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David T. Cole

By David T. Cole
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Jan Spears
Jan Spears

I recently took the train to and from New York. As we passed through Tarrytown, I could see the Lyndhurst mansion a.k.a. Collinwood from the House of Dark Shadows movie looming ominously on a hill abo

Etaoin Shrdlu
Etaoin Shrdlu

I just found this guy's blog and have been binge-reading all day. He does a recap of each episode, with pithy comments, screen caps, and blooper round-ups.  Love!   http://darkshadowseveryday.com/

peacheslatour
peacheslatour

I don't know if you guys know about this site but I am addicted to it: darkshadowseveryday.com. BTW Jan Spears, the blogger agrees with everything you posted.

Pete Martell

Pete Martell

https://variety.com/2020/music/news/bob-cobert-dead-dies-dark-shadows-winds-of-war-1203512992/

Robert Cobert has passed away. A composer for Dark Shadows, responsible for so many iconic music choices (I'm not sure how many TV shows had music that mattered as much as the music on Dark Shadows). I think my favorites were the Blue Whale pieces, one snappy, the other melancholy - the perfect tone for both moods. And Josette's Theme was achingly beautiful.

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

31 minutes ago, Pete Martell said:

https://variety.com/2020/music/news/bob-cobert-dead-dies-dark-shadows-winds-of-war-1203512992/

Robert Cobert has passed away. A composer for Dark Shadows, responsible for so many iconic music choices (I'm not sure how many TV shows had music that mattered as much as the music on Dark Shadows). I think my favorites were the Blue Whale pieces, one snappy, the other melancholy - the perfect tone for both moods. And Josette's Theme was achingly beautiful.

And who could forget Quentin's Theme?

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willco

willco

So, very recently ( I'm assuming at the start of the month) Tubi ( a great free streaming service) added all the rest of the episodes ! A few months back, they put a small number of episodes up, but then when  I was looking this weekend, there's the whole run. Now, there may be a few missing  somewhere, but it looks like there's over 1200, so it has to be close to complete.  I watched the start of the 1795 story line, which I always enjoyed, and I haven't seen it for years. And they even have the eps CC'ed, which when Syfy was still Scifi and ran the show, they weren't  (it was early in the 2000's, though ). Having that helps a lot for me. 

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Jan Spears

Jan Spears

(edited)

It's that day of the year again -- the anniversary of the first airing of my favorite episode (#233) in 1967. (This is the one where Barnabas recounts the story of Josette's death to Vicky and Carolyn in a Collinwood that has lost power due to a massive storm.)

I always find something new to enjoy when I watch this episode. This year it's Carolyn's reactions to the storm, the loss of power and Barnabas' story. What would your reaction be if you were stuck in this vast and rambling house with no power and then you had to listen to Barnabas telling the story of how Josette threw herself off Widow's Hill to her death? Nancy Barrett really sells how disturbing this would be!

Edited by Jan Spears
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willco

willco

Tubi has added the documentary "Master of Dark Shadows" that came out last year. Someone at that service must really like DS, because they now have the complete run of the series, several of the movies, and now this doc ! I watched about half of it yesterday but I had to stop just because I wanted to kind of savor it. Pretty much everything in it I had never seen-- they have interviews with many of the stars, writers and directors which I've never seen before. They interviewed John Karlin and Robert Cobert, both of whom sadly passed away in the last year. They talked about how popular David Selby was and how 16 magazine had never really featured 'soap' actors before him. 

 

I think any fan of the show will really enjoy it. 

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

1 hour ago, willco said:

Tubi has added the documentary "Master of Dark Shadows" that came out last year. Someone at that service must really like DS, because they now have the complete run of the series, several of the movies, and now this doc ! I watched about half of it yesterday but I had to stop just because I wanted to kind of savor it. Pretty much everything in it I had never seen-- they have interviews with many of the stars, writers and directors which I've never seen before. They interviewed John Karlin and Robert Cobert, both of whom sadly passed away in the last year. They talked about how popular David Selby was and how 16 magazine had never really featured 'soap' actors before him. 

 

I think any fan of the show will really enjoy it. 

Dan Curtis was a mad genius.

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

Did anyone see it last night? One of my favs, Angelique calls dead Joshua Collins from his grave and he goes around haunting the whole household (the Old House) to the point where they actually move out and into another house (Collinwood) which he continues to haunt with his dangling eyeball of DOOM.

