i haven't yet seen the storyline development under discussion here about the fate of vicki.
but since i am currently watching the leviathan arc it's an upcoming inevitability.i know what number episode it is and have always planned simply not to watch it because i know i'll find it upsetting and had planned to join those who simply refuse to accept this as fact.

but as has been pointed out here since it actually did occur on the show it is canon.

however as mysterious said no one ever really stays dead in the d.s. universe.if the series had continued,if alexandra had wanted to return,there is certainly nothing to say that a storyline where,for example,barnabas orders angelique to undo the events surrounding vicki's death and she's brought back couldn't have been written.that all this happened towards the end of the show's run of course meant none of that could ever come to fruition but it's not outside the boundries that the show had set up for itself.

mysterious,

i loved the scene too and agree that bennett was in top form(needless to say that liz was immaculately coiffed and jeweled and dressed added to my pleasure).i was fully prepared to despise this storyline but the first several weeks of it have proven quite enjoyable for me...although it's final weeks do sound really dumb so the jury is still out.

barnabas' bride,

i hear what you're saying too.personally i would loved to have seen some straight-foreward "soap opera" storytelling here and really get into it with(non-leviathan)liz and paul but the show simply had gone in a different direction by this time so it wasn't in the cards.i also agree that paul stoddard was something of a wasted opportunity here.this character(after the initial set-up)really could have been almost anyone.

over the weekend i watched an episode featured in today's slide show(#917)where liz 'icily' asks paul what would ever have made him think she wanted him back...ice-water certainly ran through my veins(and i hit the rewind button 10 times).

leviathan liz is one cool customer!

in general liz can get quite frosty at times.

roger,burke,laura,jason,cassandra.they've all gotten the deep-freeze from liz.
i like liz's warm,maternal side too(carolyn,vicki and david all get it)but when she gets cool it's a wintry blast to watch.

gothick,

cassandra's wardrobe blew me away!the color combinations were so weird.i remember particularly a psychedelic caftan.lots of green.the coat you mention in cassandra's opening episode too...very swingy...worn i believe with white kid gloves.i loved it!

i was impressed with the expense they lavished on the character's wardrobe.especially for a character that was only on the show for about three months.hardly the same outfit twice.this when most of the other characters wore the same things time and again.perhaps because angelique/cassandra hadn't been on the show before 1795 they had no choice but to go out and buy her a whole new wardrobe for the 'present' when the characters who had been on before could still wear what they had been wearing.considering a department store furnished the clothes in exchage for credits on the show they were rather skimpy.

i also thought cassandra's glossy black wig was striking on lara parker.it made her eyes pop.

i just completed the 1897 storyline and are several episodes into the leviathan storyline.

i enjoyed 1897 but i'm always glad to see my favorite characters again after a time travel story.
it's comforting to see carolyn and maggie and elizabeth...no matter how strange the plot.

but it was more than just seeing familiar faces that i found comforting.
it was the bizzare contrast of the "present day" fashions played against the dark gothic interiors.if anything the clothes got even brighter and the skirts got even shorter during the time that the show was set in the past.carolyn's outfit upon return to the present was dizzying.a brilliant poppy red blouse and a pastel polka dot print wraparound chiffon miniskirt!in one episode miss olivia correy gets a fox fur over paisley silk lounging pajamas...an eye-popping combination that will be burned onto my retina forever(please don't forget cassandra collins' blinding ensembles,julia's electric tweeds or vicki's any-dress-as-long-as-it's-sleeveless).

for me this sets up a visual dissonance that is one of the most striking things about the show.
the juxtaposition of the setting(ancient,heavy,somber)and the jauntiness of the clothes is the most visually arresting thing that speaks "dark shadows" to me.it's one of the first things that caught my eye.while the historical costumes make more sense within the ancient setting during the time travel stories i always feel as if i'm watching a period piece.in the present it feels more like d.s. to me.

this combination of ohrbach's,gothic settings,robert cobert's soundtrack and of course our actors set the mood for me.perhaps because i wasn't yet born when the show originally aired these fashions have a novelty for me and that's why i find them so striking.

so on to the subject of this informal poll.what do you guys think?storyline aside what do you think visually represents the show better?the present day or the time travel episodes?

i had an idea for a new poll in the current talk section but couldn't locate the 'start new poll' option.
i thought it used to be at the top of the page like the 'start new topic' option.am i missing something?

just back from maine(portland not collinsport!).

hope all are having a great holiday!