I'm sure that nobody really cares, but Ian Somerhalder appears to be naked in this trailer.  Of course since it is TV we don't get to see what I think of as the "good part."

http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/09/29/ian-somerhalder-naked-damon-the-vampire-diaries-trailer-video/

G.

Doesn't 1897 Laura recall Barnabas as a rather sad, thoughtful child in one line?  I thought it implied that she was an adult woman when they had met in the 1780s.  The 18th century concept of adult was different from our own so she might have been a teenager... it's all quite vague.

The reality, of course, is that they kept changing the backstory to accommodate whatever they were writing at the time. Remember when Barnabas and Josette's love suddenly turned out to have happened in 1797, and that date was written in ugly red paint on her portrait?

G.

Fans,

I was re-visiting the 1970 film BOYS IN THE BAND, which already has two DS connections that are known to me--via actor Keith Prentice and cinematographer Arthur Ornitz.

I was quite surprised in a short kitchen scene in which flaming queen Emory (Cliff Gorman) mixes a vodka tonic drink in a blender for the butch Keith Prentice character.  The vodka is a lurid blue (looks more like gin to me, but I don't drink) and Keith asks, "What the hell is that--Windex?" Without missing a beat, Emory camps, "It's a blue whale! Oh Mary, don't ask!"

The play is set in 1968 which I believe was the year it debuted Off-Broadway. DS actors Don Briscoe and Chris Bernau were cast members at one point.

G.

I remember a skit that I think was set in a classroom and Carol was the teacher.  Suddenly everything started shaking--it was an earth tremor.  Without missing a beat (I think she was actually walking across the room), Carol said, "Stay calm, children, I just felt the earth move."  You could hear the audience going wild. 

I could imagine something similar happening on DS though of course, they did not tape with an audience.

G.

They are just little hints--a line here, an anxious grimace there.  Effective, and quite understated.

I enjoy the finale, but the whole storyline pretty much goes right off the cliff.  Thayer David gets one of my favorite roles, however, and some wonderful moments.

G.

I thought 1970 PT Quentin had some interesting moments, as did 1840 Quentin.  In both cases, there was an attempt to re-boot the character, but then in the insanity of churning through the episodes, they quickly went back to a kind of loveable rogue default for the character.  The same thing happened with Joan Bennett's roles, apart from Judith who did get to pull out quite a few stops.  I love Judith's final series of conversations with "dear Gregory."

G.

The real reason for the curse on the family had nothing to do with the house.  It was Angelique.

I really don't care for the revised history of the core narrative unveiled in the 1840 storyline.  But I guess, Lela, who was running the show at that point, felt they had to go somewhere different.

G.

According to the episode guide compiled by Ann Wilson in the 35th Anniversary Edition of DS Memories, the PT 1970 Costume Ball sequence was taped over 5/21 and 5/22.  I think the film shoot had already wrapped some weeks previous to that.

G.