''Dark Shadows'' is an American
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
that aired weekdays on the
ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of
Collinsport
Collinsport is the fictional setting of ''Dark Shadows'', the 1960s Dan Curtis Productions Gothic horror soap opera.
Fictional location
In the series, Collinsport is a small, coastal fishing village located in Hancock County in the U.S. state of ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...
, where a number of supernatural occurrences take place.
The series became popular when
vampire Barnabas Collins (
Jonathan Frid) was introduced ten months into its run. It would also feature
ghost
A ghost is the soul (spirit), soul or spirit of a dead Human, person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visibl ...
s,
werewolves,
zombies, man-made monsters,
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...
es,
warlocks,
time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...
, and a
parallel universe
Parallel universe often refers to parallel universes in fiction, a self-contained separate world, universe or reality coexisting with the real world, which is used as a recurring plot point or setting used in fantasy and science fiction.
Parallel ...
. A small company of actors each played many roles; as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor. The show was distinguished by its melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable storylines, numerous dramatic plot twists, adventurous music score, broad cosmos of characters, and heroic adventures. Unusual among the soap operas of its time, which were aimed primarily at adults, ''Dark Shadows'' developed a large
teenage audience and a dedicated
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...
. By 1969, it had become ABC's highest-rated daytime series.
The original network run of the show amassed 1,225 episodes. The success of the series spawned a media franchise that has included two feature films (''
House of Dark Shadows'' in 1970 and ''
Night of Dark Shadows'' in 1971), a
1991 TV remake, a
failed 2004 remake pilot, a
2012 film reboot directed by
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
, and numerous spin-off novels and comics. Since 2006, the series has continued as a
range of audio dramas produced by
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
, featuring members of the original cast including
David Selby,
Lara Parker, and
Kathryn Leigh Scott.
''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...
''s list of all-time Top Cult Shows ranked the series #19 in 2004, and #23 in 2007.
[TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever — Today's News: Our Take](_blank)
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...
: June 29, 2007.
History
Creator
Dan Curtis claimed he had a dream in 1965 of a mysterious young woman on a train. The following day Curtis told his wife of the dream and pitched the idea as a TV series to
ABC. Network officials greenlit production and Curtis began hiring crew members.
Art Wallace was hired to create a story from Curtis's dream sequence. Wallace wrote the
story bible ''Shadows on the Wall'', the proposed title for the show, later changed to ''Dark Shadows''.
Robert Costello was added as a
line producer, and Curtis took on the creator and executive producer roles.
Lela Swift
Lela Swift (born Lillian Siwoff; February 1, 1919 – August 4, 2015) was a television director and producer, best known for her work on '' Dark Shadows'', which she also produced from 1970–71, and ''Ryan's Hope''.
Early life
She was born i ...
,
John Sedwick
John Sedwick (July 13, 1927 - July 3, 2008) was a television director and actor.
Credits
* '' Search For Tomorrow''
* ''One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the AB ...
, and
Henry Kaplan
Henry Kaplan (September 13, 1926 – September 14, 2005) was a television director known for his works on ''Dark Shadows'', ''Ryan's Hope'', '' The Doctors'' and ''All My Children''. He also directed seven episodes of the sitcom ''The Adventure ...
all agreed to be directors for the new series.
Robert Cobert created the musical score and Sy Tomashoff designed the set.
Broadcast history
Perhaps one of ABC's first truly popular daytime series, along with the game show ''
Let's Make a Deal'' (which had moved from its original home
NBC in 1968), ''Dark Shadows'' found its demographic niche in teenagers coming home from school in time to watch the show at 4 p.m.
Eastern/3 p.m.
Central, where it aired for almost all of its network run, the exception being a 15-month stretch between April 1967 and July 1968, when it aired a half-hour earlier. Originally, it was aired in black-and-white, but the show went into color starting with the episode broadcast on August 11, 1967. It became one of ABC's first daytime shows to actually win the
rating for its timeslot, leading to the demise of NBC's original ''
Match Game'' and
Art Linkletter's long-running ''
House Party'' on CBS, both in 1969.
''Dark Shadows'' began with a 4.1 rating in the 1965–66 TV season, tying for thirteenth place out of eighteen daytime dramas. The audience figures only improved slightly, to 4.3, in 1966–67. 1966 was a volatile year for soaps, and many ended their runs between the premiere date of ''Dark Shadows'' in June and the month of December. By that time, six months had passed, and ''Dark Shadows'' had failed to gain major traction. In June, it ranked #13 out of 18 soaps, and by December, the lower-rated offerings were gone and the show officially ranked #13 out of 13 soaps. "The show was limping along, really limping", head writer Sam Hall remembered, "and ABC said, 'We're canceling it. Unless you pick up in 26 weeks, you're finished.'
eries creator Dan Curtis
The Erie people (also Eriechronon, Riquéronon, Erielhonan, Eriez, Nation du Chat) were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania ...
had always wanted to do a vampire picture, so he decided to bring a vampire — Barnabas Collins — to the series."
