Dark Shadows Discussion Thread

[Wendy]

I remember the brief 1991 prime time version with Ben Cross as Barnabas and Joanna Going and Michael T. Weiss being in it. (I had just begun college around that time.) I remember it being pretty good! But the constant preemptions because of the Persian Gulf War basically doomed it.

 

Watched a little of the rejected pilot above, and I can say that version did nothing for me.

[te.]

 

I don't think it was too bad, but you sort of have to like The WB shows of that era to enjoy it. I could imagine it not doing much for those who are just strictly fans of Dark Shadows. It certainly would've paired ok with Charmed at the time.

[danfling]

Actress Elaine Hyman (Ruby Tate) passed away earlier this year on March 2, 2020.    The actress appeared on A Flame in the Wind prior to appearing on Dark Shadows.

[Mitch]

I loved the prime time version..but NBC was stupid, putting it on a Friday night where the demo they were looking for were "out"  That DS was on the bubble as it had great demos despite the night..(this was a bit before the net chasing the demo over total viewership) but it was also very expensive. 

[Chris B]

I wonder what ever happened to the DS continuation on CW. With Corona we know they never shot a pilot, but I’d love to see what they were coming up with. I know many were upset by the news, but I’d love a new Dark Shadows. I hope that by the time it happens they move it to a streaming service where I feel they’d be able to do it justice. 

[lucaslesann23]

I wonder too, 

[EricMontreal22]

Damn, I missed it when it was up.  Anyone have a new link??

[danfling]

I first began watching Dark Shadows in 1966 when I was ten years old.   As an adult, I have re-watched the show many times.  I am convinced that the best actress on the show was Clarice Blackburn.  I must also say that Nancy Barrett was became a great actress.   She was good when the show began, but the amount that she grew as an actress playing the different roles (plus the two Dark Shadows movies) made her a wonderful and competent actress.

 

I think that Christopher Pennock was probably the best of the male actors.

[All My Shadows]

I've been wondering, too. I remember some DS fans were actually hopeful for the new series given that it was promoted as a sequel series and not a reboot - they just want the original series to still be canon and not tossed aside in favor of a whole new story. I'm with them on that.

[DRW50]

Is this a reworked version of one of Cobert's tunes about 7 minutes into this?

 

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I've been watching some of the first episodes again with my parents, and even with the flaws of the early material (David being so irritating, Burke not being charismatic enough to warrant all the focus or to justify Carolyn not wanting to be with her drop dead gorgeous boyfriend, Carolyn being so irritating), I prefer this period to when Barnabas takes over and the show's atmosphere ends up being dismantled for his benefit. 

 

Does anyone know why the first Sam Evans was replaced? I found David Ford likeable (even if he never seemed to do well with his lines), but this Sam makes a lot of sense for the character's background. 

[danfling]

No, it is different enough from Josette's theme to be considered an original tune.

[applcin]

I've recently begun watching it for the first time myself, up to Barnabas about to debut. I had done some googling a while back, curious  about the Sam change myself and came across a site blog that has a rather lengthy, descriptive explanation. The original actor, apart from just plain sucking in the role, was a creep who made vulgar advances to Moltke and Scott, and hit David Henesy when the kid wrote a nasty note on his dressing room door. It's here if you want to read it:
https://darkshadowsfromthebeginning.com/2017/12/09/episode-20-out-of-his-mind-the-perils-of-mark-allen-continues/#more-4484

Seems like some of the behind-the-scenes stuff was crazier than the show.

[Vee]

This... seems like the rantings of a crazy person. This seems like some fetish fantasy this guy wrote up.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Vee

[DRW50]

Thanks for finding the link. I guess we'll see if any of the actors ever have said anything...otherwise I tend to agree about not being sure to believe blog posts.

[vetsoapfan]

 

KLS mentioned the change of actors in one of her DS books. The only thing she wrote was that the change was necessary because the original actor could not remember his lines.