Dark Shadows Questions (2025)

Did anyone count the total number of times Dr. Hoffman gave someone a sedative? Did she have any other types of medications in that bag of hers? I could have sworn at the beginning they introduce her as a psychologist but then she can prescribe meds and has privileges at different hospitals. At a recent episode someone asks if she is a psychiatrist. She answers something To the affect of I have experience or and some knowledge in the field. It seems they 99 percent of the people just take her sedatives. Once or twice I think someone told her to take her sedatives and shove them . What type of drug back then was a sedative? I'm surprised the DEA didn't break down the doors of Collinwood to conduct a raid. Oh also at the beginning she was a blood specialist researcher hematologist. And how dang long does she live there for even be after her genealogy cover was blown. That was never explained.

by Anonymousreply 454April 30, 2022 1:35 PM

Also, how come there's an obvious door that leads to the past, but no one ever thought to open it before?

by Anonymousreply 1January 22, 2022 3:07 PM

^People were too sedated by Dr. Hoffman.

by Anonymousreply 2January 22, 2022 3:09 PM

Dr. Julia Hoffman attended medical school and was a doctor who headed Windcliff sanatorium. Her specialties were psychology and blood disorders. My guess is like many other things on Dark Shadows things were rather fast and lose with actual details. Fact that Julia Hoffman is referred to as "doctor" and headed a mental institution points to her being a psychiatrist or at least a medical doctor with full script writing privileges.

Dark Shadows ran from 1967-1971 IIRC, and there were a slew of "sedatives" on market.

Benzodiazepines - Diazepam, chlordiazepoxide

Barbiturates - Pentobarbital (Numbatal), butabarbital, secobarbital , methaqualone (Quaalude)

Sedatives of all sorts were given out almost like candy for good part of 1960's well into 1970's and bit beyond. Doctors prescribed and or gave them to patients presenting often most minor complaints.

For females of course if they were tiniest bit over wrought, out came those sedatives. If you watch television shows or films from1960's or 1970's some woman who has been through an ordeal has some doctor telling LE, her family or whoever "I've just given her a sedative.....". Thus it wouldn't have been out of order for Dr. Hoffman to go around handing out sedatives...

Rolling Stones poked fun at this liberal giving out of drugs in famous song "Mother's Little Helper".

In response to all various suicides, unintentional overdoses (think Marilyn Monroe for a start), addictions and other things federal and state governments began cracking down on sedative abuse. You can't get anything stronger than Tylenol unless you have a mortal illness and are in last stage of life.

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by Anonymousreply 3January 22, 2022 3:58 PM

This show is about vampires, werewolves, witches, time travel, etc., and you’re questioning how often Julia administered sedatives?

Not trying to be snarky, that just struck me as comical.

by Anonymousreply 4January 22, 2022 4:24 PM

Julia craved Barnabas's cock, but he wouldn't give her the time of day. We all know Barnabas was fucking Willie and that he created Adam so that he could have the perfect man to fuck. Poor Julia had to settle for Professor Stokes's once-monthly booty calls.

by Anonymousreply 5January 22, 2022 4:44 PM

This video should be required viewing for all DL’ers.

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by Anonymousreply 6January 22, 2022 4:49 PM

Not only did she switch from hematologist to psychiatrist, she went from being "Julius Hoffman" ("he's the best in his field") to "Julia Hoffman."

by Anonymousreply 7January 22, 2022 4:50 PM

After Vicki gets back from 1795, Julia Hoffman sort of blows her cover. She admits she really is a doctor but still doesn't reveal the truth about why she was actually there. I believe she said she was close to a nervous breakdown if she stayed at her hospital any longer and needed to get away, so she took a break to write a book about the history of the Collins family. She didn't mention Maggie Evans or any of it. "Substituting one lie for another" were her exact words.

But they let her stay anyway I suppose because for the free medical care.

by Anonymousreply 8January 22, 2022 4:57 PM

My favorite Julia Hoffman action happened after someone fake strangled her. She spent the rest of the scene wringing her own scrawny neck like she was trying to kill a chicken......

by Anonymousreply 9January 22, 2022 5:16 PM

I love how Julia, and even Barnabas and Prof. Stokes, has free reign throughout the house. The people that actually lived there became increasingly irrelevant.

by Anonymousreply 10January 22, 2022 6:05 PM

“I ran home after school to watch”

by Anonymousreply 11January 22, 2022 7:26 PM

Oops -- I correct myself. "Julian," not "Julius" Hoffman was "her" first name, which was said in an episode before she arrived.

by Anonymousreply 12January 22, 2022 8:49 PM

Ohhh sweetie! Would kill for Nembutal or Seconal....

by Anonymousreply 13January 23, 2022 5:26 AM

Were Kathryn Leigh Scott and Joel Crothers fucking IRL? They had so much chemistry and were so natural with each other, they seemed like a real couple.

by Anonymousreply 14January 23, 2022 6:48 AM

R14 I'd be surprised. I've heard Joel Crothers was gay. He was going to marry an actress named Veleka Gray, though. Perhaps a beard?

by Anonymousreply 15January 23, 2022 1:29 PM

[quote]Ohhh sweetie! Would kill for Nembutal or Seconal....

Or a Quaalude. God, how I miss Quaaludes.

by Anonymousreply 16January 23, 2022 3:46 PM

I loved it when Julia would let her love for Barnabas slip and Barnabas would give her this look like, don't you even think about it. Barn should have least thrown her a pity fuck, would it have killed him. No. He was immortal.

by Anonymousreply 17January 23, 2022 3:53 PM

[quote] Not only did she switch from hematologist to psychiatrist, she went from being "Julius Hoffman" ("he's the best in his field") to "Julia Hoffman."

LITERAL VIOLENCE.

by Anonymousreply 18January 23, 2022 3:57 PM

Thanks guys. You've explained a lot to me. I'm only up to Season 13 with the Quentin/Richard Channing storyline. Here's another one. David at one point knew Barnabas was a vampire or something evil and was terrified of him. The whole family thought he was crazy and almost committed him to Ferncliff (wait maybe that's GH, anyway). Then at some point he's all besties with Barnabas. Was this ever explained away? I may have gone to the kitchen for Little Debbie snack cakes and milk at some point or I may have taken a sedative.

by Anonymousreply 19January 26, 2022 4:12 AM

R19 The closest they come to acknowledging it is an episode around the Adam/Eve storyline. David releases Maggie who is being held prisoner in the secret room of the Collins Mausoleum. Barnabas doesn't buy Willie's story and accuses him of releasing Maggie himself. He doesn't believe there's any way David could know about the panel leading to the secret room. So Willie responds saying, "You remember the time he was lost and we suspected him of being in there? Well, he was."

But other than that, they act like we should forget.

by Anonymousreply 20January 26, 2022 5:27 AM

Last night I had a dream. An elderly woman, perhaps 92 years old, is preparing to give a talk on time travel at a conference. Because of the pandemic, she will give her talk via zoom. She gives her talk, not speaking of her own time travel experience per se, but rather speaking about the several ways one can travel through time. She is Dr. Julia Hoffman. Taking questions from the audience, she expertly shades the truth about her own experience, an act that comes naturally to her. The audience observes that her zoom image is perfectly lit. As she ends, she thanks the audience and people start leaving the zoom room. Just as she hears someone call out "Julia," she looks and sees what appears to be a familiar face, unaged. She spots the name "V. Bradford" just as the moderator hits "End Conference." "Could it have been...?" she thinks. "And how will I find her?"

by Anonymousreply 21January 26, 2022 12:58 PM

Oh no R21, you living the Dream Curse storyline.

by Anonymousreply 22January 26, 2022 1:10 PM

R19 - I'm watching the whole series for the first time and am now just starting the Quentin ghost story.

I'm also curious why Maggie, who remembered everything terrifying about Barnabas, promptly forgets it all again for no reason. Continuity was really not this show's strong point.

And yes, the original cast (the actual Collins/Stoddards) are hardly on the show anymore. Bennett and Edmonds were a hoot. And that God damn Adam story could not have ended sooner. Damn that actor was annoying AF.

by Anonymousreply 23January 26, 2022 1:29 PM

R23, Julia hypnotizes her to forget.

by Anonymousreply 24January 26, 2022 1:35 PM

R23 She escaped and was about to run to the police but Nicholas Blair got to her first and hypnotized her to forget again just as Julia did. He knew that it would get in the way of the experiments and his plans if Barnabas was in trouble.

There is a scene where Barnabas and Willie wonder why the police haven't arrived yet. Then Joe shows up with a note from Maggie saying to visit her house at their earliest convenience. They think "Oh shit." So they go immediately and then Maggie tells them they didn't need to rush over, that it isn't that important. She just found some old sketches her father made while painting Barnabas's portrait and thought Barnabas might like to have them. Needless to say, Barnabas and Willie are both very confused and know something shady is going on.

by Anonymousreply 25January 26, 2022 1:46 PM

[quote] am now just starting the Quentin ghost story.

FYI, that leads into the best time period of the series.

by Anonymousreply 26January 26, 2022 2:01 PM

It truly is funny how often Julia hands out sedatives like candy, but even funnier is her heavy reliance on hypnosis to allow the writers to get out of corners they've painted themselves into.

by Anonymousreply 27January 26, 2022 3:28 PM

Julia Hoffman was played by Grayson Hall whose husband Sam Hall wrote many of the Dark Shadows episodes - that is one reason why she was in so many of them.

by Anonymousreply 28January 26, 2022 3:49 PM

Julia was also a great sidekick and she represented unrequited love

by Anonymousreply 29January 26, 2022 4:00 PM

I think Julia reminds a lot of queens of themselves...hyper-neurotic, OCD, emotionally unbalanced, very bright but not at all attractive, and pining for the handsome prince who won't give her the time of day but who's in love with the more traditionally pretty woman.

by Anonymousreply 30January 26, 2022 4:13 PM

Thanks, R6, for that Julia Hoffman freakout compilation. Her overacting was one of the main reasons I loved that show. Also her deep husky voice stood out, caused by a lifetime of smoking. That kind of voice is rare now in women. I believe smoking killed her in the end. One other thing stands out in that video: No matter how much she screams and writhes, that weird ugly hairdo that covers her ears NEVER MOVES. Hairspray must have been as strong as rubber cement back then.

by Anonymousreply 31January 26, 2022 4:21 PM

Kathryn Leigh Scott still looks the best.

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by Anonymousreply 32January 26, 2022 4:31 PM

More questions. Why the heck didn't they build a path from the great house to the old house? Whenever someone has to travel from one to the other it's like they're bushwhacking in the jungles of Borneo. Wouldn't some type of path have developed over the centuries with all that foot traffic? You know like a gay cruising area And how many bleeping times does everyone have to go looking for David in the forest? This includes his former lives . They should have just clear cut and paved over the entire estate. Lastly why didn't anyone take the time to furnish the hidden room in the mausoleum? They could have at least gotten a love seat from the Collinsport Goodwill.

by Anonymousreply 33February 4, 2022 5:10 PM

R32 she also writes the best books! My favorite is Return to Collinwood with LOTS of great photos.

by Anonymousreply 34February 4, 2022 5:16 PM

Someone recently posted some clips of Nancy Barrett as Faith on Ryan's Hope. She was pretty awful. She used the same hyper-theatrical method of acting she used on DS, and it just didn't gel with the tone of the show. I felt like I was watching Carolyn Stoddard transplanted to NYC. RH was produced and directed by former DS people, Robert Costello and Lela Swift, respectively, so RH did have a sense of the theatrical about it, but it was much more grounded than DS. She was much more effective as crazy nurse Kathy Ryker on The Doctors.

by Anonymousreply 35February 4, 2022 5:18 PM

Julia likely would have been prescribing Milltown.

Milltown was the first mass market sedative/traqualizer that became a blockbuster success. Introduced in 1955, it was the most widely prescribed sedative for much of the 60s. Finally, it's addictive nature was discovered and it's populartiy wanned by the early 70s as more effective drugs were developed.

Yes, the product was indeed called Milltown, named after the New Jersey borough where the drug was produced.

In the 60s, if you wanted to tell someone to "Calm Down," people often said, "Take a Milltown."

by Anonymousreply 36February 4, 2022 5:45 PM

[quote]Kathryn Leigh Scott still looks the best.

How dare you!

Get FAT, you wretched Queen!

by Anonymousreply 37February 4, 2022 8:01 PM

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard used to hide her "little pills" everywhere!

Most of that gaudy jewelry she wore actually had little pill boxes built into them...did you ever see her without a huge broach or necklace with giant clasp?

I've even see her pull Seconals out of her bouffant hairdo!

by Anonymousreply 38February 4, 2022 8:05 PM

Joel Crothers used to make my nether regions tingle and twitch.

by Anonymousreply 39February 4, 2022 9:30 PM

You remember when the closed down the East Wing of the Collinwood Mansion...

Well, they really used it for the illegal drugs...

and experimental plastic surgery (that bitch Barnabas was more vain than Joan Bennett!)

by Anonymousreply 40February 4, 2022 9:39 PM

Dr. Hoffman like to draw attention to all the "love bites" she got from Barnabas

by wearing scarves around her neck and letting her hands linger around that area...

by Anonymousreply 41February 4, 2022 9:43 PM

Dr Hoffman was SO sexually repressed!

by Anonymousreply 42February 4, 2022 9:45 PM

[quote]Joel Crothers used to make my nether regions tingle and twitch.

He had a big bubble ass and hairy pecs

by Anonymousreply 43February 4, 2022 9:47 PM

[quote]Joel Crothers used to make my nether regions tingle and twitch.

For someone who was "undead"

Barnabas didn't really look that young or well-preserved

by Anonymousreply 44February 4, 2022 9:50 PM

Where exactly was Collinsport?

I always pictured it as being in an area of old mansions like Newport, RI

but wasn't it supposed to be somewhere more remote, like Maine maybe?

by Anonymousreply 45February 4, 2022 9:52 PM

Little David Collins got old

and he probably had to sell Collinwood too

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by Anonymousreply 46February 4, 2022 9:55 PM

Only Angelique remains eternally youthful.

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by Anonymousreply 47February 4, 2022 9:59 PM

Dr. Hoffman WAS very generous with the prescription pills and injections.

But she was not-so-fresh...down there...if you know what I mean.

by Anonymousreply 48February 4, 2022 10:03 PM

Everyone thought that Grayson Hall was a lesbian but were then surprised to find out that she had a husband and child.

by Anonymousreply 49February 4, 2022 10:09 PM

The actress who played Angelique (Lara Parker) went back to college after DS and became a high school English teacher, I believe in Los Angeles.

by Anonymousreply 50February 4, 2022 10:12 PM

Grayson's school mates in Philadelphia knew her as Shirley Grossman.

by Anonymousreply 51February 4, 2022 10:17 PM

Lara Parker appeared on that godawful cable soap A New Day in Eden that Marland created. I think she was on Capitol for a bit too. She is still great friends with Kate Jackson.

by Anonymousreply 52February 4, 2022 10:18 PM

[quote] Kathryn Leigh Scott still looks the best.

She was the prettiest by far (well, you could argue between her and Lara Parker). Both Kathryn and Nancy had great legs and wore very short mini-skirts. Alexandra Moltke (Victoria) had fat knees and wore longer skirts. She was quite pretty, too. Nancy only so-so.

