Dark Shadows

[DRW50]

For me 1840 wasn't the same after Daphne arrived. Kate Jackson was so wan and she had no chemistry with David Selby. This was also an era when Dark Shadows had very strong women - the women were carrying the show at this point and had been for at least a year - and she stood out as regressive. Lara Parker playing the ingenue role so strongly in DS' dying months just showed that Jackson was miscast in that type of role.

Was the David Henesy replacement the Drew brother who got killed in the woods or whatever?

It's always puzzling piecing together the cast issues for the show's last year, because of people who had lengthy absences for theater work, like Louis Edmonds. I know he came back for a few shows at the end but it wasn't the same without him for most of 1970, 1840, etc.

[Soaplovers]

I think Kate Jackson was hired to fill the ingenure/governess role that Alexandra MOltke filled to prefection the first 2 1/2 years. While KLS was decent in the governess/ingenure part... she was much pretty playing the tough as nails diner worker and the fortune hunting Kitty Soames.. then the weaker maggie Evans/Rachel Drummond.

I know Alex M. was approached to return.. and she did say she considered it.. if she could be a dark character for awhile.. or even have Victoria W possessed.. just something new to do. I don't think she was opposed to playing Vicki W.. just wanted some variety like the other cast members got.

[Vee]

No, I think it was this hunky kid they got who appeared once or twice with Kathy Cody - Jeremy Stokes, or something.

I actually liked Kate Jackson on the show a lot, and thought she possessed an iron will and authoritative integrity that the characters didn't always have on the page. (She reminded me so much of Alex Moltke, especially in her 1970 appearances, that I thought they should've taken the whole "Daphne is wearing Vicki Winters' clothes" story note even further and had Jackson actually take over the role of Vicki.) And I liked her with Selby a lot. But I thought any real soap, which DS wasn't, would've found that the real meat in the story was in using both Jackson and Vestoff. Instead, when the story they intended to tell in 1840 really gets going - Judah Zachery, Barnabas, Angelique, etc. - everything with Virginia Vestoff/Samantha, etc. pretty much falls by the wayside til it's time for the 'bad' characters to pay for their misdeeds.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Vee

[robbwolff]

I think you mean Jeremy Grimes. According to the Dark Shadows Almanac, he appeared on four episodes. Tom Happer played the role. A few years later, he would play Bill Saxton on For Richer, For Poorer. Here's his pin-up while he was on Dark Shadows. Quite furry for a teenage character!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/528328600009063368/

[danfling]

I still have a few questions about this era of Dark Shadows.

Had Katheryn Leigh Scott continued to appear on Dark Shadows and played Samantha Collins during the 1840 storyline, who do you think that she would have played in the 1840 Parallel Time months?

I wonder why the Randall Drew character (played by Gene Lindsey) was not cast with Michael Stroka. Had Mr. Stroka decided to leave the show?

I wonder why Morgan was not cast with James Storm? Why was he on the show in a predominant role, but was not used following the end of the run for the character that he played? I think that Mr. Storm was much better than Mr. Prentiss, although many may disagree with me.

May I point out that when Joan Bennett was introduced as Flora in either the 1840 or the 1840 Parallel Time (I think, though, that it was the Parallel Time), Flora initially had a Southern accent. I bet that Ms. Bennett wanted to infuse more variety into her performances, but the directors decided against using the Southern accent. (During the very early weeks of the show, I understand that some of the actors tried to employ New England accents until the show told them that they should be dropped.)

I had never cared for John Karlen on the show, and James Hall was, by far, my favorite actor in the Willie role. However, he was excellent in the Kendrick role, and I became a fan.

[DRW50]

Stroka was on briefly as Laszlo (Angelique's gypsy servant) in 1840, then vanished with no explanation. He was supposed to be in the opening shot of Night of Dark Shadows, so I guess there was no bad blood, but it was odd.

[Vee]

I assume she'd have been the parallel Samantha. I don't think they had any firm plans going on at that point, though - so much of the show was written by the seat of its pants anyway, but it was even more slapdash in that last year and those last months.

I also don't remember Vestoff's Samantha Drew in Parallel 1840 being killed off, I think the character (like several others) just stopped appearing. But I haven't seen it in many years.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Vee

[danfling]

She may have not been killed (Samantha).

For years, I dd not even think that Virgiania Vestoff had played a role in the1840 Parallel Time. But, I did see her in the reruns on the SciFi Channel.

I was thinking that she had been killed. If she was not and was just simply dropped, even showing her in the new role was a big waste on the part of the show.

[Vee]

It was also very common for the show to do that, especially in later years - a new character, particularly "parallel time" characters, would appear and then just as quickly disappear. It also happened with several stars in the 1970PT storyline, many of whom were simply used as filler for the main ensemble who were busy filming HODS. Once that was done, actors like Jerry Lacy, Paula Laurence, etc. were all but disposed of.

[amybrickwallace]

Thanks for filling me in on Virginia Vestoff's run on DS. I can't even imagine anyone else as TD's Althea but Liz Hubbard, but I'll keep an open mind and see what VV did in the role.

[DRW50]

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[Soaplovers]

Rewatching the pre.Barnabas episodes...I can.honestly say I liked the show better before Barnabas and.Julia.Hoffman hogged all the airtime and character development.

It seems like a mix of Jane Eyre as well as secret storm..pre supernatural elements. I can also see why it struggled some as well.

[amybrickwallace]

Not to mention that those episodes were still B&W - which made them creepier!!!

[amybrickwallace]

Hey Carl, do you have the article with Virginia Vestoff from 1971 called "The Doctors' Loss is Dark Shadows' Gain"? Since we are on the cusp of seeing her in the reruns of TD on Retro TV, I would love to read that interview. Thanks!!

[DRW50]

I might. If I do I'll post it. Do you know what it's in? Is it TV Dawn to Dusk?