Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows

1966
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows

8.1 | TV-PG | en | Drama

Dark Shadows is an American gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was unprecedented in daytime television when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles; indeed, as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor. Major writers besides Art Wallace included Malcolm Marmorstein, Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.

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Seasons & Episodes

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EP46  DS-1245
Apr. 02,1971
DS-1245

Catherine and Bramwell survive Brutus’ final attempts to destroy them. Brutus declares that they have won. Morgan shoots Bramwell, then takes Catherine hostage. Melanie’s sanity returns; She and Kendrick make plans to go away. Bramwell and Kendrick to go after Morgan, they fight and Morgan is pushed off the roof of Collinwood and dies. Melanie is found with mysterious bite marks on their neck, it is briefly implied that perhaps a vampire might be loose at Collinwood, however it is confirmed that this time the marks did come from an animal. Melanie and Kendrick move to Boston; Bramwell is invited to be the new master of Collinwood, he and Catherine are married.

EP45  DS-1244
Apr. 01,1971
DS-1244

Julia discovers that Catherine is going to have Bramwell’s child and that Morgan has locked Catherine in with Bramwell. Catherine becomes possessed and tries to kill herself, Bramwell stops her. Bramwell is choked by an unseen force, but he recovers. As morning approaches Morgan goes to open the room, with a gun; if they have survived he plans kill them.

EP44  DS-1243
Mar. 31,1971
DS-1243

Morgan reveals that Catherine is pregnant. Julia warns Bramwell not to touch the corpses of James Forsythe and Amanda Collins. Morgan agrees to let Bramwell out of the locked room after Catherine’s pleas; however he locks Catherine in with Bramwell.

EP43  DS-1242
Mar. 30,1971
DS-1242

Morgan contemplates murder. Daphne’s funeral is held. Morgan writes a note asking him to go to the remote part of Collinwood. Kendrick waits for night so he can go in to the locked room. Morgan knocks out Bramwell and locks him in the room. Morgan announces that he has locked Bramwell in the room. Catherine runs to Bramwell.

EP42  DS-1241
Mar. 29,1971
DS-1241

Bramwell asks Catherine to meet him later. Bramwell and Morgan argue, Julia breaks it up. Catherine meets Bramwell; Morgan follows Catherine and overhears that she is carrying Bramwell’s child.

EP41  DS-1240
Mar. 26,1971
DS-1240

t is decided that the lottery will be held immediately. Catherine has another fainting spell. Flora tries to convince Kendrick to annul his marriage to Melanie, he refuses and plans to participate in the lottery. Morgan makes tries to make Catherine promise not to marry Bramwell if he dies. Kendrick is chosen in the lottery.

EP40  DS-1239
Mar. 25,1971
DS-1239

Bramwell tells Catherine that Daphne has died, and her last request. Kendrick and Melanie are married. Julia is concerned that Morgan will become violent now that Bramwell is free to pursue Catherine; she asks Bramwell to leave, he refuses. Brutus Collins appears to Melanie; she becomes insane. Brutus warns that the lottery must be held again.

EP39  DS-1238
Mar. 24,1971
DS-1238

Josette Collins reveals that she had an affair with Justin Collins shortly after the dead of her husband (Barnabas); Melanie was born and Justin adopted her. Daphne comes out of the coma. Julia tries to stop Melanie and Josette from telling anyone else the truth so they will not hurt Flora (who does not know her husband was unfaithful). Daphne gives her blessing to Bramwell and Catherine shortly before she dies.

EP38  DS-1237
Mar. 23,1971
DS-1237

Morgan and Julia find the bodies of Amanda Collins and James Forsythe in the secret room; Brutus locks them in the room. Gabriel attacks Catherine with a knife, however she bribes him with some jewelry. Melanie finds and realizes Julia and Morgan. Brutus Collins summons Gabriel and tells him to kill everyone. Catherine asks Morgan to take her away from Collinwood; he refuses. Melanie plans to marry Kendrick. Gabriel stabs Melanie.

