In support of the Jason McGuire storyline.

[A.C.]

Hi, new to the board...just  found the site recently and love it. A lot of great topics...

I just want to say that the Jason storyline kind of got short shrift...especially with the early VHS release trimming it down.

In 1982 when DS was syndicated I tuned in its first week but got an episode set at the Blue Whale with Maggie, Joe ect and was dissapointed. The next day I gave it one more chance and it was the Jason storyline that hooked me in, and then Barnabas showed up like on that Friday and the show kept getting better and better.

I really think DS was better for having the Jason/Barnabas storyline alternating-the Jason story during the daylight hours and Barnabas at night. I even believe that some of the Jason shows were more interesting during the lengthy time Maggie was held captive.

What is most striking to me was that with the end of the  Jason storyline was really, truly, the last time that Collins that dwelled in Collinwood atually had a storyline "all to their own" for the rest of the run they were basically there to prop up whatever Barnabas or Quinton storyline was running and I thought that was unfair to Joan, Louis, Nancy and Alexandra.

Perhaps the show should have tried to keep two concurrent storylines going...

[IluvBarnabas]

I think the Jason story and the Barnabas/Maggie story were both equally compelling, I wouldn't say one story was better than the other. They were both equally fascinating to watch and very well acted. But I must say Dennis Patrick turned in a great performance as the despicable, greedy, money-hungry rogue Jason. And I think Joan did some of her best work as Elizabeth during this time.

In regards to Joan and Louis, unfortunately they did get short-changed in terms of storylines of their owns. But maybe it was by choice. It's no secret that the two of them as well as other cast members often did projects outside of DS and so their characters were either buried alive/off on a business trip/vacation but rarely killed off.

I know I would have liked to have seen the writers do more with Vicki and her search for her parentage, that unfortunately did get pushed off the show permanently once Barnabas came on. Not to mention the writers started to dumb down Vicki's character, it's no wonder Alexandra wanted to play another character. Unfortunately she was never allowed the opportunity.

I think Nancy faired best of them all, Carolyn was still laid in the middle of the action now and then, especially during the Adam and Leviathan storylines.

Welcome to the forum, A.C.! Look forward to reading more posts from you.

[loril54]

I did like the story line. I actually like how it ended. Maybe the show would have gone on longer if they would have done other story lines. With the Barnabas and Quentin stoylines. I think it might be the case that Louis and Joan might have wanted to do other things.  They could have shown more how Barnabas and Quentin effected the others. Sometimes I think it was more the Barnabas Show at times. That didn't make it easier on Jonathan.

Maybe they could have done more with people finding out about Barnabas and the effect on others. But we must rememeber that when Jonathan came on the show it was a last effort to save the show. Which did happen. OH Well the rest is history.

Weldome AC, have fun.

[Gothick]

Hi A. C., Welcome to the Boards!  You'll find plenty of fans of the Jason storyline here.  Several of us rate it as among the very best of the entire series.

I agree that a lot of the Jason shows are more compelling than the Barnabas/Maggie kidnapping shows, and I'll give you my personal reason why.  There was more scope IMO for dramatic tension between Jason and Liz, and Jason and the rest of the crew at the Big House, with the way Jason's scheme played out.  Joan and Dennis had some tremendous confrontations and the material required Jason to be quite devious and think his way out of the various attempts by Liz to sabotage his plans.  It felt as if the two were more evenly matched, and there was also the material from the responses by Carolyn, Roger, Vicki et al to the unfolding situation.  With Barnabas, Maggie and Willie it was pretty much the three of them engaged in a war of nerves in which Barnabas' supernatural powers kept trumping the situation.  There was certainly some fine writing AND thesping in this story but a lot of it also felt repetitive and less dynamic, over all, than the Jason scenario.

Another factor to consider is the shift in Burke's role during this time and the eventual [spoiler]writing Burke out of the show altogether.  Presumably this was done because the writers felt that if Burke remained on the scene, he would sooner or later, in any remotely plausible scenario, have learned Barnabas' secret.  Perhaps DC was also thinking of having a stronger romantic relationship between Barnabas and Vicki than was eventually the case--something more along the lines of the 1991 story.  For this to happen, Burke had to go.  It's significant that by the time Burke was written out, in, what October of '67?, it was obvious to all that Barnabas was here to stay.[/spoiler]

Just some thoughts.  Again, welcome!

G.

[David]

Patrick's perfomance as Jason was wonderfully over the top.
His scenes with Bennett, Barrett, Karlen  & Frid sizzled!

If DS had continued doing an even mix of psychological thriller styled Jason stories & the scary stuff,
the show would not have burned out so quickly and lasted a few years longer.

David

[Gerard]

Even though DS had, by this time, definitely made the jump from its original concept as a gothic romance to a supernatural thriller, the Jason-Elizabeth storyline, devoid of any supernatural element (except where it crossed and melded, very successfully, with the arrival of Barnabas) was a way to keep the former elements.  I enjoyed the show when they did this; it kept it more subtle and "realistic."

