Dark Shadows Discussion Thread

[Soaplovers]

The post 1795 present day stories started out promising once Victoria came back from the past and she was trying to make sense of the past.. while adjusting to the present. 

The scene where she and Liz find Peter's grave and she expressed guilt over her actions in the past causing Peter to be accused of her crime and ending up being hung was well written and acted.   It would have been perfect had she mentioned that two men that were important to her were now dead (Burke/Peter).

And Angelique invading the Collins family in the present day was a result of Victoria's visit to the past and realizing that Barnabas was out and about in the 20th century started promising with her causing Liz to become paranoid about death (a call back to her paranoia over 'killing' her husband Paul).. and Victoria instantly knowing who she was and trying to warn Julia.

It's a shame that shortly after those first episodes back in the present post 1795 ended up becoming too focused on the ghouls/monsters... and downplaying the more soapy elements.

 

[NothinButAttitude]

Don't know if this has been posted; however, it appears the story bible, Shadows on the Wall, has been uploaded for anyone to snag here: 

https://archive.org/details/shadows-on-the-wall-1 (rough draft)

AND 

https://archive.org/details/shadows-on-the-wall-1/page/91/mode/2up

 

Edited May 17 by NothinButAttitude

[DRW50]

You're right about the potential many of those stories could have had. The execution was more of an issue. Something never clicked for me in Angelique's present-day adventures - some of them I actually found very irritating due to the slanted writing and her voice being overshadowed. It took the Leviathan story for me to enjoy her in that timeline.

I wish they had just left Peter/Vicki to the past and used that to inform who Vicki became when she returned, instead of bringing him back.

[dc11786]

@NothinButAttitude thanks for sharing the rough draft. I had bought "Shadows on the Wall" from Kathryn Leigh Scott's website probably 20+ years ago. It's a fascinating read into a very different version of what the show could have been. 

[DRW50]

I didn't think this was very good (I've never yet seen a good episode of this revival), but you do get a lot of Michael Stroka. And if you are a Donna Reed Show fan, you also get Paul Petersen.

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[Broderick]

I find the black & white episodes FAR more atmospheric and spooky than the color episodes.  

The first few months of Dark Shadows move ploddingly slow when you're binge-watching, with entirely too much repetition and exposition.  But as someone noted above, it's the only time in the show when you get much character development.  After the 1795 sequence, it's pretty much like "just make something up; nobody cares."  

The series essentially became self-parody with the overload of monsters & ghoulies.  I was watching a scene one time in which the Witch was attempting to stop the Phoenix from staking the Vampire, and I got tickled at the absurdity of three "monsters" in one scene.  

[VelekaCarruthers]

Dan Curtis was a good producer and director but he didn't know how to structure a daytime show. After he fired Art Wallace (or Art left after the first 13 weeks and never returned) Dan was the head writer. There are interviews (video and print) with Sam Hall, Violet Wells and others on the writing team who say as much. Dan wanted cliffhangers and shock value daily. He was undisciplined. If you look at other soaps that aired during that time, they were better produced and acted. You didn't constantly see boom shadows and tips of cameras and have sets rattle and actors forget lines (daily). I loved a lot of DS but it was campy and poorly produced. When a scene or episode was flawless (which was very rare) it was a revelation. It could have been so good. They needed to slow down a bit but it was expensive to put on and I think the network was constantly nervous about the content.

[Broderick]

What Dan Curtis never seemed to understand -- and what Art Wallace knew from the get-go -- is that a slow, suspenseful build-up creates a far more satisfying episode than the constant "cliffhangers" that never amounted to much.  ("I'm going to kiillll you, Julia!" before every commercial break, lol.)  

[Vee]

Dan being de facto HW explains a lot. It's clear the show changed direction on a dime according to his interests or whims.

[DRW50]

An early TV role for Carolyn Groves, the Victoria recast we deserved.

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[te.]

It's a shame she only appeared in three episodes for the purpose of being written out - I thought she was quite good in the little we saw. I liked her vibe better than Durkin that never seemed to quite capture Victoria as a character.

[DRW50]

Durkin was awful. The writing did her no favors, but she was all wrong for the part, lacking the mix of mystery, steeliness, sorrow and hesitancy that defined Victoria. I still have the awful memory of Adam lugging her around like a rag doll. She looked much more like one of the Blue Whale dancing extras than Victoria. And her voice...

Maybe I am too harsh.

With that said, Curtis didn't seem as bothered. I see from a fan review mentioning Barnabas & Company that Durkin was asked to return for Victoria's final episodes and declined as she had a Christmas trip to Europe with her husband planned and wasn't interested in just a few appearances. 

I refuse to believe Victoria actually died during the Leviathan storyline. If Barnabas and Angelique could come back 8 times, she could come back a few.

Edited 6 hours ago by DRW50