Dark Shadows at 45

On Monday, June 27, 2011, the classic soap opera Dark Shadows celebrated its 45th anniversary.  Though it only ran for five years, the influence of Dark Shadows is still visible in present TV and films.  This past Sunday, Mark Dawidziak of The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote a wonderful piece about the show’s ongoing impact on pop culture. Dawidziak’s article not only coincided with the 45th anniversary of Dark Shadows, but also with the fourth season premier of the HBO show True Blood.  Whether True Blood’s TV creator Alan Ball or the author Charlaine Harris’ books upon which the series is based are or were fans of Dark Shadows, its presence is definitely felt in the True Blood universe.

Of course, True Blood is only one example of current Dark Shadows influenced TV and film.  Now, after being talked about for four years, a new film version of Dark Shadows is currently in production in England. It stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, the reluctant and embittered vampire and is being directed by Tim Burton.  To be perfectly honest, I have very mixed feelings about this reboot. There is a part of me that is very excited about it and happy because it could help introduce the original show to a whole new generation of fans. However, there are a lot of concerns that I have about this project.  For one thing, I originally heard about this film being made back in 2007.  When the movie was originally announced, it was to be released in 2010. The release date was then pushed back to 2011. Finally, we now know that “The New” Dark Shadows will be in theaters on May 11, 2012.  From what I remember reading over the past four years, the reason for this delay was at least partly due to the fact that the script that  was originally submitted was not what Depp and/or Burton wanted.  For the record, I am a fan of Johnny Depp, and I admire a lot of the work that Tim Burton has done as well.  But I almost feel like Burton should have come up with his own Dark Shadows-esque film rather than re-imagining this classic.  A few months ago, I read a comment from someone on a message board who made the point that all Burton seems to do now is remakes or re-adaptations of existing works.  If you look at Burton’s resume as a director over the past 10 years, this person is correct.

Both Depp and Burton claim that their reason for making Dark Shadows is because they loved the show when they were children. With this in mind, I was a little bit perplexed when I read this quote from Burton regarding Dark Shadows on the website The Wrap:

The Wrap Asked Burton:  “It’s (Burton’s Dark Shadows) based on a soap opera. Will it have that soapy quality?”

Burton Replied:  “Yes, I don’t know. I’m early into it because it’s a funny tone, and that’s part of what the vibe of the show is, and there’s something about it that we want to get. But when you look at it, it’s pretty bad. I’m hoping that it will be — it’s early days, let’s put it — I’m very intrigued by the tone.  It’s a real ethereal tone we’re trying to go for and I don’t know yet.”

When Burton’s says, “When you look at it, it’s pretty bad,” is he talking about the original series or the current film version that he is making? I am pretty sure he is talking about the original series because why would anyone say that a movie they’re directing with millions of dollars invested in it is “pretty bad?”  Either way, this statement does not give me a lot of confidence. Depp said something along the lines of wanting to please fans of the original series. As one of those fans I can tell you, we have been loyal to this show and to those who made it so great originally for many years.  If Burton and/or Depp are going into this film unsure of what they’re doing or with a “we’ll do this better than the original” attitude, I would rather they not even bother. Prove me wrong guys. I’ll be more than happy to say that I was wrong as well as incredibly grateful.

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s talk about the original Dark Shadows.  Fans know that April 17, 1967 was the day that Dark Shadows really became Dark Shadows. On this date, con-artist (later turned redeemed loyal friend) Willie Loomis went into that secret room in the Collins Family Mausoleum. His reason for doing this was because he was fascinated by the portrait in the foyer at Collinwood of Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) and was led to believe that he would find extremely valuable jewels there and be set up for the rest of his life.  View the following video to see what Willie Loomis found in the Mausoleum instead:

What I love most about this moment is Willie Loomis’ (played by future Emmy winning actor John Karlen) reaction.  More often than not in TV and movies, characters scream to indicate terror.  I don’t know about you, but Willie Loomis’ reaction is the way that I think I would react if something that frightening happened to me.

I am not going to bore you with a complete synopsis of the entire post-Barnabas’ arrival plot of Dark Shadows.  The entire series is available on DVD, which is unheard of for a soap opera that ran five days a week for five years.  I will list some random observation that I’ve had over the years about Dark Shadows. I hope that you enjoy them and if you haven’t seen the original Dark Shadows series, it is extremely entertaining on a number of levels. Thank you Dan Curtis for creating such an original show that has entertained us and will continue to do so for years to come.