Barnabas was introduced in April 1967 and the fan response was swift and immediate. Coupled with a time slot change to 3:30 Eastern/2:30 Central, the fortunes of ''Dark Shadows'' rebounded, as many more teenagers found the program after tuning out the other offerings that may have been too "boring" to them. By May 1968, the series was still in last place (out of 12 offerings), but rose to a 7.3 rating, the rough equivalent (at that time) of gaining the viewership of three million households in the span of one year. ''Dark Shadows'' would return to its 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central time slot in July 1968, without losing much of its audience at all. ''
One Life to Live'', which was launched by ABC in July 1968 in the 3:30 slot, also sought to reach the newfound young demographic.
The series reached its peak in popularity during a storyline set in the year 1897, broadcast from March 1969. By the end of May, ''Dark Shadows'' was ABC's most popular soap opera, and by late 1969 it was reaching between 7 and 9 million viewers on any given day, and ranking 11th out of a total 15 daytime dramas in that time period.
In November 1969, after nine months of some of ''Dark Shadows'' most intricate, intelligent storylines, the 1897 storyline came to an end. With ratings at an all-time high, the writers were under pressure to hold the audience. Their next storyline, known as "The Leviathans", proved to be a thematic misstep for the show and one from which it never recovered. Fans tended to dislike the portrayal of Barnabas as the pawn of some greater power. They were more interested in the archetypes of classic horror—the vampire, the witch, the werewolf—than in off-camera suggestion. The launch of ''
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
'' in March 1970, a much-publicized spin-off of NBC's ''
Another World'', also hurt the series considerably.
The release of the film ''
House of Dark Shadows'' in September of that year is also thought to have caused TV ratings to fall, possibly due to parents, attending the film with their children, discouraging their choice of television viewing material due to the amount of blood spilled on screen. Beginning in the fall of 1970, several ABC stations across the country dropped the show due to falling viewership. Within six months, ratings dropped from 7.3 to 5.3. Ironically, Nielsen ratings for March 1971, the last full month that ''Dark Shadows'' was on the air, revealed that viewership had risen in its final weeks.
By early 1971, though, ABC was trying to cut costs in the face of harsh new economic realities including a national economic recession, a sharp dip in advertising revenue following the discontinuance of
cigarette commercials, and a record-high number of competing soap operas—which were more expensive to produce than game or talk shows—on the networks' daytime schedules. Thus, the network began weeding out supposedly unproductive programming.
Despite its relatively high station clearances for its time slot and low production costs, ''Dark Shadows'' fell victim to the purge mainly because of its young audience, who usually did not make decisions about the purchasing of household goods and food products for the family, which were the two chief industries that bought airtime on daytime television in that era. Practically no other daytime show skewed so much under the 18–35 demographic threshold as ''Dark Shadows'' did. Furthermore, prime-time shows and movies with horror or science fiction themes (such as ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...
'', ''
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'') had been on the decline for some time, and, of course, the serial appealed heavily to fanciers of those genres, people who usually did not express much interest in the often sentimental domestic or romantic themes on which traditional soaps had relied since their inception on radio in the 1930s. In addition and probably more decisively, the program experienced a precipitous drop in its ratings during its last two years on the air, falling from a peak of 8.4 in the 1968–69 television season to a 5.3 in 1970–71. Reflecting on the series' cancellation, in an interview included in a 2005 DVD release, series creator Curtis welcomed the show's cancellation, feeling it had run out of fresh ideas: "I was just hoping it was going to end. I couldn't squeeze my brain any harder to come up with just one more story. I just wanted to move on and out."
Despite many letters of protest from outraged fans, ABC canceled the five-year-old show on April 2, 1971, and replaced it the following Monday (April 5) with a new version of the hit 1960s game show ''
Password''. The rather abrupt ending of the series left some plotlines (such as Victoria Winters' parentage, and the story of the Jennings family) unfinished, although most of the plot threads came to a happy conclusion, via a voice-over done by Thayer David explaining future events in the final minute of the last episode.
The original cast reunited in 2003 for a special reunion play recorded for MPI, and in 2006 resumed production of ''Dark Shadows'' audio dramas for Big Finish (see below). These dramas have been ongoing for 10 seasons.
Episode numbering
A total of 1,225 episodes were produced but, during the course of its run, the show was preempted 20 times. ABC would compensate by occasionally skipping, double-numbering and, in one case, triple-numbering episodes in order to keep a show ending in a 5 or 0 airing on Fridays. This is why the last episode produced has #1245 when, in actuality, it was only the 1,225th episode produced.
Storylines
1966/7
: Victoria Winters' Parentage, episode 1 to 92
:: Victoria Winters and her role as governess is inspired by title character in Charlotte Brontë's gothic novel ''
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...
''.