Gerard

[michael c]

i love the jason mcquire storyline.joan bennett and jason patrick were brilliantly matched.it was some of the most vituoso writing and acting ever on the show i think.

it's true that during the first year all of the characters(the collins family,vicki,burke,the folks down at the evans' cottage)have their own storylines and subplots.

with the conclusion of the jason plot that changes.from june 1967 on no one ever has a storyline that barnabas does not factor into in some signifigant way.this shift is abrupt but decisive.it's also kind of remarkable when you consider that barnabas was supposed to be a thirteen week character and he ends up driving the whole thing for the next four years.

it makes one wonder what the writers had mapped out for the other characters has barnabas not taken off the way he did.what would have been next for liz after the jason storyline has she not been sidelined?

i agree with iluvbarnabas in that nancy barrett faired better than most in that she was more malleable.she could play the ingenue but she could also be flawed.this opened up storyline possibilities to her that were not available to alexandra as victoria(or later on kathryn leigh scott as maggie).for whatever reason the writers decided that vicki could only express virtuos qualities.this limited what her character could do.

as for joan and louis i think that in general they did better in the historical time periods(god bless naomi and judith!).the writers seemed a bit unsure about how to use liz and roger in the "present" once the show went into supernatural overdrive.that said they did provide some much-needed normalcy and continuity to the otherwise nutty situations.

[A.C.]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes and opinions! It really is a wonderful board! I've been devouring the archives of messages and there have been some truly wonderful and insightful posts and opinions! I'm glad to have found my way here after discovering the Barnabas Undead boads were closed down!

[Gerard]

Oh, all those wonderful subplots, most non-supernatural, during the first few seasons of the show!  There were so many of them, and the writers did have them simultaneously incorporate together, including with the supernatural elements, while at the same time they could stand alone.  Brilliant!  We had the "non-spooky" stories of Vicki searching for her parentage (with a blossoming romance with Frank, Jr.); which girl was going to get Burke (or which girl was Burke going to get); the falling apart of Joe and Carolyn's relationship and the development of Joe and Maggie's; what really happened in that hit-and-run accident involving Roger, Burke, Laura and Sam (and the incredible scene where the truth and resolution came out); the PEN - that PEN which ended up in more places than lost luggage on a United Airlines flight.  The only other inanimate objects which received almost as much attention were those paintings that Sam wanted back from Roger.

During those first few seasons, I wanted to know what was happening with each and every one of those subplots.  They were never enthralling and complex while never being confusing.  Sadly, as the show went more and more into the spooky realm, some of them were forgotten or tossed aside.  Eventually, few new ones saw the light of day.

Gerard

[A.C.]

Another sad thing about the end of the Jason storyline (aside from the loss of the fantastic Dennis Patrick) was that Jason dropped a major bomb that he was in the vicinity 18 years ago and seemed to know something about Vicki's parentage...and then wham...there was never any chance for that thread to be followed up and perhaps provide answers to who was Vicki Winters!

[Lydia]

Jason dropped a major bomb that he was in the vicinity 18 years ago and seemed to know something about Vicki's parentage

I thought that Jason was just being Jason - always ready with a lie if it might get him some money.

Patrick's perfomance as Jason was wonderfully over the top.

What exactly is the definition of "over the top"?  My general impression is that it means overacting for the pure joy of overacting and camping it up, and I don't feel that this is a good description of Dennis Patrick's performance.  Jason himself might be over the top, but Patrick was not.

[PennyDreadful]

 I really enjoyed the Jason storyline.  Dennis Partick and Joan Bennett were marvelous in their scenes together, and Dennis Patrick was brilliant as that "smiling snake" Jason Maguire.

[Gothick]

I didn't find Dennis Patrick's work as Jason at all "over the top."  Right on the mark is how I would characterize his performance.

I am having a "middle aged moment" about this but the dear chap who portrayed Garth Blackwood... this would be an example of an over-the-top characterization.  We saw other examples of his work on the series and he could be quite subtle and understated (as the blackmailing chemist in PT 1970 for example).  A part like Garth Blackwood could really only be played in an over-the-top way.  How do you play something like that "realistically"?

G.

[A.C.]

iit's true that during the first year all of the characters(the collins family,vicki,burke,the folks down at the evans' cottage)have their own storylines and subplots.
...

it makes one wonder what the writers had mapped out for the other characters has barnabas not taken off the way he did.what would have been next for liz after the jason storyline has she not been sidelined?

as for joan and louis i think that in general they did better in the historical time periods(god bless naomi and judith!).the writers seemed a bit unsure about how to use liz and roger in the "present" once the show went into supernatural overdrive.that said they did provide some much-needed normalcy and continuity to the otherwise nutty situations.

That's a great question as to what exactly lie ahead if Barnabas had been staked. I really wonder what the writers had in mind?

Agreed about the inability on knowing what to do with Liz & Roger in present day sequences-there was nothing "meaty" for them at all.

[loril54]

They could of done more with liz and going to Wyndcliff and maybe having a real affair. Roger and Cassandra it would be interesting seeing more of that. Maybe Buzz coming back as an investment banker and give Roger financial advice.