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

3 hours ago, pearlite said:

And I am so addicted to his stuff!

I read the episode I watched the night before every day. I skipped ahead a few episodes for a while because I was so addicted to his recaps but I found it's better for me to slow down and savor them one at a time.

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Pete Martell

Pete Martell

Diana Millay has passed away. 

Without the Laura story (the first one was genuinely very strong in many moments - not as crazy about the return), Dark Shadows never would have lasted. Millay was so enigmatic in those early scenes - Laura by the fire is an iconic show image. 

 

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Pete Martell

Pete Martell

(edited)

Christopher Pennock was sort of emblematic of the more offbeat casting choices of the last few years of Dark Shadows. He often played characters who were insufferable, some of them just about unplayable - the Cyrus and Yaeger story seemed so draining yet had to basically carry the show during the months the cast were filming House of Dark Shadows - but he added his own flair to what he was given. His peak was Gabriel Collins, who was so vile but such a hoot to watch. I still remember all his snapping back and forth with Samantha. 

Edited by Pete Martell
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Pete Martell

Pete Martell

As Sky Rumson, Geoffrey Scott was a key player in one of DS's most complex, and in the end, riveting storylines. His arrival offered viewers a turning point for Angelique and how they were allowed to see her - for the first time, we were given the chance to see Angelique truly getting what she had always wanted (love, happiness, a real home) and we saw that she was willing to relinquish her powers in order to keep that life. Sky's grievous betrayal of her helped viewers to see the emotions she had felt with men like Barnabas, only now they could be fully on her side. And it was the absolute perfect conclusion to the Leviathan story that cold, methodical figures such as them were decimated by a figure who never let herself live by reason or caution and was instead, when crossed, the purest, deadliest form of hatred. The story also opened the door to much more complex writing for female characters, which would continue to the end of the show. And without Scott, and his chemistry with Lara Parker, that all would have been more difficult to put across. 

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azshadowwalker

azshadowwalker

Just saw that Chris Pennock died. I knew he was sick this winter because we followed each other on Twitter, but I didn't realize he had died until I looked at David Selby's website today. He was really down to earth from what I saw. I was surprised that he randomly started following me one day after I made some political reply on Twitter. He didn't even know I was a big Dark Shadows fan. From what I have read, he was extremely open to the show's fans. One of the good ones in so many ways. 

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

FML. Not being content with ruining Dark Shadows and Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton is now doing an Addams Family spin off. From USA Today:

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky — and coming to Netflix. Tim Burton is directing a new Addams Family spinoff series about Wednesday Addams, appropriately titled Wednesday.

The streaming service announced the series in February 2021 and revealed the first look at the show’s artwork, which showed a silhouetted Wednesday playing the cello with a large knife instead of a bow.

He will never be happy until he has completely demolished all my childhood beloveds.

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Jan Spears

Jan Spears

(edited)

I spent the summer watching that period in 1970 between the end of the Parallel Time storyline and the start of the 1840 storyline -- roughly two months worth of episodes.

This period on Dark Shadows encompassed two major events -- Barnabas and Julia being hurled from Parallel Time to a ruined Collinwood in 1995 and, upon their return to the Collinwood of 1970, their trying to avert the 1970 catastrophe they learned about in 1995. (For some reason, when the Sci-Fi Channel did its epic runs of the entire series in the 1990s, I don't remember watching these episodes.)

The absolute highlight was seeing Collinwood lying in ruins in 1995. Sy Tomashoff and the rest of the creative staff put on a master class with their deconstruction of the great house. The introduction of a mysterious playroom in the west wing and an equally mysterious stairway through time (which Barnabas and Julia use to travel from 1995 to 1970) only added to the overall sinister atmosphere.

Once back in 1970, Barnabas and Julia try to thwart the ghost of Gerard Stiles (James Storm) from carrying out his plans of revenge. Also on hand is the ghost of Daphne Harridge (Kate Jackson, fresh out of drama school) who is in Gerard's thrall. The best part of all this is the playroom which only David Collins and Hallie Stokes (Kathy Cody, replacing Denise Nickerson as a younger lead) can see and enter. To everyone else at Collinwood it appears as an ordinary linen closet. Beyond that, the story drags fairly quickly. The two children, David and Hallie, are on a lot and, at a certain point, I grew tired of them and was  ready for Gerard to wreak havoc. When the Destruction of Collinwood does come, though, it's epic with a mob of zombies piling on Barnabas, and Julia travelling up the stairway through time to 1840.

