I actually LIKE Ned Stuart, because he had a reason to be so abrasive and irritating. Jeff Clark, on the other hand, did not. Sure, he may have been involved in some mental institution or something, but really...I think he was given a crappy storyline with annoying dialogue, and I hate seeing him and Vicki together. Jeff waffled about and never really accomplished anything, whereas Ned made everyone at Collinwood squirm in just a few episodes. I especially love that scene in which Ned insists on waiting at the cottage for Chris with B & J, both of whom are extremely ill at ease and eager to get rid of him. I like the early scenes with Dirk; it's implied that he and Beth had something going on before Quentin returned, yet that plot's quickly dropped once Laura shows up. I really dislike those episodes: Diana Millay is great, but those repetitive, boring let's-chant-these-made-up-incantations scenes get on my nerves, and Dirk is in a lot of them. Dirk the vampire was semi-fun, though, and I enjoyed a little bit of Charles Delware Tate (that scene with him and "Pansy" when the blinds fall is hilarious).