I feel indifferent at this point to the idea of a remake, although as a rule, I hate remakes.  I don't think it breaks down to those who were "original broadcast" fans (we used to use the term Ancient Blood, which I quite like) being anti and those of more recent vintage being pro.  The people I know who have been enthusiastic about the remakes come in various generations as to whether they were fans in the Sixties, started watching in 1970s or 1980s syndie, or first saw it on the Sci Fi channel in the 1990s.

I think one's reaction to the intrinsic notion of a remake has to do with a certain attitude towards culture in general.  I'm WAY too frazzled right now to articulate this, and in any event, it's not really germane to the topic of this thread.  I guess what I'm saying here is that I think you're going to find that people are all over the map in terms of Sixties fans/recent generation fans, and where they come down on remakes.

I still think the WB show's approach of having Barnabas be a very different character from the original portrayal worked much better than the DC 1990s version where they gave him a look and (attempted) feel that seemed patterned on the original.  It seems to me that the performances in the original, from the likes of Frid, Hall, Thayer David, et al., were so extremely idiosyncratic that you're dooming yourself to failure if you try to imitate--much better trying to take something from the original CONCEPT and making something aesthetically new from that.  Just my two drachmae.

G.

What has never been "officially" discussed is what I see as by far the most plausible scenario--that Dan Curtis himself pulled the plug.  The timing makes particular sense because they were gearing up to make movie #2 and I think DC simply did not want the bother of keeping the series going simultaneously once again.

In official histories, the event is always presented as ABC honchos pulling the plug on the series.  I believe MB found an article about the surprise and concern the trustees or other suits expressed when the cancellation was announced at the March 1971 board meeting in NYC.

It would be interesting to have seen DC write his own account of what he recalled from that period, but he and Norma are both gone now and that is why I feel the details will never be revealed.

Mods, if this post is inappropriate for board regs, please delete it.

G.

Dear Holly... I always think of her and that bottle in one of her sequences with Mr. Dallessandro in TRASH...

She is a TRUE artist.  I just love the moment in the Quentin Crisp documentary, RESIDENT ALIEN, when an English dowager who is a friend of Quentin's burbles on, "Oh, I ADORE Holly... she's such a LOVELY gell, and with such BEAUTIFUL skin!"

I've heard that DS was very popular in the Factory and generally amongst the Warhol crowd.

G.

My favorite line in that skit was when Barabas, or Willie, or somebody was saying, a propos of the Betty White character (sorry I don't watch that show very often--please don't make me turn in my gay card), "She will be my/your BEARD... er, BRIDE."  I about bust up every time I think of that.  The humor of this may be lost upon others (I have a notoriously eccentric sense of humor).

Great photos of the actors.  I don't think I had ever met them.  The skit was sooooo much better than I had expected.

G.

Golly--I gave my copy of Angelique's Descent away to a friend (who I know enjoyed it very much).

I enjoyed reading it--I thought the pre-DS chapters were beautifully written and atmospheric.  Once it got to Collinsport it seemed as if LP had ventured into Twilight Zone territory.  The ending was kind of cool because in some ways it was a paraphrase of an old Sumerian myth about the great Goddess of Sex and Death, Inanna, and Her descent into the Netherworld to visit her dear Sister, Ereshkigal, the Queen of Night.  I know Lara had researched the mythological elements of gothic and horror fiction so I presumed her use of the myth was deliberate.

But I knew I would never need to read the book again, so I gave it away.  I don't think I will be able to read The Salem Branch, but it sounds as if the book is selling well.

G.

Seems to me that the most important behind-the-scenes decision (the actual details of which now seem likely never to come to light) that resulted in DS leaving the airwaves in April 1971.

As Charles indicates, I think the decision of DC to save the tapes was equally important.  It does show just how strong his personality was (I'll phrase it that way for now) that he was doing that while assuring everyone connected with the series that the day to day shows were "kleenex" that nobody was ever going to see again after the date of broadcast... To me, since he was saving the shows from the beginning he must have always had potential syndication in mind (though it's possible he also saved everything because he put so much of his own energy into launching and producing the series).

G.

I wasn't aware that they were able to get Cobert's music for the project.  That certainly adds to the attractiveness of the recordings in my book.

Thanks for the reviews, Midnite!

G.

Those more in the know than I am have reported here previously that legal and professional complications make it highly unlikely that the pilot will ever be released in any format.  (The main reason why I bothered to camp out in the auditorium to make sure I didn't miss it--they schedule was running about an hour behind at that point.)

G.