The other story during the summer of 1970 was the arrival of the main time band's version of Roxanne Drew, who is altogether different from her Parallel Time counterpart. Roxanne is responsible for Maggie Evans being shipped off to Wyndcliffe for her own safety; a plot point necessitated by Kathryn Leigh Scott leaving the show after 4 1/2 years to move to France. (Truly, the loss of Maggie Evans at this point was no great loss as the character had become so blanded out that she was a shell of what she had been back in 1966-67.)

I'm now on to the 1840 storyline which I watched in the 1990s and loved!

 

Edited by Jan Spears
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Jan Spears

Jan Spears

A few other thoughts regarding the July-September 1970 episodes:

  • There was a real tendency on the part of certain cast members to screech their lines. David Selby did it the worst but John Karlen and Chris Pennock also yelled their way through the script. Even Nancy Barrett did it although, in her case, Carolyn was supposed to be insane (1995) and possessed (1970). So I give her a little more of a pass.
  • The show had real consistency problems with lighting. An episode would be beautifully lit with moody, atmospheric lighting (quite literally, dark shadows) but the very next episode would be garishly overlit.
  • I've remarked before about how Collinsport itself vanished as a character over time as The Blue Whale, the Collinsport Inn, the Evans cottage and the docks either appeared infrequently or disappeared altogether. This holds true for the summer of 1970 episodes as the cast spends all their time running around Collinwood. I find that I miss those faraway days in the black and white episodes where Vicky, Burke, Maggie, Joe and Sam would congregate at The Blue Whale. It made Collinsport seem like a real place and made the supernatural goings-on more believable. 
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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

Quote

I've remarked before about how Collinsport itself vanished as a character over time as The Blue Whale, the Collinsport Inn, the Evans cottage and the docks either appeared infrequently or disappeared altogether. This holds true for the summer of 1970 episodes as the cast spends all their time running around Collinwood. I find that I miss those faraway days in the black and white episodes where Vicky, Burke, Maggie, Joe and Sam would congregate at The Blue Whale. It made Collinsport seem like a real place and made the supernatural goings-on more believable. 

Agreed. And the watery reflections from the window of the Blue Whale heightened the effect. I loved those episodes. So gloomy and atmospheric.

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Jan Spears

Jan Spears

On 9/27/2021 at 9:35 AM, peacheslatour said:

Agreed. And the watery reflections from the window of the Blue Whale heightened the effect. I loved those episodes. So gloomy and atmospheric.

Yes! Those little touches in the earlier episodes established a very particular atmosphere. The ocean and the rain and the mist and the fog created a kind of chilling effect for the characters, as if they could never quite get warm.

I watched the first full week (from the same week in 1970) of the 1840 storyline. So many great characters and situations -- and Angelique, Quentin and Daphne haven't even shown up yet. Episode 1113 is a particular standout. The action starts in 1840 but then shifts to 1970, where Barnabas is reeling from the aftermath of the death and destruction at Collinwood and trying to figure out how to get back to 1840. There's a very chilling scene where a crazed Quentin is preparing to hang himself in Josette's room at the Old House. The noose is framed and filmed in such a way that Josette's face in her portrait appears in the noose. Dark Shadows at its creative best!

For all that, though, Dark Shadows may have been too creative for its own good. The breakneck pace of the storylines and the cutting back-and-forth between time periods broke one of the cardinal tenet's of daytime soap operas -- that there be a lot of repetition in case viewers missed a few episodes.

 

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

On 10/8/2021 at 11:39 PM, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

I saw that too, it was interesting to see how the movie played out. I would recommend it to other fans of DS.  I enjoyed the series when it got rebooted back in 1991 with new actors, was hoping it would have survived past the summer series. 

The '91 version with Ben Cross, Joanna Going, Michael T. Weiss, and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt had promise. (It started around the time I started college.) I actually read at some point that the ratings for the reboot were actually decent to start with.

However, the onset of the Persian Gulf War and the constant news interruptions and preemptions due to said war are what ended up killing the show.

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

8 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

The '91 version with Ben Cross, Joanna Going, Michael T. Weiss, and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt had promise. (It started around the time I started college.) I actually read at some point that the ratings for the reboot were actually decent to start with.

However, the onset of the Persian Gulf War and the constant news interruptions and preemptions due to said war are what ended up killing the show.

All eyes were on the "scud stud".