Joel was to die for but had a dopey character. I didn't follow him on his other soaps but he was quite the star, so good on him. Most of the others faded away - except "Willie" was on Cagney and Lacey I think? And Louis Edmonds did very well as Langley on Days of Our Lives.

by Anonymousreply 53February 4, 2022 10:23 PM

R45, it was on the coast of Maine. Trips to Bangor were occasionally mentioned.

by Anonymousreply 54February 4, 2022 10:24 PM

Joel and Velekka Gray had a torrid romance.

by Anonymousreply 55February 4, 2022 10:26 PM

I always thought Reverend Trask (Jerry Lacy) was the hottest guy on the show, though Humbert Allen Astredo (warlock Nicholas Blair) also tickled my fancy.

I know Lacy did a lot of things, before and after - for one, he married Julia Duffy who was on The Doctors and the night-time Bob Newart Show #2 (the bed and breakfast one). And for a while, he was a stock broker. I think he also played Humphrey Bogart in a Woody Allen film (before DS?) One of his and Julia's two children, Danny, killed himself a couple years ago at age 29, by jumping off a bridge.

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by Anonymousreply 56February 4, 2022 10:32 PM

* Bob NewHart

by Anonymousreply 57February 4, 2022 10:34 PM

I know he was a total egotistical asshole and the entire cast hated him except for maybe Lara, but I thought Roger Davis was exceptionally handsome. He really made me tingle down/back there. Chris Pennock also was pretty gorgeous.

by Anonymousreply 58February 4, 2022 10:36 PM

[quote]Joel was to die for but had a dopey character. I didn't follow him on his other soaps but he was quite the star, so good on him. Most of the others faded away - except "Willie" was on Cagney and Lacey I think? And Louis Edmonds did very well as Langley on Days of Our Lives.

Joel Crothers was the leading man on both Somerset and Edge of Night. He was Julian Cannell on Somerset from 1972 until ist cancelation in 1976. He played Dr. Miles Cavanaugh on Edge for seven years, even getting two lead actor Daytime Emmy nods.

Lois Edmonds played Langley Wallingford for 20+ years on All My Children, not Days of Our Lives

by Anonymousreply 59February 4, 2022 10:37 PM

[quote] Lastly why didn't anyone take the time to furnish the hidden room in the mausoleum?

My question is how the fuck did nobody ever notice that the mausoleum was 20 feet longer from the outside than it was in the inside?

Also, was that back room ventilated or had windows? If not, I don't see how all the characters kidnapped and held there would have survived for more than five minutes. I won't even mention the lack of a toilet... Victoria must really have worked on her Kegel muscles.

by Anonymousreply 60February 4, 2022 11:49 PM

[quote] Roger Davis was exceptionally handsome. He really made me tingle down/back there. Chris Pennock also was pretty gorgeous.

Davis and Pennock are both exceptionally doable back then (although I think both actors were straight), but groin longed for Don Briscoe who was likely gay. Yes, I know he lost his mind and then his looks soon after the show ended, but during his DS days... Daaaaaaaamn.

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by Anonymousreply 61February 4, 2022 11:58 PM

Nobody liked Roger Davis, but Dan Curtis liked him and kept him around forever. Even Joan Bennett spoke poorly of him in her autobiography. The writers were going to romantically pair Davis's and Kathy Scott's characters. Apparently, she got wind of the idea and threatened to quit, and was able to get the pairing nixed. I get the idea he had an ego the size of Mount Rushmore and was generally an arrogant prick. He tried to get his then-wife Jaclyn Smith hired as Alexandra Moltke's replacement as Victoria Winters. She lost out to Betsy Durkin. Durkin was really awful, so one can imagine how horrendous Smith would've been.

by Anonymousreply 62February 5, 2022 2:41 AM

I'm still just amazed that Alexandra Moltke with her fat legs and saggy knees

was able to inspire Claus to try to murder Sunny

by Anonymousreply 63February 5, 2022 2:45 AM

Moltke had such a unique look to her.

by Anonymousreply 64February 5, 2022 2:53 AM

This thread brings back so many tingly memories...

Dr. Hoffman could you please sedate me?

by Anonymousreply 65February 5, 2022 2:58 AM

R64 She did have a lazy eye, though. You could really see it in some scenes.

by Anonymousreply 66February 5, 2022 3:02 AM

R64, plus a dazzling family pedigree.

by Anonymousreply 67February 5, 2022 3:02 AM

That lush Mitch Ryan was one gorgeous hunk of man. It's a shame he was drunk and couldn't remember his lines most of the time. Anthony George was an awful replacement. Ryan's Burke was really masculine and full of testosterone, while purses fell out of mincing George's mouth every time he opened his mouth.

by Anonymousreply 68February 5, 2022 3:07 AM

[quote]My question is how the fuck did nobody ever notice that the mausoleum was 20 feet longer from the outside than it was in the inside?

In spite of how the set may have appeared, the mausoleum was built into Eagle Hill. That's why no one noticed all the extra square footage.

And Mitch Ryan was the perfect Burke Devlin. One of the reasons why I loved the pre Barnabas episodes, it was all so film noir with gothic undertones. They all wanted to fuck him. Elizabeth, Victoria, Carolyn, and Roger. I loved it with Laura slinked back into town. Then Mitch Ryan started to fade away.

by Anonymousreply 69February 5, 2022 3:38 AM

I thought I was the only one who prefers the pre-Barnabas era. It was spooky and fun, but was also more grounded in reality, relatable (the characters were shown eating breakfast together!) and with character development. That all flew out the door when Barnabas arrived, and really became a memory when the Jason McGuire storyline, which ran alongside the original Barnabas story and was more in line with the tone of the first few months of the show, came to an end.

by Anonymousreply 70February 5, 2022 3:46 AM

Wait! Milltown Mel is the same Milltown of Milltown sedatives and from the other thread? Maybe he ODeed?

by Anonymousreply 71February 5, 2022 4:08 AM

Dr Hoffman could have prescribed Miltown but Valium was really HUGE during the time of DS. My mother always had her pill bottle of little yellow pills handy.

From wiki: "It has been one of the most frequently prescribed medications in the world since its launch in 1963.[9] In the United States it was the best-selling medication between 1968 and 1982, selling more than 2 billion tablets in 1978 alone"

The Stones song "Mother's Little Helper" came out in 1966. Dark Shadows started in June 1966. Librium is even older (1960). From the LA Times:

In 1960, Swiss drug maker Hoffmann-La Roche unveiled Librium, less sedating than Miltown but just as calming. In one famous experiment, the bitter-tasting drug tamed lions and tigers at the San Diego Zoo. But Roche also had another drug in the works. Three years later, it rolled out Valium. Valium quickly surpassed Miltown and Librium. Among its biggest selling points: no bitter taste, and it was nearly impossible to overdose on. (In one widely reported instance that came much later, a Reagan administration official tried to kill himself with a heavy dose of Valium but failed.)

Sorry - it's just one of my fave topics ahem.

by Anonymousreply 72February 5, 2022 6:49 AM

[quote] I'm still just amazed that Alexandra Moltke with her fat legs and saggy knees was able to inspire Claus to try to murder Sunny

Oh honey, Alexandra were the least of Klaus' reasons...

by Anonymousreply 73February 5, 2022 2:10 PM

[quote] Nobody liked Roger Davis, but Dan Curtis liked him and kept him around forever.

I know Curtis was married with children, but was he gay? He certainly seemed to have a gay, campy esthetic and cast lots of pretty boys in his projects.

by Anonymousreply 74February 5, 2022 2:11 PM

[quote] Moltke had such a unique look to her.

She really did, and I thought she was quite lovely despite the 10 lbs. of hair. She also had an unusual way of speaking (vaguely European articulation) and had studied movements. She reminded me of a cross between Audrey Hepburn and Geraldine Page, but alas not as gamine or talented as either, respectively.

by Anonymousreply 75February 5, 2022 2:16 PM

At the end of the last century a seller on EBAY was offering the last week's episodes of THE EDGE OF NIGHT on video. I bought it.

Joel Crothers was playing a doctor, I think. And it was his wedding to some dame. I loved seeing him. Of course on one day they were in bed on their honeymoon talking about what they wanted their lives to be....it was wonderful. There had been some funny complications leading up to the wedding.....and Joel was great playing a hassled groom.

In some Soap magazine when he was on DS, there was a small picture of him in his apartment. He was in his underwear standing beside his open fridge. I wish I still had that picture!

Oh and of course TEON also had someone who should be a DL icon....Miss Lois Kibbee.

by Anonymousreply 76February 5, 2022 4:22 PM

Joel was looking a bit thin in the final days of EON. Had he already been diagnosed with lymphoma at that point, or was that the following year when he was on Santa Barbara?

by Anonymousreply 77February 5, 2022 4:25 PM

I think it was the following year R77

by Anonymousreply 78February 5, 2022 4:27 PM

Who cares if she was a licensed doctor she was one hell of an actress!

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by Anonymousreply 79February 5, 2022 5:38 PM

Oh my god...

I never really understood acting at all until I saw that.

by Anonymousreply 80February 5, 2022 6:15 PM

It's a pretty cool technique - I think it's called "Trying To Remember My Next Line....."

by Anonymousreply 81February 5, 2022 8:59 PM

I'm watching the 1897 storyline now and love it. It's amazing to think what they could get away with on TV back then. Especially the characters of Magda and Sandor. Actors using fake accents and heavy makeup to make their skin brown, using the word "gypsy" freely, the stereotypes like them being money hungry, one of only 2 black cast members ever on the show being mute and not even having his name in the credits...

Nowadays everyone involved in the show would be eaten alive. But I love it anyway. And Magda IS a great character. I love her attitude and how she doesn't take anybody's bullshit. She doesn't care what anybody thinks of her. She is who she is and you can either accept it or fuck off.

by Anonymousreply 82February 6, 2022 3:26 AM

My favorite storyline is the original Phoenix story. It's just so good. Diana Millay as Laura was a goddess.

by Anonymousreply 83February 6, 2022 3:55 AM

Laura the Phoenix was one of my faves, even though I still don't understand it. Did she want David as a sacrifice or was her goal to turn him into a Phoenix as well. I think that was the story that mellowed David.

by Anonymousreply 84February 6, 2022 4:18 AM

I looked at my diary to double-check. She only gave sedatives to 17 people. As a psychologist, she couldn't legally prescribe sedatives, but it appeared she was just sharing her own stash.

by Anonymousreply 85February 6, 2022 4:32 AM

^ Dr. Julia Feelgood.

by Anonymousreply 86February 6, 2022 5:39 AM

Joel Crothers set off my preteen gaydar.

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by Anonymousreply 87February 6, 2022 7:21 AM

[quote] In spite of how the set may have appeared, the mausoleum was built into Eagle Hill. That's why no one noticed all the extra square footage.

Mmm'k. But I don't recall anyone ever mentioning that when it was built in 1795. Plus I'm pretty sure the town would have noticed the excavation of a rock hill and the dynamite needed at that time.

Yes, I know, it's a show about time travel and vampires, but still... it needs to ground itself somewhere, such as with basic mundane matters.

by Anonymousreply 88February 6, 2022 2:24 PM

Everybody complains about Adam just disappearing with never any resolution to his story, but not me. I couldn't stand the fucker, no offense to Robert Rodan (R.I.P.) because I'm sure he was a nice man and did a good job playing him. But he was just so damn annoying so I was glad to see him go. Once we got him and the Vicki/Jeff Clark love story (which I didn't care about, especially not with the new Vickis) out of the way and got to the Quentin's ghost and 1897 storylines, the series was good as gold again.

by Anonymousreply 89February 6, 2022 2:33 PM

Agreed, Adam was a dud that just went on and on and on. And WTF was up with Carolyn who fell in love with a reanimated corpse with an autopsied face despite knowing he had killed Sam Evans and nearly killed her beloved Joe Haskell. The best part of the Adam story was sadly one of the shortest-lived. The actress who played Eve was an amazing bit of high camp: how she looked, how she spoke, never changing out of that black sheer negligee in wintertime Maine -- fantastic.

by Anonymousreply 90February 6, 2022 2:42 PM

What was the actual last thing we saw or heard about Adam Frankenstein?

by Anonymousreply 91February 6, 2022 3:58 PM

[quote]Mmm'k. But I don't recall anyone ever mentioning that when it was built in 1795. Plus I'm pretty sure the town would have noticed the excavation of a rock hill and the dynamite needed at that time.

It was built before 1795. It was built during the revolution to store ammunition and guns, etc. Barnabas explained that many, many times.

by Anonymousreply 92February 6, 2022 5:22 PM

Isnt 1795 the year they traveled back to, in the first time travel thing they did during a seance or something?

by Anonymousreply 93February 6, 2022 6:51 PM

Yes, the first time travel story was B's origin story which took them to 1795.

by Anonymousreply 94February 6, 2022 6:56 PM

"Dark Shadows" + sedative = 15,400 Google matches

"Dark Shadows" + sedative + "Dr. Julian Hoffman" = 34 Google matches

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by Anonymousreply 95February 6, 2022 7:03 PM

I used to get home from school like most people in here to watch the show. The one thing I hated about DS was some of the time travel shows just went on too long. I hated the Count Petofi storyline. Maybe the shows being 30 minutes with half of being commercials felt like it took too long. My favorite story was David and Amy getting possessed by Quentin. I loved me some Quentin. Also enjoyed Angelique putting Trask as a young man who was so handsome under her spell.

by Anonymousreply 96February 6, 2022 7:16 PM

R93, yes, and that was great, but the 1897 trip back in time is the peak of the series. It had every Gothic plot element imaginable: ghosts, Satanists, werewolves, cruel orphanages, magic portraits, gypsies, Lara the Phoenix, plus the psychedelic Victorian sets.

by Anonymousreply 97February 6, 2022 7:18 PM

I thought 1897 went on too long, but the show was getting some of it's biggest ratings during this time so they extended it.

The storyline that more or less killed show, The Leviathans, wasn't that bad. It just had the misfortune of following 1897.

by Anonymousreply 98February 6, 2022 7:20 PM

I loved 1795 and hated 1897 and anything involving Quentin and that music box or whatever it was. I quit watching - tried to return and they were so weird that last year. Barnabas had some other name, and got Lara Parker's character pregnant - I mean, really strange. And then poof, it was gone. This is back when soaps were never canceled and had gone on since the 1950s it seemed like - Guiding Light had been a radio soap opera before switching to television, so I was shocked and sad, because I was over my Quentin pout and wanted to get back to Jonathan and Lara etc.

by Anonymousreply 99February 6, 2022 7:41 PM

[quote] Barnabas had some other name, and got Lara Parker's character pregnant.

I think that story is referred to as the "Wuthering Heights" arc. As I recall, Frid had asked to play a different character other than Barnabas, so they came up with the Bramwell character for him.

