If There Was No Sam Hall on DS

[Joeytrom]

Julia Hoffman was originally meant to be a short term character to eventually be killed by Barnabas.

If Sam Hall, Graysons husband, was never hired on DS as a writer, would Julia still have been so prominently featured as she was on the show?

What are your opinions?

[Raineypark]

Barnabas needed Julia like Holmes needed Watson....there's not another character on the show who could have filled that function the way she does.

Was having Sam around good for Grayson?  I'm sure.  But the character of Julia more than carried her own weight.

[CastleBee]

Barnabas needed Julia like Holmes needed Watson....there's not another character on the show who could have filled that function the way she does.

Completely agree Raineypark! Not to mention that Julia's unrequited love for Barn (which was just as effective IMO as the reluctant vampire idea) was one of the things that kept everyone coming back for more. 

[Julia99]

Interesting question .. i think there are those fans who think Grayson got what she did 'cuz Sam was the writer but i always remind them . .she got the job first, she had the Oscar nom, don't dis her.  And its interesting to me that Julia has interesting moments but overall, she doesn't seem to get preferential treatment (e.g. always in distress (only a few times), diva moments, lovers, etc. like today's divas get-erica kane comes to mind).  Julia was a reliable-friend character.  I think you can see the character of Magda might've been a husband's present to his wife. . .but i digress. . . Julia stayed on the show because as others have said Barn needed a trusty sidekick and the unrequited nature of their feelings kept it alive.  Remember. Sam Hall suggested killing off Julia and it was DC who said "NO!". . ..

[Gothick]

Hi, this question seems to come up a lot, mainly from people who do not have access to reliable info about the production history of DS.

Grayson got the gig to play Julia by a lucky accident, and turned the rather uninteresting role as written into something very special.  DC met Sam at Grayson's parties and liked him. When a new writer was needed, DC knew that Sam did not then have a job commitment and offered him the role.  This was mid to late October 1967, by which time Grayson and Julia had become fixtures on DS.  Sam's first episode was the one where Barnabas is trying to drive Julia insane (like he didn't do that just by being Barn, lol) and Julia had this line about their being a thin line between love and hate that the script gave her to deliver to Barnabas.  I thought it was a neat twist on their relationship.

If DC had given Sam the go-ahead to have Julia killed off, I don't think it would have meant Grayson's exit from the series.  I'm quite sure she would have been brought back, in a role as different from Julia as possible.  Grayson sometimes had issues with Julia's being, as she colorfully phrased it, "such a straight-ass."

Best wishes,

Gothick

[Cassandra Blair]

Loved the insight into the behind the scenes situation with Grayson and Sam Hall, Gothick!  And her opinion about Julia is too funny!!

I don't have enough information to comment on Sam's contributions to the show or to the character of Julia, but my feeling about Julia herself is this: with or without Sam, Julia is (for me) the emotional core of Dark Shadows.  Sure, Barnabas has the corner on the reluctant vampire deal, but Julia's unrequited love and dogged loyalty to him just rings so true.  Grayson's subtle (yes, at times it really was) portrayal of these feelings seemed so real.

This may not have been the healthiest of relationships, but it really felt like love - more than any other 'couple' the show presents, IMO.  I know this won't make the Barn/Vicki, Barn/Angelique or Barn/Josette contingents happy, it's just MHO.

Julia really showed the man what love is - it's a pity he didn't pay better attention.  Barnabas could have learned alot from her. 

[Raineypark]

Julia loved Barnabas the way only a woman married 20 or 30 years can love a man: no stars in her eyes, no false hopes, no excuses,......and no regrets. 

rainey

[jennifer]

have to agree Julia was Barnabas's best ally
and the actors worked so well together
i really missed them in the last storyline and
find it one of the most interesting plots in all
fanfic i've read of what happened to them later!

jennifer

[Luciaphile]

Julia was, in MHO, a necessary character on a number of
different levels. With the focus on Barnabas, who was almost always a man out of his time, they needed someone to serve as a bridge, a connection to modernity. While Willie also fulfilled that function, because of the character's class level and background (and because Barnabas is a snob ), Julia was essential. To a certain extent, the character worked as a foil (although, that aspect waxed and waned throughout the character's duration on the show).

Then there's the fact that there was a large part of the fan base invested in the Barnabas character. It's arguable that her character was someone with who they could identify.

[Julia99]

and the actors worked so well together
jennifer

which is ironic i think --'cuz it seems to me (reading or listening to their comments about one another) that they didn't seem to care too much for each other outside of work. . . just like Duchovny and Anderson on X-files and Willis and Shepard on Moonlighting.  .

[MrsJ]

Julia loved Barnabas the way only a woman married 20 or 30 years can love a man: no stars in her eyes, no false hopes, no excuses,......and no regrets. 

rainey

Not too sure about the no regrets part...Julia certainly loved Barnabas pretty much unconditionally (IMO), but I definately believe she had regrets (Dave Woodard, for one).  At least I like to think so...   

MrsJ.

[Connie]

which is ironic i think --'cuz it seems to me (reading or listening to their comments about one another) that they didn't seem to care too much for each other outside of work. . .

Interesting!  Who said that?
I think they worked well together too.  They didn't seem to "hang out" together outside of work, but I was in their presence together at the studio and they seemed very happy and relaxed around each other.  It does seem that Grayson and Selby were fairly tight outside of work though.

-CLC   

[Raineypark]

Not too sure about the no regrets part...Julia certainly loved Barnabas pretty much unconditionally (IMO), but I definately believe she had regrets (Dave Woodard, for one).  At least I like to think so...   
MrsJ.

Oh, I love my husband pretty much unconditionally (26 years together, 20 married  )....but I sure as hell wouldn't help him murder a man!!! 

I think what I was commenting on is the fact that their relationship is written with all the hallmarks of long-time lovers....almost from the beginning....even though they never are!  I wonder how much of THAT comes from Grayson's relationship with Sam?

rainey 

[Patti Feinberg]

DC met Sam at Grayson's parties and liked him. When a new writer was needed, DC knew that Sam did not then have a job commitment and offered him the role.  This was mid to late October 1967, by which time Grayson and Julia had become fixtures on DS.  Sam's first episode...

Best wishes,

Gothick

So, in other words, Grayson introduced Sam to DC? Interesting.
Wasn't it really then that SHE got HIM his job?

IMHO, I think T. David could've been the 'Watson' to Barn's 'Sherlock'.

Patti

[onyx_treasure]

So, in other words, Grayson introduced Sam to DC? Interesting.
Wasn't it really then that SHE got HIM his job?

IMHO, I think T. David could've been the 'Watson' to Barn's 'Sherlock'.

Patti

     Very interesting, Patti.  Prof. Stokes as 'Watson'.  I think Prof. Stokes would not have any qualms about calling Barnabas an idiot and giving it to him straight between the eyes.