It couldn't hurt to try, David. There's been a running "Witch List" for the original DS for years now, but it would appear Chiller's moving in the right direction with this by starting with the '91 series.
I did watch the whole thing yesterday and also DVR'd it. Of course, I had some issues with it where it diverged from the original (Maggie and Sam running the Blue Whale -- eeew!). However, all in all, I thought it was very well done. The casting, for the most part, was spot on. Ben Cross, though, really blew me away. He captured the essence of Barnabas so well -- the angst, the self-loathing, the undying love for Josette -- I so enjoyed his performance. I have to take issue with the character of Angelique, though. Lysette Anthony did a good job given what she had to work with, but I thought the writing made her very one-dimensional. She was evil incarnate. There was nothing even remotely sympathetic about her character. In the original, I found Angelique to be quite sympathetic, even early on, despite all her dastardly deeds. Another thing that struck me was, Barnabas so completely rejected Angelique in this series. If you recall, in the original, when he goes to visit Angelique in her room, supposedly to lay down the law about his imminent marrige to Josette, he can't resist her -- he grabs her and kisses her quite passionately. In the '91 version, it's obvious that she disgusts him.
OK -- I'm done nitpicking. The bottom line for me was, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Seeing this series again and having watched the 2004 pilot, I'd venture to say the WB remake wouldn't have been able to compare. Then again, maybe I'm not being fair since Dan Curtis himself was appalled at the 2004 pilot and wanted time to tweak it.