Morgan had a hot ass, but he couldn't live forever.

by Anonymousreply 100February 6, 2022 8:27 PM

Jeremy Grimes was hotter.

by Anonymousreply 101February 6, 2022 8:29 PM

Its hysterical to think that's anyone would see Roger Collins as some sort of devil may care ladies man who had the ability to father a child.

by Anonymousreply 102February 6, 2022 10:19 PM

R91 He'd been shot by Barnabas and ran to Professor Stokes's house. Professor Stokes calls a doctor to come over and take care of him. They discuss his future including plastic surgery to remove his scars. Then Jeff Clark comes over so Stokes has Adam hide in a room. After he shuts himself in, that is the last we ever see of him.

by Anonymousreply 103February 6, 2022 11:11 PM

Seasons 1-6 are streaming on Amazon Prime

Where can I find the later seasons with Dr. Hoffman in all her glory?

by Anonymousreply 104February 6, 2022 11:26 PM

r104 Dark Shadows only aired from 1966 to 1971. That would be six seasons in total.

by Anonymousreply 105February 7, 2022 12:10 AM

That's not the way they have the Seasons divided on Amazon.

Season 1-6 are the black and white shows before Barnabas arrive

They call it "Dark Shadows: The Beginning".

by Anonymousreply 106February 7, 2022 12:49 AM

Dark Shadows was not a Prime Time series with regular seasons.

It was a soap opera with shows every weekday - it had hundreds of episodes each year.

I have no idea how they've divided up the Seasons.

by Anonymousreply 107February 7, 2022 12:55 AM

I love when Dr. Hoffman says,

"Here I have some sedatives for you and you can go to bed."

then she gives an injection and hands over a bottle full of pills.

by Anonymousreply 108February 7, 2022 12:57 AM

^ That woman was a walking pharmacy

by Anonymousreply 109February 7, 2022 12:58 AM

Did they ever have a clear night at Collingwood?

by Anonymousreply 110February 7, 2022 1:00 AM

R104, all seasons are available on Prime, but only the first six months are available without commercials.

by Anonymousreply 111February 7, 2022 1:10 AM

R107 They've divided up the "seasons" as they were sold on DVD. There were 6 DVD box sets titled "Dark Shadows: The Beginning" containing the episodes before Barnabas was introduced so they're divided into 6 seasons on streaming.

And then "Season 1" starts at episode 210 which was the episode where Barnabas first reaches his hand out of the coffin. There were 26 DVD box sets from that point until the end of the series, so they're put into 26 "seasons" on streaming of about 40 episodes each.

by Anonymousreply 112February 7, 2022 3:40 AM

[quote] It was built before 1795. It was built during the revolution to store ammunition and guns, etc. Barnabas explained that many, many times.

If you say so. I have absolutely no recollection of his saying anything like that and am actively watching the whole series now. Does it get mentioned after the Quentin ghost story?

by Anonymousreply 113February 7, 2022 12:40 PM

Go to 1:40 R113

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 114February 7, 2022 12:45 PM

Ok, thank you. I'm just starting the werewolf story with that delicious manbeast Don Briscoe, but I suspect this was addressed here for the first time because it previously hadn't made sense.

Also, just love Donny being so distraught and confused by not being able to remember his uncontrollable urges to assault men late at night in the woods...

by Anonymousreply 115February 7, 2022 12:52 PM

[quote]but I suspect this was addressed here for the first time because it previously hadn't made sense.

It was also discussed in the 1795 storyline.

by Anonymousreply 116February 7, 2022 1:03 PM

I always thought Tom Selleck stole his Magnum Look from Joel Crothers.

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by Anonymousreply 117February 7, 2022 3:55 PM

Gossip columnist Liz Smith in the New York Post commented on the resemblance between Selleck and Crothers way back in 1981, when she ran side-by-side photos of them and wrote:

[quote] "I suggest somebody rustle up a story about two brothers, or two guys who look too much alike, as a feature movie for [them]."

But really Selleck had that look at times prior to Magnum. He too started on daytime soaps, as he played "Jed Andrews" on Y&R. That was like 74-76. His character had a mustache sometimes, then at times, didn't. I think they even wrote a scene once where his love interest (Lorie Brooks) had something to with him shaving. I know they're the twosome who had the steamy "naked" shower scene behind the foggy glass. Daytime used to be more daring than primetime.

by Anonymousreply 118February 7, 2022 8:34 PM

The whole series is also on Tubi. Commercials but not tons of them.

by Anonymousreply 119February 8, 2022 8:31 AM

[quote] I always thought Tom Selleck stole his Magnum Look from Joel Crothers.

Oh honey, "the look" wasn't the only thing Tom took from Joel...

by Anonymousreply 120February 8, 2022 12:48 PM

R110 I think after the first season or two of Barnabas somebody must have said something. Then instead of a thunder and lightening storm every five episodes they cut it down to every two or three.

by Anonymousreply 121February 11, 2022 1:43 AM

The 1991 reboot is on hulu. ❤

by Anonymousreply 122February 11, 2022 2:05 AM

The first Sam Evans, Mark Allen, was a sexy daddy type. It's so odd that the actor everyone remembers as Sam Evans, David Ford, was married to Nancy Barrett. What an odd couple that was.

by Anonymousreply 123February 11, 2022 3:37 AM

Agreed about Mark Allen. I always found Ford annoying as hell with all this "actorly" acting. His marriage to Nancy does seem odd. Maybe a beard-needs-purse relationship? I have heard rumors about Nancy, although none about David Ford (thank God).

by Anonymousreply 124February 11, 2022 12:31 PM

Nancy said that she fell in love with Ford's talent. She thought he was such a skillful actor, and that's what attracted her to him.

by Anonymousreply 125February 11, 2022 2:34 PM

What the hell would Nancy Barrett know about acting?

by Anonymousreply 126February 11, 2022 5:22 PM

Nancy Barrett is a highly theatrical "look at me act" actress. That highly stylized type of acting worked perfectly on Dark Shadows, but really didn't really translate well to her other roles on The Doctors and especially on Ryan's Hope. She was pretty dreadful on RH. I think Marie Wallace was the best Dark Shadows actress. She too could be highly theatrical, but, unlike Nancy, she knew when to rein it in.

by Anonymousreply 127February 11, 2022 6:35 PM

I liked the idea that Joan Bennett wrote her lines on her hands so she could read them if she went up.

by Anonymousreply 128February 11, 2022 6:57 PM

So Dr. Hoffman was exposed as a person without a medical degree?

I didn't remember that.

by Anonymousreply 129February 11, 2022 7:17 PM

I've tried rewatching to capture the suspense, fear, and excitement I felt as a child.

I kept thinking if were able to find those particular episodes that it would all come back to me.

Unfortunately, it's just not the way I'd like to remember it. The shows are very brief; there are often multiple plots that strain credibility; the production values are so poor by today's standards.

Some of the actors do well with the material they have, but the scripts just aren't well written.

by Anonymousreply 130February 11, 2022 7:21 PM

R129, nor do I. That would be the one plot twist too far-fetched for Dark Shadows. If the mad doctors actually weren't really doctors, there would hardly be a point in going on. It would be like werewolves not existing.

by Anonymousreply 131February 11, 2022 8:14 PM

Mmmm, Quentin. I wanted to climb on top of him.

Why can't we have quaaludes? Give the people what they want, dammit.

by Anonymousreply 132February 11, 2022 8:19 PM

You have to wonder why someone like Lara Parker didn't go on to have a big career like Kate Jackson. And then you have someone like John Karlen of all people who goes on to prime time success. It's all so random.

by Anonymousreply 133February 11, 2022 8:48 PM

[quote] You have to wonder why someone like Lara Parker didn't go on to have a big career like Kate Jackson.

As much as we may love Lara, and think she’s pretty, she could never be one of Charlie’s Angels.

by Anonymousreply 134February 11, 2022 9:28 PM

So who had successful post-DS careers? Anyone besides Kate Jackson, David Selby, Donna McKechnie, and John Karlen? Of those, Kate is the only real household name.

by Anonymousreply 135February 11, 2022 10:09 PM

Does Harvey Keitel count? .. lol

by Anonymousreply 136February 11, 2022 10:35 PM

[quote] I liked the idea that Joan Bennett wrote her lines on her hands so she could read them if she went up.

I can't explain why, but there is just something so incredibly endearing about Joan Bennett on DS. Like a favorite old kooky aunt. I'm sorry that as the show progressed she was on it less and less. I especially liked her chemistry with Edmonds and Moltke.

by Anonymousreply 137February 12, 2022 1:51 PM

[quote] So who had successful post-DS careers? Anyone besides Kate Jackson, David Selby, Donna McKechnie, and John Karlen? Of those, Kate is the only real household name.

These actors went on to well-known TV/film roles after DS. They're names are recognizable to me without researching.

Conrad Bain

Roger Davis

Denise Nickerson

Dana Elcar

Geoffrey Scott

Abe Vigoda

Elizabeth Wilson

Kenneth McMillan

Gail Strickland

Barnard Hughes

Dolph Sweet

Marsha Mason

Joel Fabiani

Keene Curtis

Florence Stanley

Alice Drummond

David Groh

Susan Sullivan

Ed Lauter

Frederic Forrest

George DiCenzo

And of course Harvey Keitel as referenced by R136

by Anonymousreply 138February 12, 2022 2:06 PM

Joan Bennett was the emotional center of Dark Shadows. As Liz, she was in charge -- not afraid of Burke Devlin or anyone. When they made her a victim, it was strangely disturbing. Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters was very, very good while she was the "Nancy Drew" type character. When they made her a victim, she became less interesting both to us and the actress. The first year of Dark Shadows was incredibly, painfully slow, but it had its benefits, including a sexy, unpredictable Burke Devlin and a very wicked Laura Collins. The show had an atmosphere that was very appealing in the pre-Barnabas days.

by Anonymousreply 139February 12, 2022 2:07 PM

Of all the main characters, I think Carolyn Collins was the worst written. She was written to be whatever that day needed her to be. No wonder Nancy Barrett took to histrionics, she had nothing else to work with or build on.

by Anonymousreply 140February 12, 2022 2:11 PM

[quote] As Liz, she was in charge -- not afraid of Burke Devlin or anyone.

Strangely, and annoyingly, she did seem quite frightened of Jason McGuire. I guess it was the guilt that consumed her, but she let that man abuse her financially, emotionally, and socially. The Liz I thought I knew would have had him dispatched with much sooner.

by Anonymousreply 141February 12, 2022 2:15 PM

Barrett said she auditioned for Victoria but wasn't chosen - and then they wrote in the character Carolyn for her? Lousy character, it's true.

I've read that DS was about to be canceled until Barnabas - and then Kathy Scott's character Maggie took center stage, over and above Vicky, who the whole shebang was supposedly about.

anyway, soaps have to evolve, and that's a helluva lot of writing to do, year in year out. They never tied up the huge loose end of why Liz knew Vicky in the orphanage lol. Joan brought it up in an interview - about their resemblance and was it an abandoned baby from the past - well, we'll never find out.

by Anonymousreply 142February 12, 2022 2:47 PM

One of the things that I always note about Dark Shadows is how beautiful Joan Bennett, even on the harsh lights and conditions of daytime TV. She was just gorgeous.

In my opinion the Carolyn character, in the original series, was restricted by the limits of the standards and practices of that time. I imagine that the character was written to be a big slut and party girl, but they could completely go there in late 60s daytime TV. So pre Barn, she was spoiled rich girl looking for something more and then post Barn she was all over the place.

In previous versions of the show they cleaned up Victoria's story and just made her Josette's reincarnation, which works. But in the original, it is a shame they couldn't have finished her story.

And Mitch Ryan was such a better Burke.

by Anonymousreply 143February 12, 2022 2:48 PM

Didn't Ryan just not show up for work one day because he was drunk, hungover, passed out or whatever - so they fired him that very day?

by Anonymousreply 144February 12, 2022 2:52 PM

Wonder if they decided Moltke wasn't up to the Josette story - sort of reserved, well, dull.- while Maggie the waitress had the spark they thought they needed for the Josette story, which I don't think they intended from the beginning of the series anyway. Again, soaps were even more a seat-of-the-pants thing back then. They only had the main camera for an hour or so per day so that's why they left so many gaffes in. One dress rehearsal - get the camera - and it was like 'live' tv.

by Anonymousreply 145February 12, 2022 2:55 PM

Louis Edmonds thought he was done for the episode, was undressing, and got the call that he had another scene - so he filmed in his underpants from behind a sofa.

Those were the days.

by Anonymousreply 146February 12, 2022 2:57 PM

[quote]Wonder if they decided Moltke wasn't up to the Josette story - sort of reserved, well, dull.

My guess is, they didn't even think about it because Victoria was part "audience" and part narrator and it would have been tough to add another role on top of all that. Plus these shows were live to tape back then and it would have been difficult for Moltke to play both Vicky and Josette. Maggie really had nothing else to do.

by Anonymousreply 147February 12, 2022 3:06 PM

Good points R147. I forgot that it was actually Victoria who was sent back to 1795 and was a governess headed to Collinwood and the carriage turned over or something like that - so Victoria couldn't remember what happened on her way there. So it was a reboot of the original story of a mystery (of her showing up). Or maybe some other woman was supposed to show up but it was our Vicky instead?

Has anybody watched those early 1795 episodes - I forgot how they segued to the past.

by Anonymousreply 148February 12, 2022 3:34 PM

Victoria changed places with Phyllis Wick. Phyllis was the original governess. During a seance in 1967, some magical/voodoo stuff happened and Vicky and Phyllis changed places during the seance.

I am assuming that everything that happened to Vicky in 1795, originally happened to Phyllis.

The thing about that whole 1795 story is that time sort of stopped in the present and to the people at the seance Vicky was only gone for a few minutes.

I think Julia got her new butch haircut right after the 1795 story ended.

by Anonymousreply 149February 12, 2022 3:43 PM

I believe Katherine Lee Scott has written about this. I think the plan originally was to have Victoria play Josette--and narratively it makes more sense.

by Anonymousreply 150February 12, 2022 4:05 PM

OP here. I am really tempted to go back to Dr. Hoffman's first episode and start counting how many people she drugged. I might also count how many times people were told to get some rest, that they needed to rest, that they should get some rest, need to get some sleep, etc Dr. Hoffman should have a story arc on GH.

by Anonymousreply 151February 12, 2022 4:05 PM

Also, the original plan was for Victoria Winters to discover that she was Elizabeth Stoddard's daughter. But that got scuttled as well.

by Anonymousreply 152February 12, 2022 4:05 PM

Actually that wasn't the originally plan. According to "Shadows on the Wall" the show's original bible. Vicky was the bastard child of Paul Stoddard and some local woman (I'm assuming that was what the Betty Hanscomb painting story was leading towards).

Of course, the better story would have been Elizabeth was Victoria's mother.

by Anonymousreply 153February 12, 2022 4:19 PM

And I clearly rememer Joan Bennett mentioning how she and Alexandra resembled each other and she thought that would play a part in the unfolding story (her being Vicky's mother probably or at least a biological relative). Maybe she didn't remember (or even know about) the show's original bible in that interview.

by Anonymousreply 154February 12, 2022 4:53 PM

Were there any gay actors on this show?

by Anonymousreply 155February 12, 2022 4:56 PM

Were there any white actors on this show?

by Anonymousreply 156February 12, 2022 4:57 PM

Was there ever any snow in any of the scenes?

by Anonymousreply 157February 12, 2022 4:58 PM

Louis was a hot daddy. Yum.

by Anonymousreply 158February 12, 2022 5:50 PM

Louis was attractive, but I wouldn't think of him as a daddy so much as a dandy.

by Anonymousreply 159February 12, 2022 6:07 PM

Why did The Blue Whale's jukebox only have two songs?

