Dear Joe/Nathan, glad to hear you are an admirer of our favorite show.  I hope you have enjoyed the post 1795 episodes; some fans feel that the series never improved upon that storyline (my personal favorite storyline is Leviathans, which is a real dark horse; a lot of fans think the show really "jumped the shark" during that period).

Interestingly, Joel Crothers is mentioned a couple of times in Felice Picano's late 1970s diaries published in the compilation The Violet Quill Society (I think that's the title).  There's also a very interesting interview with him that was done in 1969 shortly after he left the series.  From reading that, it would seem that his reasons for leaving involved broader areas of discontent beyond the usually stated ones of his DS roles not giving him sufficient range (I used to wonder about that, given what the writers did to Joe during the character's final months on the series!).

Best wishes,  Gothick

I've been watching some of the current shows on video, and found it mordantly amusing when Barnabas was actually scripted the line:  "The past is forgotten.  Only the present matters."  That must have been the heraldic proclamation for DS writers.

According to Sam Hall in the interview he gave to Mr. Gross, Dan Curtis had a habit of dictating sudden changes in the storylines.  It's my view that DC is to blame for a lot of the stuff that doesn't add up over time in the development of the more complicated, extended storylines.  If you think the inconsistencies in the prelude to the 1897 storyline are bad, don't even try to curl your brain around how they set up 1840.  Almost nothing matches what the characters learned in the setup storyline.

It does seem weird to have the cradle walled up in Quentin's room, though, since it was NEVER there during 1897.

Steve

Thanks for creating this topic, Cassandra!  

Lots of loving wishes for darling Grayson's special day.

Steve

I ADORE Cavada Humphrey.  The whole Mme Findlay thing could have been ridiculous, but I thought Cavada made it compelling viewing.

My one eternal regret is that there was no scene between Miss Humphrey and Grayson Hall.  THAT I would crawl over broken glass in the dark to see.

As for the script, Mme Findlay frightened far too easily.  Her descent into gibbering terror went at a speed presumably dictated by the shooting schedule.

Speaking of dictation (ahem!), I have my own theories about just what Mme Findlay saw when Quentin materialized in that squeaky old chair, that set her to screaming so ... Let's just say that it was something that would have made ME scream in an entirely different way.

Gothick

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Roger Davis will be back before the end of the current storyline, mauling his own hair and every female co player in sight once again.  As I recall, whoever opens the great doors of Collinwood to behold the sight of Roger manically glaring away into camera 3 utters a piercing SHRIEK--and who can blame them?

On a somewhat happier note, Cassandra Collins, chic and venomous as ever, is going to be reappearing again shortly, too.

Gothick

1897 isn't my favorite storyline, but contains many of my favorite characters and moments.  Magda, Count Petofi, Judith, Trask, Evan, Pans/ity, and of course QUENTIN especially early on when he's being a capricious, self-absorbed, utter rogue--and a damned sexy one at that.  

Seeing Tim Shaw when he comes back all gussied up is a special treat for us Don Briscoe fans.  Diana Millay has a superbly chilly turn as a new Laura with a strange link to the occult of Egypt,  Even the dreadful Roger Davis manages some fun moments as a psycho vamp on a mission.

And I thought KLS as Kitty was the best work by far she did on the show.  The only thing that compares is her very early weeks as Maggie in 1966.

Doubt she'll see it, but note to Miss Winthrop:  Angelique wanted to marry Quentin because her Dark Master had promised her that if she could win the love of a mortal man, she would be released from the world of darkness (or something like that).  She explains it in one scene with Barnabas towards the end of the storyline.  It's an interesting time because she is with Barnabas but her emotional focus lies elsewhere.

I also love it when Julia goes back.  They just waited way too long for that to happen!  DC should have shelled out for at least ONE split-screen scene between Julia and Magda!  I can just imagine the salty banter the two women would exchange.

Gothick

Hi there Jon, it's great to have you back!  I hope you have been able to watch the show while you've been offline.

So, what do you think of Don Briscoe's portrayal of Chris Jennings?  Yesterday's episode was one of the most extreme of the series--a Black Mass and a bloody werewolf attack, all on the same day!  According to The Dark Shadows Companion, this was the first episode shown in certain markets in 1968, and it got the show in a lot of trouble with some parents and church groups.  The pace of the show slows down quite a bit with the next storyline (the introduction of Quentin and Beth's ghosts).

Meanwhile, for a brief period, Chris rips his shirt off every other day, pushing the eye candy quotient of the series WAY up there.

Gothick

Julia does care about Adam to the extent of feeling somewhat responsible for him since she was the one who brought him into the world.  

Her compassion for him probably is at a lower level than her very genuine fear that if Adam dies, Barnabas will "revert" to vampirehood.  This is about to come up again very prominently in the story.

As for Grayson acting "badly" I revel in it whenever she rips that tawdry scenery apart with her bare hands and gives the dialogue a hearty, vigorous mastication!

Gothick