Black crape all round today.

I don't drink, but if I did, I would pour myself a very stiff whiskey right now, no chaser.

I pray that our beloved Don is at peace.  As the late Denton Welch used to comment, "life is a raw deal" and Don deserved better than he got.

At least we have his beautiful work on Dark Shadows to remember him by.

Requiescat in Pace Don,

Steve

How sleek and sexy it looks in here; reminds me of another show from the Sixties I sometimes enjoy revisiting, UFO (a 1969-70 production from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson).  I almost expect to see Midnite show up at a big clunky Sixties style console wearing a purple wig!

I just tried out the "read replies to recent posts from you" feature, and although the sort it produced seemed a bit odd, it was fun to find stuff I had missed.  I'm too fatigued at the moment to investigate further.

Kudoes and bows to the mysterious labors of the Mysterioso Darling!

Steve

Joan Bennett had a clause in her contract that guaranteed her a 6 week vacation (I think it was 6 weeks) each year that she was on DS.  That is why her characters fall prey to a series of hospitalizations, entombments, and general absences throughout Dark Shadows.

Nevertheless, I think you have a point.  After the Jason storyline in 1967, Liz and Roger both degenerate into caricatures of what they were when the original storyline started up in 1966.  Of the characters JB played subsequently, I thought Naomi and Judith were both strong characters with good stories that gave Joan a chance to show off her chops.  PT Liz started off interestingly but then turned into just the same as Liz in regular time, and the same was pretty much true of both Flora Collins'.

G.

I met Dean a couple of times, and we traded some Grayson stuff once (this is going back, what, 7 or 8 years now), but I never really knew him.

Many thanks to all of your for sharing your memories.  My condolences to his family and loved ones.

Steve

Thanks, Sandor, for those very kind sentiments!

I am going through 1897 now, more or less with the board montages, and have to say that I'm in love with Magda all over again!  She added such a wonderful spicy outspokenness to the stories.

Your name reminds me of how every time I watch these shows, it seems as if Sandor's appearances were all too few and far between.  I wonder whether the makeup irritated Thayer David's skin, or whether he was busy during this time with other projects.  He had a heavy slog in the second half of 1897 once Count Petofi appeared on the scene...

G.

Yes, Maggie carried a purse during the infamous Josette's Earrings scenario.

And dear Cassandra, of course, sometimes had a smart bag in which she concealed some of her nasties.

When it comes to handbags, as in so many areas, JULIA RULES!

but I'm not prejudiced or anything.

G.

I awoke this a.m. from a dream in which I was attending a DS Festival and doing a bunch of Grayson related interviews... I happened to be in the vendors room and spotted a DVD that was fan-produced.  It was a compilation of classic scenes from Liz's various storylines, heavily concentrating on 1966-67.  What a marvelous idea! I thought in the dream, and the thought stayed with me when I woke up.

When I went to bed I was thinking about the scene (from 1966, I think) when Liz tells Vicki a ghost story, and how much I would enjoy watching that again, given the season.  I don't think I own that tape, sadly.  It was on an MPI compilation tape that was called Ghosts and Vampires, which I never purchased.  I will have to look up in my episode guide and see if I can order the Collectors Choice tape with that scene.

Wouldn't it be great if they did a series of "greatest moments of..." DVDs at some point?  When MPI started putting the series out on VHS in 1989, they did a couple of short compilation tapes, including one called the Best of Barnabas, but the footage selected for the tape did not really live up to the title (in my not-so-humble opinion).

This is the kind of project I could see DS to DA and Heather collaborating upon with great results.

G.

I've been checking the boards for reviews from fans who watched the Newman Frankenfurter--thought it aired last week???

Was it so bad we've decided to just forget it ever aired???

G.