Hello DSF, Professor Stokes Here!

Hello all. Nice place you have here. I'm new to your fine forum and I'm finding my way around.

I wanted to post a topic to introduce myself, and to reflect on some of my own observations and questions about Dark Shadows.

Firstly, my real name is Kevin and I am the founder and site administrator of my own discussion forum, The Conversation Pit. We've been going for 18 months, reside on a dedicated server (phpBB2 forum, Apache/Linux server), and recently passed our 140,000 post milestone. My wife Pam is a forum admin there and handles trivia, history and word games, as well as being co-founder.

Secondly,, I watched DS when it aired back in the '60s. There were two things I would try to do after school - watch Dark Shadows, and watch The Three Stooges. DS came on at 3:30 in the Chicago area, and the stooges at 4. I never before, or since, got hooked on a soap opera. They aren't my cup of tea, generally. But Dark Shadows was such a superb achievement, and thoroughly addicting, I made an exception. Though it was long before I met her, my wife was a rabid DS fan.

Thirdly, the past few years Pam and I have renewed our interest in the show, with the availability of recorded episodes. We started out ordering VHS tapes through Columbia House, and after that eventually proved far too expensive, and it seemed to take forever ($18/tape, which held 5 episodes ...one tape sent every 2 weeks), we switched to using Netflix DVD rental to get our fix. Each DVD holds 10 episodes and we are members of the 6-at-a-time plan. We can finally watch DS every night!

What a joy to see that first episode with Vicky on the train heading for Collinwood! It immediately rekindled all the charm and attraction the original over-the-air show had, but with no commercial adverts!

Currently we are at the point in the show when they're in 1897, [spoiler]Count Petofi has switched bodies with Quentin, and Evan has just failed in his attempt to reverse the transfer using his black ceremony. Angelique has become an almost "good guy", and last night one of the episodes we watched had her being caught by Quentin/Petofi as she tried freeing the chains on Barnabas' coffin in the cave near Widow's Hill.[/spoiler] Fantastic stuff ...and I can't wait until tonight! We allow ourselves only 5 episodes/evening, else Netflix wouldn't be able to keep up.

I have a few questions for those DS sages here.

How did Magda come back to life? She was in recent episodes, but I recall her being killed off 20 or 30 episodes prior to this. Was it an oversight on Dan's part?

Has Jonathan Frid ever gone through a complete episode without flubbing at least one line??? 

Will Julia be able to ever speak a whole sentence without pausing two or three times?



My favorite characters, in order, and why:

Barnabas - He's the man. He single-handedly saved the show from the axe during the early days. He's the reluctant vampire, an unwilling victim of Angelique's curse over that whole nasty Josette business. Not a man to mess with - intelligent and refined, yet able to unleash incredible damage when necessary. How can you NOT like Barnabas?

Professor Stokes - Intelligence personified. Cultured, open-minded, yet forceful when the situation demands. A gentleman, but one with a few tricks up his sleeve.

Julia - Gritty, gutsy Dr. Hoffman. She's Barnabas' only friend, confidante and protector there for a while. Along with Barnabas and Elizabeth, she is the heart and soul of the show.

Reverend Trask - Brilliant. <In best Chandler Bing voice> "Could Jerry Lacy LOOK more like Bogey?" Apparently Woody Allen didn't think so when he cast him in "Play It Again, Sam" I love the self-righteousness of the character. He is so convincing, and when cornered, spouts scripture or blames it on the almighty. All the while pursuing Amanda Harris. You gotta love the guy!!

Elizabeth - The foundation of the family. The stability, moral compass and keeper of the flame for the Collins family. Her character played by a truly classy and talented lady in Joan Bennett.

Maggie - Pretty and smart. And she has the nicest legs of the entire cast

Angelique - Prettiest face on the show (yes, even including Amanda. Gorgeous eyes, excellent acting by a relative acting newcomer Lara Parker. Yet extremely dangerous and exotic.

Quentin - Bad guy, then good guy, then bad guy. He talks too much, chases women, and needs to grow up a bit more. But you gotta love the character. He accounted for the second revival for the show just when it needed it.

Roger - Staid, conservative Roger. The backbone for the Collins family. But he needs to smile once in a while!

Carolyn - A '60s kinda girl. Nancy Barrett is an excellent actress, especially when she played the dull-witted Millicent bimbo character.


My least-favorite characters, in order, and the reasons why:

Nicholas Blair - Evil ...pure evil. I was glad when [spoiler]satan torched him on Widow's Hill.[/spoiler]

Willie/Carl - Whiney, sniveling Willie. Add ten gallons of caffeinated coffee to Willie, and you have Carl. Spineless waste of skin!

Adam - Never learned to control his temper. He had no patience. Of course, if you were thrown together from spare parts, you might be cranky too!

Eve - Cast iron nasty woman. Not a nice bone in her body. Belonged with evil Nicholas.



Characters that were just OK:

Vicky - I don't know. I was never crazy about Vicky. I realize she was the original basis for the show, but .... Maybe it was that whole Klaus Von Bulow business.

David - Lying little brat. Good acting.

Amy - Lying little brat. Also good acting for someone so young.

Sam Evans - The character could have been so much more dynamic. A pity.

Beth - Her neck is just a bit too long, and her chin just a tad too pointy. I keep looking at those things instead of concentrating on the dialog.



We're looking forward to Kate Jackson's appearance on the show, and we're wondering when the time shift back to 1969 will happen. It seems they've been in 1897 far longer than when Vicky traveled back to 1795 after the seance. We're ready to see the jump again. And ....I MUST find out if Barnabas is still alive in the future. He can't be dead ...he just can't

A very warm welcome to you, Professor Stokes! 