[Leigh Scott, Kathryn; Jim Pierson (ed.), Dark Shadows Almanac. Pomegranate Press, 1995. pp. 134. .]
: Burke Devlin's Revenge For His Manslaughter Conviction, episode 1 to 201
:: Burke Devlin and his motivation for returning is reminiscent of Alexandre Dumas' novel ''
The Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with '' The Three Musketeers''. L ...
''.
: Roger Collins' Mysterious Car Crash, episode 13 to 32
: The Murder of Bill Malloy, episode 46 to 126
: Laura Collins the Phoenix, episode 123 to 192
: Jason McGuire Blackmails Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, episode 193 to 275
: The Arrival of the Vampire Barnabas Collins, episode 211 to 220
::Elements of this storyline are inspired by the novel
Dracula by
Bram Stoker.
: The Kidnapping of Maggie Evans, episode 221 to 261
: Julia Hoffman's Attempt to Cure Barnabas, episode 265 to 351
: Barnabas Terrorizing Julia Hoffman, episode 352 to 365
1795
: Angelique Bouchard's Vampire Curse on Barnabas, episode 366 to 426
: Victoria Winters's Witchcraft Trial, episode 400 to 461
:: The witchcraft trial involving Victoria Winters is inspired by Arthur Miller's play ''
The Crucible''. Reverend Trask's fate is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story "
The Cask of Amontillado."
: Nathan Forbes' Manipulation of Millicent Collins, episode 419 to 460
:: Nathan's manipulation of Millicent is reminiscent of the 1938 play and the 1944 film ''
Gaslight''.
1968/9
: The Mystery of Jeff Clark, episode 461 to 665
: The Creation of Adam, episode 466 to 636
:: The character of Adam is inspired by
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
's horror novel ''
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...
''.
: The Dream Curse, episode 477 to 548
: Elizabeth's Fear of Being Buried Alive, episode 513 to 672
:: This storyline is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story "
The Premature Burial."
: Nicholas Blair's Scheme to Create A Master Race, episode 549 to 633/634
: Chris Jennings' Werewolf Curse, episode 627 to 700
: The Ghosts of Quentin Collins and Beth Chavez Haunt Collinwood, episode 639 to 700
:: The character of Quentin Collins and his role is inspired by Peter Quint in Henry James's gothic novel ''
The Turn of the Screw''.
1897
: Barnabas’ Mission to Save David Collins, episode 700 to 839
:: The heartbeat that tortures Quentin is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story "
The Tell-Tale Heart
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...
."
: Jenny Collins, the Mad Woman in the Attic, episode 707 to 748
:: Jenny Collins is inspired by the character of Bertha from Charlotte Brontë's gothic novel ''
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...
''.
: Laura Collins the Phoenix, episode 728 to 761
:: Worthington Hall and Gregory Trask's running of it is inspired by Charles Dickens's novel ''
Nicholas Nickleby''.
: Magda Rakosi's Werewolf Curse on Quentin, episode 749 to 834
:: The portrait of Quentin Collins is inspired by Oscar Wilde's gothic novel ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray''.
: Gregory Trask's Manipulation of Judith Collins, episode 762 to 884
:: Gregory Trask's fate is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story "
The Cask of Amontillado".
:: Mrs. Trask's murder is inspired by "
The Manchurian Candidate"
: The Hand of Count Petofi, episode 778 to 814
:: The hand of Count Petofi is inspired by William Fryer Harvey's short story "
The Beast with Five Fingers". Quentin's torture is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s short story "
The Pit and the Pendulum."
: The Creation of Amanda Harris, episode 812 to 850
:: The theme of an artist's falling in love with his own creation who is brought to life by supernatural forces is reminiscent of the classic Greek myth of ''
Pygmalion''.
: Josette's Return, episode 844 to 885
: Count Petofi Body Swaps with Quentin, episode 849 to 883
:: The character of Count Petofi is based on the real-world
Count of St. Germain
The Comte de Saint Germain (; – 27 February 1784) was a European adventurer, with an interest in science, alchemy and the arts. He achieved prominence in European high society of the mid-18th century. Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel considere ...
, a Georgian-era courtier and man of science who claimed to be, and possibly was, the son of
Francis II Rákóczi. In the 19th century, Theosophist legends claimed that he attained the secret of immortality.
1969/70
: Barnabas Falls Under the Control of the Leviathans, episode 886 to 950
:: This storyline is inspired by H. P. Lovecraft’s shared universe known as "
The Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identi ...
," and particularly by the short story "
The Dunwich Horror".
: The Mystery of Grant Douglas and Olivia Corey, episode 888 to 934
:: This storyline is inspired by the Greek mythological tale of
Orpheus and Eurydice.
: Chris Jennings' Werewolf Curse, episode 889 to 978
: The Leviathan Child, episode 891 to 929
: Jeb Hawkes the Leviathan Leader, episode 935 to 980
: The Ghosts of Gerard Stiles and Daphne Harridge Haunt Collinwood, episode 1071 to 1109
:: This storyline is inspired by Henry James's gothic novel ''
The Turn of the Screw''.
