Beautiful Freak

I've watched 100 episodes of the '60s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows! And I made this graphic to map the characters for funsies. At least one of them has already died. ...Well I included Josette the ghost so I guess at least two of them have already died.

This is my first time properly watching a soap opera, so it's interesting to me how the show spins its wheels and spreads out over a large cast to slow its plots during daily episodes. I really don't mind some slow pacing, but it's when characters keep having the same conflicts without changing that I can get a bit annoyed. Carolyn and David in particular have fooled me a few times into thinking they've evolved before having their 10th confrontation with other people about the same thing.

I think my favourite character for most of the show has been Roger Collins. I don't mean that I like him, I mean that I find it very entertaining when bad things keep happening to him, and just when I think he's learnt a hint of humility, he becomes the biggest bastard on god's grey Earth. It's always some inspired and new bastardly action, so he doesn't often bore me.

I've read that Victoria's search for her parentage is basically forgotten about after this point, which is a little sad and a little funny since it was one of the main driving forces of the show when it began. But I am certainly looking forward to the more supernatural plots that I know are going to take over the show eventually.

I've had such a strange collection of shows and books stuck in my head this last week or two. I've been reminded of childhood favourites Tintin and Thunderbirds, at the same time as coming back to the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows and the works of Lovecraft. I also started my 20th anniversary New Who rewatch. All while I'm supposed to be spending more time writing a fic for a zine..