User reviews

I didn't even see Dark Shadows on TV until it began running as reruns back in 1976. Even though these episodes were ten years old at the time, I was instantly hooked. I had never seen anything like it - a Gothic soap opera with a vampire as both heartthrob and sympathetic villain. The 1976 reruns did the same thing the initial DVD collection did. It ignored the fact that the first 210 episodes ever existed and started with the appearance of Barnabus Collins in Collinsport, Maine, and the simultaneous disappearance of Willie Loomis, the Collins' handyman. I've never seen the first 210 episodes, but I've read their descriptions. Apparently they revolved around a series of love triangles and mysteries that just weren't that interesting to viewers, and so the storyline was radically changed and TV history was made as a result.

Jonathan Frid was really born to play the part of Barnabus. He is not a good looking guy in the classical sense, but he's got style, dignity, and class and was extremely magnetic in the role. Barnabus is a vampire in the mold of Lugosi's Dracula. However, rather than looking to expand an ever-growing harem as Dracula did, Barnabus is a romantic, intent on reclaiming only one lost love. That is the initial emphasis. Even with the magnetic Barnabus, you'll notice the show moves at a snail's pace compared to later episodes. However, what you are seeing is pretty much the way most soap operas progressed up through the early 1970's. The formula for most soap operas in those days was that there was one dynastic and wealthy family, and lots of middle class families with ordinary problems. Problems generally had to do with affairs of the heart with the occasional crime mystery thrown in, and resolution was very slow. Not until 1975 or so did you see everyone in town being CEO of their own company with fashion models as the cast. So have patience, because the pace is definitely worth the overall storyline and the atmosphere.

Being familiar with Dan Curtis through his 1968 and 1974 adaptations of 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and 'Dracula'(both starring Jack Palance), both recommended especially the former, re-watching 'Dark Shadows' over the past few months as uni slowly became less intense brought many a day and hour of sheer joy.

It does get off to a slow start, with the characters not being as interesting and the budget limitations coming through quite loud and clear. However, 'Dark Shadows' improves significantly with the switch to colour and once the show's most iconic character Barnabas Collins is introduced, and it is very easy to see why it was so popular and why it is considered a classic still now.

The budget limitations are still obvious in the switch to colour, though not as badly affected. From this point on, there is more atmosphere with some quite sumptuous and suitably ominous at times lighting, the sets are less threadbare if not exactly sumptuous and the costumes are nice. Bob Cobert does a great job with the music, with 'Dark Shadows' in particular boasting one of early television's most haunting and unforgettably memorable theme tunes. Check out his scores for 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and 'Dracula', both of which demonstrate how well music can add to the atmosphere.

'Dark Shadows' is always a lot of fun in the writing, sometimes because there is some unintentional corniness but often because there are some well-written fun moments, and the writing is always smartly written with some meaningful moments and a real sense of fear at times. The stories are always compelling, the slow pace never posing a problem at all, helped by a genuine creepy Gothic atmosphere and they are well-developed with any issues explored intelligently and in some considerable detail. The characters are likeably kooky, with the most memorable being the show's most popular asset Barnabas.

The acting is mostly fine, apart from some overacting, underplaying and fumbling of lines from some of the less major roles in the earlier seasons. On the whole though, everything is played straight with no pantomime and no things taken too seriously. The chemistry between the cast is also one of the show's best assets, especially between Barnabas and Julia. The main cast are great, with Joan Bennett and Grayson Hall for examples being very well cast and Jonathan Frid is just magnetic as Barnabas and can't be topped.

Overall, despite a slow start 'Dark Shadows' at its best was a classic, it is easy to see why it was popular at the time and it is equally easy to see why it is so loved and remembered with fondness now. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Personally I hate soap operas from their crappy and overlong story lines, unrelatable and unbelievable characters, and just simply being boring as hell at least that's my opinion. However this show is the only exception I make because it is what most to all of them aren't actually good. This wasn't just a show back them it was a phenomenon that was a huge influence for TV shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", and a little of "Once Upon a Time". But most importantly the show was revolutionary for it's time because it helped bring monsters from the horror genre we know and love translated to our modern times.

I got into this show when I was about 11, one day decided out of boredom to give it a shot and of course I watched more and more and soon it grew to become one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I'm just going to present at least five reasons why I love this show.