I really enjoyed reading your observations about DS.

And I'm with you, Barnabas is soooo great!! He's simply the best!!! 

Welcome, Kevin!     It's wonderful that you've jumped right in.

Welcome Kevin.  Glad to have you.  About Barnabas...you were absolutely right.  You're right, he is 'the man'.  Again, welcome.

Thanks for the warm welcome

I see someone put the spoilers in SPOILER tags. Oops. Sorry about that. I'm a phpBB man myself and wasn't aware SMF had spoilers. Sorry. I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone ... It won't happen again.

I found out that putting it in [ spoiler]text[ /spoiler] tags works, like in phpBB

Yeah, Barnabas is the man ...the honcho ...the big dog ......the big Kahuna ....the ... ...well, you get the idea

Welcome, Stokes.

Whining, sniveling Willie??? I beg your pardon, sir. Had it not been for Willie, I doubt there would have been much soap to opera about. Wilie is an integeral part of the series and a joy to watch. In the past two weeks that co-workers have asked about my trek to the Fest in NY, the one character they recall after Barnabas is Willie. Sadly to say, there aren't many folks where I work that rememeber Quentin or Magda or Professor Stokes. Barnabas and Willie!

Welcome, Stokes.

Whining, sniveling Willie??? I beg your pardon, sir. Had it not been for Willie, I doubt there would have been much soap to opera about. Wilie is an integeral part of the series and a joy to watch. In the past two weeks that co-workers have asked about my trek to the Fest in NY, the one character they recall after Barnabas is Willie. Sadly to say, there aren't many folks where I work that rememeber Quentin or Magda or Professor Stokes. Barnabas and Willie!

Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. Just my opinion. And you know what they say about those .....

The Carl character is more of a mamby pamby than Willie. It's a tribute to John Karlen's acting abilities.

 It's true, Willie showed some courage when attending to Barnabas' needs, but he was an indecisive, cowardly pawn for the most part. Barnabas had to make all the decisions. But there's a reason he was that way - he was bitten by Barnabas, and he lost his free will as a result.

Back when the show was running, Karlen got accolades for his acting, and he was a perennial fan favorite. This is true. But that doesn't make me like the character any more. I cringe whenever I see Willie or Carl enter the scene

Yeah, Barnabas is the man ...the honcho ...the big dog ......the big Kahuna ....the ... ...well, you get the idea

Barnabas is awesome, the main attraction, superb, and on and on and...LOL. Go, Barnabas! 

BTW, my wife Pam just registered. Her username is "Bugsie"

My username on our own forum is "Capmaster", in case anyone visits there

How did Magda come back to life? She was in recent episodes, but I recall her being killed off 20 or 30 episodes prior to this. Was it an oversight on Dan's part?

Hi Stokes, welcome!  Love your avatar btw...To answer your question about Magda [spoiler]she didn't die.  She came close a couple times, w/King Johnny and Istvan, and all her smart-ass remarks to Barnabas, LOL!  But she was alive and well at the end of 1897. [/spoiler]

LOL!! Just found out that JF looks at this board once a month or so so I imagine the ego will be sailing when he sees these comments!

Nancy

Yeah, Barnabas is the man ...the honcho ...the big dog ......the big Kahuna ....the ... ...well, you get the idea

Barnabas is awesome, the main attraction, superb, and on and on and...LOL. Go, Barnabas! 

Welcome aboard, Professor, though I could've sworn there was another Prof. Stokes on this board!!  About Magda: the reason why she was gone for so long was because Grayson left for a few weeks to do a movie with Michael Douglas called Adam at 6 AM,  and to make another DS connection, her husband in the film was played by "Sheriff Patterson" himself, Dana Elcar!  BTW, it was produced by Steve McQueen's company which begs the question- did he watch DS?

Welcome aboard, Professor, though I could've sworn there was another Prof. Stokes on this board!!  About Magda: the reason why she was gone for so long was because Grayson left for a few weeks to do a movie with Michael Douglas called Adam at 6 AM,  and to make another DS connection, her husband in the film was played by "Sheriff Patterson" himself, Dana Elcar!  BTW, it was produced by Steve McQueen's company which begs the question- did he watch DS?

Ahhh, thanks Charles! And thanks BuzzH! I must have made an assumption about Magda

There is a "ProfStokes" here already. I didn't realize it until after I had already registered. Maybe I should change my handle to avoid confusion?

LOL!! Just found out that JF looks at this board once a month or so so I imagine the ego will be sailing when he sees these comments!

How cool is that? It's well-deserved. And .....I was just kidding about flubbing your lines, ole Barney-baby. Juuuuust kidding ....

LOL!! Just found out that JF looks at this board once a month or so so I imagine the ego will be sailing when he sees these comments!

Are you serious, Nancy? that is so great!!!

Well, he certainly deserves all the wonderful praise he gets!

Barnabas is wonderful! 

There is a "ProfStokes" here already. I didn't realize it until after I had already registered. Maybe I should change my handle to avoid confusion?

It's not necessary, Professor.  Just check out all the username variations of Barnabas.  Your name is varied enough for readers to (I think) easily tell you apart, your posting levels are quite different-- ProfStokes is a Senior poster, and her avatar looks nothing like yours anyway. 

Regarding spoiler warnings, in addition to the tags there's also a message icon, all courtesy of our webmaster, MysteriousB.