Dark Shadows Discussion Thread

[Bright Eyes]

You're reading too much into it. She just meant a man like her uncle. Carolyn/Nancy Barrett is THE BEST thing about The Beginning episodes, IMO. I am probably the only person that has ONLY seen the beginning episodes and nothing else of the show ... yet.

[DRW50]

They are blood relatives and nothing else but the actors do play a certain flirtation. When he calls her "kitten" I kind of cringe.

The pre-Barnabas episodes have some very strong moments. For one thing, the characters are much better defined, as they don't just react to him. Victoria is stronger. The only real downside is David, one of the most annoying child characters ever on television.

[EricMontreal22]

I feel foolish, since in the episode I watched immediately after this post it was clear he was her blood uncle. Carl's right about the flirtation though--he gave her a morning kiss and she said "mm delicious" just this past episode.

Amello, I have only seen some of the later episodes--about 30 of the Quentin Collins arc--I decided to start with the beginning.

So far I don't really mind David but we've only gotten brief scenes with him. It's funny how much of it reminds of early peyton Place though in odd and less odd ways (well a far less finely filmed, directed, and acted Peyton Place anyway lol but it would be hard to have those superb production values on a 60s daytime soap). I wonder if any of that was deliberate.

It's interesting that the headwriter of these episodes, Art Wallace, is credited by Agnes Nixon in All Her Children as being her story consultant on the first few years of AMC...

Edited April 8, 2010 by EricMontreal22

[DRW50]

So I guess you got to see Carolyn's intro scene, which amounted to her doing "wild" dancing with 30 year old men in the Blue Whale as Burke Devlin and his PI marveled over how out of control she was. Hilariously awful. They should have had it like that Too Darn Hot scene in Kiss Me Kate - go girl, go!

Poor Nancy Barrett. She really soars when she gets to play other characters. But Carolyn does have her moments.

[EricMontreal22]

Her dancing scene actually is like a really really badly done version of one of Betty's early dancing scenes at the teen hangout in Peyton! I can't help think they wanted to emulate it (and did so poorly).

So far I have to admit I find Nancy/Carolyn kinda wasted, yet appealing. I'll give most of that credit to the actress. I'm still only at episode 10 though. I think Victoria is still on her second day at Collinswood, LOL.

[Bright Eyes]

The moment I knew I absolutely LOVED Nancy Barrett? There's a scene where she's flipping through a newspaper/magazine and angrily she whips it across the room. Barrett was effing FIERCE in that scene.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Amello

[DRW50]

I don't remember that, it must have been early on, as she lost all personality around the time of Adam.

The first time I really got a kick out Carolyn was when she dated Buzz the motorcyclist to rile up her mother. Who can't love lines like "I dig Buzz...Buzz digs me!"

The first time she truly came alive was when Carolyn became Barnabas's slave. She was delicious in that role. I wish it hadn't had to end. That also led to her relationship with Tony Peterson, which I really enjoyed. Hated seeing him written out to help prop Adam.

Eric, Grayson Hall was on AMC briefly in 72 or 73, hired by a friend there, so I guess the AMC/DS ties ran fairly deep. She played a magazine editor who knew the Eileen Lecthworth character (blanking on the name). I wish I could see that...

You probably already know this, but the show was based on a dream Dan Curtis had. The first scenes of the show were his dream. His daughter, I believe, encouraged him to write a show or project about the dream. Cleveland Amory, the TV critic, wrote a review a few years later which trashed the show (although he said he missed watching it when his week was up) and said, basically, "Let us hope that Mr. Curtis never goes to sleep again."

If you ever want to know what the original story bible was and how it would have played out if they hadn't started making changes due to low ratings, it was published earlier this decade, Shadows on the Wall.

[EricMontreal22]

I'd love to read that--when I'm further in. I knew about the dream--Schemering said it came to Curtis when he was on a train from New England to New York and saw a young woman huddled next to the window looking nervous--and he then fell asleep. But most of the characters and other concepts were done when he gave that initial idea to Art Wallace. Dan Curtis loves to take credit for the show but it seems very little of it was actually his doing.

I wonder if Agnes Nixon was a fan--she certainly was aware of the show and some of its stories from her comments in the 1987 Paley seminar when asked some questions and she brought it up (she also mentions how jealous she was that Dan Curtis saved ll isepisodes to video)--but thfact she also picked Gordon Russell to follow her on OLTL is curious.

Edit: boo i see Shadows on the Wall goes for a huge amount http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=shadows+on+the+wall+art+wallace I was gonna order it.

There was a major novel a fewyears back by a famous female author I believe that was meant to be a Dark Shadows novel but at the last minute, curiously all connections/names were changed. But for the life of me I can't reemmeber what it was...

Edited April 8, 2010 by EricMontreal22

[DRW50]

There are also some biographies out there about Grayson Hall and Louis Edmonds. I haven't read the Louis one yet but the Grayson one is pretty good.

There may have been some sort of decision by ABC to keep the DS people around if they could. Lela Swift directed Ryan's Hope for years.

[EricMontreal22]

Nevermind, their publisher still has it apparently--I guess it's the full original bible from stuff we did see (though changes were made, Roger was meant to die) then past the stuff before changes. http://www.pompress.com/titles/dark/shadows.html

[Bright Eyes]

The Carolyn scene I brought up was in the Beginning DVD's. If I remember correctly, it had to do with Burke/Victoria.

[quartermainefan]

is everyone aware the entire series is being shortened into minisodes and streamed on youtube? Hundreds and hundreds of DS minisodes are up.

[EricMontreal22]

I've caught a few (thankfully for some reason they play in Canada--most Minisodes are only accepted in the USA) though I'm trying not to spoil it for myself. Then again I've seen a lot of the Quentin Collins inital storyline already (big David Selby fan/crush here), but otherwise not much at all (I saw one of the movies, I think the first one, on TCM a while back--I wonder why they're not on DVD)--none of the major Barnabus stuff. Currently on episode 29 of the Beginnign eps though and enjoying it, but can't wait for the supernatural stuff to start up, I admit.

[quartermainefan]

Jonathan Frid is returning to the role in some sort of podcast radio drama for sale.

[DRW50]

That's great to hear! I know David Selby and Lara Parker have done some of those.