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 160February 12, 2022 6:37 PM

and this:

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by Anonymousreply 161February 12, 2022 6:38 PM

I read that Louis Edmonds and Diana Millay were an item for a while. Supposedly, it was instant heat when they first met.

by Anonymousreply 162February 12, 2022 6:51 PM

R162 I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not, but if not, I find it hard to believe Louis Edmonds would have a fling with any woman. With all the ghosts, witches, warlocks, werewolves, vampires, time traveling, etc., that went on during Dark Shadows, Roger marrying 2 different women (and having a kid with one of them) seemed the most unbelievable part.

by Anonymousreply 163February 12, 2022 6:55 PM

I think Roger wanted to fuck Mitch Ryan's Burke.

by Anonymousreply 164February 12, 2022 7:18 PM

I think Aristede wanted Quentin and the Hand of Count Petofi deep inside him.

by Anonymousreply 165February 12, 2022 7:43 PM

Were Philip and Megan Todd a lavender marriage?

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by Anonymousreply 166February 12, 2022 7:49 PM

Collinsport was near Bar Harbor, R45.

Trask was just too creepy, but the modern episodes with Jerry Lacy as the butler... hubba hubba!

The straight actor playing Nicholas Blair managed Mach 5 bitch mode in front of the camera!

I'm not an ass man generally, but Don Briscoe proved an exciting exception!

FWIW, I got the impression Dr. Laing was sexually abusing Jeff Clark.

by Anonymousreply 167February 12, 2022 8:05 PM

Nicholas Blair wins the Don Knotts Award for most awkward "heterosexual" on TV for 1968. He had some truly stiff competition on this show alone.

Come to think of it, Roger seemed very eager to keep confirmed bachelor Nicholas living at Collinwood...

by Anonymousreply 168February 12, 2022 8:19 PM

I think Humbert Allen Astredo was at the very least bi. I can swear that being confirmed somewhere. He was an excellent stage actor...just so hammy and OTT.

by Anonymousreply 169February 12, 2022 8:51 PM

Jeff Clark was the one who was robbing graves to get body parts for Dr. Lang. I wonder what size cock he was able to dig up for Dr. Lang in piecing together Adam. Adam/Robert Rodan had BDF for days, so I hope he got a big one. I feel that Nicholas and Professor Stokes both wanted to fuck Adam.

by Anonymousreply 170February 12, 2022 8:54 PM

R165 I did have a feeling that Count Petofi may have kept Aristede around to fulfill duties as a servant in more ways than one. Everything about Aristede seemed gay from his obsession with fashion and his appearance, his sassy attitude, and mannerisms. Yet he still tried to flirt with every woman on the show.

I also definitely got gay vibes from Roger. I felt his first marriage to Laura was because it was what he was "supposed" to do. He was under a spell during his marriage to Cassandra/Angelique so it doesn't count. But his obsession with Burke struck me as sexual and in my mind, he would've come out later in life. For that matter, David's obsession with Burke in the early days of the show struck me as a childhood crush as well, especially when he stole the picture of Burke from his hotel room because he "just wanted to look at it." But then I guess he moved on because the character didn't seem so gay later on.

The only other character I can think of who really seemed gay was Professor Stokes. I think it is the reason he never married or had kids. Quentin sort of struck me as the wild type who would try anything once and may have fooled around with a guy, but wasn't truly gay.

by Anonymousreply 171February 12, 2022 9:24 PM

[quote] I also definitely got gay vibes from Roger.

Do tell!

by Anonymousreply 172February 12, 2022 9:34 PM

One part of the show that irritated me was Elizabeth's obsession with death and being buried alive. I know it was part of a curse, but then Angelique/Cassandra was destroyed (and later brought back as a vampire but that's beside the point) yet the curse still went on. I felt it should've ended the moment of Angelique's destruction but I guess the writers were determined to get her into that coffin at some point.

by Anonymousreply 173February 12, 2022 9:40 PM

I could be wrong, but I thought the reason for Liz in coffin was because Joan was either on extended leave or filming a movie.

by Anonymousreply 174February 12, 2022 9:44 PM

Of the two.....I would guess extended leave.

by Anonymousreply 175February 12, 2022 9:48 PM

[quote]I think Julia got her new butch haircut right after the 1795 story ended.

While the séance transported Vicky to 1795 and back,

Dr. Julia was transported to a lesbian bar in the Village

by Anonymousreply 176February 12, 2022 11:25 PM

I loved vampire slut Carolyn. She was a hoot conspiring with Barnabas, trying to seduce Julia's lawyer Tony Peterson, her bitchy exchanges with Julia.

by Anonymousreply 177February 12, 2022 11:32 PM

Nancy got to stretch her acting skills when she played Charity Trask possessed by Pansy Faye.

by Anonymousreply 178February 13, 2022 1:01 AM

[quote] I also definitely got gay vibes from Roger.

Was it the bitchy snark or his taffeta dressing down that gave him away?

by Anonymousreply 179February 13, 2022 7:51 PM

[quote] I loved vampire slut Carolyn.

Why? Just because she was DTF cousin Barnabas? All those Collins freaks were inbred...

by Anonymousreply 180February 13, 2022 8:10 PM

The show made quick dispatch of boyfriends, sometimes during a commercial break:

Adam, Burke Devlin, Buzz Hackett, Frank Garner, Jason McGuire, Jeremiah Collins, Nathan Forbes, Nicholas Blair, Tony Peterson. Even Joe Haskell who was hot and heavy with both Carolyn and Maggie would simply disappear for stretches on time without explanation. And of course there's Jeff Clark who literally disappeared right in front of Vicky on their honeymoon.

by Anonymousreply 181February 13, 2022 8:25 PM

I miss Captain Quaalude and Prince Valium. Good times.

by Anonymousreply 182February 13, 2022 9:06 PM

I wonder if Grayson's scarves also came from Orbach's?

by Anonymousreply 183February 13, 2022 10:56 PM

[quote]Why? Just because she was DTF cousin Barnabas? All those Collins freaks were inbred...

Hence Roger Collins line, as he pointed to the Collins family cemetery,

"Yonder lie the bodies of my incestors."

by Anonymousreply 184February 14, 2022 2:03 AM

The best episode ever was when they had Joe Haskell passed out from Angelique's vampire bite, and Julia proceeded to cut Joe's shirt open to treat him, thereby exposing Crothers' delicious chest.

As I recall Barnabas mumbles something like, "Is that really necessary, Julia?"

He was probably afraid of getting too aroused at the sight of Joe's treasure trail.

I'm guessing Standards & Practices wouldn't allow him to bite another guy?

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 185February 14, 2022 2:36 AM

Correct - biting another guy violates NO HOMO.

by Anonymousreply 186February 14, 2022 3:00 AM

I think Barnabas could bite guys, but only on the wrist - as he did with Willie. No neck action for the guys from Barn.

by Anonymousreply 187February 14, 2022 3:18 AM

I'm watching the 1897 storyline now. Istvan sure was sexy with his huge, muscled body and nice, big ass. I assume the actor's name wasn't in the credits because he had his tongue cut out and couldn't speak? But since the character did have a name and made noises to react to things, I think he should've been credited.

But now thanks to the Internet, we know it was Henry Judd Baker. He also starred in Seizure (Oliver Stone's wildly bizarre directorial debut) along with Barnabas himself, Jonathan Frid, as well as Mary Woronov, Martine Beswick, and Herve Villechaize. And also William Friedkin's notorious film, Cruising.

by Anonymousreply 188February 14, 2022 4:54 AM

And here's a photo for the curious.

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by Anonymousreply 189February 14, 2022 1:10 PM

If I had a top ten moments list first would be when Vicky gets thrown back in time and another would be when Trask appears again in 1897 and the look on Barnabas' face and how he says, "Trask!"

by Anonymousreply 190February 15, 2022 3:07 AM

One of the best moments is Dr. Lang's death by voodoo. Addison Powell's performance in this scene is probably the most laughably bad piece of acting ever on DS, and that says a ton. He really gets going at the 3:20 mark.

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by Anonymousreply 191February 15, 2022 3:14 AM

I think Angelique frightened me the most of all the characters when I watched DS as a child.

I'm not sure why - maybe it was because Barnabas was afraid of her and she sometimes seemed more powerful than he was.

And her eyes glowed when she was really angry...

by Anonymousreply 192February 15, 2022 3:39 AM

I never felt sorry for Barnabas because he truly brought it all on himself. He fucked Angelique and thought he could just walk away from her. But she showed him.

by Anonymousreply 193February 15, 2022 3:53 AM

Angelique scared me as well back then.

For all the hype, Quentin was only briefly a werewolf, over not long after it started.

by Anonymousreply 194February 15, 2022 6:04 AM

The scene when Cousin Abigail discovers Barnabas's coffin and he then *has* to kill her. When he finally grabs her by the throat, she has a heart-attack and dies in his grip. It's really a great scene.

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by Anonymousreply 195February 15, 2022 1:24 PM

The scene when Barnabas walls Trask up, burying him alive, is a highlight of the whole show.

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by Anonymousreply 196February 15, 2022 2:09 PM

Barnabas and Burke wanted to fuck. This scene is incredibly homoerotic. Both actors were gay.

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by Anonymousreply 197February 15, 2022 4:34 PM

I always loved the blooper reels. My favorite was when Lara Parker as Angelique was doing a great monologue in her room and the script was open on the bed behind her.

by Anonymousreply 198February 15, 2022 4:40 PM

OMG, R197! That scene has grudge fuck written all over it. Those lines are loaded with gay double entendres, one after another!

by Anonymousreply 199February 15, 2022 6:36 PM

When I was a little child, I made a set of I Ching wands to travel into the past, but they didn't work.

by Anonymousreply 200February 16, 2022 2:58 AM

Looks like it's working now, R200. You traveled back 50 years...

by Anonymousreply 201February 16, 2022 12:47 PM

Clarice Blackburn played spinster cunt so well. She was born to play that type of character.

by Anonymousreply 202February 16, 2022 12:57 PM

Yes, R202, but I used to boggle at that wig they put on her when she played the housekeeper. It was so obviously fake. Couldn't they afford better?

by Anonymousreply 203February 16, 2022 6:31 PM

It wasn't a wig it was character development.

by Anonymousreply 204February 16, 2022 6:40 PM

Mrs. Johnson's wig was a riot. How about her flames-from-space loser son Harry? Actor Craig Slocum had to have been one of the homeliest men on earth, and his swishing his way through Collingwood was hysterical.

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by Anonymousreply 205February 16, 2022 6:53 PM

Cheryl loved Craig Slocum so much.

I thought he was hot too.

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by Anonymousreply 206February 16, 2022 7:12 PM

^Does Cheryl work here? With Ginny in Billing?

by Anonymousreply 207February 16, 2022 7:29 PM

Craig Slocum was unfortunate looking, and flaming as hell. He made Louis Edmonds look like a sports-loving pussy hound.

by Anonymousreply 208February 16, 2022 7:54 PM

Has anyone purchased the complete DVD set of the series? I'd like to get it but I don't know if I want to sink $400 into it. I just hate commercials and the only places streaming the show are all with ads.

by Anonymousreply 209February 16, 2022 8:24 PM

[quote] Has anyone purchased the complete DVD set of the series?

Yes, I have the complete DVD set that came in a coffin shaped box.

by Anonymousreply 210February 16, 2022 8:30 PM

It was only $280 when I bought it in 2012.

by Anonymousreply 211February 16, 2022 8:33 PM

If you watch it on Amazon, it streams without commercials.

The early years are free - you can buy each subsequent season for about $29.

by Anonymousreply 212February 16, 2022 8:39 PM

I started watching the show on Prime in early 2018 from the pre-Barnabas years. I watched on and off for a year and made it through 475 episodes and then wound up getting tired of it. I'd like to go back, but I can't remember what was happening when I left off. i vaguely remember what happened in the 1795 time travel storyline, but after that, I have completely forgotten.

by Anonymousreply 213February 16, 2022 8:52 PM

MPI also put together its own streaming service exclusively for Dark Shadows if you prefer it.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 214February 16, 2022 11:11 PM

[quote] How about her flames-from-space loser son Harry? Actor Craig Slocum had to have been one of the homeliest men on earth, and his swishing his way through Collingwood was hysterical.

R205 - I was laughing out loud when Mrs. Johnson told Harry not to bring any of his "prison friends" over to live with him at Collingwood to which he protested because they were so close.

I swear that whole show was written in code.

by Anonymousreply 215February 16, 2022 11:20 PM

R33 Just wait until you watch more of the show and realize just how many bodies are buried out there in the woods between Collinwood and the Old House.

by Anonymousreply 216February 16, 2022 11:25 PM

What happened to Harry? Did Nicholas Blair kill him during the whole Adam storyline, or did he just disappear from the canvas?

by Anonymousreply 217February 16, 2022 11:43 PM

R217 He was replaced with another actor for one episode and then disappeared never to be mentioned again.

by Anonymousreply 218February 16, 2022 11:49 PM

Clarice Blackburn, who played Mrs. Johnson, was an accomplished stage actress when she joined the cast. She later got into soap writing and was on the writing staff of All My Children for many years.

by Anonymousreply 219February 16, 2022 11:56 PM

I just loved Harry's voice and how he talked

by Anonymousreply 220February 17, 2022 6:04 AM

[quote] MPI also put together its own streaming service exclusively for Dark Shadows if you prefer it.

Thank you. I did not know that existed. Frustratingly, it does not allow you to view on television easily. The Vimeo OTT channel has been removed from Roku (and everywhere else) and MPI does not seem to have their own channel/app for the show outside of serving it through VHX.TV (Vimeo OTT). I can cast it to my Apple TV, but then I have to keep my laptop open and awake the entire time I'm watching. I would have happily paid for the service otherwise. I guess I'm stuck with commercials. I appreciate your help, though!

by Anonymousreply 221February 17, 2022 6:37 AM

Free Barnabadass for all!!!

by Anonymousreply 222February 18, 2022 5:53 PM

I started rewatching from the pre-Barnabas era so I could swoon over Joel Crothers. I've never seen a show where absolutely nothing happens fly by so quickly. I made it through 32 episodes as if they were a minute each.

