Dark Shadows Discussion Thread

[DAMfan]

I am a Dark Shadows fan - so it would be nice to talk about the show. Wish some channel would show DS again and does anyone know if there anywhere online you can watch the show TIA for any info.

[Chris B]

I have the entire series on DVD and have been making my way through it. Right now I've been going through an extremely painful period with this whole Adam and now Eve story. I'll be happy when this is off my screen. The show was on such a roll with 1875, but this is just horrible. It works in parts but feels like it's dragging on forever and only involved a few characters.

[EricMontreal22]

I've only seen a few dozen episodes (well prob close to 60) but always intended to get all those DVDs and make myw ay thru... I don't remember hearing about an Adam and Eve story--what was that?

[Chris B]

A doctor found out Barnabas was a vampire and created a person (think Frankenstein) that was supposed to cure Barnabas of his vampireism. The plan was for Barnabas to become the new man, but things went wrong and you had two separate people only Barnabas was no longer a vampire. In order to stay human Adam had to stay alive which was difficult considering all the trouble Adam caused. He was very child like and had to be taught all the different things that a human does. In the beginning it was great, but it goes on and on and is so boring. Then Adam wants a mate so they creative Eve who ends up having the soul of this evil witch for the past. This time it was actually successful and she was put into the new human body.

A big problem with this story is that it only utilizes a select few and leaves most of the cast on the backburner. DS usually was good about using the entire cast, especially when they went into the past for stories. It's just a little too silly for me.

[All My Shadows]

Adam and Eve...good lord...I couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand it one bit!

My favorite eras of the show are the 1795 storyline and pretty much everything from 1968 to the end of the first half of the 1970PT storyline.

[EricMontreal22]

You guys are making me wanna buy all the DVD sets... Hrmm I wonder if there's anyway cheap. I have like 5 of the old video tapes from the 80s that I bought used in Jr High....

Adam and Eve oddly, sounds a lot more like the kinda story that Strange Paradise was doing--you knwo the cheapo Dark Shadows rip off with a Dr Moreau/Sci Fi bent filmed here in Canada that Harding Lemay (!) wrote for. I saw two months of it when we got Drive In Classics, a Canadian cable station, for free and I admit, while it had NONE of the atmosphere of DS, in its own campy way I found it a lot of fun and not as awful as many soap books (none of which seem to have seen it) did.

[DRW50]

My favorite period on Dark Shadows was the time right before they went to 1795, and then parts of 1897 (some parts dragged horribly, others were pure deliciousness), and finally the 1970 parallel time story. I can't tell you why, but I have a very strong attachment to the parallel time story.

I also adored Vicky and to this day I'm still bummed about her just vanishing into the past, followed by Peter Bradford showing up a few years later saying she'd been killed by the Leviathans. I wish she'd had a stronger exit, if they could have just brought Alexandra Moltke back for a few days.

I've been trying to get through the pre-Barnabas episodes, which isn't easy. I'm near the murder of Bill Malloy.

I used to watch the primetime version during the original airing. I've started again. I flipped when I realized Liz Foster (Julianna McCarthy) was Mrs. Johnson. I did not remember that at all. I think what stands out for me most is while they did a good job of casting actors who could play the roles (Barbara Steele, Joanna Going, Ben Cross all did fantastic work), they didn't match the quaint charm or distinctive personality which Grayson Hall, Jonathan Frid, and Alexandra Moltke brought to their roles. I think they should have moved away from the show in ways which would have helped create a new yet still familiar identity. Like keep Daphne Collins around (Rebecca Staab fit the part perfectly, which I can't say about the women who played Carolyn or Maggie) and write out one of the other young women instead.

Can anyone tell me why some of the nighttime scenes in those early episodes of the primetime show looked like they were filmed in broad daylight?

[Chris B]

Right now I'm watching the episodes when Vicki has been recast, not sure how long it lasts, but know it's not long. This first recast, I believe her name is Betsy Durkin, isn't too bad. It's a difficult role to recast, but I would've accepted her if it meant keeping the character on screen. I feel like her Vicki is stronger than what we had been getting towards the end of Moltke's run. Losing the character is going to be a major blow and Maggie just isn't a suitable replacement, IMO. I've always found her a big harsh and too fragile and whiny at the same time.

Storywise, the Adam/Eve story is FINALLY over and Nicholas Blair is gone. I hope he and that actor never returns! I know many fans seemed to enjoy him, but that character and story did nothing for the show. Right now it's looking promising with this warewolf/ghost of quentin collins story. Looks like they're going back to the basics which is just what I need after such an over the top story.

