parts you can't re-watch?

[michael c]

i'm nearing the end of the "summer of 1970" episodes and thus the end of my little excursion to collinsport,maine.

for whatever reason i just can't do the 1840/1841 stuff right now.it's not even that specific to those storylines but after having spent the last four years watching this thing from episode one i'm feeling the burn.in the last year alone i've watched 1897,leviathan,1970 parallel time and now the final "real time" episodes.so another seven months of time travel stuff is just not a place i can go at this point in time.plus this is all starting to get so far away from what i first started watching the show for.

that said not feeling obligated to keep watching this thing progressively from beging to end i have the luxury of going back and re-watching some favorite storylines.some of which i haven't laid eyes on in years.

as much as i adore the fountain pen plot i'm not sure i could really handle the first year in it's entirety again.the laura collins story will be a must as will the jason mcquire storyline.i love the early barnabas episodes but i don't think i could watch the weeks that maggie was being kept prisoner in the basement of the old house.too stressful.but the rest of 1967 is my favorite part of the show and it will be a treat to see it again.i'm really looking forward to seeing 1795 again too(having watched it over two years ago).i can't handle the adam plot in it's entirety again but there are parts of 1968 and the dream curse i'd like to see.as for the quentin hauntings and 1897 i watched those too recently and it will be some time before i feel like a re-do.

so my question is are there parts of the show you can't re-watch?that you just have no interest in ever seeing again?

p.s.who knows a year from now i might get a hankering for something new and end up watching the 1840 stroyline but just not now.

[petofi]

There are no storylines in their entirety that I would avoid.  However, I tend to pick and choose episodes in pre- Barnabas (sticking to the stuff after Laura arrives, mostly. However, I watch some eps in this arc just for the location film excerpts, as well!), Leviathan (The latter third of this story along with the reintro of Quentin at the beginning is what I watch) and PT 1841 ( I'm just not the Heathcliff type, so I watch eps here with rising action or dramatic "action" scenes).  Some of the Adam story can test you after a few views, but I'm waay into it during the dream curse and after the arrival of Nicholas Blair, Angelique, etc..  Additionally, I enjoy the Dr. Lang storyline from '68. Most everything else I can watch numerous times, especially 1795(latter half), 1897, and 1967!

Petofi

[David]

I find Parrallel Time 1841 unbearable.
The last month of 1840 runs a close second.

The rest of the series ranges from brilliant (1795, 1897, Quentin/Beth haunting) to very good(B&W Barnabas, 1968, B&W Laura)  to OK.

David

[Barnabas'sBride]

Honestly, parts that I don't care if I ever see again: 1840/1841PT, 1970PT, and Summer of 1970. Basically, the tail end of the show.  1970 in general, it seems.

I love 1795 and 1897 to death, but the third time just wasn't the charm in this case, IMO. I have my problems with the Leviathan storyline, but in a way I didn't want to see it end because I knew another time jump was after it.

The reverse, storylines that I can watch over and over: The early black and whites up until 1795 (1967 is my personal favorite year of the show, I'm surprised my dvds still work), 1795 itself, Quentin's haunting of Collinwood, and 1897.

[stefan]

I seem to be able to watch 1795 over and over again and I can't quite put my finger on why. Definately it's the combination of Frid plus the generally witty and romantic writing (though I always FF the Vickie witch trial) but most of the story is simply riveting gothic. I like early Barnie B&W very much but have not seen it in awhile, 1897 is fine but I'm just not into it as much (except for the Josette/Kitty reincarnation). Dream Curse I rarely see, Bramwell and Catherine were also fine but saw it a couple of times and just don't have the interest to watch it again - maybe it's my anti Barni/Angelique prejudice and the Roger Corman lighting and music.

[retzev]

i don't think i could watch the weeks that maggie was being kept prisoner in the basement of the old house...

That was the first story-line that really got on my nerves. And it wasn't so much the story-line, but KLS's over-acting (the seemingly constant cries to the ghost of Sarah - "Little girl! Little girl!" )

But I can't say that I've seen anything yet that I'll skip over in my next run-through 

[Barnabas'sBride]

That was one of my favorites. I never thought KLS over-acted in the storyline either (actually, I can't recall her doing any over-acting, in my eyes, anyway). I thought she gave a good performance of someone who was losing it.

I felt that the show's writing and atmosphere were at top form during the black and white Barnabas episodes. And I thought the acting was mostly top notch, too. I think of it as "DS on its game".

