For anybody out there who hasn't seen it, here is an interview with Dan Ross himself, conducted by Craig Hamrick:

http://www.darkshadowsonline.com/victoria/dan_ross.html

Surely there must be a site that has scans of all those gorgeously lurid covers?  The covers were the best thing about the books.

G.

Thinking it over, I'm pretty sure that Cassandra is included in a group shot in the MPI 1990s color cards.  I don't much care for those cards, but friends were nice enough to club together to buy them as a gift for me one year way back when.  There are a couple of nice cards in that set but, for the most part, I find the pictures so tiny that in some cases, with the cheaply printed color overlay, you don't even have any idea what you're looking at it unless you've already seen the episode in question.

MB, thanks for the reminiscence about the Viewmaster reels.  I did not realize that they did not even come out until 1970.

For a loooonnnnggg time, looking at those reels was my one way of keeping my DS memories fresh.  The reels disappeared around the same time as my stash of DS related mags.

Best, G.

KLS (lipsynching to Lesley Gore 45 on jukebox): This time it's KATIE's turn to cry, KATIE's turn to cry, ay-ay-ay...

Just chipping in my two drachmae--the fact that he is listed in the IMDB notice on Grayson's page as Ted (Bradbart) Brooks (if I'm remembering it properly) is a tip that he's not the same as the Ted Brooks who is bro to Conrad.

Historical research is largely a wearying process of endlessly taking pains...

G.

I think it first got switched to 1797 during the Lady Kitty period (towards the latter part of the 1897 storyline).  I have wondered whether the writers changed it deliberately to make it 100 years previous to 1897. They seem to have liked doing things in periods of 100 years--think back to the original Laura Collins story (which they also messed with in the 1897 version).

As regards Roxanne, [spoiler]I believe that "originally" she was the victim of a different vampire.  There are a LOT of discrepancies between what we are told about 1840 during the Summer of 1970 story, and what actually happens in 1840 once they get there.  A huge discrepancy is that the children were supposed to be central to Gerard's interest in Collinwood... yet, when we actually get to 1840, the children are only peripheral to what happens.  In part, this was because David Henesy left the show during this period.[/spoiler]

If you're a Roxanne Fan, I think Kathy Resch wrote an entire novel which tried to reconcile the discontinuities of what they showed about her (the Roxanne of our time, not the Roxanne of PT).   You can write to Kathy at the World of Dark Shadows zine address and ask her if the book is still available.

Best, G.

I'm not sure that "your" Ted Brooks is the same bloke to whom Grayson was hitched. 

Hopefully Julia will be able to clear this up for you.

G.

Hi Josette, I've been a DS fan for 38 years and I've STILL never watched the whole thing from start to finish.  There are episodes from 1966 and 1967 that I have yet to see.

I'm not sure when I will ever be able to watch the whole series starting from episode 1 and ending with 1245.  Maybe when I retire if that ever happens (I find it doubtful).

Would love to see your cake. Enjoy your party.  It's nice that the whole family enjoys the show!

G.