[DRW50]

Betsy Durkin is the one who looked like Ruth Buzzi? I liked the third Vicki, just because she had that genteel quality.

The Quentin story is probably Maggie's best, or one of her best. She gets to be strong and in the middle of the drama, knowing most of what's going on, instead of always being in the dark.

[Rakesh]

Just saw the first 5 episodes of DS and it was alright. From what I've seen, I'm guessing Vicki and that other girl are sisters?(Don't tell me though. lol) If you want to watch DS online, just send me a PM.

[TheDSA]

A doctor found out Barnabas was a vampire and created a person (think Frankenstein) that was supposed to cure Barnabas of his vampireism. The plan was for Barnabas to become the new man, but things went wrong and you had two separate people only Barnabas was no longer a vampire. In order to stay human Adam had to stay alive which was difficult considering all the trouble Adam caused. He was very child like and had to be taught all the different things that a human does. In the beginning it was great, but it goes on and on and is so boring. Then Adam wants a mate so they creative Eve who ends up having the soul of this evil witch for the past. This time it was actually successful and she was put into the new human body.

A big problem with this story is that it only utilizes a select few and leaves most of the cast on the backburner. DS usually was good about using the entire cast, especially when they went into the past for stories. It's just a little too silly for me.

yes, it dragged on. The only thing I liked about it was that it established Carolyn as a heroine and got Julia and Barnabas closer.

Edited January 30, 2009 by TheDSA

[All My Shadows]

Right now I'm watching the episodes when Vicki has been recast, not sure how long it lasts, but know it's not long. This first recast, I believe her name is Betsy Durkin, isn't too bad. It's a difficult role to recast, but I would've accepted her if it meant keeping the character on screen. I feel like her Vicki is stronger than what we had been getting towards the end of Moltke's run. Losing the character is going to be a major blow and Maggie just isn't a suitable replacement, IMO. I've always found her a big harsh and too fragile and whiny at the same time.

Storywise, the Adam/Eve story is FINALLY over and Nicholas Blair is gone. I hope he and that actor never returns! I know many fans seemed to enjoy him, but that character and story did nothing for the show. Right now it's looking promising with this warewolf/ghost of quentin collins story. Looks like they're going back to the basics which is just what I need after such an over the top story.

Humbert Allen Astredo (Nicholas) sticks around pretty much through the end of the series. I think his last episode is about 30 or so episodes before the final one. He's gone for one of the storylines, though.

I need to shell out the cash to get the DVDs, seriously. I only have a couple of episodes that I taped from Sci-Fi circa 02-03, and you can only watch Hoffman and Angelique try to make PT Maggie jump out the window so many times before you can start reciting the lines.

[Quent]

I loved the first time-travel story, and thought Alexandra Moltke brought a wonderful quality to the role of Vicky. The Tom/Chris Jennings story was great, too. Guess I'm in a minority, but I didn't mind the Adam and Eve story. I absolutely HATED the parallel time tale, though. I know Jonathan Frid was the star of the show, but the most essential character to me was Angelique/Cassandra. Lara Parker stole every scene she was in!

[Scotty]

Not sure about the 1991 revival of DS....but as for the original Dark Shadows, it was notorious about keeping the budget as low as possible. Also, they would often times just keep rolling if someone messed up; no time for retakes.

BTW, does anyone remember the brief 1995 DS storyline....when Barnabas and Julia found Collinwood in ruins and Carolyn with more than a few screws loose?

[DRW50]

I admired the original Dark Shadows team for getting what they did on such a small budget (some of those sets in the time travel stories are beautiful, as are the costumes), but you could definitely see the squeeze. I think the 1795 story was better in the primetime version (with the big exception of Angelique, who is nothing without Lara Parker), one reason being that they kept going back between 1795 and present-day, and because there was less filler. For the time travel stories my favorite was 1840 (so many fascinating characters and over the top stories), then 1897.

I wish Barbara Steele had done more TV work after the primetime DS. No one can replace my love for uber-camp Grayson Hall, Woman of A Thousand Faces, but Barbara was excellent as Julia and absolutely brilliant as Natalie du Pres.

I remember. This was a very brave storytelling attempt, and mostly they pulled it off. Gerard was extremely menacing and the way he tormented Julia was gripping. I also liked seeing the old Mrs. Johnson in her last days, even if she blinked after she was supposed to be dead.

The followup story in 1970 wasn't as good, but had some very strong scenes, like the one where Julia and Barnabas realize Quentin has gone mad.

Edited February 22, 2009 by CarlD2