and atmospheric about each of them.

if i had been an original viewer back "then" and not have seen these storylines coming i'm sure i would have been infuriated.but as a contemporary viewer involved in fandom for a few years i sort of knew what i was in for here and thus didn't have huge expectations.i just took them for what they were worth which isn't to say that while i was actually watching them i wasn't periodically maddened by all the plot inconcistensies and wasted opportunities.

that said in general i much prefer the earlier more "soap opera-ish" part of the show.

maggie:"oh my god vicki...i see her...i see her!!!"

vicki:"(sigh)...'bloody mary' is just a myth maggie.haven't you ever been to a sleepover before?"

good point stephan about proper mourning dress.

i'm not as sure about what the customs would have been in the 18th century but as for the late 19th century a proper,upper-class victorian family would certainly have donned mourning black.possibly for as long as a year when a family member died.the entire household would have into mourning(shades drawn etc.).
here the characters wore the same gaily colored costumes as usual.

some of the most absurd funeral garb ever on the show was worn for paul stoddard's funeral in 1970.liz and carolyn in full black regalia veils and all.they could have been attending the funeral of queen victoria herself.it was way over the top.

julia(to herself):"oh that reminds me there's a bra sale going on at brewster's...i don't think barnabas will miss me for an hour or two."

upon hearing that roger davis has just signed a two year contract alexandra moltke involentarily attempts self-strangulation.

letter from miss hopewell:"dear victoria...we have uncovered some old records here at the foundling home.your parents are in fact that couple that run the laundromat across the street.we hope to have you back with us soon..."