EP37  DS-1236
Mar. 22,1971
DS-1236

Morgan and Julia find the bodies of Amanda Collins and James Forsythe in the secret room; Brutus locks them in the room. Gabriel attacks Catherine with a knife, however she bribes him with some jewelry. Melanie finds and realizes Julia and Morgan. Brutus Collins summons Gabriel and tells him to kill everyone. Catherine asks Morgan to take her away from Collinwood; he refuses. Melanie plans to marry Kendrick. Gabriel stabs Melanie.

EP36  DS-1235
Mar. 19,1971
DS-1235

Morgan finds Julia unconscious and Gabriel gone. Daphne tells Bramwell that he and Catherine should be together after she dies. Daphne tells Catherine that she and Bramwell were meant for each other. Daphne enters a coma and has little time left. Melanie confronts Julia, she claims Julia of not letting her find who her parents are. Morgan and Julia investigate the secret room, inside the cursed room in hopes of finding more about the curse.

EP35  DS-1234
Mar. 18,1971
DS-1234

Julia interrupts Carrie before she can tell Melanie who her mother is. Julia accuses Carrie of knowing who Melanie’s mother is; Julia makes Carrie promise never to tell Melanie. Gabriel tries to convince Flora to let him out of the tower room. Flora consults the family, everyone believes he should stay locked up. Gabriel escapes from the tower room.

EP34  DS-1233
Mar. 17,1971
DS-1233

Bramwell tells Catherine that Daphne is dying. Kendrick asks Carrie to use her psychic powers to find who Melanie’s parents are. Bramwell tells Daphne that he loves her, (and he appears to mean it). Carrie is able to tell Melanie that her father is dead, but her mother is still alive and somewhere close by.

EP33  DS-1232
Mar. 16,1971
DS-1232

James Forsythe’s spirit leaves Morgan, he returns to normal. Bramwell finds that his ship will be arriving which will make him wealthy. Morgan finds that Bramwell has been coming to Collinwood while he was possessed. Daphne becomes ill. Bramwell finds that Daphne is sick, Josette tells him that Daphne is dying.

EP32  DS-1231
Mar. 15,1971
DS-1231

James Forsythe was a business partner with Brutus Collins; Brutus was stealing money from James. James was having an affair with Brutus’ wife Amanda. Brutus kills James and Amanda and later Constance. Brutus set a curse on Collinwood, only the person capable surviving a night in the locked room would be worthy of the Collins name. Brutus’ spirit comes for James Forsythe’s spirit.

EP31  DS-1230
Mar. 12,1971
DS-1230

Quentin stops Morgan from killing Julia, and locks him up. Quentin plans a seance to release the spirit of James Forsythe from Morgan. Catherine drugs Morgan so they can take him to the seance. Morgan runs off during the seance; later Julia finds him and he agrees to tell her the truth of what happened in 1680.

EP30  DS-1229
Mar. 11,1971
DS-1229

Morgan confuses Julia with Constance (Brutus’ sister). Daphne tries to kill herself with a pistol but is unable to do it. Julia tries to give Daphne hope. Julia warns Catherine to stay away from Bramwell. Morgan tries to kill Julia, thinking she is Constance Collins.

EP29  DS-1228
Mar. 10,1971
DS-1228

Melanie tells Kendrick that she killed Stella. Bramwell ignores Daphne. Kendrick tells Melanie that he doesn’t believe she killed Stella and asks to marry him. Bramwell declares he will only ever love Catherine; Daphne sees Catherine and Bramwell kissing.

EP28  DS-1227
Mar. 09,1971
DS-1227

Kendrick stops Gabriel from killing Flora; in the struggle Gabriel is stabbed. Flora tells Kendrick that Gabriel did not kill Stella. Quentin locks up Gabriel and question him about his experience while in the room; Gabriel tries to kill him. Melanie asks Flora to tell Kendrick who killed Stella.

