Originally posted by Steve on February 21, 2002 at 06:54:44:
In Reply to: Great episode, BUT..... posted by kuanyin on February 20, 2002 at 16:19:01:

The reason Sam Hall gave for why the "Grayson solo" happened was that Dan Curtis did not want to use more than X number of actors per week total and because of having too many actors in other episodes around that time, he wanted to do at least one show with as few actors as possible.

Since they needed practically the entire cast for the seance episode which happened the same week as this, I buy Sam's explanation, disingenuous though it may appear. It is certainly true that after the very early weeks of DS, they never seem to have more than 7 actors in one day's show. I think there was an episode in the late Summer or early Fall of 1968, however, that had 9. Others who are more up on the statistics of the show than I would know this.

Since Grayson had been such a hit in "The Human Voice," which she did perform solo, and since at various times in her career she repeatedly did long solo pieces letter-perfect as a tour de force, I'm assuming that Sam thought it might be fun to have her do something like this as part of the storyline where Barnabas is trying to drive her out of her mind. It certainly does seem like nothing else seen on the television of the time!

As for Grayson's relationship with other cast members--she was friendly off the set with Joan Bennett, Nancy Barrett, Selby, Thayer David (the woman he married, Valerie French, was a friend of G's), Alexandra ... I could lengthen the list but I think I've made my point. She was a woman of unusual energies who clearly could be "high maintenance" as a friend. She was not one to refrain from speaking her mind if she felt it was warranted.

Steve

Originally posted by Steve on the Dark Shadows: General Discussion Forum on February 19, 2002 at 11:30:01:

For those who ever admired/lusted after Kevin Smith who portrayed Ares the War God (and Ares' twin brother the Lord of Love, in white tights that left John Travolta looking like chopped liver) on the Xena/Hercules megalith, I read today that Mr. Smith died after an accident while visiting a set in Beijing. Apparently he was climbing up a tower and fell. He was 38.

This kind of thing just kills me. Mr. Smith came across on the screen as sexy, funny, and very sweet. Tributes from coworkers who describe him across the board as the perfect gent have been pouring in. It's just not fair, y'know? I'd looked forward to seeing him do something worthy of his talents (while his costumes on XenaHerc were boss, the scripts were generally soggy at best), and now that hope is dashed. I feel for his family, as well.

Just wanted to share this sad news for those who care.

Steve

Originally posted by Steve on February 15, 2002 at 08:32:52:

6. Pretend that every female worth her salt wears her high heels to bed.

7. Pretend that bathrooms are completely unnecessary in modern homes.

8. Pretend that ugly green furniture and tired Ethan Allan bric-a-brac is the epitome of luxurious furnishings.

AND ...

Originally posted by Steve on February 12, 2002 at 10:51:51:
In Reply to: Willie vs. Caroline posted by AMeiers:

Well, Carolyn herself comments much further along in the madness that the Collins family motto ought to be "Hypocrisy at all costs!"

Glad to hear you're enjoying the show. I've been a fan since 1968. Unreal.

Steve

Posted by Steve on February 07, 2002 at 11:16:15:
In Reply to: Re: okay okay its OUT there! posted by Julia99 on February 06, 2002 at 08:01:55:

Well, I thought it was interesting that in the ORIGINAL version of the Barnabas/Josette storyline, as he recounted it to Julia (I think they aired these shows earlier this week), Josette did NOT return Barnabas' love ... he had become obsesssed with her while helping her with her English conversation. I thought it made for a dark, nasty, twisted emotional triangle at the heart of the Barnabas storyline--Barnabas obsessed with a Josette who did not return his affections, long past her death; and Julia obsessed with a Barnabas who was only interested in her so long as she proved of use to him. Of course I can see why they completely re-tooled the storyline for the 1795 flashback; it created a more traditional romantic framework upon which to build future storylines, since the Barnabas character had given the series such phenomenal cachet in the daytime market.

Steve

Posted by Steve on the Dark Shadows: General Discussion Forum on January 30, 2002 at 06:57:27:

Bob and Jean, I have to wonder whether Louis had some sort of clause in his contract that only HE could wear sharp, chic clothing on DS.

If you think what Barnabas is wearing now is bad, wait till you see the clothes they give poor Quentin to wear in PT 1970! There's an orange check jacket he winds up living in for about two months... I cry every time I think about it. (That reminds me of Grayson saying whenever she needed to cry, she just thought of this tie her Dad used to wear! LOL!)

Steve

Posted by Steve on January 24, 2002 at 12:07:57:
In Reply to: Shadowgram Update 75 posted by MsCriseyde on January 24, 2002 at 07:17:41:

Thanks Criseyde for posting that. I didn't receive one--the only one I think I've missed. I hope Marcy's mailing list hasn't crashed.

Ugh, DS on the Fox network. I imagine ingenues running around Collinwood in slips as Vicki, Maggie, and Carolyn. Joan Collins will be brought in to play Liz, and a special line in the budget will cover the gauze filters for her camera close-ups. Quentin and Barnabas will routinely appear shirtless, both sporting rippling gym physiques (nice 6-pack for a 200 year old vampire, Barn) giving Chris Jennings a huge run for his money. He'll compensate by appearing at least once a month in an International Male g-string (OK, Steve, NOW you're in the realm of fantasy).

I already hate it. And they haven't even submitted a script!

I *guess* the release of the show on DVD is good news, though the thought of buying them all over again is enough to make my tarshes wilt.

TTFN, Steve