The DS producers seem to have decided decapitation was upping the ante, since Vicki's punishment in 1796 was the threat of being hung as a witch, while Quentin in 1840 faced public decapitation, something I'm quite sure has NEVER been practiced in US law enforcement but, what the hey.

I have read some descriptions of Tudor era public decapitations and it could be a grisly, prolonged death just as much as hanging was.  There was a reason why Anne Boleyn requested a swordsman from France to be her executioner--a request that Henry honored.

G.

Midnite, honey, you SLAY me!

As I've mentioned before, a fan once wrote an article suggesting that Elizabeth, as the living Keeper of the Family Secret, was perfectly aware of Barnabas' identity as a vampire.  This fan claimed that Liz's hand was trembling when she took Barnabas' hand.  I've watched the episode several times and I can never see this.  The fan theorized that Liz decided to welcome Barnabas into the family because she figured HE might get rid of Jason.  It's an interesting notion, but quite a long shot.  If it were true, then Liz certainly did have nerves of steel--and fewer scruples than widely credited.

I'm guess that when this episode was written, an outline for the plot of the Barnabas storyline had not yet been prepared for the writers, which is why Barnabas speaks to Josette more as a guardian spirit of the family than as his long-lost love in this first episode.

I know that DC was in England at this time working on the Jack Palance Jekyll/Hyde... it would be interesting to know whether Bob Costello had the de facto head writer's chair at this point in time.  I read in an interview with Art Wallace, I believe, that he did a short outline for the introduction of Barnabas storyline--he said it was the last work he did on the show, although his contract had been written such that he kept his credit as creator of the series.

Best, G.

Like some others in the room, I got an emotional rush whenever DS music turned up in such things as the DC Frankenstein or Picture of Dorian Gray.  (I did see one of the broadcasts of the Jack Palance Jekyll/Hyde but don't recall the music so perhaps I saw it before I started watching DS--I started the latter in June of '68.)

Part of the emotionality of my response was the fact that DS was totally unavailable in Maryland from the time it went off the air in '71 until the syndication of the 1967 shows (which I of course had never seen the first time around).  I followed the latter on Philadelphia-based UHF station Channel 48 from its inception--as I recall it started around January of '76--and audio taped several episodes.  I was literally breathless with excitement the night Dr. Hoffman first appeared!  You bet your sweet bippy I had that tape recorder going that night!

So, during that period of five years or so, coinciding with a very traumatic period of my adolescence, my favorite TV show was not around.  I would play the old 1969 soundtrack LP, look at my Viewmaster reels, and get out my old magazines from time to time to get my DS fix.

A friend of mine recently watched DC's Picture of Dorian Gray and the music was one of the things that ruined it for him because he found it disconcerting and anachronistic.  I just shrugged and pondered how tastes differ.

cheers, Steve

I've always loved Clarice's reading of Mrs J's reaction to Barnabas' statement that he hails from England:  "Oh, from England!" 

I can just imagine Mrs J glued to the tube years later watching the Charles and Di royal wedding.

It's worth noting that in an interview somewhere or other (I have read so many, I honestly can't recall the source), Jonathan Frid praised Clarice Blackburn and basically said that it was entirely thanks to her solid support that he got through "that first day"!

There's a shot somewhere or other of Barnabas wearing that hat, a publicity shot.  As far as I know, he NEVER donned it again.

I hope my contributions to this thread are suitably "refiined'!

cheers, G.

I watched the final week or so of Jason Maguire episodes at some point last Summer, I think, and I remember very well this scene and being hugely impressed by it.

After it was over, there came some feelings of frustration about how the foreshadowing Jason gives in this sequence about future events in the life of Miss Winters is largely tossed out the window (presumably by executive order of DC).

Still a brilliantly written and, of course, beautifully acted scene.  Dennis Patrick is great as always and we get a taste of how much more Moltke could have done had her role not been dumbed-down with the full onset of the Barnabas years.

G.

MB, or somebody, posted a 1969 or 1970 soap mag interview with Joel in which he discussed his departure from DS in a fairly frank way.

He also revealed that he had written several episodes of the show, which I found quite fascinating.  I've never seen this mentioned in any other publication, which seems kind of sad.

Clarice Blackburn went on to become a fairly well-known writer for soaps, and it sounds as if Joel Crothers had that potential as well.  I have never heard whether he did any further writing in his later career?

I do LOVE Joel's thesping in his final episode as Joe.  It's so deliciously over-the-top!

G.