EP27  DS-1226
Mar. 08,1971
DS-1226

Julia tells Kendrick “a story” as to why Melanie occasionally acts mad; Kendrick does not believe it and suspects her insanity is due to a curse. Melanie finds Gabriel in the woods, he gives her a message asking Flora to meet him. Flora goes to see Gabriel, he waits for her with a knife.

EP26  DS-1225
Mar. 05,1971
DS-1225

Brutus Collins appears to Morgan (James Forsythe). James accuses Brutus of kill his sister Sarah, and Amanada Collins (Brutus’ wife). Julia and Carrie later find Morgan unconscious. Melanie tells Kendrick about the letter she found. Kendrick tells Melanie that there is no record of Melanie ever being at the orphanage that she was supposedly adopted from. Julia questions Morgan but learns little; he suggests that she question the spirit of Brutus Collins. Kendrick questions Julia about Melanie’s past; later he sees Melanie when she is in her “mad” state.

EP25  DS-1224
Mar. 04,1971
DS-1224

Julia accuses James Forsythe of being the man who put the curse on the Collins family; he claims that he was not responsible. Catherine has another fainting spell. Bramwell visits Catherine, Julia catches them together. Bramwell and Daphne argue about his going to see Catherine. Morgan (James) finds the body of Sarah Forsythe buried in the basement of the cottage.

EP24  DS-1223
Mar. 03,1971
DS-1223

Morgan appears to be possessed, but will not reveal who he is. Melanie asks Julia about her real parents; Julia tells her they are dead. Melanie finds a letter that indicates her real mother might still be alive, Julia takes the letter and burns it. Morgan goes to the cottage and demands that Carrie give him the key to the basement; Carrie goes into a trance and later realizes that Morgan is possessed by James Forsythe.

EP23  DS-1222
Mar. 02,1971
DS-1222

Quentin tells Catherine that he and Morgan made a deal to not let any women go in the room. Morgan finds a secret room inside the locked room. Kendrick accuses the Collins’ of hiding Gabriel. Melanie tells Kendrick about her life. Everyone anxiously waits for morning to come. Quentin releases Morgan, who is still alive but claims his name is not Morgan.

EP22  DS-1221
Mar. 01,1971
DS-1221

Morgan tells Catherine that he will not let her spend the night in the locked room; she tells him that she is confident that nothing will happen to her. Daphne and later Bramwell attempt to talk Catherine out of going into the locked room. Morgan locks himself in the room before Catherine can be taken there to spend the night.

EP21  DS-1220
Feb. 26,1971
DS-1220

Bramwell tries to get Catherine to run away with him; Catherine tells Bramwell that she plans to raise the child as Morgan’s and expects Bramwell to keep it a secret. Flora decides the lottery must be held again. Quentin and Morgan try to find more information about James Forsythe. The lottery is held again; Catherine draws the slip with the X.

EP20  DS-1219
Feb. 25,1971
DS-1219

Catherine tells Morgan that Bramwell plans to marry Daphne. Carrie finds a letter from James Forsythe, when she brings it to Morgan it bursts into flame. Bramwell announces that he has married Daphne. Catherine collapses; later Catherine tells the doctor to not tell anyone anything. Catherine claims that she was having a dizzy spell. Catherine goes to the Old House and tells Bramwell that she is pregnant with his child.

EP19  DS-1218
Feb. 24,1971
DS-1218

Catherine begs Bramwell not to marry Daphne. Catherine begs Daphne not to marry Bramwell. Josette tries to talk Bramwell out of marrying Daphne. Josette tells Catherine that she agrees Bramwell and Daphne should not marry. Carrie has a vision in which Bramwell visits Daphne’s grave.

EP18  DS-1217
Feb. 23,1971
DS-1217

Gabriel stabs Kendrick (wounding him); Morgan searches for Gabriel. Catherine is upset that Daphne is spending so much time with Bramwell. Gabriel tries to kill Daphne, Bramwell chases him off. Daphne announces that she is going to marry Bramwell. Catherine goes to Bramwell.

