What characters or stories do you like that aren't very popular with others?

[Gerard]

(ii) An inkling, at least, of what Quentin was doing between 1897 and 1969. Surely he must have done something more than drink 72 years worth of brandy. Maybe he did some other messed up stuff that made his portrait even more grotesque ... who knows

Well, when David Selby appeared just a couple years later on The Waltons, playing a university professor who becomes smitten with Olivia Walton (who takes a college course), I like to fantasize that he was Quentin in one of his many changing disguised personas.

Gerard

[MagnusTrask]

I keep wondering what wars he was in.

[Roland]

I'm not a huge fan of the Leviathon story (though I don't dislike it to the extent that some do); however, I genuinely like the Carolyn/Jeb relationship because I think it is the one relationship in the history of DS that brings with it some genuine sexual tension.  They actually seem to be attracted to one another physically and not just romantically.

[Sandor]

The storyline of Elizabeth Stoddard's obsession with death (after she and Cassandra have a catfight - and Cass puts a spell on the poor woman) wasn't so bad for me, though I know most fans dislike that period. At least it gave Joan Bennett a brief chance to be back on the front-burner of the story. It also tied in the past (when she channeled Naomi Collins) with the ongoing threat of Barnabas' secret and true identity being exposed. And it gave us a rare treat of watching Dr. Julia Hoffman do the disappearing upper body trick as she bent over and stuck her head into Liz's coffin. Premature burial - grisly - but then came a happy ending, until the next crisis.

For unpopular characters, I love that creepy blonde "Alexander" brat from the 1969 Leviathan story. His thick New Yawk accent is hysterical. He is so over-the-top petulant - now here is the kid actor who should have played Damien the Anti-Christ child in "The Omen"!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

despite the makeup snafus

Speaking of which, Be In Awe Of The Nose Day is drawing near...

[retzev]

My favorite minor character -- Garth Blackwood -- he was only around for a handful of episodes but I thought he was really well done and scary. The history with him and Aristede is cool ...

I enjoyed those episodes, I like Blackwood. He would've made for a great heel in pro-wrasslin'. Early WCCW I'd say.

Since some other people mentioned alternative storylines that never made it onto the show--

A noirish 1940s flashback would've been cool too -

[LeFanu]

The Dream Curse storyline, though it seems to bug the crap out of many DS fans, is one of my favorites.  I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the bad wig and incompetent spellcasting of Angelique, or Nicholas Blair's sardonic attitude towards my favorite witch - he's like the worst boss in the world!

There's so much going on in the Dream Curse storyline: Maggie regaining her memory, Adam running amok, Julia b*tchslapping Cassandra, the unintentionally hysterical "most evil woman of the 18th century" Danielle Roget, and everyone having that goofy dream.  From my perspective, it's a mess, but it's also just a lot of fun.

[MagnusTrask]

The Dream Curse storyline, though it seems to bug the crap out of many DS fans, is one of my favorites.  I don't know what it is.

I do.   You find it so bad that it's funny.    People have enjoyed films and TV in that way for years.   (It came out from underground with SNL's "Bad Cinema" sketches I think.)   It's only in recent years, though, that a lot of people have said that they like a show because they find it laughable.   This is too confusing, to me.   When I have that reaction, I will say it's bad and that I dislike it, but find it so bad or improbable that I enjoy it anyway.   

With DS, though, I can't laugh at the storylines I don't like, because DS has always meant something to me, and I'm pulling for it, so I have to cringe during bad stretches.   It brings me down in a big way.    If an entire TV series is bad, then I can relax, and laugh or mock.

[LeFanu]

Well Magnus, I get your point, but it isn't that I find the Dream Curse to be so bad it's laughable - that's not what I take from any particular storyline of DS.  Let me attempt to clarify.

Even some of my less favorite storylines on DS are still better than almost anything else I've ever seen on television.  It's more that I know lots of fans find the Dream Curse unfocused, but that's the element of the story that I like.  There were so many things going on, and you never knew what was going to happen next.  Aside from Adam, this particular wasn't really derived from something else so it seems fresh, and sometimes like the writers weren't even quite sure where they were going to take it, so there's always an element of surprise, which is groovy.

Admittedly, there's a camp factor going on, esp. with the Nick/Angelique sideline, and that certainly has some appeal.  But the storyline itself I find compelling - interesting, involving, unforgettable - it's the first DVD set of  "Dark Shadows" that I bought. Don't get me wrong - the show means a lot to me too - I'm always pulling for it! 

[Uncle Roger]

Characters?  Quite enjoyed Hallie Stokes,  would like to have the romance between her & David that was implied in 1995 acctually come to fruition. Also liked Sabrina Stuart and would have liked to have seen more scenes with her and Chris.  One of all time favorites was Alexis Stokes, which gave Lara the opportunity to play a different type of character.

Did enjoy the Leviathans at the time.  It would have been interesting to see where this story might have gone.  Maybe a Rosemary's baby story for Carolyn?

Really enjoyed the 1970 PT story.  Lots of intersting twists on familiar characters, with some of the actors doing some of their best work.

If DS did have to go off the air, I would have prefereed to spend those last few weeks with Barnabas, Julia, Elizabeth, Roger and the others.  But the 1841 PT was okay.  Far better and more coherent than the 1840 story it followed.

[Cassandra Blair]

I'd have to say Leviathans is one storyline that I liked which many don't care for.  And the character of Jeb, though he is an "insufferable pig" has some appeal too - he's kind of got a raw sensuality, he's not a bad actor and I'd have to agree with Roland, who said above that Jeb and Carolyn had genuine chemistry.

Just lately, I've been watching the tail end of the show (1841 parallel time).  Didn't like it at all the first time around, but I'm kind of appreciating it this time.  Maybe it just took me a second viewing to get used to it being totally new characters. It was a new, interesting direction to take the show and I'm really looking forward to receiving dvd set 26, so that I can see the series finale - my tapes are from SciFi's last airing of "Dark Shadows." Y'all remember that, when they just abruptly ended with only twenty or so episodes left in the series? Grrrrrrr!

[loril54]

There are alot of stories that I liked but they just went to long. I liked the dream curse, but it was just to long. I liked the experiement but it went on to long.

I liked evil Barnabas in the Laviathans, but I didn't like the fact that it all came back to Josette time and time again. It would seem that
Julia should have been able to help him with his obsession.

[GooberCollins]

I don't think the Leviathan arc was that bad. Granted, I found Jeb to be thoroughly unlikeable, and the relationship between Jeb and Megan rubbed me the wrong way, but I found everyone fawning over Jeb or one of his child forms to be rather amusing. Actually, it was a lot like the fourth season of Angel, but I'm getting off-topic here. Megan's mad thrashing about while calling for Barnabas was pretty hilarious, too. Sorry to say I'm with the majority, though, when I say that I didn't really like 1840 or either Parallel Time. Well, I liked 1840 a little, but I could have done without the Parallel Times, though admittedly I found the fact that there was a Buffy (spelled differently, granted) on Dark Shadows to be amusing, too.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Sorry to say I'm with the majority, though, when I say that I didn't really like 1840 or either Parallel Time.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the majority of fans dislike all three of those storylines.    It's certainly not the case here on the forum...

[GooberCollins]

Well, those storylines just didn't have the highest ratings, so that's what I meant.