Maybe this was covered somewhere else--do the DVDs include the opening slates the way the tapes did?

G.

Thanks, Midnite.  I checked the link and sent her an IM.

Best, Steve

Maggie seems so clueless all of a sudden.  I wish there had been dialogue for her along the lines of "That Mr. Collins may have the manners of a gentleman, but he's STILL a creep."  I suppose that what is happening is that he is throwing what in Magick is called a "glamour" over her, blinding her to his true nature so he can worm his way into her affections... and her neck!

Another classic shot in that final image of Barnabas at the window.  Many thanks to our Mysterious Benefactor for adding the images to Robin's notes.

G.

As revealed in RJ Jamison's biography "Grayson Hall: a Hard Act to Follow," Grayson was part Rom (Gypsy) as well.

Overall, DS remained a very white show even as time went on and more and more series added African American characters.  I can only think of two black actors on DS, and one of them didn't have any lines.  Sho Onodera had one episode as Mr. Nakamura and again, maybe two lines?

I thought in the 1990 remake it would have added a lively degree of interest had Angelique been cast with a black actress.  (Of course, had a certain storyline been pursued, this would have meant casting David with a biracial actor as well.)

G.

I agree in thinking that the original Laura story of early '67 was a major highlight--perhaps THE highlight--of all DS.  It was incredibly well crafted, and beautifully mounted.  The one jarring note for me is the character of Dr. Guthrie; I find him far less engaging or dynamic than Professor Stokes, or, for that matter, Dr. Woodard as portrayed by Robert Gerringer.  After his initial week or so of episodes, he gets to be a bit more charismatic, but when he first shows up on the scene, the tension of the tale which has held taut up till that point suddenly falls slack, to my taste at any rate.

I do enjoy Laura's return in 1897.  When I originally watched, I had missed everything in 1967 (and the first half of 1968), so my formative impressions of Laura were from his 1897 manifestation.  I enjoyed how the writers wove in the Egyptian occult elements into the tale on that go-round.  It gave what happened a different flavor from the original narrative of 1967.  In a similar way, I thought the introduction of Angelique and their story together gave the character of the vampire Barnabas a very different tone and a much more explicitly tragic emphasis once everyone got back to 1968.

G.

What unfortunate news.

That series seems to be under some weird sort of curse!  And now I sound like Mrs. Johnson talking to Nicholas Blair...

G.

I wonder whose car Willie commandeered in this episode?  I am pretty sure it was made clear in previous shows that Willie did not have his own wheels...

There's something so terribly haunting about those shots of Karlen at the bedroom window, his face a mask of tortured despair, telling Barnabas from afar "I hear ya."

G.

Forgive me for pouting--we see Briscoe in the bathrobe, but not showing off that luscious chest of his.  Sigh.

I'll just have to take Prof. Stokes' advice to Tony Peterson and "dream my troubles away."  LOL!

G.