Retconning 1795 storyline

[Seth J. Bookey]

I am sure this has been discussed many times. I am re-viewing the show on Netflix, and Barnabas is telling Julia
Hoffman that Josette came to Collinwood to marry Jeremiah, "his middle-aged uncle," after Julia taunts Barnabas
that Josette never came willingly. He also talks about how "the years passed" when Josette was married to
Jeremiah. Meanwhile, Sarah's death was always put at 1795.

Of course, at the beginning of the 1795 episodes, which is where Netflix ends right now, it is completely the
opposite. Josette comes to MARRY Barnabas. My recollection from watching it in 1985 is that Angelique casts a
spell on Josette and Jeremiah and they fall in love.

Have the writers ever explained this. I assume they must have changed the story (in a good way) and didn't count
on the daily audience at the time to remember the story? Meanwhile, the 1795 storyline was just a few months away
from the point where Barnabas is telling Julia this story.

--Seth

[Kishin]

Post by Seth J. Bookey
I am sure this has been discussed many times. I am re-viewing the show on Netflix, and Barnabas is telling Julia
Hoffman that Josette came to Collinwood to marry Jeremiah, "his middle-aged uncle," after Julia taunts Barnabas
that Josette never came willingly. He also talks about how "the years passed" when Josette was married to
Jeremiah. Meanwhile, Sarah's death was always put at 1795.
Of course, at the beginning of the 1795 episodes, which is where Netflix ends right now, it is completely the
opposite. Josette comes to MARRY Barnabas. My recollection from watching it in 1985 is that Angelique casts a
spell on Josette and Jeremiah and they fall in love.
Have the writers ever explained this. I assume they must have changed the story (in a good way) and didn't count
on the daily audience at the time to remember the story? Meanwhile, the 1795 storyline was just a few months away
from the point where Barnabas is telling Julia this story.

You are correct in your assumption. There are many instances of the
writers retroactively changing past events to fit current stories. At
the time, no one expected ANYONE to ever see those episodes again, and,
if they even remembered those past events clearly, themselves, they
didn't count on the audience remembering.

[Graeme]

They haven't directly explained it, but the explanation is fairly clear. The story that Barnabas told to Julia took place over the course of several years. They had to remake it into something that resolved itself in a few months.

There are other irregularities. Before the retcon, we were always told that Jeremiah had outlived Josette, that Barnabas wanted to destroy him, but never got the chance, et cetera. When they cast Ott George as Jeremiah and he left the show, that had to be changed (because who's going to remember what we said before?).

I can't prove it, but I've always believed that Peter Bradford was brought in as a replacement for Jeremiah, and that if Jeremiah had survived, as originally planned, that he would have been the one defending Vicki at the trial, and falling in love with her. Depending on what Vicki's exact relation to the Collins family is, that could be really creepy.