Dark Shadows Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

 

Thanks. That's interesting as I felt like Ford went up a lot too (maybe that's why he was written out - that or the marriage to Nancy Barrett...). But looking back at these again I notice a lot of flubs (in the bleeder valve saga the first sheriff can't even say "Burke Devlin"). I guess I forget sometimes how much pressure the actors were under. 

[applcin]

Yeah, I also thought that blog seemed kind of out there but people were replying to it as if it is factual. Plus, some of those people are still alive, particularly the "victims." Wouldn't the blogger fear a lawsuit, or several?

[vetsoapfan]

 

Ford did go up a lot too, but I guess that there was no way of knowing before they hired him that he would also have trouble memorizing his lines.

[DRW50]

 

True. I feel like it was especially bad in the 1795 story.

[danfling]

I would love to know some post-Dark Shadows information about two performers:  John Lesall (Dr. Peter Gutherie) and Jane Draper (Suki Forbes).   I had asked before about Mr. Lasell (who also created the role of Dr. Michael Shea) and was told that he was still living.  

[DRW50]

I had a few more questions, if anyone can help.

 

Did they ever say why they recast Matthew Morgan? Was it to make him more menacing? 

 

There was, for a brief time, a lot of heavy buildup with the Ned Calder character, the main operator of the shipping fleet, he'd loved Elizabeth for years and wanted her to marry him, and so on. Then suddenly he just leaves town. Did plans change? 

 

I wish they'd considered keeping Bill Malloy around longer. Of course if they had there never would have been any supernatural elements on the show...

 

I think I heard the first mention of Jeremiah and Josette. Carolyn says they married and built Collinwood in 1830, and Josette also has another last name ("Laflornier" or something). 

[Vee]

Josette did originally have a different backstory and name.

 

I think the whole background thing about the butler, Hanscomb and his wife or daughter or whoever who may have been linked to Vicki somehow is from the Art Wallace bible. It was far more prevalent there than on-air but I haven't read the bible in years and don't recall the details. Obviously Calder was intended for Liz and then they dumped it, like most things early on.

[Vee]

RIP. He was great.

 

 

[applcin]

I've been streaming the original for the first time recently. I'm now into 1967. Barnabas has started coming to Maggie's room and she's been feeling weak. I've noticed a lot less Vicky, David, Carolyn and Roger at this point. I'm finding the Jason McGuire character rather grating and the dialogue/blackmail between him and Elizabeth pretty redundant and I tend to ff a bit with those scenes. It also seems, and maybe this sounds contradictory, that the younger or less experienced the actor, the more natural or less theatrical he/she tends to act. 

[DRW50]

 

I'm in 1966 with my parents (near the end of the Matthew Morgan story) and while I find the show a bit exhausting (mostly due to David, Burke and Carolyn irritating me), I have been trying to take in Roger as much as I can because I remember that once Barnabas arrives the character soon loses any complexity or purpose. 

 

I wonder why the show never did more with the lawyer beau of Vicky's played by Conrad Fowkes. He is oddly prominent in the episodes where Vicky first disappears (after she realizes Matthew killed Bill) - almost as if Burke was intended for that part. I know Mitchell Ryan was having his issues...

 

Jason was a very one-note character and could have used a reduction in airtime, even if the story was compelling.

[Vee]

Still astonished to see Jessica Chastain playing Carolyn in the 2004 pilot. Wow.

 

There's a lot that doesn't work about this pilot but some that does. If nothing else it proves the brand is still immortal and could be brought back at any time. (If I had any energy left for DS myself I'd consider pitching.) I wonder if that 2019 project is still going forward when the pandemic ends.

 

Amusing that this pilot is also using not only the Jennifer Eight score I loved in '90s episodes of Loving (albeit overused there) as a temp soundtrack, but also Michael Small's classic score from Klute. Some music never ages. I'd forgotten it was shot by P.J. Hogan, who is talented, and while the cinematography is obviously fucked up on YouTube, it still is clearly lit like Italian horror, a favorite genre of mine. Gorgeous if a bit OTT here.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Vee

[applcin]

Yeah, I had heard the beginning was slow moving and it did seem to drag and repeat for some time. Even when Laura Collins came along, that seemed to consist of a lot of the same type of scenes played out over and over. As a result, some of the characters got annoying at times. That's what I'm feeling with Jason now...I didn't really like him to begin with anyway but these constant rehashes of his reasons for even being there are tiresome. Although, I"m at a point in the story where I'm thinking maybe some foul play is coming his way as it looks like he's getting in Barnabas' way.

Now after a year the focus has shifted to Maggie. I was actually kind of bored by her all along as a supporting character and sometimes ff-ed the Evanses and Joe. I can also see Roger has been so back-burnered he's practically off the stove. As for Burke, he's like a floater. It now feels like he's propping stories rather than driving them; he's being used to search for the missing or  to have a drink/dinner with. And they had him in this weird harem....dating/using Carolyn, having a soft spot for Vicky, rekindling his love for Laura. It just feels like the character's potential is somewhat wasted at this point in the story.

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by applcin

[All My Shadows]

Because DS is always the trendsetter, I’ve just discovered that it is the first (and probably only, ever) soap to have a 24-hr channel on Pluto TV. Not sure how convenient/practical it is, but I can definitely see myself tuning in for hours at a time, regardless of where the story is.

[watson71]

 

Yes it is Channel 535 24/7 Dark Shadows- I found myself watching here and there over the weekend.

[applcin]

I'm in August 1967, where Maggie has re-appeared, much to everyone's surprise.

I understand Jonathan Frid became something of a sex symbol. I find him as Barnabas interesting but I wouldn't say sexy. 

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So...they (well, Barnabas, really) recently threw a costume party and nobody invited or even mentioned David. Hard to believe he wouldn't have been pleading or throwing a fit to attend. Hard to believe this kid was on so much before and now he's barely around.

Jason's story, thankfully, has come to an end. I think Jason was indeed the epitome of "one-noteness" but my observation is that many of the characters thus far in the show are close to one-note as well. They seem to be written to fit certain molds and seldom deviate far from those molds...I'm speaking solely writing-wise, not acting-wise. They have their roles to play in this gothic tale.

Anthony George is playing Burke now. I remember him as Will Vernon on OLTL. He's not bad but the character is still being wasted as a sounding board and would-be rescuer. You never even see this guy actually go to work.

I'm a little confused about Willie's personality change, though. I get that he's the vampire's slave and rightfully scared. I just don't know where his compassion for the safety of other people came in. He went from practically wanting to rape women to risking his own life  to help them as far as his possessed soul allows.

 

And Roger went from scoffing at the idea of seances to conducting one. Guess that's what happens when they give him nothing else to do.

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by applcin