1970 Parallel Time
: The Death of Angelique Collins, episode 969 to 1060
:: This storyline is inspired by
Daphne du Maurier's gothic novel ''
Rebecca
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
''.
: Cyrus Longworth's Experiment, episode 978 to 1035
:: This storyline is inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's "chilling shocker" short novel ''
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''.
1995
: The Destruction of Collinwood, episode 1061 to 1070
1840
: Barnabas' Infatuation with Roxanne Drew, episode 1081 to 1150
: The Head of Judah Zachery, episode 1117 to 1138
: Judah Zachery's Possession of Gerard Stiles, episode 1139 to 1197
: Quentin Collins' Witchcraft Trial, episode 1162 to 1197
1841 Parallel Time
: Bramwell Collins' and Catherine Harridge's Love Affair, episode 1186 to 1245
:: This storyline is inspired by Emily Brontë's gothic novel ''
Wuthering Heights''.
: The Cursed Room Lottery, episode 1194 to 1245
:: This storyline is inspired by Shirley Jackson's short story "
The Lottery."
Production
Casting
Curtis set out to find the actress to play the girl on the train.
Alexandra Isles (then Alexandra Moltke), a young actress with little experience, was discovered and cast in the role of
Victoria Winters
Victoria "Vicki" Winters is a fictional character from the television Gothic soap opera '' Dark Shadows'' and its remakes of the same name. The role was originated by Alexandra Moltke on the ABC series from 1966 to 1968. After Moltke left to ...
, an orphan who journeys to the mysterious, fictional town of
Collinsport, Maine
Collinsport is the fictional setting of '' Dark Shadows'', the 1960s Dan Curtis Productions Gothic horror soap opera.
Fictional location
In the series, Collinsport is a small, coastal fishing village located in Hancock County in the U.S. state ...
, to unravel the mysteries of her past.
Veteran film star
Joan Bennett was soon cast as Victoria's employer
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard,
a woman who had not left her home in over eighteen years. Stage actor
Louis Edmonds was cast as Elizabeth's brother, a widower, Roger Collins. Another stage actress,
Nancy Barrett, was then cast as Elizabeth's headstrong daughter Carolyn Stoddard, and child actor David Henesy was cast as Roger's troubled son
David Collins.
As production on the series continued, many new and mysterious characters, played by unfamiliar actors and actresses, were introduced, but two early cast changes brought stage actors
David Ford and
Thayer David into the ensemble. Thayer David would go on to play several formidable villains over the course of the series.
Michael Currie, as Constable Jonas Carter, was shortly replaced by veteran actor
Dana Elcar, as Sheriff George Patterson. Most of the actors played multiple characters, and those characters often returned through flashbacks, the use of parallel timelines, or as ghosts.
Main cast
Character names noted with * indicates appearance of a counterpart in an alternate reality known as ''Parallel Time'' during episodes 969 to 1060 or 1186 to 1245.
Locations
Both theatrical films, ''
House of Dark Shadows'' (1970) and ''
Night of Dark Shadows'' (1971), were shot primarily on location at the
Lyndhurst estate in
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-Nort ...
. For the TV series,
Essex, Connecticut was the locale used for the town of Collinsport. Among the locations sited there are the Collinsport Wharf, Main Street, and the Evans Cottage.
The Griswold Inn
The Griswold Inn is located in Essex, Connecticut and is one of the oldest continuously run Inns in the United States. It was founded by three brothers in the late 18th century and named after the Griswold Family of the area, and it has been unde ...
in Essex was used for the Collinsport Inn, and the town post office was used for the Collinsport Police Station. The Collinwood stand-in mansion used for the TV series is the
Carey Mansion in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...
, until August 2009 used by
Salve Regina University. The exteriors for the "Old House," aka Collins House (the original Collinwood mansion) were filmed at Spratt Mansion, which was also located on the Lyndhurst estate; this mansion was destroyed by fire in 1969. The
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in
South Norwalk,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, was also used for some scenes in ''House of Dark Shadows''. Some outdoors shots for the series were filmed in the famous
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, not far from the Lyndhurst Mansion.
All of the interiors of the TV series were shot on sound stages at various ABC-owned studios in Manhattan. The early episodes were shot at ABC Studio TV-2 at 24 West 67th Street, and the rest of the episodes were shot at the smaller ABC Studio TV-16 at 433 West 53rd Street, now demolished; as of 2022, it is the site of a six-story, 60-unit apartment building.
Special effects
Working within the constraints of the live-to-tape format—with almost every scene done in one take—''Dark Shadows'' displayed an unusually inventive use of costume, make-up, and in particular, special effects. Both time travel and ghosts allowed characters killed in earlier sequences to return, often in period clothing. Séances held in the old mansion were often visited by ghostly apparitions of quivering
ectoplasm. Dream sequences included colorful psychedelic spectacles superimposed over ethereal, fog-filled fantasies. Individuals of normal appearance were transformed into hideous creatures of the netherworld. One episode was carefully edited so that a closeup of a clock on the set showed the exact time viewers in the Central time zone saw the clock.
