I finally figured out that Addison Powell got credited for so many appearances on DS because of that damned tape recording.

I wonder whether Powell received a check in the mail every time they played that recording?

Gothick

The schedule was that they were supposed to get the new scripts in the studio by 4 so they could be ready for the next day's read-through, which the actors for that day's shooting were supposed to do around 5 or so in the afternoon.

Whenever you find one of the actors describing their day, they always mention how long it ended up being when they had to stay over for that late-afternoon read through of the next day's script.

btw the episodes were NOT always taped in broadcast order.

Gothick

Thanks dear ... sorry to add another clean-up task to your day!

Hope yesterday was fab for you!

xo  Gothy

Oh, Barnabas had figured out that Julia "cared" for him quite some time before that scene with Carolyn during the "let's scare Julia out of her mind" storyline.  

Before she began the final phase of the 1967 "experiment," Julia told Barnabas that "there might be someone who would accept you and love you as you are now."  In a voice dripping with sarcasm, Barnabas stated that he'd like to meet such a woman!  He clearly realized that Jules was talking about herself.

This is around the same time when Barnabas addresses Julia as "my dear" whenever he's trying to manipulate her.  He is a lot nicer to her in the 1968 storyline.  In 1967 you get the feeling that he did not fully appreciate how much she cared for him until she had offered her own throat to "cure" him from his disastrous aging. "Why, Julia?" he asks in a way that suggests he feels briefly humbled by such self-sacrifice.

In the current storyline (1968 ) he does come to realize how much HE cares about HER in a later plot development ...

Gothick

Thanks for the wonderful notes on two of my favorite DS episodes, Luciaphil.  Even if the writing is uneven, the introduction of Cassandra is so beautifully played.  I think the Liz scenes are particularly well done, and I also LOVE that first little scene between Cass and Julia. So much subtext there.  Even though Lara Parker has complained that she found Grayson intimidating, some of her best work on the series was done in her scenes with Grayson.

I do t hink the wig improves in subsequent episodes.  I don't find the wig inappropriate, actually; something about Cassandra's personality comes across as "big hair girl."  I'm sure others disagree, but I see that as working well with the clothes and the general look.  And believe it or not, people still had hairstyles like that back in 1968.  Especially young women who came from wealthier, more conservative backgrounds (Cassandra's cover story is that she's from a good Main Line Philadelphia family, isn't it?).  

In case people are confused--Cassandra's wig is supposed to be her real hair.  I know it seems mighty implausible but we all do realize how far DS used to push that "suspension of disbelief" stuff, don't we?

Do please carry on, Luciaphil darling.  I can't wait to see your comments on the start-up of the Duh-REAM Curse!

Steve

Thanks for posting these, Bob.  It's nice to see that Guy is looking so well.  I haven't seen him myself in about 2 years.

And it was nice to put a face to the name for Byron and his lovely family.  

Best,

Steve

How many times did Barnabas say variations on the line "You have betrayed me" or "You know better than to betray me" in 1967?  I remember when I started watching DS in 1968 that the fact that they used the word "betray" with the same frequency as regular folk ask for the salt at the dinner table made a definite impression upon me.

So many of the fans complain about how unreal DS was--for me that was one of the top draws of the show!

Steve

As if you couldn't guess ...

Julia! Julia! Julia!  

Other characters for whom I have a sentimental attachment...

Barnabas ... I wonder whether other gay men of my generation (early 40s) identified with Barnabas as a child?  He just seemed to encapsulate so perfectly the sense of being an outsider, a misfit, someone who didn't belong.  I felt there was a world of difference between how his curse affected Barnabas, and how it affected Quentin.  

Cassandra.  I'm looking forward to the comments about her imminent introduction!  She was on my second episode of DS, and her melodramatic flair had a lot to do with my getting hooked into watching the show.

Prof.  T. Eliot Stokes was in my FIRST episode of DS, and I thought he was simply grand!  Still think so today!

Nicholas.  I still remember his arrival at Collinwood, and how intriguing he was.  I thought Humbert added a very different kind of flair to the show--just as Grayson did when she arrived.

Chris.  For some it's Barnabas, for others it's Quentin--for me, Chris is the major male heart throb of DS.  And I thought that Don Briscoe made Chris (originally not a very sympathetic character--I think the "Marilyn" Ross novel involving the character gives you an idea of how DC might have seen the character play out) more three dimensional, poignant and real.

Count Petofi.  I just love ALL of Thayer David's characters, but Petofi has such wonderful wit and cosmopolitan grandeur.  I never tire of watching his episodes!

Pansy/Charity.  I really love her scenes, especially whenever she's onscreen with Jerry Lacey (and he starts barking "Daughter!" at her).

Magda.  Grayson Hall's favorite character, and I can really understand why!

There are others, too, but I am starting to write a book, so I'll desist for now.  Julia still rules!

Gothick