mscbryk, I thought what you wrote about Burke as the forgotten hero of the show was very interesting. He was so central to Art Wallace's original concept, but at this stage of the game, when the old chestnut of a new DS gets trotted out, we NEVER hear fans discuss what should be done with Burke, who should play him, etc.
Even less remembered by fans is my candidate for Vicki's fiance, Frank Garner. Apparently Conrad Fowkes' request for a raise led to DC ordering the character to be written out of the series, according to reports of Mr. Fowkes' statements at the last Festival (I missed him, unfortunately).
I first encountered Burke Devlin in one of those silly "Marilyn" Ross novels. At the time, I assumed that Devlin was a creation of Ross. It wasn't until 1976 and the airing of the original Barnabas storyline in a local syndication market that I got to see the Anthony George version of Burke. I think my first exposure to the Mitchell Ryan characterization (apart from brief clips on the original Ressurection of Barnabas Collins MPI videotape) was in the late 1990s when a mysterious, kindly gentleman sent me a package of 1966 tapes from his remote estate in the countryside.
Like Adam, Burke was a character defined initially by a pronounced streak of monomania. Unlike Adam, the writers actually allowed Burke to grow and change. Perhaps the character was too realistic for the "wild and woolly" tone of post-1795 DS. Had he remained involved, his romance with Vicki would have at least given Moltke a little more to do than stare at Cassandra and complain that she didn't understand.
I do love this scene where Burke and "Miss" Hoffman are talking turkey in the drawing room. There's such an old boys night out atmosphere in the way that scene is written and played. This was in the era of Anthony George, who was a friend of Grayson Hall's in real life.
G.