Music
Of particular note is
Bob Cobert's music score, which broke new ground for a television program. In September 1969 the original soundtrack to ''Dark Shadows'', credited to the Robert Cobert Orchestra and featuring 16 tracks written or co-written by Cobert, reached no. 18 on ''Billboard''s Top 200 album chart. The song "Quentin's Theme" earned Cobert a Grammy nomination for
Best Instrumental Theme, but lost to
John Barry's theme for ''Midnight Cowboy''. A recording of "Quentin's Theme" by
the Charles Randolph Grean Sounde was released as a single, and in August 1969, when the TV series was something of a phenomenon, it peaked at no. 13 on
''Billboard''s Hot 100 chart (and no. 3 on its
Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...
chart).
Reception
Critical response
''Dark Shadows'' had a rocky beginning. Critics were quick to deem the series boring for its heavy use of unknown actress Isles and the slow pace. ''
Variety'', in its review on June 29, 1966, of ''Dark Shadows'' first episode: "Writer Art Wallace took so much time getting into his story that the first episode of the
Neo Gothic soaper added up to one big contemporary yawn." The earliest episodes concerned menacing but unfulfilled conflicts, threatened revenge, then an attempted murder, and, finally, a murder. The supernatural elements that later made the show a hit, were slow to appear and only hinted at until episodes 52 and 70 in which the audience finally sees compelling evidence of a ghost.
Ratings
1965–1966 season
* 1. ''
As the World Turns'' (13.9)
* 13. ''Dark Shadows'' (4.1)
* 16. ''
Never Too Young'' (3.9)
1966–1967 season
* 1. ''As the World Turns'' (12.7)
* 12. ''Dark Shadows'' (4.3)
* 13. ''
A Flame in the Wind'' (4.0)
1967–1968 season
* 1. ''As the World Turns'' (13.6)
* 12. ''Dark Shadows'' (7.3)
* 13. ''
One Life to Live'' (4.3)
1968–1969 season
* 1. ''As the World Turns'' (13.8)
* 11. ''Dark Shadows'' (8.4)
* 14. ''
Hidden Faces
People often see hidden faces in things. Depending on the circumstances, this is referred to as pareidolia, the perception or recognition of a specific pattern or form in something essentially different. It is thus also a kind of optical illusion ...
'' (3.3)
1969–1970 season
* 1. ''As the World Turns'' (13.6)
* 12. ''Dark Shadows'' (7.3)
* 19. ''
The Best of Everything'' (1.8)
1970–1971 season
* 1. ''As the World Turns'' (12.4)
* 16. ''Dark Shadows'' (5.3)
* 18. ''
A World Apart'' (3.4)
Media
Home media
Unlike some other soap operas of its era, the episodes of ''Dark Shadows'' all were preserved in some format, although one episode exists only as an audio recording and several color episodes only have black and white kinescopes available.
MPI Home Video
MPI Media Group is an American producer, distributor and licensor of theatrical film and home entertainment. MPI's subsidiaries include MPI Pictures, MPI Home Video, Gorgon Video, and the horror film distributor Dark Sky Films. The company is lo ...
currently holds the home media rights to the series. All episodes were issued on
VHS from 1989 through 1995. Episodes 210–1245 (Barnabas' arrival through to the end of the series) have been released on
DVD in 26 ''Collections'' from 2002 through 2006. Episodes 1–209 were released in 2007 under the title of ''Dark Shadows: The Beginning''. On April 3, 2012, MPI re-released the 32 ''Collections''. The first (and sometimes, the second) collection (from Barnabas's introduction) has been released internationally, but due to generally low sales, this has been the extent of the international release of the series.
On April 10, 2012, MPI released a "Limited Edition Complete Series" box set in the shape of a coffin. The 131 DVDs are housed in 22 individual plastic cases, with the spines looking upward to show the entire body of Barnabas lying asleep in his coffin. Only 2,500 numbered copies of these were made, with each set including a limited edition card signed by original series star Jonathan Frid. A similar but unlimited "Deluxe Edition" set was subsequently released on July 10, 2012, without the limited edition card signed by Jonathan Frid and without the serial limitation number plate on the bottom of the box.
Films
MGM released a feature film titled ''House of Dark Shadows'' in 1970.
Dan Curtis directed it, and
Sam Hall and
Gordon Russell wrote the screenplay. Many cast members from the soap opera, including
Jonathan Frid,
Grayson Hall
Grayson Hall (September 18, 1922 – August 7, 1985) was an American television, film, and stage actress. She was widely regarded for her avant-garde theatrical performances from the 1960s to the 1980s. Hall was nominated for an Academy ...
