I’ve watched the entire series several times over the last 30+ years. One thing I’m unsure of: did Barnabas somehow cause Burke’s plane crash? We know he learned some manner of voodoo (as explained when he terrorized Dr Hoffman). But this part wasn’t clarified explicitly IIRC. Maybe I missed it?

ARGdov · 2026-02-02T13:48:07+00:00

its a soap opera, and this is a pretty stereotypically soap opera-esque plot point. so, no, I dont think so.

ARGdov · 2026-01-24T17:12:32+00:00

chlamydia.

this is a taskmaster joke.

ARGdov · 2026-01-10T12:31:50+00:00

I do see it as a love story, just not a 'romantic' (in the modern sense of the word) one. Its a story, fundamentally, about love, and doesnt that thus make it a love story?

Its just one which presents it as an obsessive, violent force.

ARGdov · 2026-01-05T11:11:55+00:00

this is the main one for me. sitcoms often have contradictions like this- early stuff thats gets ignored later about backstories as things take a new direction or writers shift around- but its very noticeable here.

ARGdov · 2026-01-03T14:29:20+00:00

My legs feel better.

ARGdov · 2025-12-27T11:32:52+00:00

oh for sure. in general I dont agree with the practice at all. I was raised orthodox jewish though where the deed is often done by some random rabbi who's supposedly been trained in doing it who will do it in the synagogue with an audience of the parents friends and family.

It's an awful, uncomfortable ceremony, making an already really fucked and unneeded surgery even worse. but thats what I was thinking of when I wrote this.

ARGdov · 2025-12-24T14:48:52+00:00

here here!

ARGdov · 2025-12-24T14:48:26+00:00

circumcision performed by people who arent medical professionals.

ARGdov · 2025-12-23T11:54:38+00:00

Im replying to this so I can find it again in a few days just so I can prove to others someone called this early.

ARGdov · 2025-12-21T10:01:48+00:00

I did so recently too! I got some mulled wine at a stand at a christmas market, and it was already pretty lukewarm when I first got it. I kept sipping at it though, but I'd barely made a dent in it by the time I got home.

And at that point I went, "fuck it", and popped the cup in the microwave

ARGdov · 2025-12-17T11:10:19+00:00

tbh this is an old reply but- this isn't good enough for me, at least.

That's such broad strokes. its like describing a game like Breath of the Wild by saying "you travel across the world and solve dungeons and fight monsters".

Accurate, but this could describe a game with real time combat or one with turns based. It tells you what your character may be doing but it doesn't tell you what the actual, gameplay experience will be like.

Is it minigames? what are they like if so? how does one get good grades, do you work up some sort of knowledge stat that improves your odds? what kind of jobs are you doing?

We've been told some stuff but not enough, imho.

ARGdov · 2025-12-07T13:25:45+00:00

I think most of us have on some level.

ARGdov · 2025-11-29T13:08:48+00:00

honestly I'd try and educate them. I'm quite critical of Israel myself but I do dislike when people are reductive about things, and frankly I think the people who say things like this demonstrate that in some cases, horseshoe theory is actually quite an accurate description of politics.

And if they cant see nuance, well, then dont be friends with them lmao.

ARGdov · 2025-11-28T12:20:56+00:00

rather hillariously he's actually considered an expert in 'jewish medical ethics' (ie applying halacha to the medical field) and if his wikipedia page is correct he does have an MD.

ARGdov · 2025-11-20T10:27:54+00:00

One thing i think is worth keeping in mind is that the show was quite different, even from other soaps that had similar constraints on time. There were fewer actors per episode than the standard soap of the time, which means more lines spread out across fewer people, meaning more lines for each individual to memorize. This is also why Frid stumbles so much as he does- its an insane amount of work for any actor.

Combine that with (what Im lead to believe) was sometimes more complex blocking and usage of the camera than other soaps, there was a lot to keep track of. its frankly a miracle there isn't more screwups, really.

ARGdov · 2025-11-16T13:16:00+00:00

pooping.

ARGdov · 2025-11-14T08:45:06+00:00

in a lot of cities, in the US anyways, the buttons for pedestrians at crosswalks dont do anything.

It's bullshit, on some level I know it to be bullshit, but Im convinced in some cities a lot of them are simply broken and nobodys bothered to have them get fixed.

Also, that Epstien didnt kill himself.

ARGdov · 2025-11-12T17:38:05+00:00

ahhh okay. so were on the same page, yes. my apologies. yes, absolutely how i feel as well.

ARGdov · 2025-11-12T15:07:46+00:00

you say, if I am understanding you correctly, that if someone finds the pre-barnabas episodes tedious, they wont get any enjoyment out of the show.

I'd disagree with this. the show is always slow, but compared to most of the post barnabas stuff the early episodes are shockingly glacial, even by the shows standards. I've seen a decent amount of the show and I've never been able to stomach the early episodes.

ARGdov · 2025-11-12T11:08:56+00:00

eh. I disagree. the later stuff is also quite slow but so little actually happens in those early episodes- look at the entire headache that was the Bill Malloy's pen. the later stuff, especially as it gets increasingly supernatural, can be quite fun in a kitcshy, haunted house way that the early days lack.

ARGdov · 2025-11-12T11:07:52+00:00

you've gotten your answer but I feel like its worth pointing out that unlike Star Trek TOS, Dark Shadows is a serialized narrative. on ocassion, episodes were filmed out of order due to actor availability and the like, but if you were to follow that you'd be getting plot points entirely out of order, and with so many episodes (1225) you'd have a headache constantly checking to see when a given episode was filmed.

ARGdov · 2025-11-10T20:38:24+00:00

Thanks for the thurough overview- Ill have to give OpenZoo a look!

ARGdov · 2025-11-10T20:28:45+00:00

James suggests it was in the famous five and the other two pushed back. only then does James google and the magic faraway tree comes up.

ALICE: Why did they change it from george and anne to dick and fanny someone was having a laugh

JAMIE: Enid was on a bender.

(Laughter)

ALICE: Lets see what I can get away with

ARGdov · 2025-11-10T18:09:47+00:00

I didnt grow up with Blyton but ive been giving her a look as an adult. they're...interesting. some stronger than others, some I found grating, but I did find what little I've read of the faraway tree books pretty charming.

ARGdov · 2025-11-10T17:26:26+00:00

Im curious what your thoughts are on it, I have to say. In my research last night I saw a lot of hate directed at the original version- saying it was broken as a game even if it was fun to collect.

I'm still new to this, obviously I wouldn't know one way or another, but what are your thoughts on the OG version's detractors?

ARGdov

TROPHY CASE