God, that kid is so annoying. I love that his father hates him. I would have beaten the shit out of him.

by Anonymousreply 223February 20, 2022 11:39 PM

@R223 - Well, it is difficult being a child growing up alone in a spooky 100 year old mansion with an absent mother, a closeted father. and a nanny who spends half the day fixing her massive hair and won't shut up about being an orphan.

by Anonymousreply 224February 20, 2022 11:55 PM

I don't think there was an episode of DS where at least one gay male didn't appear.

by Anonymousreply 225February 21, 2022 12:35 AM

When do they poison the kid?

by Anonymousreply 226February 22, 2022 5:12 AM

Holy shit, you all weren't kidding. David Collins is such a little Mary in training.

by Anonymousreply 227February 27, 2022 4:49 AM

Yes he was, but shockingly the actor appears to be hetero. I always assumed David's flaming tendencies came from his mother Laura's side...

by Anonymousreply 228February 27, 2022 10:32 PM

The only times David struck me as particularly gay is during his Burke Devlin obsessed era. There were scenes where he argued with Carolyn regarding Burke and it sounded like they were arguing over a lover. Carolyn said something like "You leave Burke out of this." Then David responded "How CAN you leave Burke out of this? He's the most important thing there is!" Then there was the time he sneaked the picture of Burke out of Burke's hotel room because he "just wanted to look at it." It struck me as a childhood crush.

by Anonymousreply 229February 28, 2022 2:13 AM

Every time he goes into one of his "You all HATE me! You're all AGAINST me!" tantrums, I think- save it for the stage, Charles Nelson Reilly, you can't outcamp the other raging homos in the cast.

by Anonymousreply 230February 28, 2022 2:33 AM

It seemed in the first year that they were leading up to a reveal that David was Burke's son, but the quick wrap-up of the Laura story because of the pregnancy of the actress may have put the kibosh on that. (They would have had the problem of no Collins heir!)

by Anonymousreply 231February 28, 2022 2:47 AM

They dropped a LOT of plot starters, most especially the mysterious reason Vicki was brought to Collinwood in the first place.

by Anonymousreply 232February 28, 2022 2:54 AM

Also not long after Diana Millay left, they recast Burke with swishy Anthony George. I think he and Millay would've come off as fag and hag, rather than former lovers.

by Anonymousreply 233February 28, 2022 2:54 AM

Roger questioned whether or not he was David's father throughout the entire first season, but Elizabeth would hear nothing of it. I think they intentionally left it vague, but then essentially answered the question as David had a striking resemblance to several of his own ancestors. 😎

by Anonymousreply 234February 28, 2022 2:55 AM

I found the Laura Collins story dragged on interminably. Millay got on my nerves, and the plot holes in that story were bigger than the craters on Millay's cheeks.

by Anonymousreply 235February 28, 2022 2:56 AM

And I believe the ratings were really horrible until Barnabas showed up.

by Anonymousreply 236February 28, 2022 6:31 AM

Yes, they were about to cancel it (or on the bubble, as they say) when they brought Barnabas on for a very short stint. He turned the ratings around, which says they must not have been that terrible because if they weren't building Barnabas up that much and it just happened that he caught on, there had to be enough people watching to help spread the word.

The show has periods where it flies by and periods where it feels like it drones on endlessly. What's odd (and perhaps this is the nature of a 30 min soap as opposed to a 60 min one) is that DS had a very hard time toggling between storylines. In a normal soap you might have (at least) 4-5 different current storylines featuring a totally different set of characters each. Some episodes would contain some of those storylines, then the next day we might hear from one of those storylines. The point being is there was a lot to watch so that if you weren't terribly involved in one story, you might like another.

With Dark Shadows, it was one storyline and it continued through each daily episode until it concluded. So if Laura Collins' Phoenix storyline bored the shit out of you, you were stuck with it until they wrapped it up. (And that could be months.)

Dark Shadows also had a relatively small cast (for a soap) and seemed to be very hesitant to bring on new regulars. The first 210 episodes had the same core group of regular characters with the exception of the maid, who joined mid-way through the first year and stuck around. You would get several month-long contract players, some who stuck around a little longer, but for that first year it was very much the core group of Vicki, Carolyn, Elizabeth, Roger, Burke, Joe, Sam, Maggie and David. And five of them lived in the same house so you always saw them together.

by Anonymousreply 237February 28, 2022 6:49 AM

The ratings budged a little during the Phoenix storyline. That's when Dan Curtis figured going full-on supernatural could save the show, thus the introduction of the Barnabas storyline, which took off like a rocket. Also, the Phoenix storyline must've been somewhat successful, or they never would've revisited it a couple of years later in the 1896 time travel storyline, when the show was peaking in popularity.

I think the lack of multiple storylines was tied to the severely limited budget, which restricted them to using only 5-6 actors per day. I think the one storyline template worked, since it allowed the stories to develop momentum and to build on the suspense.

by Anonymousreply 238February 28, 2022 2:24 PM

While most soaps at the time were doing A-B-C storytelling. DS stuck with one big umbrella story and subplots offshooting from that big umbrella story.

by Anonymousreply 239February 28, 2022 2:32 PM

There were a couple times they tried multiple storylines going on at once. One episode would be about Barnabas kidnapping Maggie, the next would be Jason blackmailing Elizabeth and forcing her into a marriage. Then they'd have the Adam and Eve storyline with an episode about Elizabeth's fear of being buried alive mixed in here and there. And the Vicki and Jeff Clark/Peter Bradford love story mixed in with Quentin and Beth's haunting of the children.

The problem was, I always ended up preferring one storyline of the other. So when they took a break to talk about the other for a while, it was always kind of a drag for me.

by Anonymousreply 240February 28, 2022 2:34 PM

Don't forget too that their main audience at its height of popularity was tweens and teens, so the one-storyline template worked best for this audience, which had the attention span of a gnat.

by Anonymousreply 241February 28, 2022 2:39 PM

Oh man, the Jason McGuire storyline was tedious as fuck. But it was the last one before Barnabas came and changed the game.

by Anonymousreply 242February 28, 2022 4:15 PM

Kathryn Leigh Scott wrote in one of her books that when they were filming the movie version of the show, everyone was bitching about money.

David looked at Dan Curtis and said: "I don't need this shit, I can always go back to high school."

by Anonymousreply 243March 2, 2022 3:11 PM

R243 Both KLS and David Henesey left Dark Shadows about 6 months before it ended.

by Anonymousreply 244March 2, 2022 8:46 PM

Between Bennett, Edmonds, Hall, Ford and Frid fumphering around for their lines, it's a wonder they got any story lines finished.

by Anonymousreply 245March 2, 2022 9:26 PM

David Ford was evidently a respected stage actor, but he was just awful on DS. He went up on his lines all the time and was constantly looking at cue cards. Edmonds and Frid were similar, but they were skillful enough to convey the proper emotion and nail down the scene even if they fumbled their lines, whereas Ford was not. Joan was comically amateurish in many of her scenes, and seemed constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It was fun to watch in that regard.

by Anonymousreply 246March 2, 2022 10:13 PM

Actually R244 both KLS and David Henesy were in the cast of the 1970 movie House of Dark Shadows.....actually.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 247March 2, 2022 10:45 PM

David Selby, yum. Falcon Crest is now streamable on imdb! All nine seasons! Someone start a thread about that!

by Anonymousreply 248March 2, 2022 10:55 PM

R248 - What about Knots Landing? Christ, Peyton Place can be streamed and that show was 60 years ago!

by Anonymousreply 249March 3, 2022 12:19 PM

I just got to the first appearance of Sarah Collins. Did they actually hire a semi-retarded little girl? I've seen better acting in early John Waters films.

by Anonymousreply 250March 3, 2022 6:04 PM

The little girl playing Sarah was no worse than most of the adult actors. I mean, it's not as though Dan Curtis recruited individuals with RADA training.

by Anonymousreply 251March 3, 2022 6:14 PM

Oh, there were definitely degrees of awfulness on the show (and even some decent performances on the whole, considering the material). Nancy Barrett was quite good, never flubbed her lines, and understood her character, even when they wrote her as a petulant 14 year old. Joel Crothers was good, also, especially when they gave him a different character to play other than dull, dull, dull Joe Haskell. John Karlen was incredibly good as Willie (thank god they fired that first moron they hired to play the role), and Mitchell Ryan, when he could get his lines out properly, was good, as well.

by Anonymousreply 252March 3, 2022 6:21 PM

The various incarnations of Stokeses, plus Count Petofi and Sandor, were my favorite male characters. Angelique was my favorite female character, because her magic always made things interesting.

by Anonymousreply 253March 3, 2022 6:34 PM

Thayer David was a fantastic actor. He, Frid, and Hall had terrific chemistry together.

by Anonymousreply 254March 3, 2022 6:47 PM

But Thayer was HORRIBLE as Matthew, the caretaker, in the early episodes.

by Anonymousreply 255March 3, 2022 6:49 PM

OMG, file this under how people used to look so old. I see that Thayer David was only in his early forties during the run of DS. That’s incredible. He looked like he was in his 60s.

by Anonymousreply 256March 3, 2022 6:57 PM

When he played Matthew, they greyed his hair to make him look like he was in his 60s and it was so cheap and ridiculous looking, it reminded me of 1980s high school plays.

by Anonymousreply 257March 3, 2022 6:59 PM

He could pass for mid 40s as Ben in the 1795 episodes, but he looked at least 15-20 years older when he played Prof. Stokes in the present day. He and Hall were a fucking riot as Sandor and Magda, but it so politically incorrect, there's no way they would've gotten away with that today.

by Anonymousreply 258March 3, 2022 7:03 PM

Thayer David's characters were all so very different. I found that with a lot of the other actors, they were just playing the same type of character as before, only with a different name. But Timothy Stokes (the regular and Parallel Time versions), Ben Stokes, Matthew Morgan, Sandor Rakosi, and Count Petofi were nothing alike. Rich or poor, good or evil, uneducated or scholarly, he could do any kind of character and make it seem effortless.

by Anonymousreply 259March 3, 2022 7:14 PM

I love Clarice Blackburn, they had her playing the same nosy, sanctimonious character. I think she played three in total: Mrs. Johnson in present day, Abigail in 1795, and Minerva in 1897.

by Anonymousreply 260March 3, 2022 8:34 PM

Yes, Clarice was also very good.

I just got to the early Dr. Hoffman episodes. Man, Grayson Hall stunk up the joint right out of the gate, didn't she.

by Anonymousreply 261March 4, 2022 4:47 AM

How was Julia able to extend her rent-free stay at Collingwood permanently after she revealed that she was a doctor, and not an historian doing research on the Collins family?

by Anonymousreply 262March 4, 2022 4:51 AM

[quote]Grayson Hall stunk up the joint right out of the gate, didn't she.

You know, we put up with a lot here on the Datalounge, but this coming for Grayson Hall just will not stand. The woman was a goddess.

by Anonymousreply 263March 4, 2022 4:53 AM

Jonathan Frid was an enigma. He was constantly flubbing his lines, but his character just mesmorized the audience. Angelique was a fantastic addition to the show.

What were your favorite moments of the show? Mine was the climax of the original flashback storyline , where Barnabas walled up Reverend Trask, the confrotation with Nathan Forbes and the hanging of Victoria Winters. For a show that often dragged, they wrapped things up neatly.

by Anonymousreply 264March 4, 2022 5:03 AM

I was utterly delighted with the 1795 storyline. I started watching the show when it first appeared on Amazon Prime a few years back and I got as far as Roger marrying Cassandra (which was about a dozen episodes after the end of the 1795 storyline). And then I needed a break from watching the show and for some reason, I never went back.

I remembered some things about what I'd watched but it had been a few years so I decided to start over. So far, I've been breezing through it. It's one of those things I can have on in the b/g while I'm doing something else, and still be able to keep up with it.

The 1795 story line was the first thing the show really got right. When I first got into it, I worried they were going completely off the rails, but it really was a smart move. I know they go back in time again, but I haven't seen those episodes, so I hope they don't go to the well once too many times.

I'm at the point where Anthony George took over as Burke. I loved Mitchell Ryan, flubs and all, and he was perfect casting. Anthony George is a decade older (and looks it), is profoundly dull and unsexy, and his gayness renders the character a total cipher. I remember being so excited to finally see Burke and Victoria get together, and the casting of George just ruined it.

by Anonymousreply 265March 4, 2022 5:14 AM

[quote]What were your favorite moments of the show?

Josette leaping off the cliff to her death

The creepiness of Quentin Collins and Beth Chavez calling up David and Amy on the toy telephone to control them

Any time Roger flounced around looking haughty in his ascots

Any time Angelique mesmerized someone

by Anonymousreply 266March 4, 2022 5:29 AM

Could someone clear something up for me? The final storyline is the Cursed Room Lottery, and I remember they ended the show just after they had the lottery. I was so terrified as a child that one of the younger women would lose the lottery (Maggie? Carolyn?) would lose the lottery, but I can't remember who actually did lost it... was it Dr. Hoffman?

I also seem to remember we never did see what happened when the loser had to spend the night in the Cursed Room, because the show was canceled first.

by Anonymousreply 267March 4, 2022 5:35 AM

I liked Josette’s Theme and Quentin’s Theme. In storylines, I liked the Dream Curse.

by Anonymousreply 268March 4, 2022 7:06 AM

[quote]What were your favorite moments of the show?

I general liked the entire show, even the Leviathan Story. But I'm weird, because my favorite time of the show is the pre-Barnabas episodes. It was so film noir/gothic. Elizabeth being all gloomy and mysterious. Roger mincing around like Waldo Lydecker trying to be sinister. Burke's anger and making everyone in town wet with his sexual energy. Little bad seed David, damaged and deadly. Bratty Carolyn and honest, but sexually frustrated Joe. And poor, dumb Victoria. It was so much fun and so different than other soaps.

by Anonymousreply 269March 4, 2022 12:19 PM

[quote] How was Julia able to extend her rent-free stay at Collingwood permanently after she revealed that she was a doctor, and not an historian doing research on the Collins family?

She provided relief for Mrs. Johnson in keeping Elizabeth moist at night.

by Anonymousreply 270March 4, 2022 12:22 PM

The 1795 was amazingly satisfying. Unlike most soap stories, it had a beginning, a middle, and an end. The climax was exhilarating, with Vicki suddenly swept back into 1968 just as she was being hanged in 1795. They used the character of Angelique brilliantly, and they hardly left anyone alive by the end of 1795. It was great, imaginative storytelling about characters -- Vicky, Barnabas -- that we cared about. They had another success with 1897, because it was Barnabas and Julia, suddenly allied with Angelique, and suddenly Quentin, against a whole new set of villains. My main frustrations were the loss of the original Victoria Winters and the unsatisfying end and lack of resolution of her storyline, and that Nathan Forbes did not last long enough -- now that was one hot daddy.

by Anonymousreply 271March 4, 2022 12:42 PM

Joel Crothers in those super tight 1795 pants left little to the imagination.

by Anonymousreply 272March 4, 2022 4:31 PM

Were Joel and Velekka an item when he was on Dark Shadows?

by Anonymousreply 273March 4, 2022 4:37 PM

[quote] How was Julia able to extend her rent-free stay at Collingwood permanently after she revealed that she was a doctor, and not an historian doing research on the Collins family?

With her extraordinary power of hypnosis, she could have had them sign over the whole estate to her.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 274March 4, 2022 5:47 PM

Yup, three wags of her bauble and Julia could put an elephant down.

by Anonymousreply 275March 4, 2022 5:53 PM

Which of Grayson's hairdos did you prefer? Her trademark pageboy, the short dyky cut, or the fuller cut she had later in the series? Personally, I loved her pageboy do. It was so distinct.

by Anonymousreply 276March 4, 2022 6:06 PM

If Grayson's voice was a half tone deeper, I would swear she was a tranny.

by Anonymousreply 277March 4, 2022 6:08 PM

Marie Wallace's Eve was very tranny-like. That bitch was fierce, honey.

by Anonymousreply 278March 4, 2022 6:40 PM

Oh my favorite will always have to be the spurned Angelique from Martinique.

Maggie & Vickie were favorites, too.

