This was hysterical!  It's been close to ten years (maybe more) since I last saw these shows, though I have them on tape.  Reading your hilarious comments really makes me want to take them down and look at them again.  Thayer must have had a blast in those tavern scenes.

Looking forward to future comments from you, Henry. And your little dog too!  Arf!

Steve

Since I have an innate dislike for rankings, gradings, and those ENDLESS top 10 lists with which our media industrial military entertainment complex insists upon saturating us, I'll simply comment upon Grayson's different roles.  I cherish every moment she was on the screen ... words spoken from the heart.

Dr. Julia Hoffman--the first role I saw her in as a child in 1968, and I instantly fell under her spell.  Never had seen anyone like her before, and there never will be another like her again.  My sister used to get annoyed by her distinctive "Julia" way of chopping up a sentence--note that that is JULIA's way of speaking, not Grayson's, because in other roles she didn't do this.  I often wonder whether Grayson actually knew a woman doctor (or academic?) who spoke in this peculiar manner and based Julia's speech patterns upon her.  Even as a child I loved her way of speaking; it turned even the most banal statements into little bits of poetry, to my ears.  I also loved Julia's movements, a unique mixture of awkwardness and grace, that seemed to embody a rare spirit of courage, tenacity, and feistiness.  I can't help thinking of Julia when Bob Costello described Grayson as "a gutsy broad" (and made it quite clear that that was also a description that came from the heart--he really doted on her).

Magda was Grayson's favorite role, and I'm often amazed by the subtle moments she weaves into the brash, extravagant, proud gestures, the fiery speeches, the deft put-downs, the peppery bits of Rom wisdom.  Sam came up with the role of Magda, one fan who knew the family told me, because Grayson actually had Rom bloodlines in her heritage.

Natalie is wonderful to watch because Grayson played this kind of role onstage so much (and, incidentally, Magda may have had a bit of her 1962 role in The Buskers in her).  She could have easily let Natalie's humane wit and emotionality get lost in those huge costumes, those endless bits of business with the tarot cards, beauty marks, and so on, but from start to finish, you never forget that Natalie is a woman with a fierce loyalty to her family and her own unique code of conduct.  

I personally think that some of Grayson's finest acting on the series was in her scenes as housekeeper Julia Hoffman in Parallel Time 1970. What Stuart said about her performance as Carlotta is even more true of her work as Hoffman; for some reason I like Hoffman better as a character, perhaps because they were not able to excise Hoffman's essential attachment to Angelique (in the NoDS film, it is Carlotta's physical body that enables Angelique to materialize in this world, and whenever Angelique and Quentin make love, she feels their passion within her own being--these scenes were cut from the final version of NoDS).

My favorite scenes of PT Julia Collins (1841) were the very early ones at the tail end of the 1840 storyline.  I loved seeing G with long hair, and I thought it would have been more interesting if she had played the Matriarch as seemed to be suggested by the fact that she was originally "MISSUS Collins."  In the actual PT 1841 storyline, I liked her scenes with Kendrick (John Karlen) best because both actors seemed to be on the same page, and G got to play Julia's genuine desire to keep her niece from getting hurt.

Constance was hardly more than a walk-on, but she did have a bit of fun with it.  I enjoyed seeing her in the costume and do (even if it seemed completely wrong for 1660--oh well!).

Goddess, what a screed!  I did try to avoid posting to this topic ... now you see why ...

Gothick

Hahaha Jennifer!  Well, if I were Carolyn, it wouldn't be Chris' NECK I would be feasting upon, if you know what I mean ...!

And Henry, I believe that in the 1990 interview in Fangs for the Memories, they actually asked Don whether anyone had suggested he play that scene sans pj BOTTOMS! (dreaming & sighing)

Best,  Gothick

Wonderful comments as always, Luciaphil.  I haven't watched these shows in several years, so I won't add any of my own comments--the memories are far too vague.

I'd be surprised if Ben Stokes were ever intended as a John Karlen role.  In the 1970s fan gathering interview Nancy so kindly posted, Karlen mentioned that DC had plans for a big story arc involving Willie in '67 when Karlen had to opt out of the series due to another commitment (not at all sure what that was).

He was presumably brought back in 1968 due to deluges of fan mail demanding the return of Willie.  I can't think of anything else that would make DC interested in having him come back. It's interesting how closely they read the fan mail back in those days, given that today's TV shows seem to completely ignore fannish reactions.   Don Briscoe was brought back as a regular due to the fan mail response.  I have even heard one fan who was around in the old days recalling a fan picket line demanding the return of the actor to the series back in 1968!

Gothick

John and Luciaphil, have to agree with both of you about the subtext between Nathan and Noah.  I'm sure for Nathan it was just shipboard convenience, but for Noah, it was SO MUCH MORE.

Luciaphil, who was it who commented about life in the British Navy in the 18th century being a farrago of "rum, sodomy, and the lash"?  I've heard from friends who served aboard ship back in the Fifties or the Sixties that the sodomy component was still very much a part of shipboard life.  This guy I met at an Open Pagan Forum recently described a ship he served on that was rife with male witches (whom he described as "Satanists") who would prowl the decks in long flowing capes with big silver pentacle medallions.  Sounds like an episode of DS, doesn't it!

Gothick

Jon, judging from the fact that your post has already been read 40 times when it's barely an hour old, I'd say you're in good company!

I hope you continue to enjoy DS.  Have you seen the entire series before?  Curious whether you have a favorite storyline.  I started watching in June 1968 and my favorite storyline is still the 1968 story, especially involving Cassandra, Nicholas, Tom and Chris Jennings, etc.  My next favorite is the Leviathans, especially the early weeks when "Detective Julia Hoffman investigates"!

Steve

Hi Donna,
Sorry to say, this Nero Wolfe series is a continuation of a more recent one, featuring Canadian character actor Maury Chaykin in the lead role of Nero Wolfe (which Thayer David played in the 1978 telefilm).

There is kind of a "semi" DS connection with this series because the role of Nero Wolfe's French chef is played by another great Canadian actor, Colin Fox.  If any of you out there remember "Canada's answer to Dark Shadows," a show called Strange Paradise, Colin Fox played the lead dual role of Jean-Paul Desmond, "richests man in the world," and his evil ancestor, Jacques-Eloi des Mondes.  Colin's role on Wolfe is well worth checking out--some marvelously deft touches of comedy.  Otherwise, I don't find the series terribly inspiring, I am afraid.

There are these websites, I think one of them is called "TVMinder," where you can type in the title of a movie and they will notify you if it is going to be broadcast.  Of course you'll get notified every week about the A & E series since it is the same title. It would be great if the Thayer David Wolfe film were shown by one of the channels.

Steve

I shudder to think what would have happened to the Collins family if Julia Hoffman had not come into their lives!

I mean, you have to admit that she earned every penny of her "rent" on that room they gave her.  Just start counting all the free "sedatives" she handed out plus the endless hours (ever see that ABC Movie of the Week, "The 36 hours of Dr Julia Hoffman"?) ... you'll see why Liz loved having her live on the premises!

Steve