Did the DS characters have more depth in the past?

I am half way through DVD collection 5 which has been fast moving and fantastic! At first the going back in time thing seemed a little silly what with all the same faces but it wasnt long till I was hooked. One thing I seem to sense is that the characters in this past incarnation of 1795(?) have more depth than the ones in the present e.g.

Joshua Collins has that conflict between love of his family and his mastery over them. But also he worries about what people think of him and seems open to fear of the supernatural events around him.
Barnabas Collins was pretty deep to start with but as a human I find him very likeable and his character has just been fleshed out in so many ways by this time trip.
Nathan (hope that name is right) is now not just the one dimensional boyfriend of Maggie Evans but is a happy go lucky but serious and honourable military man, who cares about his career but wants to protect Vicky Winters.
Mother Collins (sorry forgot her name) has her struggles with alcholism while trying to keep her family together.
Josette Collins is now the guilt ridden haunted and confused woman who seems just that bit deeper and more convincing than Maggie Evans.

There's more that could be said on this, but my point is: Did they get new writers in or something for this time travel bit? I Thought DS was great and with this development its getting even better!

No, Pooter, they didn't get new writers, but you would think so just because of the way the stories differ. I have to agree with you that the characters of the past have much more going on than the characters of the present. Maybe that's not quite all true though. Maybe it's just that the present day trials and tribulations of our favorite family for significantly more boring than those of the past.

You'll see in an upcoming time-travel sequence that the story is very broad and all-encompassing, focusing around one main character for the most part, and when originally aired, it lasted (I believe) 9 months.

It does seem that more time went into the planning of the time travel areas of the show, at least, the first two for sure, because theyir stories were elaborate and involved. Unfortunately, you will also come to realize that after the initial wonderfulness of these period wears off, that the writers attempted to stretch out the stories in the past because they were immensely popular, and then fall very flat compared to the earlier stories.

1795 was more involved, just because much of the show is a result of what happened there. It has to explain why Barnabas is the  way he is right now. What he went through. The pre Barnabas stories were more normal and everyday life. except for the Laura story line.  Murder and mayhem and normal soap opera.

Why don't the both of you join the watching project, it is almost like we are watching the show for the first time.