IMO, the way I see it is that when Miranda betrayed Judah in the 1600s all of her powers were probably taken away from her as punishment for this act. Then, somewhere along the line in that lifetime she most likely made a pact with the master of darkness himself that if he gave her back her powers she'd promise to serve only him for all eternity. This was done probably later on in her life and her wish was granted to her in her next lifetime, which was Angelique. I also believe that once given back her powers she was also given back her old life's memory as a reminder of her betrayal in the past.

This is a sensible theory, and it would also lend credence to Angelique's origin as written in Lara's Angelique's Descent, which discards the Miranda story altogether. Given the show's propensity for reincarnated characters, this probably offers the most logical and internally consistent explanation (as if internal consistency is ever much of a determining factor).

--Mark

Yah, good stuff on the boards, color-wise. Someone is having great fun, wot?

--Mark

[shadow=red,left,300]HAPPY HAPPY HAPPYBIRTHDAY[/shadow]
--Mark

I'm not at all surprised by SFC's decision to stop running DS; what's surprising is that it ran as long as it did, given their obvious ambivalence about it. I'm grateful that I was able to record the show and purchase the tapes so that I do have the complete run (minus a few episodes here and there). I don't think I've seen an episode of DS on SFC since it was in its second run. It doesn't come on at a time I can view it and on those rare occasions when I'm home on a weekday, I pretty much haven't remembered to turn on the TV. Those times I have remembered, the damn thing was cancelled that day anyhow, so it just hasn't been in the cards.

Regardless, just knowing that it was on a broadcast channel has been a kind of reassurance, a feeling that yes, it's still going after all this time. But I can plug in the tapes any time I feel like it. It's not like I'm going to be personally deprived in any way.

Still, it feels weird knowing that it won't be showing on a regular basis.

I'll confess that after DREAMS OF THE DARK, with the nightmarish logistics of having to coordinate business dealings with DCP and HarperCollins (neither of which seemed to communicate with each other), endless rewrites, compromises, and rude surprises, I suffered some burnout. After getting some of the spirit back, I wrote THE LABYRINTH OF SOULS, which was both a catharsis and a rejuvenating effort. But again, after that, having been so close to the subject for such a long time, I've put some distance between me and DS in general for a while.

Then the other day, out of the blue, I got a craving, and I pulled out the old Marilyn Ross novels, which I now own most of, and started reading.

Guess what I'm into now. Yep. The whole dang lot of 'em.

It's good to come back (even if it's not the "real" thing!), even as the show is winding down on SFC.

--Mark

It shore is purty in here.

--Mark

Actually, Joan Bennett stated it on numerous occasions at the DS Fests. Perhaps someone who taped her appearances captured at least one such occassion. I don't know because I don't own any of the tapes - but I do know what I heard.

Although it might not be considered as "official" as anything from the show itself, for DREAMS OF THE DARK, we were told explicitly by DC that Vickie is Elizabeth's daughter. We did not, however, receive any specifics; it would have been an interesting topic to explore, had the novel series continued.

--Mark[/glow]

Annie -- Best wishes to you. Hope the ultrasound won't reveal any problems. As for the cholesterol, there's lots you can do to control it. I have monstrously high cholesterol (it runs in the family), and I'm taking Pravachol, which has not exhibited any side effects whatsoever. Before I started taking it, a couple of years ago, my cholesterol was well over 300, and now it's just over 200; still borderline high, but it's a huge improvement and the doctor isn't worried about it at this point. 249 can be controlled OK.

--Mark

It won't open for me either, at the moment. Between McAfee, The Cleaner, Ad-Aware, Pop-Up Stopper, Mailwasher, and Sygate Firewall, I tend to catch most baddies before they can do anything ugly.

--Mark