,
Roger Davis, and
Kathryn Leigh Scott, reprised their roles. 1971 saw the release of ''Night of Dark Shadows'', also directed by Dan Curtis and written by Curtis and Sam Hall. Actors included
David Selby, Grayson Hall,
Kate Jackson, and
Lara Parker, among others.
During the filming of ''House of Dark Shadows'' in 1970, several actors were written out of the TV series so that they would be available to shoot the movie. Kathryn Leigh Scott was absent from 30 episodes (986 to 1015); Jonathan Frid was absent from 28 episodes (983 to 1010); Grayson Hall was absent from 21 episodes (986 to 1006); John Karlen was absent from 21 episodes (990 to 1010); Nancy Barrett was absent from 20 episodes (991 to 1010): Louis Edmonds was absent from 17 episodes (991 to 1008); Don Briscoe was absent from 15 episodes (986 to 1000); Joan Bennett was absent from 15 episodes (991 to 1006); and David Henesy was absent from 9 episodes (993 to 1001).
Novels
There have been two series of ''Dark Shadows'' novels. The first, released during the show's original run, were all penned by romance writer
Marilyn Ross
William Edward Daniel Ross (November 16, 1912 - November 1, 1995) was a Canadian actor, playwright, and bestselling writer of more than 300 novels in a variety of genres. He was known for the speed of his writing and was, by some estimates, the m ...
, a pseudonym for author Dan Ross, and were published by
Paperback Library. Ross also wrote a
novelization of the theatrical film ''
House of Dark Shadows''.
The second series of novels were written by
Lara Parker, Stephen Mark Rainey, and
Elizabeth Massie.
Other books
Magazines
During its original run, ''Dark Shadows'' was featured in many magazines, including ''Afternoon TV'', ''
Castle of Frankenstein'', ''Daytime TV'', and ''
Famous Monsters of Filmland''. Even after the show ended, it received coverage in genre magazines of the 1970s, like ''
Monsters of the Movies''.
In 2003, a two-part article titled "Collecting ''Dark Shadows'': Return to Collinwood", written by Rod Labbe, appeared in ''Autograph Collector'' magazine; it was the first major article to chronicle the show in years. In 2005, ''Scary Monsters Magazine'' devoted an entire issue (#55) to ''Dark Shadows''. Included were full-length interviews with cast members Marie Wallace, David Selby, and Kathryn Leigh-Scott, as well as "Don't Open That Coffin! A Baby Boomer's Adventures in the Land of ''Dark Shadows''!" Both the ''Autograph Collector'' and ''Scary Monsters'' articles were penned by freelance writer Rod Labbe, who once ran a fan club for Dennis Patrick (Jason McGuire, Paul Stoddard) in 1969–70.
Labbe also contributes to ''Fangoria'' magazine and is currently doing a series of full-length interviews with surviving original cast members, leading up to the release of Burton's film. Labbe's interview with
Jerry Lacy, who played the nefarious Reverend Trask, appeared in issue #296. His second, with Kathryn Leigh-Scott, was in issue #304. The latest, a Chris Pennock (Jeb Hawkes, a.k.a. "The Leviathan") profile, is scheduled to run in issue #310. He has already interviewed Marie Wallace (Eve and Jenny Collins) for a future issue, with more to come. A lengthier version of Kathryn's interview can be found on her website.
Comics
From March 14, 1971, to March 11, 1972, the
Newspaper Enterprise Association syndicated a ''Dark Shadows''
comic strip by illustrator
Kenneth Bruce Bald (credited as "K. Bruce" because of contractual obligations) to dozens of newspapers across the United States.
In 1996, Pomegranate Press, Ltd. published ''Dark Shadows: The Comic Strip Book'' (), which collected the entire 52-week run of the daily and Sunday strip.
Gold Key Comics released 35 issues of a regular ''Dark Shadows''
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
, mostly written by
John Warner, which ran for years after the cancellation of the series on ABC (1969–1976); and in 1991,
Innovation Publishing released a short-lived comic book series based on the NBC-TV revival show.
Hermes Press has released a five-volume archive reprint series of the Gold Key series in 2010–2011. Additionally,
Dynamite Entertainment launched a new monthly series of ''Dark Shadows'' comic books in October 2011.
Other media
There have also been two board games, a few coloring books, two jigsaw puzzles, and a
View-Master reel.
Syndication
Due to an FCC rule prohibiting networks from keeping their syndication holdings, it wasn't until 1975 that the
ABC-spun
Worldvision Enterprises released 130 episodes to syndication. Eventually, all but the pre-Barnabas and approximately the last year's episodes were part of the package. During the 1980s,
PBS was heavily involved in rebroadcasting the series. In 1992, the cable network the
Sci-Fi Channel (now Syfy) acquired the entire run of episodes. The channel stopped airing ''Dark Shadows'' in 2003.
