I am a Fan of LEVITHANS. BUT how could have the story been better??

I do not mock DS's special effects most of the time. But this arc's Shadow Man is about as hilariously unfrightening as possible.

I think Barnabas challenged and vulnerable is great.   Barnabas invisible isn't.   What we were seeing early on in Leviathans wasn't him.  He was almost as absent as in 1841 PT.

The serpents were on the cairn because the word leviathan=serpent, even if they weren't exactly serpents really.    Close probably.

There would have been absolutely no benefit for Petofi with the Leviathans.   Petofi is actually interested in human culture and human history.   After the asthmatic cameraphobes take over, does Andreas just sit in his house and listen to records?

In the 1967 story arc, the curse completely influences barnabas's behavior, while in the Leviathan period, he is being controlled by the leviathans, unable to break free of them. I very much enjoy the two contrasting views.

I agree with other posters who mentioned that [spoiler]that Paul Stoddard's death was sad, and that it would have ben interesting to keep him around to see how he would interact with everyone once they had all been released from the Leviathan influence. His character could really have been interesting.[/spoiler]

The Leviathan storyline started out really fascinating but then went nosediving!!  They ( the writers) never really finished the Maggie/ Barn romance that started and what about the ring he gave her that was supposedly Josette's ring?  That went to no man's land.  I always hated that the didn't finish  that story line. How could they have made it better?  Finish storylines!

I think the Leviathon story had to be the worst thing they came up with, notwithstanding the dream curse. EW! And the Adam storyline thing. My, God, man!
I used to tape the shows from Sci-Fi on a daily basis and watch it when I got home from work. It wasn't long before I discontinued taping and went on to other things. I never knew what happened with Barn and Vicky running away. I shuddered when that half-wit doctor shone the sunlight to Barnabas, who was dressed in normal pajamas - for a vampire - come on! I cringed when David hit puberty. Give me the old black and whites, the old days of Jason blackmailing Elizabeth, and Willie covering up his boss's secret.

Many of my favorite programs have large sections I find unwatchable.   

Same here, Magnus. This atrocious bit of writing and acting comes from one of my other favorites, Death Note. Of course, I find many episodes of series unwatchable not for lack of quality, but for other reasons. The Body, which I personally consider the best episode of BtVS, is one of my least favorites to watch. However, I'm going off-topic here.

The Leviathan arc probably is one of my least favorite arcs, though not my least favorite - that dubious honor goes to 1841PT, followed by 1970PT, with 1840 in third place. I do think it showed tremendous potential - it's too bad that a lot of it went to waste. I could rant about Jeb, and especially Jeb and Carolyn, all day long.

I am totally different. I watch my shows through thick and thin. Charmed had a certain witch in it's final season that I didn't like  very much but there was no way I wasn't going to watch it.  I had devoted 7 years of my life to the show and I was gonna see it through to the end.  And I am so glad I did because there were some GEMS in Season 8.

Back on topic: Even though it is not the greatest, there is just something I like about the Leviathans. I think it has more to do with the atmosphere and the 70's feel than storyline. Although I thought it started out well and fell apart in the middle! It's a shame really because they were not only a threat to the Collins family but to the entire world.  What an amazing storyline it could have been. 

RE:  The Body is top notch television much like Once More With Feeling and Hush.  And I don't mind to watching it because the actors really really really delivered. Especially, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan and Emma Caufield. [spoiler]To me Anya was the most heartbreaking because she was like a child who didn't understand death.  [/spoiler]

Strangely enough, when I referred to "unwatchable" storylines, I didn't mean to say that I don't watch them!

Original Star Trek continues to be judged and under-rated because of episodes they had to do to stay on the air, or because of network interference.   I watch them all, those I have, but it's a prime example of a program being a favorite, perhaps the favorite, while still having major flaws.   

Also the shows that stretch themselves and take risks will inevitably fall on their face once in awhile.  I prefer those, to shows (or musicians or film makers or authors) that are solid and consistent in quality but which never "soar" and don't risk alienating the majority.

Oh, I know what you meant, Magnus. I'll watch those storylines again sometime. Granted, I'll complain the whole way through, but it's not truly unwatchable!

I remember enjoying the story at the time, largely because so much of it revolved around Carolyn. Never really warmed to the Carolyn/Jeb thing though. I never thought there was any real chemistry between them. Someone else must have thought so too because Barrett and Pennock are never paired off again.

I would have liked to see Sarah make a return appearance to confront Barnabas about his actions with the Leviathans. Sarah could reached Barnabas on a level that even Julia could not have. She could have made him see what he had done and that he needed to make amends for it. A flash forward/what if episode or two showing what would have happened if the Leviathans had succeeded would have made Barnabas' change of direction more credible and compelling.

My love for The Leviathans has extended to a short story (15 pages) about The Levithans, Angelique, and the Parallel Time Room. It will be in my zine coming out next year.  Certain questions I always had about The Leviathans, The Parallel Time room and Angelique helped this story pour out of me.  It was a lot of fun writing for Haza and Oberon. 

I recently watched those eps again and now am in PT and they are pretty cutting edge; with Fringe doing Parallel Worlds and Supernatural using The Old Ones which they called Leviathans as the big bad this past season. 

Some additional thoughts......

They should have given Quentin a storyline of his own after Amanda is disposed of. Much of what Selby does here could have been done by anyone. A huge waste.

Perhaps Josette could have been the one to break through Barnabas' Leviathan programming. It would have awesome to have Josette's ghost appear to Angelique because she's the only one who can help Barnabas. There's Josette going to Angelique, knowing full well what she is and what she's done but needing her to fight a greater evil. Plus there's Angelique who should have mixed feelings of her own and not just about Josette. There's the conflict between her marriage vows versus her undying feelings for Barnabas. And there's the issue of her powers. It couldn't have been easy for her to give them up. It should be easy for her to get them back.

And, for once, break tradition and let the ingenue know what's going on. Carolyn may have been attracted to Jeb but she would have been horrified to let that he killed her father, let alone what he had planned for her and humanity. Like Maggie, Carolyn could have been a mole, relaying information to screw up their plans. And, at the right moment, Carolyn could have been the one to avenge her father's death, perhaps saying "Uncle Roger was right. You really are a cheap, insufferable pig."

Once they reintroduce Josette's ghost, they have the problem of addressing why she stopped appearing from the time Barnabas joins DS.  Of course, history has now changed somewhat.  Maybe in some weird way, it's changed enough that that past isn't a problem in this way anymore.  Josette's suicide [spoiler]method is now poison rather than Widow's Hill...[/spoiler] maybe other things are noiw different, and maybe recent history also can be treated as a sort of blank slate now, to be filled in later.