strange such a major piece of casting information is just coming out now...

I was under the impression production was well underway.

as NoDS stood there was really no role for Barnabas/Frid.


so whatever it was to have been before he dropped out had to have been completely reconceptualized.

I haven't seen it in a long time...

so Angelique was not referenced as the cause of the curse??? I knew Parker didn't appear in the film but forgot what/who Barnabas' "affliction" had been attributed to.

I certainly never saw a connection between the events of 1897 and/or the leviathan plot in the film. to me it read as a stand-alone story loosely "based on" the early 1967 episodes but with Maggie subbing for Vicki.

and as fond of Vicki/Moltke as I (and many fans) am let's face it by 1970 Barnabas the clearly the draw...

I doubt the presence, or absence, of any of the other supporting characters would have much impacted the film's bottom line.

The writers, of course, should've done a bit more research.  In the 1897 storyline having Laura showing up, instead of having her been the first husband of Jeremiah, they could've made her the husband of another Collins (make someone up, like Noah or Able or whatever Collins) that Barnabas would've remembered.  Continuity is simple when one just takes a second to think.

exactly. since the story was being made up and rewritten anyways Laura could have come to Collinwood as the wife of any old relation. making her Jeremiah's wife was not only sloppy, it was unnecessary. 

and even at that she didn't have to be married into the family for Barnabas to remember her. she still could have been married into another prominent Collinsport family (Stockbridge. Radcliff) as in her original timeline.

as that "barmy" caretaker told us in 1967 ad nauseum "L. Murdoch Stockbridge died by fire..."

in the original telling of Laura's story she married into the Stockbridge and Radcliff families in her previous Collinsport incarnations. her subsequent inclusion in 1795 and 1897 was a complete rewrite.


it was also a completely unnecessary rewrite. having Laura married to Jeremiah in the 18th century not only threw continuity out of whack but didn't add anything to the overall mythology. if they wanted to retroactively include in that period she could have come to Collinwood as the wife of another relation. there was no dramatic purpose for her to be married to Jeremiah. it was sloppy.

as for her marrying into the family in the 19th century who knows??? they probably thought the show was so poorly rated in 66/early 67 few viewers would have even known she had previously been part of the story. 

to say nothing of the fact the Pheonix's 100 year cycle gets totally thrown off with each appearance.

I went to school in Boston and thus have a slight connection to story...

I read the book many years ago and found it fascinating. there's a good documentary on Netflix about Bulger as well. when this hits Netflix i'll give it a look.