I'd have to agree that most soaps require an ensamble cast to carry it, not just a couple of characters. And the DS writers should have been smart enough to know not to focus the story on one character just because the audience loves them. I think one of the best things that they did in 1897 was [spoiler]having Barnabas disappear for quite some time after the family found out that he was a vampire.[/spoiler]
That worked very well because it got the focus off of Barnabas and his journey to 1897, and allowed the story to be more focused on 1897 and what was happening there. Plus they didn't have the pesky task of trying to work Barnabas in around his various conditions and obstacles.
What I'm getting at here is the fact that if you make a character absent for a while, people want to see them more. Barnabas was gone for quite some time, and while it may not have been that long at all, it seemed like a lifetime. I found myself wondering "Where's Barnabas and what's happened to him?" even though I've seen the episodes before. I didn't quite remember everything, which helped as well.
I think a good example of a show that requires a large, strong ensamble cast is ER. Not one cast member that was in the Pilot or the first season (to my knowledge) is still a regular cast member on the show. And while Noah Wyle's "Dr. John Carter" is slated to appear in at least four episodes each season (though he won't be appearing at all this year because of other storylines going on), he is not a regular, and is not in every episode like he was for so long. Despite the fact that no original docs are still there, the show continues to pull strong ratings, even though the ratings may not be as high as they once were. And personally, I think the show better this year than it's been in a good long while, and all of that is thanks to a great ensamble cast and better writing.