Online streaming site
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
carried the series previous to 2012, but then dropped all but 160 episodes. The series was completely removed in early 2014.
In June 2012, episodes 210-249 of ''Dark Shadows'', covering the introduction of Barnabas Collins, were made available for streaming online video on
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...
, then a free service like YouTube. In October 2013, 200 episodes were offered on
Hulu Plus, the new Hulu subscription service. As of April 2015, the non-subscription part of the service was discontinued and some of it was merged into the subscription side, dropping the Hulu Plus title and going by simply Hulu. After several years, the series was removed as of the summer of 2020.
Both the original soap opera and prime-time versions have aired on the
Decades TV Network. Decades was known for its Halloween marathons of the show throughout the late 2010s that the network called The Binge. In 2018, 260 episodes of the program started airing at 12AM ET/11PM Central on weeknights.
The
MPI Media Group
MPI Media Group is an American producer, distributor and licensor of theatrical film and home entertainment. MPI's subsidiaries include MPI Pictures, MPI Home Video, Gorgon Video, and the horror film distributor Dark Sky Films. The company is lo ...
, who has the rights to the show's distribution, started a pay streaming service dedicated specifically to the program in October 2017.
In January 2018,
Amazon Prime was the first streaming service to carry every episode at once. However, in late 2019 it moved to the site’s IMDB TV Channel accompanied by commercials.
The free ad-supported Tubi TV acquired rights to all 1,225 episodes in January 2020 and in September, the similar Pluto TV added a ''Dark Shadows'' channel.
Audio drama
Based on a 2003 stage play performed at a ''Dark Shadows'' convention, ''Return to Collinwood'' is an audio drama written by Jamison Selby and Jim Pierson, and starring David Selby, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, Nancy Barrett, Lara Parker, Roger Davis, Marie Wallace, Christopher Pennock, Donna Wandrey, James Storm, and Terry Crawford. The show is available on CD.
Big Finish Productions
In 2006,
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
continued the ''Dark Shadows'' saga with an original series of audio dramas, starring the original cast. The first season featured
David Selby (
Quentin Collins),
Lara Parker (
Angelique),
Kathryn Leigh Scott (
Maggie Evans
The following is a list of characters from the ''Dark Shadows'' franchise. The list distinguishes characters from the original ABC daytime soap opera series, the 1970s films, the 1991 NBC remake series, the 2004 WB pilot, and the 2012 film.
1966 ...
), and
John Karlen (
Willie Loomis).
Robert Rodan
Robert Rodan (January 30, 1939 – March 25, 2021), born Robert Berger, was an American actor best known for playing the created monster Adam on the TV soap opera ''Dark Shadows''.
Career
Rodan was born Robert Michael Berger on January 30, 1939, i ...
, who played Adam in the original series, also appears in the fourth story, playing a new character.
Barnabas Collins is played by
Andrew Collins. A second series was released in 2010. In addition to the cast's returning from Series One, ''
Kingdom of the Dead'' also featured
Lysette Anthony,
Alec Newman,
Lizzie Hopley,
Jerry Lacy, and
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Others ...
.
Big Finish has also produced a series of dramatic story readings based on the series, with arguably the most notable being the 2010 release ''
The Night Whispers
''Dark Shadows: The Night Whispers'' is a 2010 Big Finish Productions original dramatic reading based on the long-running American horror soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, fr ...
'', in which Jonathan Frid reprised the role of Barnabas.
In January 2015, Big Finish began releasing the full-cast ''Dark Shadows'' serial ''Bloodlust'' in twice-weekly installments, as to emulate the initial soap opera format of the show.
Revivals
1991 TV series
In 1991,
MGM Television produced a short-lived prime-time remake that aired on
NBC from January 13 to March 22. The revival was a lavish, big-budget, weekly serial combining Gothic romance and stylistic horror. Although it was a huge hit at its introduction (watched by almost 1 in 4 households, according to official ratings during that time period), the onset of the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
caused NBC to continually preempt or reschedule the episodes, resulting in declining ratings. It was canceled after the first season. The final episode ended with a cliffhanger:
Victoria Winters
Victoria "Vicki" Winters is a fictional character from the television Gothic soap opera '' Dark Shadows'' and its remakes of the same name. The role was originated by Alexandra Moltke on the ABC series from 1966 to 1968. After Moltke left to ...
(
Joanna Going)'s learning that
Barnabas Collins (
Ben Cross
Harry Bernard Cross (16 December 1947 – 18 August 2020) was an English stage and film actor. He was best known for playing Billy Flynn in the original West End production of the musical ''Chicago'', and his portrayal of the British Oly ...
) was a 200-year-old vampire.
It also starred veterans
Jean Simmons
Jean Merilyn Simmons, (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Great Britain during and afte ...
(as
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard) and
Roy Thinnes (as Roger Collins), British
character actress Lysette Anthony (as
Angelique Collins),
Barbara Steele (as
Julia Hoffman), and
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as
David Collins).
