Doctor and K9:

[spoiler]I always thought that Quentin was the one who killed Stella.  David Selby suddenly had to be hospitalized about 2 weeks from the end of the series, and I always thought that the mystery was left unsolved because that was the solution they had for it and they couldn't come up with anything else.  The idea that Melanie was the culprit was, IMO, a red herring.[/spoiler]

G.

This new annotated edition of a selection of Lovecraft's tales looks very cool.  Of the stories chosen, "The Dunwich Horror" was the source material for the DS Leviathans storyline, and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" had themes that show up in various DS narratives. "Dreams in the Witch House" might have suggested the idea of a "dream curse," although I've always thought the actual source for that was the classic E. F. Benson story "The Room in the Tower" (which has made me sleep with the light on more than once). Note that celebrity DS fan Gahan Wilson (a very talented artist) wrote a blurb strongly praising the new book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871404532/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=19X9847PVVRBK65FT3F1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

If the link doesn't work for you, just search "The Annotated Lovecraft" on the site.  This book is scheduled to be released in mid-October.

G.

http://www.propstore.com/product/dark-shadows/angeliques-eva-green-hexing-doll/

I know nothing about the vendor or how reputable they are--for that price, presumably the merchandise would come with a certificate, but who knows.  I always think those certificates can be forged just like anything else.  The doll looks pretty cool.  I don't even recall getting such a good look at it, if it was even seen, in the movie.

I also saw a visual, supposedly from this site, of a can of "Collins Catch" sardines which presumably was also made for use in that movie, but again, I don't recall it. I only saw the movie once and it was a fidgety viewing for me.

G. 

The Halloween theme is divine!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!

G.

Isn't BARNABAS, QUENTIN AND THE BODY SNATCHERS the one that's hard to come by?  I'm not sure I ever read that one.  The one I remember had Barnabas and the latest ingenue visiting Julia at her clinic.

I remember reading somewhere that "Marilyn" was only ever given the script of episode 1, but somebody must have sent him updated notes on later characters--such as Quentin.

G.

That's fascinating, Uncle Roger.  I never had heard about that.

I remember finding Julia's one appearance in the books very odd.  Was Professor Stokes in that one as well?  Julia was portrayed as this jealous, shrewish harpy.

As far as I am concerned, the Ross books are promotional materials, end of story.  Their relationship to the Universe of canon (the aired episodes of the 1966-71 series) does not extend beyond the recycling of a few names and the cover photos.

I realize that other fans may disagree--and that is every fan's prerogative, of course.

G.

Fans,

I haven't seen anyone posting about this... this site has been running a DS comic strip as part of a blog, and it's really quite brilliant.  The images are derived from the 1967-68 storylines which have been interminglingly adapted with quite intriguing finesse:

http://shadowsonthewallzine.blogspot.com/

I'm really getting quite a kick out of this... Cassandra is one of my favorite characters, so I'm just loving the chance to see her in this mix.

G.