Yesterday morning I spent an agreeable 90 minutes watching The Haunting of Julia, an early 70s English Mia Farrow vehicle that is only available on VHS.  In the evening I watched some episodes of HEX (the recent UK serial) on a VHS tape a buddy sent me.  Later this week I'll watch Maggie Smith in Travels with my aunt, another movie only available on VHS.

The VHS medium is alive and well in my house, but I do wonder what I will do on the day when both my current VCRs kick the bucket.  I figure, however, that if young geek hipsters can keep vinyl LPs and the turntables to play them alive, the same favor can be extended to the lowly VCR.

cheers, G.

Janet, I am so very sorry to read of your loss.  May your memories of Niki bring you comfort.  What a fine, remarkable individual she was.

best wishes,

Steve (aka Gothick)

And here's a perfect example:

Barnabas (looking on with palpably aching desire at comatose Roxanne, obviously fitted with bullet-bra from Grayson's Playtex gig):  "Oh! ... she is ... so beautiful!"

Julia (rolls eyes): *multiple expletives deleted*

My hat's off again to our Darling Mysterioso, el Benefactoro (pardon my hideous mauling of Spanish),

for featuring one of my all time favorite guest players today--the beautiful, flamboyant, fabulous Cavada Humphrey!  When I went to IMDB just now to make sure her surname did not end with an s (my memory is in tatters these days, alas), I was startled to see that Cavada passed away on July 11, 2007.  Was there an obit posted here?  I don't recall seeing it, but I am often away out in the woods and fields doing my Nature Boy routine in July, so perhaps I missed it.

One of my all time favorite moments on all of DS is Madam Findlay's arrival at Collinwood, when she strides imperiously around the drawing room and waves her arms and sways and speaks cryptically of the battle waging within these walls--truly classic stuff.

She also got one of the most melodramatic "farewell" scenes in the series' history. 

Interestingly, her role as Madam Findlay wasn't Cavada Humphrey's sole DS connection.  For awhile she shared rooms with novelist Madeleine L'Engle, who penned the classic children's novel A Wrinkle in Time.  Madeleine L'Engle married Hugh Franklin, who appeared as Collins family lawyer Richard Garner in the 1966 episodes of DS.

Thanks again for featuring such a distinctive, memorable presence from our Dark Shadows memory-hoard!

cheers, G.

MB, I just LOVE today's screencapture!  Julia looks as if she has HAD it with a certain reluctant vampire!  Just love how mean and eee-vil she looks here!

thanks for the holiday cheer!

A Fan 4ever,

Gothick

Hey Robin, Happy Birthday!

and if you see this, may your holidays be filled with fun and frivolity!

hugs, Steve

Hi Nancy,

Thanks!  If they go forward with what has been announced as the schedule (and of course, it could change radically at any moment), just when they will decide to release it is a toss-up. I remember when Serenity, the movie spinoff from Joss Whedon's Firefly series, was going to be released at Xmas one year, when it was discovered by the suits that it would be hitting the tarmac at the same time as some other pet blockbuster or other.  As a result, the release was postponed--by SIX MONTHS. 

Their release schedules are so shoehorned these days that I could easily see the movie sitting on a shelf for a couple of years post-production while they try to angle it into the optimum minimal-competition weekend.  Hooray for Hollywood.

cheers, G.