2004 TV pilot
Plans for another revival series (or film) have been discussed off and on since the 1991 series' demise, including a TV miniseries to wrap up the plotlines of the canceled NBC series and a feature film, co-written by Dan Curtis and Barbara Steele, utilizing the 1991 cast. In 2004, a pilot for a new
WB network ''Dark Shadows'' series, starring
Marley Shelton as
Victoria Winters
Victoria "Vicki" Winters is a fictional character from the television Gothic soap opera '' Dark Shadows'' and its remakes of the same name. The role was originated by Alexandra Moltke on the ABC series from 1966 to 1968. After Moltke left to ...
and
Alec Newman as
Barnabas Collins, was written and shot, but never picked up. The pilot has been screened at the ''Dark Shadows'' Festival conventions with Dan Curtis Productions' blessing, and it can now be found online. This pilot was produced by
Warner Bros. Television.
2012 film
In 2012,
Warner Bros. produced a film adaptation of the soap opera.
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
directed the film, and
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awar ...
, finally realizing one of his childhood fantasies, starred as Barnabas Collins. However, the film treated the stories comedically, and was not the hoped-for major success.
''Reincarnation''
In September 2019, it was announced that
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
and
Warner Bros. Television were developing a continuation of the original series called ''Dark Shadows: Reincarnation'', written by
Mark B. Perry
Mark B. Perry is an American television producer and writer.
He has written and produced for the television series ''The Wonder Years'', '' Law & Order'', ''One Tree Hill'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Pasadena'', ''What About Brian'', '' Windfal ...
. Perry would also serve as
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...
along with Amasia Entertainment's Michael Helfant, Bradley Gallo and Tracy Mercer, as well as Tracy and Cathy Curtis. Perry said, "As a first-generation fan, it's been a dream of mine to give ''Dark Shadows'' the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...
'' treatment since way back in the '80s when ''
Next Generation
Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to:
Publications and literature
* ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company
* Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' was announced, so I'm beyond thrilled and humbled to be entrusted with this resurrection." In November 2020, ''
TVLine
''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs.
History
In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to es ...
'' reported that the series was no longer in development. In August 2021, Perry revealed that the project was retooled with the intention to shop it to networks again.
See also
*
List of vampire television series
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
Bibliography
* ''The Dark Shadows Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection'', edited by Kathryn Leigh Scott, foreword by Jonathan Frid, Pomegranate Press, 1990.
* ''Dark Shadows Almanac'', edited by Kathryn Leigh Scott & Jim Pierson, Pomegranate Press, 1995.
* ''Dark Shadows: The Comic Strip Book'', by
Kenneth Bruce Bald (illustrator), Pomegranate Press, 1996.
Further reading
* Borzellieri, Frank. "The Physics of Dark Shadows". Cultural Studies Press, 2008.
* Clute, John and Grant, John. ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy''. St. Martin's Press, 1999. p 823.
* Hamrick, Craig and Jamison, R. J. ''Barnabas & Company: The Cast of the TV Classic Dark Shadows''. iUniverse, 2012.
* Jones, Stephen. ''The Essential Monster Movie Guide: A Century of Creature Features on Film, TV and Video''. Watson-Guptill, 2000. p. 99.
* Krensky, Stephen. ''Vampires''. Lerner Publications, 2007. p. 48.
* Mansour, David. ''From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of The Late 20th Century''. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2005. p. 109.
* McNally, Raymond T. and Florescu, Radu R. ''In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires''. Houghton Mifflin Books, 1994. p. 270.
* Mitchell, Charles P. ''The Complete H. P. Lovecraft Filmography''. Greenwood Press, 2001. p 220.
* Riccardo, Martin V. ''Vampires Unearthed: The Complete Multi-media Vampire and Dracula Bibliography''. Garland Publishing, Incorporated, 1983. p. 19.
* Schemering, Christopher. ''The Soap Opera Encyclopedia''. Ballantine Books, 1985. p. 61.
* Senn, Bryan and Johnson, John. ''Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide: A Topical Index to 2500 Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Films''. McFarland & Co, 1992. p. 551.
* South, Malcolm. ''Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide''. Greenwood Press, 1987. p. 260.
* Sullivan, Jack. ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural''. Viking, 1986. p. 422.
* Terrance, Vincent. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs, 1947–1979''. A. S. Barnes & Company, 1979.
* Worland, Rick. ''The Horror Film: An Introduction''. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. p. 93.
External links
*
*
*
''Dark Shadows'' Online*
Interview with “Dark Shadows” cast members Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott accessed October 29, 2016.
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1966 American television series debuts
1971 American television series endings
American Broadcasting Company original programming
American fantasy television series
American gothic fiction
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English-language television shows
Gold Key Comics titles
Gothic horror television series
Innovation Publishing titles
Television about magic
Television series about ghosts
Television series about parallel universes
Television shows adapted into comics
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1960s American time travel television series