EP17  DS-1216
Feb. 22,1971
DS-1216

Quentin and Julia realize the lottery must be held again. Quentin tries to find out information about James Forsythe from Carrie Stokes. Kendrick and Melanie continue to fall in love; Julia catches them together and tries to pay Kendrick to leave Collinsport, he refuses. Gabriel, now mad, shows up at Collinwood and tries to kill Kendrick.

EP16  DS-1215
Feb. 19,1971
DS-1215

Morgan and Flora realize that Gabriel paid a friend, Tim Braithwaite, to trade places with him. Carrie delivers a message from Gabriel. Carrie has a vision of where Gabriel is hiding. Justin Collins’ ghost warns that the lottery must be held again.

EP15  DS-1214
Feb. 18,1971
DS-1214

Everyone anxiously awaits for the Gabriel’s night in the cursed room to end. Catherine is concerned that Daphne is spending too much time with Bramwell. Melanie and Quentin recover from the plague. In the morning Morgan goes to the locked room and finds the dead body of a stranger.

EP14  DS-1213
Feb. 17,1971
DS-1213

Julia considers the possibility that they may have to do the lottery again if Gabriel is not found. Morgan searches for Gabriel and finds him drinking at the Eagle. Gabriel claims that he is now willing to go to the locked room. Morgan and Julia lock Gabriel in the room.

EP13  DS-1212
Feb. 16,1971
DS-1212

Gabriel draws the slip with the X, he runs off to avoid having to spend the night in the locked room. Quentin and Morgan catch Gabriel, they lock him in the tower room until it is time for him to go to the cursed room. Quentin comes down with the plague. Gabriel escapes from the tower room.

EP12  DS-1211
Feb. 15,1971
DS-1211

Flora tells everyone that the lottery must be held, otherwise Melanie will die of the plague. At Morgan’s and Quentin’s objections Flora demands that everyone including the women participate in the lottery. Morgan and Quentin criticize Gabriel (who is an alcoholic and a coward) for siding with the women and allowing them to participate in the lottery. Flora prepares the slips of paper, whoever draws the slip with the X will spend the night in the locked room; the lottery begins.

EP11  DS-1210
Feb. 12,1971
DS-1210

The seance does not tell them what Quentin wanted to learn. Catherine wants to have children, however Morgan tells her that they must not because of the family curse. Quentin finds that the plague hit Collinsport in the past when the family refused to go through with the lottery. Morgan wants to find a way to get Bramwell out of the Old House. Morgan finds Catherine reading an old love letter from Bramwell. Melanie has a dream that she is dead, when she awakes she starts to show signs of the plague.

EP10  DS-1209
Feb. 11,1971
DS-1209

Kendrick and Gerard find Stella’s body. Kendrick confronts Flora who denies everything. Melanie lies to Kendrick, standing behind the family story. Flora, Melanie and Quentin hold a seance to find out more about the curse on Collinwood. During the seance they are warned that the lottery must be held or everyone will die of the plague.

EP9  DS-1207/1208
Feb. 10,1971
DS-1207/1208

Morgan wounds Bramwell; Daphne goes to take care of Bramwell. Kendrick asks Gerard to use his psychic powers to help find out what happened to his sister. Morgan and Catherine get married. Gerard and Kendrick dig up what appears to be a fresh grave.

EP8  DS-1206
Feb. 08,1971
DS-1206

Bramwell and Morgan fight. Melanie goes to see Josette; Melanie plans to find who her real parents are (Melanie Collins was adopted). Bramwell is forbidden from ever going back to Collinwood. Morgan challenges Bramwell to a duel. Catherine begs Bramwell not to duel Morgan; she threatens to kill herself if he kills Morgan. Bramwell and Morgan prepare for the duel.