1. When Barnabas arrives at Collinwood in 1967, the family very easily accepts the fact that he is from this unknown branch of the Collins family in England (even though Barnabas doesn’t really have an English accent).
2. No one really questions it when Barnabas insists on living in the Old House on the Collins’ property, which hasn’t been occupied for many years. And they accept the fact that Willie Loomis went from being a no good trouble maker to being Barnabas’ slave literally overnight.
3. Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall) is the ultimate freeloader.
4. It would have been great if Dennis Patrick (who played Jason McGuire in 1967 and later Paul Stoddard in late 1969 to early 1970) was involved in at least one of the story lines where they went back in time.
5. The only character Roger Davis played that I liked is his first character, Peter Bradford.  He is especially annoying during the 1897 period of the show where he played two characters, Dirk Wilkins and Charles Delaware Tate. I’ll take Christopher Pennock (Jeb Hawkes, et al) over Roger Davis anytime.
6. How many “one great love(s)” does Quentin Collins have (i.e. Beth, Amanda, Daphne)?
7. The people who live at Collinwood seem to forget things very easily. One minute they are mortal enemies, and then the next minute they best friends who have joined forces in their mutual hatred of someone else.
8. There are many great performances on Dark Shadows, so it is extremely hard to single out a few as being the best.  With that being said, in my humble opinion the standout performances on Dark Shadows are Nancy Barrett (Carolyn Stoddard Hawkes, et al), John Karlen (Willie Loomis, et al), Lara Parker (Angélique Bouchard, et al),  David Selby (Quentin Collins), and David Henesy (David Collins, et al).
9. Who else agrees that the 1897 story arc went on for too long?
10. When we see Barnabas before he is turned into a vampire in 1795, he complains to his father Joshua (Louis Edmonds) that he wants to be his own independent man. This is funny because Barnabas is like 40 years old at this point.
11. In 1840, how could Desmond Collins (John Karlen) bring back a severed head as a “gift” for his cousin Quentin and not expect anything to go wrong? (I know better than to ask why he brought back the severed head: this is Dark Shadows after all.)
12. In 1795, Clarice Blackburn (as Abigail Collins) does her best work of the series.
13. In my opinion, Gregory Trask (Jerry Lacy) is the most despicable character in Dark Shadows history (I am sure that plenty of people out there will disagree with this).
14. In 1840 and 1841 parallel time, many of the characters use slang that was common by the 1960′s, but not in the 1840′s. For instance, in real 1840 Quentin tells Daphne (Kate Jackson) that he “broke up” with Daphne’s sister Joanna (who is actually dead, even though they think that she is alive at that point in the storyline).  Then, in 1840 parallel time, Daphne says that she “used to go out” with Gerald Stiles (James Storm).
15. We understand why Barnabas is unable be up and about during the daytime hours, but why does everybody else at Collinwood always seem to be awake all night?  The only time we ever see anyone sleeping at night is when they are going to have a crazy dream.
16. Speaking of crazy dreams, “Through sight and sound and faceless terror; Through endless corridors by trial and error; Ahead a blazing light doth/does burn; And one door leads to the point of return.”
17. Why would both Chris Jennings (Don Briscoe) and Professor T. Elliot Stokes (Thayer David) think it’s a good idea to send children that they are responsible for to live at Collinwood? Chris leaves his sister Amy (Denise Nickerson) there because he is a werewolf, which is understandable I guess. T. Elliot Stokes has no excuse for leaving his niece Hallie Stokes (Kathy Cody) at Collinwood.  By this point Stokes is well aware of all of the strange dangerous events that regularly occur at Collinwood.
18. Lara Parker (Angélique, et al) is so amazingly beautiful.
19. Does the show really lose anything when Victoria Winters (mostly played by Alexandra Moltke) leaves? I know that some fans really love her, so I am sure that not everyone agrees with this.  In my opinion, the only time that Victoria is ever really interesting is when she is in 1795 (no coincidence that I thought the same thing about Roger Davis).
20. Finally, (for now at least). The first few times that I saw the second major motion picture that was based on and starring the actors from the original series, Night of Dark Shadows  (1971) ,  I noticed a great deal of continuity errors that seemed especially sloppy for a film that was being released by MGM. However, I later did some research and learned why the movie is so disjointed at times.  I will provide some links that give a detailed explanation at the end of this post.  Also, if you want to see the full uncut scripts for both Night of Dark Shadows and the first film House of Dark Shadows (1970), you should look into buying The Dark Shadows Movie Book. This book is co-written by Kathryn Leigh Scott (who played Maggie Evans and Josette DuPres Collins among other characters on the original series) and features a Foreword written by Kate Jackson.  Kathryn Leigh Scott has written quite a few books related to Dark Shadows that have been published through her own publishing company, Pomegranate Press.  I highly recommend all the books published through Pomegranate Press as well as a few other titles that have been released via other publishers (I’ll put the links to those books at the end of the post also).

Night of Dark Shadows: Further Reading Online

Dark Shadows at the Movies: A History of Dark Shadows on the Big Screen

Night of Dark Shadows: Lost Scenes

Night of Dark Shadows: Rare Photos

Links to Other Dark Shadows Books (Not Published By Pomegranate)

Barnabas & Company: The cast of the TV classic Dark Shadows: Craig Hamrick

Grayson Hall: A Hard Act to Follow: R.J. Jamison

Dark Shadows: Angélique’s Descent: Lara Parker

Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch: Lara Parker

Big Lou: The Life and Career of Actor Louis Edmonds: Craig Hamrick

The Bennetts: An Acting Family:  Brian Kellow

My Shadowed Past: David Selby

In and Out of the Shadows: David Selby

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