I agree totally.  Marie's work in the character of Eve was superb, even though the character herself was so poorly written and they kept changing her backstory, motives, etc.  I wish the original Danielle Roget/Philippe Cordier story had been explored, instead of that ridiculous tripe with Peter Bradford. Poor Marie!

I wish they had explained just what someone like Danielle was doing in Collinsport.  Why wasn't she in NYC with some of the other refugees from the Terror, if that's why she fled France in the first place?  It's really pointless to ask these questions because what seems to have happened is that DC had one of his legendary story conferences in which major storylines were trashed and the show was sent off on some completely different angle. 

G.

A number of fans have said that they think the original Laura Collins 1966/67 story was DS' finest hour, bar none.  At this point in the scheme of things, I prefer to think of each storyline having its own special merits (and faults), but there's no doubt that the Laura story represented brilliant storytelling for the series, fascinating characterizations (both Laura herself and the established cast), and a payoff that, for once in DS history, gave everything expected from the buildup and that extra bit more.

Vicki's special connection to Josette does become very important during this storyline.  One of the problems with the Barnabas storyline is that they do not bother to explain what happened to Josette's spirit.  Barnabas has one line of dialogue in one of his very first episodes where he sort of banishes the ghost of Josette, which may be why we don't see her during subsequent events--when, to say the least, judging from how she behaves in the Matthew and Laura stories, you'd expect to see her taking a strong role in things.

G.

Thanks for clearing that up, Ms. C!  You are absolutely correct--I confused the Coop with the Harvard Bkstore. 

I'm very impressed with your knowledge of our local booksellers!  Thanks again!

G.

Dear Fans,

On Friday, I was able to browse a copy of Boze Hadleigh's newish book, Broadway Babylon.  There are a couple of paragraphs devoted to Keith Prentice in the section of the stage and film productions of Boys in the Band. Nothing was said that was new to me, and I do feel obliged to warn potential readers that Mr. Hadleigh's assertions are not always to be taken as gospel (!) truth. 

The 1969 film of Boys in the Band is being released on DVD this November--a bare bones release without any extras, apparently--and there's a rather grainy copy of an original trailer for the movie now on YouTube.  At least a couple of brief Keith Prentice scenes occur in the trailer, for those who have never seen it. Bear in mind that he did this BEFORE he was on DS.  Hadleigh mentions that Prentice went on to work in another soap after the cancellation of DS--I can't recall which one.

In unrelated news, I'm heading off to spend my annual week at a Farm owned by a lovely gay couple who are friends of mine.  I spend a week living in a tent in a field, well off the grid and far away from phones, computers, and all the rest of the so-called modern conveniences.  HEAVEN.

Still, I'll probably think of some favorite DS scene at least once.  Perhaps while I'm skinny dipping in the pond I'll remember Grayson's scene in End of the Road where Stacey Keach digs her out of the sand at the beach and she giggles in her memorable gurgling drawl and exclaims, "Hi there!"  A bit of summer fun from 40 years ago...

cheers!  G.

In season 3 of Forever Knight, they did an episode that was an interesting exploration of the whole HIV/AIDS thing and how it could or could not impact vampires.  I think the episode was called "Fever."

G.

Stuart, is the script for Clothes of Sand your work?  Congratulations, if so!  I'd heard you had written some of the earlier dramas... I have not been able to catch up with the CD series, unfortunately.

cheers!  Steve

They never discussed in the DS scripts whether or not Barnabas had a soul when he was a vampire.  Perhaps the idea of a vampire lacking a soul comes from Miss Rice?  It may exist in some of the old Eastern European folklore collected by "Reverence" Montague Summers back in the 1920s.  Many indigenous or pre-Christian thought systems treat what we would call the "soul" as having three components.  Due to traumas of various kinds (includes being the victim of a hex/curse), part of this tripartite "soul" can be ripped away.  If what remains includes the original physical body imbued with some form of life force, this can behave like someone possessed or like "one of the living dead."  I won't go on because I am getting into off topic waters here.

To me, the way the Angel character was handled on Buffy (from what I saw of it) was very different from how Barnabas was portrayed on DS.  Of course, I'm sure that there was some awareness of Barnabas and DS in the mix on the part of the people who worked on the show.  Has Joss Whedon ever mentioned the series in interviews?

G.

Perhaps I should have said that comparisons, *as a class*, tend towards the invidious.  I was speaking more generally as regards criticism--not specifically stating that 1991 was invariably the loser in a comparison with the 1966 original (even if that IS what I personally think).

I know that having had the pleasure *winces* of seeing the trailer for the remake of The Women (a 1939 classic) yesterday, I can bet dollars to doughnuts that many of the reviewers of the new production will have their nails sharpened with the most lurid "jungle red" (as was said in the original) as they merrily shred the performances of Meg Ryan et al.

G.