EP7  DS-1205
Feb. 05,1971
DS-1205

Morgan disposes of Stella’s body. Catherine resists Bramwell’s continued advances; she is attracted to him however she plans to marry Morgan. Morgan accuses Melanie of murdering Stella, she does not remember anything. Catherine asks Morgan to marry her immediately. Melanie and Kendrick start to fall in love, but she tells him to never come back to Collinwood. Bramwell interrupts Catherine and Morgan’s wedding.

EP6  DS-1204
Feb. 04,1971
DS-1204

Melanie finds Stella Young tided up. Flora explains that Justin tried to kill Stella, so they had to lock her up to keep her from telling the police. Quentin and Morgan decide that the lottery must be held soon. Melanie promises Stella that she will be released if she promises not to cause any trouble. Justin’s funeral is held. Stella is found dead; Flora and Julia believe that Melanie killed her. Melanie tries to get in the cursed locked room then collapses.

EP5  DS-1203
Feb. 03,1971
DS-1203

Catherine struggles with Melanie, Julia and Morgan stop Melanie. Morgan tells Catherine that Melanie once went into the locked room, and ever since she sometimes acts mad. Daphne tries to talk Catherine out of marrying into the Collins family. Melanie catches Julia bringing food to someone.

EP4  DS-1202
Feb. 02,1971
DS-1202

Bramwell makes Catherine admit that she loves him. Kendrick sneaks around Collinwood searching for answers to his sister’s disappearance. (It is implied that Bramwell and Catherine sleep together). Catherine tells Bramwell that she still plans to marry Morgan. Quentin goes to the Old House and gets Catherine. While Catherine sleeps Melanie stands over her with a knife.

EP3  DS-1201
Feb. 01,1971
DS-1201

Morgan tells Catherine about the lottery and the locked room. Morgan prepares the lottery, Flora demands that the women be included. Catherine burns the lottery slips and asks Morgan to marry her immediately. Bramwell kidnaps Catherine intent on stopping her from marring Morgan.

EP2  DS-1200
Jan. 29,1971
DS-1200

Justin Collins is near death. Gabriel is scared that he might be chosen in the lottery and considers ways to get out of it. Justin, mad, feels compelled to go to the locked room. Justin collapses and dies. Morgan plans to hold the lottery as Justin instructed.

EP1  DS-1199
Jan. 28,1971
DS-1199

Julia warns Morgan not to marry Catherine until after Justin dies because the lottery will be held again so she will not have to be part of it. Every generation someone is chosen by lottery to spend a night the locked room, everyone who has ever entered has died or ended up mad like Justin Collins. Bramwell tells Catherine that he still loves her and is sure she loves him. Catherine tells Bramwell that she loves Morgan and plans to marry him. Morgan asks Catherine to marry him immediately, she is hesitant. Morgan sees a woman in white and claims that this is the night (that Justin will die).

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8.1 | TV-PG | en | Drama , Sci-Fi , Soap | More Info
Released: 1966-06-27 | Released Producted By: Dan Curtis Productions , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Dark Shadows is an American gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was unprecedented in daytime television when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles; indeed, as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor. Major writers besides Art Wallace included Malcolm Marmorstein, Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.