I remember that Lara Parker said that folks always sat as far away from her as possible on the subway because they were afraid of her.......LOL

by Anonymousreply 279March 4, 2022 6:48 PM

They changed Maggie's character so drastically. At first, she had the blonde wig and was a wise-cracking waitress, I guess to distinguish her from tortured heroine Vicki and immature Carolyn. Quickly into the series they dropped the wig and the attitude, and she became a more traditional heroine. I wonder what the writers' original plans were for her.

by Anonymousreply 280March 4, 2022 7:00 PM

Maggie was so relentlessly upbeat at the beginning, you wanted to punch her. Her father did everything but spit in her face and call her a fucking cunt, and she'd respond with an eye roll, a dopey giggle and an, "Oh Pop!"

by Anonymousreply 281March 4, 2022 8:19 PM

Does anyone remember the cigarette smoke coming out of the Barnabas coffin? Lolol. Jonathan Frid was a smoker at the time. ( He quit sometime after the show ended, I believe.)

by Anonymousreply 282March 4, 2022 8:27 PM

Wasn't there an episode where a microphone could be seen.

by Anonymousreply 283March 4, 2022 10:11 PM

My favorite was the scene Lara Parker did with her copy of the script lying on the bed behind her......it's on one of the blooper reels.

by Anonymousreply 284March 4, 2022 10:17 PM

R283- Probably. On their outdoor sets you could clearly see airplanes flying by in the background, lol.

by Anonymousreply 285March 4, 2022 10:18 PM

The trick would be to find an episode where a mike boom WASN'T in at least one shot!

by Anonymousreply 286March 4, 2022 10:21 PM

[quote] Wasn't there an episode where a microphone could be seen.

Yes. But just the one.

by Anonymousreply 287March 4, 2022 10:50 PM

I am just reading that Burke Devlin has died.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 288March 4, 2022 11:03 PM

I didn’t know that Mitchell Ryan was best known for Dark Shadows. I would have said it was for mistreating Blanche.

by Anonymousreply 289March 4, 2022 11:06 PM

Well, technically Burke's body was never found in the South American jungles. On the other hand, actor Mitchell Ryan did indeed die somewhat recently.

by Anonymousreply 290March 4, 2022 11:07 PM

Considering he was fired for being too drunk or hungover to show up for work one day, it's amazing he lived to 88 years old!

Must have dried out and gave up the hooch. Good job, old guy.

by Anonymousreply 291March 4, 2022 11:11 PM

In the outdoor sequences, the "forest" plants are obviously just commercial potted plants, like rubber trees and ficus trees, etc., all of which are tropical plants. I think a lot of the time that the tombstones in the cemetery scenes tend to be pretty wobbly too. But the show was amazingly interesting and none of this detracted from its fascination to youngsters, and I still enjoy it on youtube in the scenes when the action heats up. I remember as a kid how it seemed the show could go for weeks when nothing much at all really happened.

by Anonymousreply 292March 4, 2022 11:39 PM

I was 5 years old when I started watching. MY mother was hooked on this show. I remember the loud bangs and doors slamming when they were not suppose to because I was already terrified of Barnabas and of my mother because I wasn't suppose to watch DS, lol.

by Anonymousreply 293March 4, 2022 11:48 PM

Were Frid and Edmonds lovers?

by Anonymousreply 294March 5, 2022 12:21 AM

Who would you consider to be the biggest ham on the show?

by Anonymousreply 295March 5, 2022 1:03 AM

R294 In Edmond's biography, "Big Lou," it indicates he was with his lover, Bryce Holman, during the entire run of DS. They met about a year before Edmonds got the role in DS, and it says they were still together when the show ended.

From Christmas 1968.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 296March 5, 2022 1:04 AM

R295 Grayson Hormel Hall. .. As I recall, there was DL thread covering this. .. lol!

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by Anonymousreply 297March 5, 2022 1:07 AM

R297, you could be right, but the guy who played Nicholas Blair was certainly no shrinking violet. And Jerry Lacy chewed an awful lot of scenery as Reverend Trask.

by Anonymousreply 298March 5, 2022 1:23 AM

R269, my favorite era of the show was pre-Barnabas too. I watched it as a kid when it was first shown pretty much only because there wasn’t much to choose from in those days. I remember thinking Vicky dressed like an old lady but I had read several Victoria Holt and other similar type gothic novels by then so I was sort of interested in the mystery about her background.

I also thought Barnabas was a creepy old man when he appeared. I couldn’t understand then or now how he ever became a teen idol.

by Anonymousreply 299March 5, 2022 1:23 AM

R294- No, but they were very close friends. LE had throat cancer for 10 years. Brutal. JF bathed him, fed him, nursed his friend when Lois was dying and too weak to care for himself. Jonathan Frid was a very kind, generous person. Very elegant manners as well. He rescued stray and abused animals and cared for them and found forever homes for them. A truly great man. We should all be so lucky to have such a friend.

by Anonymousreply 300March 5, 2022 1:25 AM

50 frightfully fun facts for the 50th anniversary of 'Dark Shadows'

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 301March 5, 2022 1:38 AM

Frid's Master's from Yale was in Directing - and he directed fellow DS cast-member Marie Wallace in something (that I can't remember). He also toured with Marion Ross and I believe Jean Stapleton (?) in Arsenic and Old Lace.

He said after DS he kept expecting offers to pour in but he found he was now type-cast and he didn't want to continue in the horror genre because his ego was too big after the show - and he later regretted it.

In his later years, he was very active on his website, having retired to his hometown, Hamilton, Ontario. For years, he also did readings at libraries - Edgar Allan Poe and that sort of thing, I believe. Lived till 2012 (age 87). I enjoyed following his website that he was active on, up through his 80s.

by Anonymousreply 302March 5, 2022 2:17 AM

Oh it's probably upthread - but Frid was about to take a teaching job in California, and had just returned from a Florida vacation, when his phone rang as he was leaving to catch his flight. It was his agent and he agreed to a few weeks on the soap to make a few bucks before heading west.

by Anonymousreply 303March 5, 2022 2:18 AM

At least he was spared from seeing that hideous DS remake with Depp.

by Anonymousreply 304March 5, 2022 2:31 AM

I love Louis Edmonds. Yes, he chewed the scenery, but that was the nature of the show and fit in perfectly with his training as a costume actor. He was also terrific on All My Children, where at one point in the '80s he reunited with Mitch Ryan (RIP) who played Alex Hunter.

by Anonymousreply 305March 5, 2022 2:50 AM

R305- So do I as both a DS and AMC fan. I loved his wonderful voice. It was particularly heartbreaking that he developed throat cancer. He used to make the other actors on DS fight to not blow a scene laughing because he would do things such as come down the stairs of the set dressed only from the waist down, just underwear, no pants. He would to stand behind the set sofa of the living room so he was only shot from the waist up. I loved the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. At the link is a scene from All My Children. Langley fantasizes about killing Phoebe, lol.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 306March 5, 2022 3:12 AM

R305, it's so ironic that an actor as colorful as Louis Edmonds only got to play the dullest, straight-as-an-arrow characters on DS.

by Anonymousreply 307March 5, 2022 3:16 AM

Louis was the best thing to come out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

by Anonymousreply 308March 5, 2022 3:23 AM

I honestly thought that they wasted his talent.

by Anonymousreply 309March 5, 2022 3:23 AM

Hey, a paying gig as an actor is quite an accomplishment. And neither Louis nor Jonathan were matinee idol material.

For a while, Jonathan went to RADA - I think he quit. Got some jobs in England playing Americans - then came back and was considering teaching, so the jobs weren't exactly numerous or lucrative - probably for either one of them. Louis was smart enough to stay on tv soaps though.

by Anonymousreply 310March 5, 2022 3:29 AM

Louis was definitely wasted as Roger. He was intended to be the show's heavy, and was used to great effect in that role the first six months. When the show began to focus on Barnabas as the villain, Roger pretty much became irrelevant. Besides his marriage to Cassandra, they really never wrote anything for him, and Roger would disappear for long stretches of time. They did make great use of him in the time travel stories, but Roger really was pointless for most of the show's run.

by Anonymousreply 311March 5, 2022 3:31 AM

R311- Yes, I remember reading that LE wanted do badly to play the part of a bad guy- vampire- but tptb never did allow him to. I'm not really sure why but it very much disappointed and frustrated him.

by Anonymousreply 312March 5, 2022 3:34 AM

Wasn't the patriarch Joshua Collins a mean guy? And later in AMC, Langley Wallingford was a con man.

I imagine he just wanted Frid's sudden fame.

by Anonymousreply 313March 5, 2022 3:45 AM

Maybe he just felt underused? Most of the regulars were given the opportunity to at least play a vampire once! I can understand why he would have felt very frustrated.

by Anonymousreply 314March 5, 2022 3:52 AM

When I was 14 years old I had terrible headaches every afternoon. My mother took me to the doctor and he prescribed 5 mg Valium to take at lunch. I weighed 88 lbs. You can imagine what I was like in school after lunch.

by Anonymousreply 315March 5, 2022 4:25 AM

Moltke was asked to return as Vicki later in the run. She was open to it, but she wanted to play a villain. Dan Curtis said no, so that was the end of that. You could tell that later on they hired actresses who resembled, like Donna McKechnie and Kate Jackson, to play the heroine.

by Anonymousreply 316March 5, 2022 4:27 AM

Let's talk about David Selby. I've always liked him.

by Anonymousreply 317March 5, 2022 5:29 AM

How did Grayson Hall ever get an Oscar nomination? She's rancid.

by Anonymousreply 318March 5, 2022 5:30 AM

I thought she was marvelous is Night of the Iguana. So was the glorious Ava Gardner and prim Deborah Kerr... great film!

by Anonymousreply 319March 5, 2022 6:12 AM

Kerr was terrific.

by Anonymousreply 320March 5, 2022 6:17 AM

I wanted Peter Bradford/Jeff Clark quite deeply in me.

by Anonymousreply 321March 5, 2022 6:21 AM

Jonathan Frid was really ugly. The women of the 1960s had terrible taste.

by Anonymousreply 322March 5, 2022 6:22 AM

I think with Tony Peterson, they trying to recapture some of the big dick energy lost when Mitch Ryan left, but the character wasn't very interesting. Jerry Lacy was only really good as the different incarnations of Trask.

by Anonymousreply 323March 5, 2022 6:29 AM

Can anyone find the clip from OLTL where some of the DS actors appear in the same scene? I can't find it but have heard it mentioned on here several times.

by Anonymousreply 324March 6, 2022 5:12 AM

The first color episode came up when I wasn't paying attention and I looked up and Frid's hideous maw smacked me right in the face. God, he was ugly.

by Anonymousreply 325March 6, 2022 6:23 AM

And now it's back to B&W. WTF?

by Anonymousreply 326March 6, 2022 6:46 AM

[quote] At least he was spared from seeing that hideous DS remake with Depp.

But not spared from appearing in it.

by Anonymousreply 327March 6, 2022 5:21 PM

Speaking of reboots, The CW didn't pick up Mark B. Perry's proposed "reincarnation," but this hasn't swayed him from development. Seems like part of the their decision was just because they had no room on their current schedule and/or was COVID-production related. NBC had shown interest as well. A couple quotes from the attached article/interview.

[quote] “So that’s my approach to this. We are present day, whatever that ends up being. Whether it’s 2022, ’23, whatever it is when we finally get on the air. But we are definitely a present day continuation. Everything that happened on the original show, mostly, is canon. As you know as a fan, canon changed within the show while it was around.

[quote] As the reworked version of the show is still a viable property, Mr. Perry is understandably wary of detailing much of Reincarnation’s story. Nevertheless, he does provide some tantalizing bits about its setup. “The protagonist is a young woman in her twenties. In the very first minute of the pilot, she discovers that the woman that she thought was her aunt was really her biological mother, and that her biological mother was a bloodline Collins. ... "This young woman finds out the life-changing news that she is a bloodline relative of this wealthy, mysterious family in Maine. Because her biological mother, who vanished three years ago, has now been declared legally dead, our protagonist has inherited half of the estate of Collinwood. And her mother…is Victoria Winters.”

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 328March 6, 2022 8:31 PM

I remember watching the premiere of the 1991 reboot when I was a freshman in college. I liked it at the time, but I didn't keep up with it because it was on Friday night and I was lazy about taping stuff. (Simpsons and Knots Landing were the only must-tapes.)

I got the DVD set of the reboot a few years back and it was not terribly good, but not objectionable. I think the thing that made Dark Shadows special was the cheapness and the mistakes and the time period in which it was produced- really just the whole of all the pieces that came together at that particular time. And though I wasn't around to see it back then, you still get a sense of all of that watching it today. I don't think you can recapture that, and I also don't think the story itself can be updated without all the rest of that.

I enjoyed the 2012 film, even though I recognize it's not terribly good, because it was evident that many of the people behind it had an affection for the original series. Too much studio interference I think watered it down. You can't pay homage, be tongue in cheek AND go for making a four-quadrant tentpole series all at the same time.

by Anonymousreply 329March 6, 2022 8:52 PM

I liked the 1991 NBC reboot but haven't seen it since it premiered (it's streaming on Hulu). At the time, I remember thinking this was what the then-recently cancelled Twin Peaks should have been. Apparently the Iraq War killed it -- thank you, Saddam. A decade later Fox tried again with a rip it off (sorta) called Point Pleasant, but it was seemingly geared towards teens and young adults. I was late 20s by then and just found it silly however cute the boys were on it. Even Sam Page couldn't save it.

by Anonymousreply 330March 6, 2022 9:12 PM

I always wanted Barnabas to bite me. I have a firecrotch pussy and it was constantly wet for him.

by Anonymousreply 331March 7, 2022 12:22 AM

Frid is so fey that his constant threats to Willie and Julia are laughable. He threatens them and never actually does anything. He's so easily conquerable that it's no surprise Angelique pretty much bested him at every turn. Why she actually wanted him is a mystery.

I keep watching the love scenes between Burke and Vicki and I really miss Mitch Ryan.

by Anonymousreply 332March 7, 2022 1:29 AM

I loved the original Roger/Burke feud, but you got the sense that Roger wanted to fuck Burke every time they shared a scene.

by Anonymousreply 333March 7, 2022 2:02 AM

I can't believe Nancy Barrett married David Ford. Not only did she marry him, but she left her husband in order to do so after they met on the set of DS. Not only was he old, fat, unattractive and an all-around schlub, but he was a terrible actor and was so lazy, he asked his character be made to go blind so he wouldn't have to memorize lines and could read directly off cue cards.

by Anonymousreply 334March 7, 2022 2:08 AM

Barrett said that she fell in love with Ford's "talent." Was he a well-regarded stage actor at the time? He was lousy on DS, but then again so were most of the actors with a theatrical background? Did really request that the character go blind, or is that just speculation?

by Anonymousreply 335March 7, 2022 2:11 AM

He doesn't seem to have had a terribly long list of credits, but he seems to have been good enough in 1776 to get hired for the film version 6 years later. But he was also a big drunk, so he may have been unreliable.

I'm watching a color episode and David, in the blink of an eye, seems to have shot up a foot.

