hamilton barrett

[greer]

What do you guys think of mr. Barrett? It's pretty messed up how he kidnapped buddy in dawn and the impossible three, and they seemed to have had a bad divorce. But since we don't really see him at all, and the kids don't seem to harbor resentment toward him... It's hard to call this one. What do you guys think?

[mckay]

It's been a while since I've read this one - did he genuinely take Buddy, or did Mrs. Barrett just forget it was her husband's day to have him?

[greer]

Both--she forgot, so he took him to teach him a lesson.

[inge]

It was disturbing how he took Buddy, very dumb but on a certain level understandable. At least he seemed to love his kids. Where he goes later on I have no idea. I don't recall him ever being mentioned again...

[aln1982]

^ Agree. Also don't remember him ever being mentioned again (except a brief reference that the Barrett kids were with their father during a time when they hadn't been calling to request sitters) and wondered where he went. Does he live in Stoneybrook? I was never sure on that. He's a potential dead beat Dad, I think, though I just don't know anything about him. Maybe he's an okay guy but he really doesn't seem to give Mrs. Barrett any support - or we just don't read about it.

[lyricalangel]

I just reread Hello, Mallory and Dawn has a job with the Barrett girls. It says that Buddy is visiting his father.

[Lauren]

I remember seeing somewhere that he lives in Minneaopolis.

[sotypical42483]

I don't understand him. he seems (early on) to want to spend time with the kids, but later he's just forgotten about. I think they wrote him out for the convenience factor and they never bothered explaining it which is stupid.

[lyricalangel]

^Then he just seems neglectful, or another Patrick Thomas.

[greer]

It did seem to me that mrs. Barrett made it difficult for the kids to see him/get in contact with the kids.

[aln1982]

^ Wonder if there was a reason for this. I just wish we knew a little more about Mr. Barrett. It was a little disturbing how he took Buddy to "teach his ex a lesson" but then again, divorce can create some nasty situations and make ordinary people do things that they wouldn't normally do (promise not to get into this again, Greer ;D I just posted enough on the Karen thread on this subject. Sorry

[greer]

Haha don't worry about it
What may be weirder is there was never a mention of the former mrs. Dewitt. Ryan was only two... They couldn't have gotten divorced that long ago. If she had died I think it would have been mentioned. Both stacey mcgill super sitter and ma and the haunted bookstore feature moms who left their kids... And these families played a much smaller role in the series than the dewitt kids. It's very odd their backstory was never even considered.

[aln1982]

^ Agree about the Dewitt kids and also thought this several times.
As for Hamilton Barrett, I just reread Impossible Three and think what he did was pretty bad. No matter how mad he was at Mrs. Barrett (or whether or not she "deserved it"), I don't think he should ever have taken Buddy the way he did. He should have considered how much this might scare someone else, like Suzi for example, and it wasn't really going to "teach" Mrs. Barrett anything. I can see how he might be mad about all of the mix-ups but I wonder why he didn't have more visitation rights to begin with, hmmm..... He must have lived nearby, too, as it said that the kids were still getting used to "not having their dad around". If the judge and courts let Mrs. Barrett keep him so totally out of the picture in the future, makes me think they had to have at least SOME reason. I guess we will never know, though

[liss31d]

Maybe Mrs Dewitt died when Ryan was born and they just didn't bother to mention it. She would have been dead 2 years by that point...

[greer]

I'd think it'd still be significant after two years, esp. With an older child like lindsey.