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Cast

Grayson Hall , Joan Bennett , David Selby

Director

Bob Cobert

Producted By

Dan Curtis Productions ,

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Reviews

Morbius Fitzgerald The genre of supernatural TV has grown and expanded to new heights over the past 20 years. Buffy The Vampire Slayer has become a cult icon as has Angel and Supernatural and other shows such as Blade The Series, Witchblade & Lost Girl were not exactly as well received but they have been entertaining to watch. With all these shows about Vampires, Werewolves and even Succubus' it's important to remember the show that jump-started the genre; Dark Shadows.When viewing this show it is important to remember the times of TV back then. Things usually were so cheap that an actor back then couldn't redo his or her line unless the biggest stuff up imaginable happened. Lets say if they were delivering a monologue when walking down a set of stairs. The ONLY situation where the director would ask for a "take two" is if the actor tumbled down the stairs and broke their neck. Its because of this that you might hear "Its an old music boc-box". Also, even though the sets may look cheap by today's standards it was heavily expensive for a daytime soap of that time and you might see microphones in the corner of the frame or a shadow of one. The whole concept of this was not unheard of for TV back then, when Alfred Hitchcock entered TV with "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Hollywood pretty much put him on the Oscar Blacklist - he would never win an Oscar because he made one little TV show. However it was because of this show - and a few others made around the time; best example I can think of is Star Trek - that TV is now on the same technical level as a normal movie.The above paragraph may seem pointless to some but I'm only 16 years old and consider the above paragraph "selling it to my peers" because with all those technical problems aside, this is a great show.The acting is as good as it can be. Surprisingly there are a few good performances from Jonathan Frid (how could any fan NOT say he was great?), Joan Bennett, Nancy Barrett, John Karlen (at times) and Alexandra Moltke. They are all good but the ones above have little to no stuff ups and the others I've seen either overact or fumble their lines more than the others.You'll see a couple of famous faces such as David Selby, Joan Bennett, Mitch Ryan and Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregard from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory).The main part of the show to get you interested is the deep and complex character of Barnabus Collins. That character is the only reason that this show is even famous because he was a villain yet somehow relatable. If you watch the series of episodes where he tries to turn Maggie Evans into Josette Collins you'll want Maggie to escape Barnabus yes but you will also be worried that they'll discover his little secret of being a vampire and if you are properly engaged in the show you wont want that.Overall this show is at times corny. I admit that this show will make you laugh unintentionally at times but it will also be engaging enough to watch and if you like you can throw it on the back-burner because technical faults gone wrong aside, this is a great show.
Becky King I am old enough to be one of the kids who dashed home every afternoon to watch my favorite vampire. I am still just as much in love with it. In watching it again, I realize just how gloriously awful it was - over the top acting, really strained dialogue, cheesy sets, flubbed lines and yes the occasional boom mike in the shot. It is just wonderful, and each scene done in one take. The difference between the series and "the movie" - the series took itself very seriously. It wasn't intentionally campy - they played it straight and full throttle. If Ed Wood had done a soap opera it would have looked a lot like Dark Shadows, although the original DS did have talent. I don't understand how Burton/Depp missed the mark on this, especially since they claim to be fans. The "horror" of Frid's Barnabas was that he looked just like anyone else - you couldn't see the monster inside until it was too late.
hellraiser7 Personally I hate soap operas from their crappy and overlong story lines, unrelatable and unbelievable characters, and just simply being boring as hell at least that's my opinion. However this show is the only exception I make because it is what most to all of them aren't actually good. This wasn't just a show back them it was a phenomenon that was a huge influence for TV shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", and a little of "Once Upon a Time". But most importantly the show was revolutionary for it's time because it helped bring monsters from the horror genre we know and love translated to our modern times.I got into this show when I was about 11, one day decided out of boredom to give it a shot and of course I watched more and more and soon it grew to become a show I really like. I'm just going to present at least five reasons why I like this show.1. It's funny well uninterionally: Yeah this show had a lot of hiccups from it's budget and technological limitations it has some of the worst special effects I've seen or non existent effects, it was hilalrous. But that to me is part of the shows charm it's like those amateur films from independent production companies like "Dead Gentlemen" and "Zombie Oupaus" despite the limitations they are entertaining all the same because you can see they really try and it's the same with this show. The limitations of the show were to it's advantage because it gave the show an almost lighthearted sensibility about it which re enforced the fun of the show. 2. The use of progressing story arcs: What I love about these story arcs are each of them are used the right way because they are actually interesting and do add up to something. From this and what goes on I actually found myself caring and it really felt like what happened next mattered. 