Louis Edmonds hasn't been in an episode for months, it seems. I don't think he's been on since they went to color.

by Anonymousreply 336March 7, 2022 2:32 AM

As someone mentioned above Roger was the big bad in the show's bible and was supposed to die, but that all changed and Matthew Morgan was made the bad guy. I guess they needed some time to retool the character, but a lot of those actors were doing off and on Broadway at the same time as the series, so some of the characters would go away for long stretches.

by Anonymousreply 337March 7, 2022 2:55 AM

With the advent of the Barnabas storyline, they started the one storyline template, and the budget limited the number of characters per episode to 5 or 6. So if you weren't part of the show's sole storyline, you rarely appeared. If you notice during the interminable Adam storyline, a lot of the Collinwood characters disappeared for many weeks until they were eventually folded into that storyline.

by Anonymousreply 338March 7, 2022 3:09 AM

I'd be super pissed if I was contracted to be on the show, wasn't used, wasn't paid (and I believe back then they were only paid when they worked, but I wouldn't swear my life on it), and couldn't depend on taking another job in case they brought me back.

[quote] a lot of those actors were doing off and on Broadway at the same time as the series, so some of the characters would go away for long stretches.

The show shot in NYC, so there was no reason an actor couldn't do both at the same time. You shoot til 5 or 6 pm and then you go do your show. I've worked on plenty of productions in NYC where actors moonlighted from their tv series.

by Anonymousreply 339March 7, 2022 3:12 AM

I remember when Quentin's storyline took off, a lot of people thought Jonathan Frid would be upset at being upstaged, since Barnabas had been front and center for so long. Quite the contrary, Frid was relieved at not having to work constantly (and having to memorize reams of dialogue, not his strong suit).

by Anonymousreply 340March 7, 2022 3:21 AM

True R339, but it's grueling to have to memorize 80 pages a day in a front burner story and then do a broadway show on top of it. That's a long day. I know a lot of them did it, but I'm just going by what I've read about the show during that time. Plus Louis Edmunds got plenty to do during 1795, so it all worked out.

by Anonymousreply 341March 7, 2022 3:26 AM

Speak of the devil, R341, I just got to the first color episode w/ Roger!

by Anonymousreply 342March 7, 2022 4:05 AM

For all the actors they replaced, I can't believe they didn't replace Frid before he got so popular in favor of an actor who could actually remember his lines and was good looking.

by Anonymousreply 343March 7, 2022 4:54 AM

Sometimes doctors can do everything and anything on a soap as the story calls for it.

by Anonymousreply 344March 7, 2022 5:23 AM

Well, no one had to memorize 80 pages a day...it was a 30 minute show, so with commercials and opening credits, it would have been about a 23 page long script at best.

Somewhere (maybe on DL on some other Dark Shadows thread) I've seen a photo of Jonathan Frid and Louis Edmonds and other gay guys at the beach on Fire Island during the DS run. So, they were definitely social with each other.

I don't think you can reboot this show. It was of a very certain time and place and it's beloved for being cheesy and camp. That just happens. It's tough to do it well, intentionally.

by Anonymousreply 345March 7, 2022 6:48 AM

Is this the photo?

I think Jonathan is hot. And the ratings soared when he appeared so I don't see why they'd replace him. He had a natural kind of menace - and even he once said that his difficulty remembering his lines added to the nervousness that the character was supposed to have, trying to pretend he was a regular human.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 346March 7, 2022 11:29 AM

Of course you can reboot the show, the storyline is timeless.

by Anonymousreply 347March 7, 2022 2:49 PM

I also liked the 1991 NBC night time series with Ben Cross, Jean Simmons, and Barbara Steele.

Inner webs says that it's available for streaming on Amazon Prime. I bought the DVD set of the entire season.....years ago....but it might still be available if you want to own instead of rent.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 348March 7, 2022 2:55 PM

The 1991 reboot cleaned up some of the plot holes in the original, which was nice.

There was also a 2004 reboot for the WB starring Alec Newman as Barnabas, Blair Brown as Elizabeth, Jessica Chastain as Carolyn, Ivana Milicevic as Angelique and Kelly Hu as Julia, but I believe they went with another season of Angel instead of picking it up.

Here is the pilot. I liked almost everything, except Victoria being blonde.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 349March 7, 2022 3:06 PM

[quote] and even he once said that his difficulty remembering his lines added to the nervousness that the character was supposed to have, trying to pretend he was a regular human.

He was full of shit. All it did was make him look like a terrible actor and Barnabas as nothing more than a Scooby Doo villain.

by Anonymousreply 350March 7, 2022 3:24 PM

What the hell does it matter?!?!? Whatever he was doing, or not doing, worked in his favor. The character became a huge sensation and saved the show from cancellation.

by Anonymousreply 351March 7, 2022 3:28 PM

[quote] I love when Dr. Hoffman says, "Here I have some sedatives for you and you can go to bed." then she gives an injection and hands over a bottle full of pills.

No wonder people were seeing things in that house.

by Anonymousreply 352March 7, 2022 3:31 PM

[quote] What the hell does it matter?!?!? Whatever he was doing, or not doing, worked in his favor. The character became a huge sensation and saved the show from cancellation.

Relax, Crazypants, no one is going to come for your Barnabas shrine. It's a fucking gothic soap opera, not Shakespeare.

by Anonymousreply 353March 7, 2022 3:33 PM

Reboot attempts have happened how many times now? A short lived series, a pilot, and a film. They all flopped.

And, I agree you can certainly reboot the characters and plot but it's NEVER going to replicate what the series became famous for.....it's cheesy, ham-handed, campy menace. That's why we still talk about this show 50 years later. And, it's really tough to recreate that if not actually impossible.

by Anonymousreply 354March 7, 2022 8:27 PM

I watched 'Dark Shadow' everyday as a young gayling. I ran home from school and folded papers everyday for my paper route when the show was on TV. I even had a crucifix tied to my bicycle for the Sunday morning paper run. I loved that show and never questioned its authenticity.

I always wondered why Julia didn't take more advantage of Barnabas when he was trying to be human. I mean, she had the drug... And, Willie! Oh, my hormones were just changing at that time and he made me howl, until his Cagney and Lacey days.

Oh, I also remember having about five Barnabas rings over the years. Anybody else? I wanted the wolf head cane, as well. Now, I am an eldergay, I wonder where I can get it!

by Anonymousreply 355March 7, 2022 9:31 PM

It triggered my interest in the occult. My mother paid for me to join a "Psychic Book Club" in 1968 or so when I was 12 years old! She didn't pay any attention - just paid the bill.

So I got books on Tarot cards (and bought a deck), witchcraft, palm-reading, etc.

Those were the days... before the political evangelical movement. (and I lived in Mississippi!)

by Anonymousreply 356March 7, 2022 9:57 PM

[quote]Reboot attempts have happened how many times now? A short lived series, a pilot, and a film. They all flopped.

The war killed the 91 reboot. The 2004pilot wasn't picked up like many pilots are not picked up every season. The film was an abomination, but it shows the love of the series. It's not like they're doing an Edge of Night movie.

by Anonymousreply 357March 7, 2022 11:26 PM

R357 Cancelled, not picked up, and box office/critical disaster all equal "flopped".

Again, as I've said several times now but since neither one of us apparently can "let it go", the show had fun characters and plot but it became a popular cult show because of its campy, schlocky, creepy style which isn't really something you duplicate.

The only way a new Dark Shadows will succeed is by finding some gifted writer/show runner who can re-invent the show...which wouldn't be easy. Mainly because there will be nutty uber fans who will whine "you didn't do it like they did it in 1969!!!!!"

by Anonymousreply 358March 7, 2022 11:36 PM

@349 - Thanks for the link, I watched a few minutes and will finish it later. Casting Martin Donovan as Roger was a stroke of genius. Blair Brown is okay, but she does not have the regal patrician air of Joan Bennett, Jean Simmons, or even Michelle Pfeiffer for that matter. Blair would be more believable as Mrs. Johnson or a much older Maggie.

by Anonymousreply 359March 7, 2022 11:37 PM

[quote] he once said that his difficulty remembering his lines added to the nervousness that the character was supposed to have, trying to pretend he was a regular heterosexual.

There, fixed it for you, R346

by Anonymousreply 360March 7, 2022 11:39 PM

Vampire Diaries was just Dark Shadows dressed up for a modern audience. The Dark Shadows story is viable and timeless. Fans are going to be fans. It can be done. The most recent pilot was going to move the show into the next generation. That would have been interesting and both Barnbas and Quentin could still be around.

by Anonymousreply 361March 7, 2022 11:47 PM

R358- Totally agree with this and also remember that a having an actor play a vampire, especially a major recurring role, in the daytime soap genre was unheard of until DS. The DS sets were old and cheap, adding to the creepy atmosphere. Old, dusty, ancient looking. It was very easy to believe that it was taking place in another century.

by Anonymousreply 362March 8, 2022 12:03 AM

[quote] Oh, I also remember having about five Barnabas rings over the years. Anybody else? I wanted the wolf head cane, as well. Now, I am an eldergay, I wonder where I can get it!

I had to get a cane to use temporarily after I was left with neuropathy from chemo treatments. I finally decided that if I was going to be stuck with a cane, I was going to get the goddamnedest cane I could find. I wound up with something that had a cat's head on it, but more like an olden/Egyptianesque carving than a modern day cat. But one of my finalists was a Barnabas cane. I found it on Ebay, so I'm certain you can find one there.

by Anonymousreply 363March 8, 2022 12:25 AM

R363, I seem to recall reading that the original wolf’s head cane wasn’t created for the show, it was just something someone from the prop department found in a novelty store. The original manufacturer still produces them.

by Anonymousreply 364March 8, 2022 12:49 AM

I always wondered why Joan Bennett agreed to do the show. In the beginning, she was at the center of storyline, but once Barnabas came on the scene, her role (no matter what time period) was nothing. Plus, daytime isn't easy for even the youngest cast member, and even though she had a thankless role(s), she did get a lot of dialogue to remember , with little rehearsal.

by Anonymousreply 365March 8, 2022 12:51 AM

R6, thank you again for posting that youtube clip. I completely forgot what it was like. I used to watch this when it was newly broadcast after school. My mother and I would watch it together.

by Anonymousreply 366March 8, 2022 1:15 AM

R365, it was regular work playing the matriarch on a daytime soap.

Why not say yes?

by Anonymousreply 367March 8, 2022 2:45 AM

After the scandal, it appears that she didn't work for 2 years. When she returned it was to mostly TV. DS was steady work. Mac Carey was doing it. Ruth Warrick did soaps. Dana Andrews would eventually do soaps. So maybe a check was a check.

by Anonymousreply 368March 8, 2022 3:03 AM

R368- Scandal? I had a DS lunch box with Barnabas drawn in mid-bite mode, lol.

by Anonymousreply 369March 8, 2022 3:09 AM

Here you go R369

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 370March 8, 2022 3:20 AM

Joan Bennett was just not prime-time soap material.

by Anonymousreply 371March 8, 2022 3:21 AM

I loved Bennett on DS. She looked terrified in every scene she was in, yet she was so experienced that she was able to exude a genuine warmth even as she nervously fumbled her lines. She really gave off a star vibe, despite the fact that it was daytime. The late Mitch Ryan was walking sex on that show.

by Anonymousreply 372March 8, 2022 4:12 AM

R371, I'm having a blast making my way through Falcon Crest and Dark Shadows for the first time. I'm going to end up having dreams where Jane Wyman plays Liz Collins.

I only wish I had dreams where Jane Wyman turned up. As Angela.

by Anonymousreply 373March 8, 2022 6:29 AM

I wish you had dreams where Jane Wyman turned up as Barnabas. Perhaps then he'd actually seem like a threat.

by Anonymousreply 374March 8, 2022 6:34 PM

Someone please start a "Falcon Crest Now Streaming on IMDB" thread!

by Anonymousreply 375March 8, 2022 6:38 PM

Someone already did. Search for it.

by Anonymousreply 376March 8, 2022 6:41 PM

Ugh, I hate that Barnabas bit Carolyn and made her his servant. I mean, at least they've given Nancy more screen time, but Barnabas is such a fucking drip, I hate seeing anyone acting like he's actually a force to be reckoned with.

by Anonymousreply 377March 9, 2022 3:43 AM

Was it Barnabas' bite that did people in, or his 170-year old halitosis?

by Anonymousreply 378March 9, 2022 6:46 AM

How come for all the times Barnabas was sucking on Julia, she never turned? Was Barnabas shooting blanks?

by Anonymousreply 379March 9, 2022 1:39 PM

Grayson once said in an interview that she got tons of letters from affection-starved housewives who identified with Julia's frustration over Barnabas not demonstrating his love for her, i.e., biting her.

by Anonymousreply 380March 9, 2022 2:45 PM

But, Barnabas did bite her. The entire time she was giving him injections to turn him into a human, he was feeding on Julia. I just assumed he didn't add any sperm to his bite and just treated her as food.

by Anonymousreply 381March 9, 2022 2:59 PM

I'm watching it right now and he hasn't bitten her once. She even offered herself to help turn him back to his normal age when she turned into an old man, and he rejected her.

by Anonymousreply 382March 9, 2022 6:06 PM

I think only Tom Jennings ever bit Julia, after Nicholas Blair turned him into a vampire. Barnabas wouldn't touch her.

by Anonymousreply 383March 9, 2022 6:16 PM

I'm watching an episode where the first half, Julia is alone at Collinwood and is giving a solo tour-de-force in rotten overacting.

by Anonymousreply 384March 9, 2022 6:23 PM

Grayson Hall was a goddess. Her extreme OTT acting was just something to behold, and she's just a very interesting looking woman. You can't take your eyes off her, and she steals just about every scene she's in.

by Anonymousreply 385March 9, 2022 6:38 PM

[quote]I think only Tom Jennings ever bit Julia

Well, if you've got to be bitten by someone I'd take Tom Jennings. So good on Julia for holding out for the hottie.

by Anonymousreply 386March 9, 2022 6:49 PM

Does anyone know why they killed Burke off? Is it because Anthony George was an underwhelming replacement? because he was a great character (at least until they made him a friend of the Collins family) and there was potential to find another good storyline for him.

by Anonymousreply 387March 9, 2022 7:04 PM

What I love about Grayson Hall is not only did she act over-the-top and always scream in every episod, but her voice was so gravelly and harsh, so her scream is like Lucille Ball's.

by Anonymousreply 388March 9, 2022 7:09 PM

Oh, I'm enjoying her, don't misunderstand. She's delightfully awful. Whereas Frid is just awful.

by Anonymousreply 389March 9, 2022 7:09 PM

Most soap acting in that era was pretty awful, given that the shows were done live, though DS was live to tape, I believe. Can you imagine learning all that new dialogue every day and having to perform it with no retakes? It must have been terrifying, especially for primarily theater actors who had very little on-camera experience.

by Anonymousreply 390March 9, 2022 7:29 PM

R390, it was probably worst of all for Joan Bennett. She couldn't have been used to working without retakes!

by Anonymousreply 391March 9, 2022 8:04 PM

In the 90s when I was at Vanderbilt, my roommate (also gay) introduced me to Dark Shadows and I became a huge fan of the bad acting and technical screwups. One night after a couple of martinis, we decided to make a road trip to Memphis to see Graceland and meet Don Briscoe. We managed to find his home and knocked on the door. He was very polite but obviously not thrilled with our need to have some quality time with him. After a few awkward minutes we thanked him and left.

