Dark Shadows

This gothic Soap was ahead of it's time. It inMcluded Ghosts, the Phoenix, The Vampire Barnabas, a Frankenstein Monster, Werewolves, Witches and Time Paradoxes.
All of this revolved around the Collins family in Collinsport Maine.

Campy and often just plain silly this show was a staple for after school viewers, in an age where televison was still trying to figure out where it stood as an entertainment medium.

Now that I have grown up and have my own house. I have permitted myself to watch this show and get very addicted. I have watched every single episode, thanks to Netflix and now I am on my second time through all the episodes again. My favorite character has to be Barnabas. I also like Julia and I wish they could have got together and had a love relationship. My first time through this show, every episode was new to me. Even though it was 20 years after the end of the show. It was very very exciting and I am hooked.moreless

I was born roughly four months after Dark Shadows originally went off the air, so I came to the show only through the Sci-Fi Channel's re-airings of the show during the 1990s. When I first started watching it, it immediately felt comfortable--like a childhood memory. The more I watched, the more fun I had with it. It had all of the melodrama of a soap opera, all of the silly monsters of the horror genre of the 1960s, plus the camp and silliness that ensued from the lack of proper editing.
At times, the show felt like amateur hour, considering the fact that flubbed lines and other bloopers were often left in because of time and money constraints. This just added to my adoration, however. I love the drama and the storylines (well, most of the storylines, anyway), but I also love laughing at the obvious mistakes--bad line readings, people wandering on set when they shouldn't be, the omnipresent boom mic, even a fire burning on the set while the cast was forced to continue shooting a scene.
I have great admiration for the cast that was forced to work under such conditions. More than that, several of the performers were quite talented--including the beautiful Joan Bennet, an accomplished movie actress in the 1930s whose movie career ended after her husband shot one of her business managers, and the Oscar-nominated Grayson Hall. Dark Shadows will always have a special place in my heart. Now, if only we could get a new series. (Yes, I'm looking at YOU, the WB.)moreless

DARK SHADOWS originally aired in the afternoon in 1966 as a half hour gothic soap opera, but as the shows progressed over the first few months from mystery gothic to supernatural suspense we are introduced to the character of Barnabas Collins played by Jonathan Frid. Mr. Collins represents himself to the family as a distant cousin who just arrived from England. Hanging in the entry hall of the manor house is a portrait of the original Barnabas Collins from the 1700s, which bears a striking resemblance to the new Mr. Collins. The Collins family live near the coastal town of Collinsport, somewhere on the coast of Maine. The Collins family has money, breeding, and position in the Collinsport community the show moves slowly and deliberately, and was in no hurry to move from storyline to storyline. Instead, it relied on shadows, ghosts, mysteries, lightening, vampires and anyone who sought love. Hollywood screen star Joan Bennett played the Collins matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard; Grayson Hall was Dr. Julia Hoffman who tried cure Barnabas. Lara Parker was Angelique, in the service of Josette Dupres (Kathryn Leigh Scott), Barnabas's true love, but Angelique was jealous of the love Barnabas had for Josette, and vowed both of them would suffer. The show is famous for the occasional slip-ups, goofs. Sometimes you could see the crew, or the ever-present Boom mike over someone's head. Once I saw the shadow of a camera in a basement. DARK SHADOWS concentrated on plot and character rather than cheap thrills, and would deliver quality suspense and plenty of spooky moments.
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I've never liked soap operas. My grandmother used to watch them all the time and I thought they were awful. But then again they ARE mostly targeted for girls so maybe that's why.

But "Dark Shadows" has recently become a fascination of mine and I'm now a huge addict, which makes another accomplishment: I'm not usually into shows from the 60s.

"Dark Shadows" is a compelling, gothic, and moody daytime soap that aired for several years on ABC. After suffering low ratings, series creator Dan Curtis introduced supernatural elements to the show in a desperate effort to save it from cancelation. When this proved effective, the show switched into a full supernatural gothic tale that become a phenomenon.

Unlike many fans, I've had the luxury of seeing several episodes from the pre-vampire Barnabas days, and I think they were also very good. The characters are interesting and the writing is extremely good for a daytime soap.

Just the other day a couple of DVD collections came in the mail and I began watching immediately, and now I am more hooked than ever. Despite the fact the show can be corny just like every other soap opera, "Dark Shadows" manages to still be a fascinating piece of entertainment. Another interesting thing is that due to time and budget constraints all scenes were done in one take. Therefore there are several times in which the cast makes mistakes and stumbles over lines. However, this does two things. First of all, it shows how talented the cast actually was, as they always recover VERY quickly, when actors today mess up GOOD when they flubb a line. They'd never survive on "Dark Shadows". Secondly, it adds realism to the show. In reality people make pauses and mistakes in their speech all the time, yet in the big-budget TV shows and movies we see characters give long-winded speeches without a single mistake.

It's sad that no network is currently syndicating "Dark Shadows", but at least it is now available on DVD.

"Dark Shadows" is a must have for any fan of gothic tales of the supernatural.moreless