3. 1790 episode arc: Alright this is really more opinion of episode but it's a good enough reason. This arc is my favorite of the entire show and I personally is is what most Pre Sequels fail to be. What made this intriguing is even though we have been given some info on the past we really don't know all of the details, and as Victoria Winters discovered the hard way most of what we've known is false which gives the story it's mystery element. But also from how much you invest emotional in the love stories with Josette and Barnabas as well as Peter and Victoria it was all the more suspenseful and sad because we know what's going to happen and I wished to God it wouldn't but their was nothing I could do about it.4. Sense of participation: Throughout what happens in the episode and the knowledge we hold, there are time I couldn't help but at times say out loud "No don't do it Barnabas, don't bite her" or even "Don't go over there your going to die." This is all because of how much emotional investment and time we have spent on the show, and that is a good feeling I don't get often.5. The colorful characters: Yeah this show had tons of characters and usually that's not always a good idea but here it works because of the characters in the show were actually fully developed which was something most shows back then lacked. They really felt human at times because the characters make good and bad choices which puts them in a gray area at times, or even do things that can at times put us at odds with how we feel. But most importantly we actually cared about them what happened with them mattered. I'll just say four characters I really like since there is no room.Barnabas Collins: He's a great character due to how dark and complex he is and yet at times is capable of warmth. I like the fact that his character is one like the protagonists in the "Elmare Lennard" stories is crippled both psychologically and physically with his vampirism. He is capable of heroism as well as viciousness necessary or unnecessary. He's also a person plagued by great loss of his lover Josette and is struggling to move on.Angelique du Pres: She is one of my favorite fictional villains because she is one that you love to hate. From the amount of menace she displays she is someone you wouldn't want to be alone in a room with. However what makes her the most interest is that fact she is somewhat sympathetic, there are times you feel bad for her because her feelings of love for Barnabas are genuine. However she does cross the line which at times makes you plain hate her.Dr. Julia Hoffman: I like how she is a person of science but she is also open minded to the realm of the supernatural. She is dark and gutsy which made her a great sidekick for Barnabas and personally I felt both of them as a romance couple are a better match. It's true she's not the most beautiful but from her persona she's almost even more attractive that the other women. Maggie Evans: I remember when I was a kid(I said I was a kid) I had a crush on Kathern Leigh Scott she was just so fraking hot and with the persona to boot. The naivety, vibrancy, even charisma of her character perfectly reflected her beauty. It's always great seeing her happy and whenever she was in trouble or depressed you really felt sad, it was times like that I almost wanted to just come to her rescue.Well I've said enough, so visit Collinwood but beware there are creatures lurking in the shadows.Rating: 4 stars
suctionmule Like many others here, I was originally introduced to Dark Shadows during its airing in the late '60's thru very early '70's. Unlike many D.S. fans, I was so much of an outdoor person that Dark Shadows mania never fully overtook me at that time. Given a choice, I came home from school and went fossil hunting, swimming, golfing, etc., rather than stay indoors and watch TV.That aside, I grew up loving horror classics at the movies, so Dark Shadows interested me considerably during the cold Midwestern months when I wasn't sledding or playing ice hockey.Fast forward to 2008.My wife and I got to discussing Dark Shadows, and that led to us ordering the series thru Netflix, starting with the first episode.Simply put, I am "A Serious Dark Shadows Fan via the Backdoor" in that my passion for the show has come from watching it over the past year. That I am a fan of the show is no surprise. Dark Shadows was that rare occurrence where acting, cast, direction, camera work, plots, lighting, etc., were far ahead of their time. And it scratched my horror itch.Horror is but one of many human emotions, however, and Dark Shadows tapped into all of the ones that appeal so well.I grew up in a photographic studio family, and want to mention one item seldom mentioned about the show that played heavily upon the subconscious of viewers favorably: lighting. The lighting on Dark Shadows sets were magnificent for the time period in which they were made. They are still outstanding even today. Hats off to the people who made that happen! In studio photography, we struggle to capture that one moment, using lighting to best advantage. But in film-making where angles and whatnot change constantly, lighting becomes far more difficult.Dan Curtis and his crew flat-out knew their stuff. I am awed by the lighting (almost) as much as all the great performances and plots.