IMHO, the best way to approach it would be to focus on the core Collins
family, and especially Barnabas/Josette/Angelique. Spend the first
30-45 minutes in 1795, with his relationships with both women,
ultimately choosing Josette. Add in a bit of his normal, everyday life
with his family, and end that segment with Angelique's jealous rage and
the vampire curse, with its ramifications (Josette and Jeremiah's
"betrayal," Sarah's death, Josette's plummet from Widow's Hill).
Then spend the rest of the movie in modern day, with Barnabas getting
acclimated into a whole new world, insinuating himself into the
present-day Collins family, falling for the Josette reincarnation
(Maggie or Vicki), dealing with Angelique, and seeking a cure from Julia
as his basic humanity begins to return.
Might be interesting to skip the whole Jealous Julia complication and
just let them be mutually-respected friends. It would keep the drama
from getting spread too thin between too many subplots, and be a nice
twist, I think.
Basically, keep it tight: tell the Barnabas story through the love
triangle, his curse, and its impact on the Collins family, past and
present. Unless Vicki is Josette 2.0, she could easily be a minor
character as David's governness, foregoing the "witch switch" and
letting 1795 be simply the beginning and background of the story, not a
time-travel element. Yes, Vicki was the original focal point of DS, but
to reach a wider audience, they need to focus on the pivotal character
that everybody automatically associates with the show, and that's
Barnabas.
Some less-vital characters and plot points could be briefly represented,
while others could be ditched altogether.
Just my humble two cents... :)
--
DivaMagenta @}{~~>~~~>~~~>~~~~~
"Religion is man's futile attempt to reach out to God, trying to earn
His favor. Christianity is the good news that God has reached out in
love to us through His Son, because He knows that our arms are not long
enough..."
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