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Gharlane

Gharlane

On 11/18/2021 at 2:48 AM, WendyCR72 said:

The '91 version with Ben Cross, Joanna Going, Michael T. Weiss, and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt had promise. (It started around the time I started college.) I actually read at some point that the ratings for the reboot were actually decent to start with.

However, the onset of the Persian Gulf War and the constant news interruptions and preemptions due to said war are what ended up killing the show.

That, and them insisting on remaking the original show, which made no sense. 

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

On 12/16/2021 at 2:41 PM, Gharlane said:

That, and them insisting on remaking the original show, which made no sense. 

Well, maybe NBC thought the higher production values/budget and younger stars could attract a new generation. And I saw some unsold pilot online made in the 2000s or so on YT some years back for yet another Dark Shadows remake, and (as bad as it looked) also seemed to begin again.

If some never watched the original, the retelling/back stories made sense.

And, as I said, the ratings for the '91 remake were good until the Persian Gulf war kept preempting it...

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Jan Spears

Jan Spears

On 12/29/2021 at 1:49 AM, WendyCR72 said:

Well, maybe NBC thought the higher production values/budget and younger stars could attract a new generation. And I saw some unsold pilot online made in the 2000s or so on YT some years back for yet another Dark Shadows remake, and (as bad as it looked) also seemed to begin again.

If some never watched the original, the retelling/back stories made sense.

And, as I said, the ratings for the '91 remake were good until the Persian Gulf war kept preempting it...

I've been watching Dark Shadows Collection 24 (the 1840 storyline) and there's an interview with Dan Curtis on one of the discs.

Curtis talks about the 1991 revival series and about how he was the one who wanted to go back to the original plotlines. The reason he gives for this is that he wanted to film Dark Shadows in a more cinematic way than was possible for a daytime series in the 1960s.

The revival series did have a lush look about it but I do think they would have had to have broken free from the original plotlines sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it would have had no independent creative life to it. Like Barnabas himself, it would have been the living dead.

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JAYJAY1979

JAYJAY1979

On 1/7/2022 at 8:08 PM, Jan Spears said:

I've been watching Dark Shadows Collection 24 (the 1840 storyline) and there's an interview with Dan Curtis on one of the discs.

Curtis talks about the 1991 revival series and about how he was the one who wanted to go back to the original plotlines. The reason he gives for this is that he wanted to film Dark Shadows in a more cinematic way than was possible for a daytime series in the 1960s.

The revival series did have a lush look about it but I do think they would have had to have broken free from the original plotlines sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it would have had no independent creative life to it. Like Barnabas himself, it would have been the living dead.

There were a few changes in the 1991 show that had promise.

Maggie had ESP and sleeping with Roger.

David seemed to have powers like his mother Laura.

Victoria and Josette resembled one another.

But I do agree they should have done more to make it different than the original show 

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willco

willco

There's a new documentary out called : Dark Shadows and Beyond- The Jonathon Frid story. It was released late last year, per Imdb, but I just came across it recently.  I'm only about halfway through it, and so far it's all been about Frid's early life and work leading up to taking the Barnabas role, but it's been quite interesting to me. Lots of commentary from actors from the show, a few of them from people who passed years ago. 

 

It's on Tubi if anyone is interested.

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Jan Spears

Jan Spears

(edited)

I read the news about Mitch Ryan on the 'Celebrity Deaths' forum and came over here.

He was perfectly cast as Burke Devlin and the Vicky/Burke relationship was never the same after Ryan's departure from the series. I never warmed to Anthony George as Burke. He had a tendency to bark his lines at Alexandra Moltke.

Ryan appeared in episode 1 of Dark Shadows in June 1966 and Burke was the first person Vicky met in Collinsport. (She met him at night [of course!] on the deserted train station platform.)

So, another original cast member is gone. That leaves Alexandra Moltke, Nancy Barrett, Kathryn Leigh Scott and David Henesy,

Edited by Jan Spears
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kitmerlot1213

kitmerlot1213

On 2/13/2022 at 5:29 PM, willco said:

It's on Tubi if anyone is interested.

 

Cool, I'd love to rewatch the Quentin Collins years :)

 

 

On 3/5/2022 at 1:36 PM, Jan Spears said:

So, another original cast member is gone. That leaves Alexandra Moltke, Nancy Barrett, Kathryn Leigh Scott and David Henesy,

I would love to see how Nancy Barrett looks now--Caroline was always one of my favorite characters.

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