As we were driving away in silence, my roommate suddenly said- 'and I was hoping to see some dick'!

by Anonymousreply 392March 9, 2022 8:20 PM

@R392 - He was gorgeous on Dark Shadows, but Briscoe sadly aged like milk. In later photos he looked like a tragic cross between Louie Anderson and Jared Fogle. Aside from the considerable weight gain, he also had mental illness to contend with and honestly seemed to have had a downward spiral after the show. When I watch him now on DS, part of me lusts after him and the other part feels gross knowing how things turned out for him.

by Anonymousreply 393March 10, 2022 12:08 AM

In Edmonds' biography, he's quoted as saying that Briscoe was "too sensitive to survive in the cutthroat world of show business."

by Anonymousreply 394March 10, 2022 12:57 AM

I am watching the 1795 episodes and I have to say, it's like everyone has been given a shot in the arm. The energy is off the charts and the actors feel really engaged and excited by their roles. The plodding pacing is gone and even Frid and Hall are fluffing their lines less. It's really amazing, like a totally different show.

by Anonymousreply 395March 10, 2022 7:29 AM

R390, Grayson Hall had no excuse. Not only did she have film experience--she was a fucking Oscar nominee!!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 396March 10, 2022 12:03 PM

R390, Grayson Hall had no excuse. She not only had film experience---she was a fucking Oscar nominee!

by Anonymousreply 397March 10, 2022 12:04 PM

In film you shoot 2 pages a day, you get multiple takes and constant interaction with the director. In those days on soaps, you rehearsed the material 3 times, did an entire episode, and then you had to move on to the next episode and do it all over again the very next day. Daytime is a factory. You cannot compare daytime then or now to film. She played the material how she played it.

by Anonymousreply 398March 10, 2022 1:31 PM

[quote] In those days on soaps, you rehearsed the material 3 times, did an entire episode, and then you had to move on to the next episode and do it all over again the very next day.

Yeah, but couldn't Lela tell Grayson to take it down about TEN NOTCHES during the table read?

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 399March 10, 2022 9:58 PM

They had table reads?! I would never have guessed it.

by Anonymousreply 400March 10, 2022 11:35 PM

R400 Yes. Here's a couple other photos.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 401March 11, 2022 1:00 AM

Is it true Clarice Blackburn liked to chow down on the lady ham?

by Anonymousreply 402March 11, 2022 5:48 PM

Does anybody collect Dark Shadows collectables? Seems there was a lunch box, I remember. Is it worth anything?

by Anonymousreply 403March 11, 2022 8:41 PM

I'm up to where King Johnny Romano appears. He sure is swarthy. The 1897 season seems to just get crazier and crazier with adding new characters and interrelated storylines and subplots. I love it. Does the guy who played Peter Bradford hold the record for playing the most characters? Aristide was all cool and hip when he first appeared. Then he quickly became cool and hip and fey.

by Anonymousreply 404March 11, 2022 11:55 PM

Try to imagine me excitement visiting Budapest a few years ago seeing signs indicating Petofi Bridge!

by Anonymousreply 405March 11, 2022 11:58 PM

Well, the bloom has fallen off the 1795 rose. Frid is back to searching for his lines like he's Miss Marple. Thank Christ for Lara Parker, who is an absolute HOOT as Angelique. She not only gets the tone, but she knows her fucking lines.

Kathryn Leigh Scott is also doing some great work as Josette. It's great to see her play someone less annoying than Maggie. And Nancy Barrett is a fucking pisser as Cousin Millicent. I only wish her role was larger.

by Anonymousreply 406March 12, 2022 4:32 AM

I will say that Lara Parker has the WORST fake evil laugh, and they seem to have recorded it once and use that one recording every time they show her disembodied head cackling away.

by Anonymousreply 407March 12, 2022 11:15 PM

[quote] I will say that Lara Parker has the WORST fake evil laugh

I beg your pardon.

by Anonymousreply 408March 13, 2022 2:00 PM

R407, that ridiculous laughter was not actually Lara Parker. That was a generic track of maniacal female laughter. The reason it was used rather than Lara's laughter was to avoid paying her for the episode if she hadn't actually appeared in the episode.

by Anonymousreply 409March 14, 2022 12:14 AM

Really? It sounds just like her. They did a decent match.

by Anonymousreply 410March 14, 2022 3:13 AM

Serious question- Did Grayson Hall invent the concept of "smell the fart" acting?

by Anonymousreply 411March 14, 2022 8:00 PM

I think it was just her delicious personality R411. God we need more people like that - we more sufficient of bleached blonde bimbos.

I read a bit about her - her son was a writer and he said the other kids would make fun of the lavish up-scale lunches his mother would send with him in his lunch box - quiche, beef bourguignon, all sorts of fancy stuff, while they had peanut butter sandwiches. She was a hoot!

Unfortunately that cigarette-enabled signature voice proved to be her downfall - died of lung cancer at 62. I got to see a few episodes of her last soap, playing "Euphemia Ralston" on One Life to Live. She also did some cheap movies (one was a tv horror flick called Gargoyles) - and her very last endeavor was on the NY stage in Madwoman of Chaillot with Geraldine Page and Dick Cavett's arch wife Carrie Nye, who also had a gravelly voice and who also died of lung cancer at 69 - and I always wondered if that was a lavender marriage)

by Anonymousreply 412March 15, 2022 12:43 AM

* we have more than sufficient....

by Anonymousreply 413March 15, 2022 12:44 AM

I'm at the point where Roger marries Cassandra. It's going a little off the rails at this point. We need more time travel. And Angelique needs to get over it. 200 years of rage.... over Barnabas Collins.

by Anonymousreply 414March 15, 2022 4:36 AM

I'm just getting to Episode 500- where Cassandra/Angelique turns Sam Evans blind after he paints her portrait to look like an old hag and she herself turns old. I'm taking a couple weeks break. I think I've had enough.

by Anonymousreply 415March 16, 2022 5:15 AM

Anybody want one?

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 416March 16, 2022 1:46 PM

I bought the Angelique portrait from Etsy. It hangs in my office. I love it.

by Anonymousreply 417March 16, 2022 1:51 PM

Why don't they have a dining room at Collinwood? It can't be such a "Great House" if they all have to eat in the kitchen over the sink.

by Anonymousreply 418March 22, 2022 3:16 AM

The houses are very bizarre, especially the old house, which from the outside looks like a palatial plantation and when you get inside, it looks like a tiny cape cod.

by Anonymousreply 419March 22, 2022 5:39 AM

Collinwood is hilarious. For the longest time they only had one phone, downstairs. Then a second one was added 10 feet away in the drawing room but not a single one upstairs. The house is full of alcoholics yet there's no bar, not a even one of those tacky push-carts popular at that time. Nope, top shelf booze is just laid out on top of a cabinet. The study changes locations as needed and apparently Mrs. Johnson sleeps in the kitchen. And no matter whether it's day or night, summer or winter, or if the house has been empty -- every fireplace is roaring. The Collins family alone must be responsible for the deforestation of Maine.

by Anonymousreply 420March 22, 2022 12:30 PM

I've gotten to the Nicholas Blair episodes and I absolutely hate them and him. I was surprised to find when I did some research that he's considered one of the most popular villains. He's annoying as fuck, and the actor is terrible. What fucking dinner theater this they find this clown in and whose withered cock did he suck to get the role? I'm having a hard time making it through and I might give up completely.

Why was he so popular?

by Anonymousreply 421March 25, 2022 8:23 AM

Wait until he begins to endlessly profess his romantic love to Maggie. It's a ludicrous as Barnabas' pining for Vicki. Bitches, please.

Did the other soaps of this era have so many flaming "straight" romantic leads? Just how naive were we back then?

by Anonymousreply 422March 25, 2022 1:21 PM

The man who played Nicholas Blair, Humbert Allan Astredo - there's a name for you.

Anyway, he had a wife and a daughter (maybe more children but it was in the blurb I found at the link)

Lots of Vincent Price types with wives and children in those days. Good for you, Liberace, for holding out! though I'm sure he was tempted with Sonja Henie.

Offsite Link

by Anonymousreply 423March 25, 2022 2:01 PM

I believe he's considered especially campy, R421. I found him creepy myself. Was shocked to learn the actor was straight!

by Anonymousreply 424March 25, 2022 2:30 PM

He was not straight. He was def gay and in a lav marriage.

by Anonymousreply 425March 25, 2022 4:55 PM

[quote] Wait until he begins to endlessly profess his romantic love to Maggie. It's a ludicrous as Barnabas' pining for Vicki. Bitches, please.

He just met her in the episode I saw last night and I could already see he was playing the "love at first sight" thing. It made me laugh.

by Anonymousreply 426March 25, 2022 5:57 PM

[QUOTE] Was shocked to learn the actor was straight!

So was his wife. Surprise Vaginal!

by Anonymousreply 427March 26, 2022 4:04 AM

Poor Nancy Barrett, reduced to a Frankenstein monster's moll.

And I am officially over Lara Parker. She's outstayed her welcome. Bring on Quentin!

by Anonymousreply 428March 26, 2022 7:08 AM

Why does Nicholas give a shit if Barnabas is cursed? Angelique cursed him because she was a woman scorned. That had zero to do with Nicholas Blair. This storyline makes no sense.

by Anonymousreply 429March 26, 2022 7:24 AM

I think Nicholas, for whatever reason, needed Angelique to help him in his plan to create an army of reanimated corpses to do the devil's biding. He realized that Angelique was compromised by her obsession with Barnabas, who himself was also obstructing Nicholas' plans by refusing to create Eve or (spoiler) Eve II.

At least that's what I made of it. I loved Eve (the actress), but the rest of the Frankenstein story was tedious and drawn out. And how did it end? All that hand-wringing and then Adam just disappears off the canvas -- did he just simply leave town? Are he and Barnabas still linked so that if harm comes to one the other suffers too? I'd think Barnabas would want to keep tabs on Adam just for that purpose alone.

by Anonymousreply 430March 26, 2022 1:06 PM

When my 81 year old father, watching from the background, saw Nicolas Blair right away he used the word camp. I don't think I ever heard him use the word or campy or any derivative of the word before. So you know the performance really was campy. Snidely Whiplash.

by Anonymousreply 431March 26, 2022 4:16 PM

R414, it's the principle.

by Anonymousreply 432March 26, 2022 4:38 PM

The only reason I didn't like Nicholas Blair was because I hated that he was somehow more powerful than Angelique. Angelique was the baddest bitch and should have remained that.

by Anonymousreply 433March 26, 2022 4:40 PM

I've been wondering if Angelique coming to Collinwood as Cassandra in that black fright wig was a nod to the Samantha/Serena business happening on Bewitched at the same time. Every time I see Cassandra, all I can think is- Liz Montgomery did it better.

by Anonymousreply 434March 26, 2022 8:35 PM

R434, yes but Louis Edmonds was a better "Darrin" than either Sargent or York

by Anonymousreply 435March 26, 2022 8:51 PM

I think of Edmonds as more of a Maurice.

by Anonymousreply 436March 26, 2022 8:54 PM

This warden character with the brogue is hilarious!

by Anonymousreply 437March 27, 2022 12:17 AM

I am trying to hold out for David Selby and Kate Jackson, but I'm really having a hard time. It's so boring right now (the thick of the Cassandra/Angelique and Nicholas Blair storyline). How much looooonger?

by Anonymousreply 438March 27, 2022 4:09 AM

R438, Chris Jennings should be showing up soon which leads into the Quentin/Turn of the Screw story.

by Anonymousreply 439March 27, 2022 2:23 PM

Don Briscoe as the (twin?) Jennings brothers was delightful eye candy.

by Anonymousreply 440March 27, 2022 3:27 PM

It seems like the Frankenstein story was ended quickly for some reason. Maybe the ratings dipped or something. That story never had a satisfying conclusion. They just did the Dream Curse, wrapped that up and then moved into the Werewolf stuff.

by Anonymousreply 441March 27, 2022 3:29 PM

Oh good, I'll keep going. Thanks!

by Anonymousreply 442March 27, 2022 5:09 PM

WTF is with the Collins family letting anyone just come and live with them for extended periods of time, no questions asked. Since I've been watching it's been- Jason (along with Willie), Laura (who I suppose was family), Julia, Mrs. Johnson's son Harry, and now Nicholas Blair (who Roger seems to be giving the house that Burke was going to buy). And yet they all live in this tiny section of the house that seemingly has one small hallway of bedrooms. And don't forget Barnabas, who just shows up one day claiming to be a cousin (and he would be a cousin several times removed if he was telling the truth) and they just turn over the old house to him.

Did no one ever say to Elizabeth- Are you running a homeless shelter over there?

by Anonymousreply 443March 29, 2022 4:59 PM

Barnabas looks enough like the guy in the 1795 painting that one could believe he's a relative; besides, the house doesn't even have electricity, let alone indoor plumbing. So not like it's not like Liz is really out anything.

If there are all those bedrooms vacant, can Liz really tell her "No, Harry can't visit!"?

by Anonymousreply 444March 29, 2022 6:58 PM

Liz was going to gift a whole wing of Collinwood to Vicki and Burke once they married. LOL

There will be more long-term visitors coming...

by Anonymousreply 445March 29, 2022 11:26 PM

I understand the Liz-Vicki thing. Vicki was family (and I know they never wound up doing anything with it, but I'm certain at that point we were meant to find out that Vicki was a Collins in some way).

by Anonymousreply 446March 30, 2022 3:09 AM

@R446. Carolyn was family and so was David. Just how many wings did Liz plan to give away?

by Anonymousreply 447March 30, 2022 1:16 PM

I really do wonder what their original plan was with the whole Vicki finding out about her ancestry thing. It was so ingrained into the first year, and then Barnabas showed up and they still mentioned it from time to time, but after 1795, it never came up again. There was a time in the first year that, if you took a shot every time Vicki mentioned she'd been raised in a foundling home, you'd have been a hopeless alcoholic.

by Anonymousreply 448March 30, 2022 6:16 PM

Don Briscoe just turned into a vampire. Ironic that they need a block of wood to kill him.

by Anonymousreply 449April 1, 2022 6:52 AM

I'm laughing my ass off at how everyone, including Barnabas, is quaking in their boots over Adam, terrified he's going to kill everyone at Collinwood if they don't make him a mate. meanwhile, Adam is the flounciest little temper tantrum throwing wuss. They have a perfectly good excuse to keep Adam alive- if he dies, Barnabas goes back to being a vampire. These writers are terrible.

by Anonymousreply 450April 4, 2022 6:47 AM

Was Barnabas the character that was getting bricked behind the wall? I just remember it took the person doing it an entire season. They'd end an episode with a closeup of his angst ridden face.

I could be wrong about wh. character it was because I was something like 10 years old when it was originally broadcast. I do remember Orbach's supplied the clothing. None of it fitted.

by Anonymousreply 451April 4, 2022 7:47 AM

No, that was Reverend Trask. And it actually only took one episode, believe it or not. They definitely stretched shit out on there, but that, surprisingly, was not one of them.

by Anonymousreply 452April 4, 2022 8:05 AM

Was watching it on Tubi tonight and thought I recognized Marsha Mason playing a hooker who Barnabas bit and turned into a vampire. Looked it up on IMDB and yup, it was her.

by Anonymousreply 453April 30, 2022 1:47 AM

Marsha was wild before Neil calmed her down.

by Anonymousreply 454April 30, 2022 1:35 PM
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