[spoiler]Well, don't forget that when we last saw them, Sabrina had suffered a really terrible attack at the hands of Barnabas.  When Barnabas disappeared and Julia, who was the main person trying to help Chris, seems to have wandered off into emotional la-la land before her own "transcendence" into Parallel Time, Chris probably decided it was time to get Sabrina and Amy the hell out of Collinsport.

It would have only taken about 3 sentences more of dialogue in that scene in the drawing room in the Summer of 1970 to sum this up.  As was so often the case, however, the writers couldn't be bothered.

I have to wonder whether this snippet of dialogue was inserted into that scene because DC still hoped that Briscoe and Nickerson would one day return to this show.  It's hard to know at this point.[/spoiler]

G.

I've been revisiting some of the 1991 remake episodes of our beloved series.  I was tickled to see that the writers brought back the old notion of a Tarot card identified by the Countess du Pres as "the wicked woman."  As we've discussed on a number of occasions on this forum, there is no such card in any orthodox edition of the Tarot.

I had speculated that the Countess may have been in the habit of regarding one of the standard cards of the Tarot as "the Wicked Woman" because it tended to reveal the presence of a female intent on mischief.  I believe I speculated that the card might have been one of the Queens.

I was amused to see two different episodes in which the Countess exclaimed "the wicked woman!" in the midst of a Tarot reading and on both occasions, the camera showed us which card she had just drawn.  On the first occasion it was the Queen of Pentacles, and on the second, the Queen of Swords.

Of course, there is still a broad streak of anachronism here.  There were no commercially available tarot decks around in the 1780s/90s, and a French aristocrat such as the Countess would have undoubtedly commissioned her own deck.  It would have given the French names for the Major and Minor Arcana.  Pentacles did not come into play on Tarot cards until the publication of the so-called "Rider Waite Deck" (the work of mystic and artist Pamela Colman Smith, working from descriptive outlines supplied by Golden Dawn initiate and master A. E. Waite) in 1910.  A deck created in the 1780s or earlier would like have used coins (deniers) in the suit that eventually became diamonds in standard playing cards and pentacles in most Tarot decks.  This was the case with the Marseilles deck and the popular Swiss "IJJ" deck around 1800--either would have been a suitable prop for the Countess to use.  Instead, however, the production crew provided her with what looks like a typical 1980s "Aquarian Age" type deck, complete with card designations in English.

Well, after all, the show was "filmed on location in Beverly Hills"!

I have to say that this time around, I was more impressed than I expected to be by Lysette Anthony's performance as Angelique.  It's really unfortunate that the breakneck pace of the series, and the calibre of the scripts, did not give her more to do in the role.  I've seen her in UK productions and she's a fine craftswoman as an actress.

G.

Greetings, Cousins--

I was intrigued to see a new entry on Barbara Steele's IMDB page the other day.  Barbara has a role (I think a cameo, really) in something called Her Morbid Desires, the work of LA scene figure Edward Plumb.  A trailer (no appearance by Ms. Steele, unfortunately) can be viewed here:

http://bloodbyte.com/IrenaBelle/HMD_IBFilms.html

It looks, on the basis of this trailer, like a direct-to-DVD production, but could be a fun backdrop to a Halloween party (I forecast an October release date).

G.

I can't view this cousin's links.  The site shuts down my browser whenever I click on it.  I'm sure the art is a kick!

G.

Oh and Lydia--

let's just say it takes a very special kind of man to appreciate the unique blandishments of Buzz.  LOL!

I think Buzz's "hip" lingo was dated for 1966.  The character seems to have been based on pop culture perceptions of the Beat people and "beatniks," such as characters on a now-forgotten but once wildly popular show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.  (Shit, when is THAT coming out on DVD??)

I still suspect that Buzz's hair got recycled when Cassandra appeared on the scene--it's so thick, lacquered, and helmet-like!

G.

My favorite is Grayson, but I freely admit to being WAY prejudiced here.  I just adore listening to her voice... I could literally imagine her making the New York Telephone Directory a HOOT.  I also love her way of pronouncing certain words--"Collinwood" often comes out sounding like "CALLANwood."

Thayer is another favorite because his voice is so distinctive.  Humbert was very good, as was John Karlen.  Alexandra was excellent, too.

There's a hilarious parody of Louis Edmonds doing a voiceover in the Cheep Productions video, Save Our Cemeteries.  When I first saw it, I initially thought it was Louis, but I think it was actually brilliant fan performer Daryl Schaeffer.

G.

I love Buzz, and he loves me.

that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

G.