Dark Shadows Lives!
Sorry to see no discussion of DS here but I know that the series has a healthy Internet life in other places. Guess those people just don't know about this board yet.
Anyway, this was technically the first serial that I watched (1969 to the end in 1971) but I didn't really connect it to the soaps that my grandmother watched (the whole CBS lineup at the time). After it ended, I didn't get into any more daytime until ANOTHER WORLD in 1975 (how I regret not tuning into AW and EDGE OF NIGHT earlier!).
One great thing about DS -- it's the only serial with all its episodes available on video (and DVD soon, I believe), and since DS has been on the Sci-Fi Channel since it launched, I've been able to see the entire series (many episodes multiple times!)
And another thing -- it's the only defunct serial I know with an EXTREMELY active fan base. Where are the EDGE OF NIGHT or SECRET STORM conventions???
Your right about DARK SHADOWS having a strong fan base.
To be techinical, all the surviving episodes have been put on tape. Centaur Video tried to do the same with the DARK SHADOWS ripoff STRANGE PARADISE. They were even considering making a film using the STRANGE PARADISE plot but this didn't work out in the end.
SWANS CROSSING, the early 1990s teen soap has a strong fan base. I believe that they have a convention every now and then, but I don't think the actors are involved. I could be wrong about all of this.
DARK SHADOWS is great. Despite the sometimes faulty sets and the blunders (Joanna to Daphne in 1841: "You and Daphne (Quentin) can finally be together!") it is a great show. I wonder if it would be as popular if it wasn't currently airing on Sci Fi?
Re: Dark Shadows Lives!
I think that DS has a very strong grip on those of us that remember it from our childhoods.Watching it now brings back many good memories from when I was watching it at the age of ten! Especially powerful are the early black and white episodes--they seem so much more atmospheric. I think that the show lent itself well to black and white, and also the on location footage gave it a feeling of authenticity.
It dawned on me recently while watching two characters kissing on DS what a rare (and almost out of place!) event that was. How many other soaps can you say that about?
I hope the show is attracting legions of new viewers on SciFi. I know that no matter how many times they show it, I'll be watching!
Re: Dark Shadows Lives!
I also love the b&w episodes! I think there were some very good people working on the 'cinematography' of B&W TV, not just DS. I've seen other soap episodes from the 50s and 60s and am struck occasionally by some beautiful work with camera angles, lighting, etc. I sometimes think something was lost when everything went to color.
Oh, and I think the most memorable kissing scenes on DS are when two people are forced by witchcraft to fall in love. Jeremiah and Josette come to mind first, but I think Quentin had one of those spells placed on him at one point also.
The 2002 Dark Shadows Festival will be held
June 28, 29 & 30, 2002 at the
Anaheim Marriot Hotel
700 West Convention Way, Anaheim, CA 92802
Tel: 1-714-750-8000 · 1-800-228-9290
Dark Shadows Festival Membership
Special Two-For-One Membership Rate
Three Days: Only $20 for 1 or 2 Adults
Daily Rate: Only $10 for 1 or 2 Adults
Children 6-12 half price
Above rates until June 21, 2002
Thereafter payable at the door only
Send payment to:
Dark Shadows Festival
P.O. Box 92
Maplewood, NJ 07040
SCEDULED TO APPEAR ARE:
David Selby (Quentin Collins)
Lara Parker(Angelique)
John Karlen (Willie Loomis)
Nancy Barrett (Carolyn Stoddard)
Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans)
Roger Davis (Peter Bradford)
Marie Wallace (Eve)
Chris Pennock(Jeb Hawkes)
Diana Millay (Laura Collins)
James Storm (Gerard Stiles)
Dennis Patrick (Jason McGuire)
Robert Rodan (Adam)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There was no vampire loose on the great estate, for the first time at
Collinwood the marks on the neck were indeed those of an animal. Melanie
soon recovered and went to Boston with her Beloved Kendrick. There they
prospered and had three children. Bramwell and Katherine were soon married,
and at Flora's insistence, stayed at Collinwood, where Barnabus assumed
control of the Collin's business intrests. They're love became a living legend
and for as long as they lived, the dark shadows at Collinwood were but a
memory of the distant past.
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