[retzev]

I felt that the show's writing and atmosphere were at top form during the black and white Barnabas episodes. And I thought the acting was mostly top notch, too. I think of it as "DS on its game".

I agree, those were the epidodes that initially hooked me. I haven't made it to the end yet, but so far I'd say it's DS at it's spookiest...

[Sunny_Collins]

I had difficulty watching the part where Jeff Clark is trying to search for his true identity. He and Vicki are supposed to be getting married and he's out in a graveyard! So they postpone the wedding, which for some reason really annoyed me, then Jeff goes to professor Stokes for help. I watch these episodes, but it's hard for me to get through them.

I also have trouble watching the Quentin/Amanda romance, because it seemed to me like they just through an extra character in to the show, then expected everyone to love her, even Quentin, which was just not plausible or convincing to me. I thought Quentin and Beth were great together, but to have us believe that Quentin loves this Amanda who we and he hardly knows, just feels strange.

Okay, now I'll stop rambling. LOL!

[barnabasjr]

I started my DVD collection with set #9 that a friend gave me for Christmas a few years ago. To my recollection, DS had ended its Sci-Fi run, so it was good to be "back," although it put me right in the middle of the Adam story, which I wasn't crazy about. I took the plunge and started buying the sets from the beginning and eventually I caught up to the DVDs as they were being issued. One of the sets ended at 1995 and while I was waiting for the next set, I started from the beginning again (Barnabas Intro). I have not been able to force myself to get back into the Summer of 1970, I just can't take all the [spoiler]Daphne/Gerard not speaking, David and Hallie pissing and moaning[/spoiler] even though I've continued to purchase the DVDs with the intention of revisiting 1840. Now I've truly come full curcle, back to where I started with set #9. I'd thought I'd bored with the 1967 Maggie/Prisoner shebang but this time around I found that I was fascinated. The anticipation of 1795 was so worth it, and now that I'm back to 1968 and enjoying Cassandra, the 1970 ghosts just aren't appealing.

[arashi]

Personally it depends on the storyline and the episodes. I think every storyline has it's ups and downs, but there are certainly long chunks of the show I will have to force myself to sit through to get to the good stuff. The ADAM storyline in particular, because Nicholas and Cassangelique are AWESOME, and as much as I love 1897 I'm kind of burnt out on it at the moment, I want to get some Leviathans and some 1840 (I LOVE Gabriel!) 1795 I agree is fantastic with the exception of Vicki's witchcraft trial. You can almost see the pain on Alexandra's face when she delivers some of those lines, and then to be romantically tied to Peter/Jeff where there was ZERO chemistry.

1970PT I am dreading the purchase of, but I'm such a damn completist that it's inevitable.

[BuzzH]

Adam and Eve, will NEVER watch that sequence again!  Will skip right from the Dream Curse to the hauntings at the end of 1968.

[TERRY308]

I cannot stand 1970PT.  I will watch kidnapped Maggie, 1795, Quentin's ghost, 1897, Levithans, the dream curse...I'll watch anyone of them..except 1970PT.  I find it boring and bland.  However, 1795 and 1897 were the most beautiful and exquisite.

[ProfStokes]

IMO, the Summer of 1970 was the most wretched sequence ever on DS.  All the characters ran around twiddling their thumbs, behaving like they'd been lobotomized, and doing everything possible to avoid communicating with one another about what was happening.  It was so painful the first time around that I vowed never to watch it again, and I haven't. 

Adam & Eve was another story line that I thought dragged and dragged endlessly.  I wasn't fond of the Dream Curse either, but I did watch both all the way through twice as they aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.  Since then, however, I only watch selected episodes featuring Prof. Stokes or Nicholas Blair, the only redeeming features in either sequence.

My favorite story lines to rewatch are 1995, 1795, early 1897, and the 1967 Laura plot.  While 1970 PT, 1841 PT, and Leviathans don't rank high on my list of favorites, I don't have a problem seeing them again, though I agree that certain parts are more interesting than others.

ProfStokes

[BuzzH]

I cannot stand 1970PT. 

I'll watch some parts of 70PT but not all again.  What I'll rewatch, all pre-Barnabas, 1967, 1795, 1968 (Dream Curse stuff and hauntings only) 1897, Leviathan, parts of 70PT, 1995, summer 70, 1840 and 1841pt.  Basically all but Adam & Eve and about 1/2 of 70PT.