Lots of stuff going on here - what fun!
Actually, Lydia never meant anything like that, as is clear from what she goes on to say. 
Like what? That's a quote. It was just a nice observation about Lamar and the viewers being in comparable positions though; I wasn't reading anything further into it.
My point was that to take that particular remark away from the context of what Lydia goes on to say can easily imply that the point she was making was that with the switch to 1841PT the audience as well as the show itself is trapped in a bad storyline and thus it dies there. But within the full context of what she says it's clear that isn't what she was saying because after making that remark she goes on to say how much she loves 1841PT. However, I can now see from your explanation that that wasn't the implication you were trying to make by taking her remark away from its context.
This is great! I feel like a famous author. Dead, but famous.
I like the point about the Stairway through Time spreading its tentacles (or spores)
Cool words!
Joan Bennett and Grayson Hall have the distinction of being the only cast members to appear in three time periods in a single episode: 1840RT, 1971RT, and 1840PT.
Cool thought!
I've been called many things, but never global.
Janet the Global...It has a nice ring!
As for who died in 1863, it was definitely Gabriel, identified by Grandmama Edith as her husband. I put together a scenario a while back for how Barnabas's and Julia's 1840 shenanigans might have avoided messing up 1897 irreparably. Nobody responded to it because nobody reads Dead White Female Authors, but that's OK. Here it is:
1. 1840 Quentin and Daphne have no offspring.
2. Tad dies in the Civil War, bravely falling alongside his cousin Thaddeus.
3. 1840 Quentin dies sometime after 1840 but before 1870 or so.
4. Daphne raises Judith, Edward, 1897 Quentin, and Carl when their parents die: “Great-aunt-aunt” instead of “Grandmamama”.
5. I Ching, possibly even more devoted to Barnabas than Julia is, cleans up the mess created by the fact that Barnabas, having arrived in 1840 via I Ching, leaves via the staircase. Thanks to I Ching, there is a Barnabas in the coffin in 1967 for Willie to discover.
With a postscript that Daphne didn't know the secret, but I don't think Grandmama's knowledge of the secret was essential to the action in 1897.