1. It's funny well uninterionally: Yeah this show had a lot of hiccups from it's budget and technological limitations it has some of the worst special effects I've seen or non existent effects, it was hilalrous. But that to me is part of the shows charm it's like those amateur films from independent production companies like "Dead Gentlemen" and "Zombie Oupaus" despite the limitations they are entertaining all the same because you can see they really try and it's the same with this show. The limitations of the show were to it's advantage because it gave the show an almost lighthearted sensibility about it which re enforced the fun of the show.

2. The use of progressing story arcs: What I love about these story arcs are each of them are used the right way because they are actually interesting and do add up to something. From this and what goes on I actually found myself caring and it really felt like what happened next mattered.

3. 1790 episode arc: Alright this is really more opinion of episode but it's a good enough reason. This arc is my favorite of the entire show and I personally is is what most Pre Sequels fail to be. What made this intriguing is even though we have been given some info on the past we really don't know all of the details, and as Victoria Winters discovered the hard way most of what we've known is false which gives the story it's mystery element. But also from how much you invest emotional in the love stories with Josette and Barnabas as well as Peter and Victoria it was all the more suspenseful and sad because we know what's going to happen and I wished to God it wouldn't but their was nothing I could do about it.

4. Sense of participation: Throughout what happens in the episode and the knowledge we hold, there are time I couldn't help but at times say out loud "No don't do it Barnabas, don't bite her" or even "Don't go over there your going to die." This is all because of how much emotional investment and time we have spent on the show, and that is a good feeling I don't get often.

5. The colorful characters: Yeah this show had tons of characters and usually that's not always a good idea but here it works because of the characters in the show were actually fully developed which was something most shows back then lacked. They really felt human at times because the characters make good and bad choices which puts them in a gray area at times, or even do things that can at times put us at odds with how we feel. But most importantly we actually cared about them what happened with them mattered. I'll just say four characters I really like since there is no room.

Barnabas Collins: He's a great character due to how dark and complex he is and yet at times is capable of warmth. I like the fact that his character is one like the protagonists in the "Elmare Lennard" stories is crippled both psychologically and physically with his vampirism. He is capable of heroism as well as viciousness necessary or unnecessary. He's also a person plagued by great loss of his lover Josette and is struggling to move on.

Angelique du Pres: She is one of my favorite fictional villains because she is one that you love to hate. From the amount of menace she displays she is someone you wouldn't want to be alone in a room with. However what makes her the most interest is that fact she is somewhat sympathetic, there are times you feel bad for her because her feelings of love for Barnabas are genuine. However she does cross the line which at times makes you plain hate her.

Dr. Julia Hoffman: I like how she is a person of science but she is also open minded to the realm of the supernatural. She is dark and gutsy which made her a great sidekick for Barnabas and personally I felt both of them as a romance couple are a better match. It's true she's not the most beautiful but from her persona she's almost even more attractive that the other women.

Maggie Evans: I remember when I was a kid(I said I was a kid) I had a crush on Kathern Leigh Scott she was just so fraking hot and with the persona to boot. The naivety, vibrancy, even charisma of her character perfectly reflected her beauty. It's always great seeing her happy and whenever she was in trouble or depressed you really felt sad, it was times like that I almost wanted to just come to her rescue.

Well I've said enough, so visit Collinwood but beware there are creatures lurking in the shadows.

Rating: 4 stars

I used to watch soap operas with my grandmother. I then started watching this. It was interesting. After the 2nd episode I got hooked. I watched every episode. It was a little complicated for a kid but it was fun. Great series!

More than a series, this program began as a daily soap opera that told the story of the Collins family, a kind of Dallas or Gothic Dynasty with a very low budget. The program had a low audience and the writers decided to incorporate a character that would diametrically change the course of history. This character was a vampire man (Dracula style) who was an ancestor of the Collins family and who by a curse had been turned into a vampire and is accidentally awakened from his long slumber. This ingenious twist made the audience grow and the story became a horror series, perhaps because it was the only one of its kind it has become a cult TV show despite its low budget. As the story progressed, the writers began to incorporate increasingly unlikely elements, such as time travel, nightmare dreams, and even the appearance of a werewolf. Fortunately almost all of its episodes have been rescued despite the fact that the series was made on videotape and not on film.

I have always been a fan of the ORIGINAL Dark Shadows series and movies! So when I saw that they were coming out with a "new" version of the DS film (which started Fri. in theaters),and I saw the previews - I just shook my head at how ridiculous they have turned a campy, cult-favorite horror series/movie and turned it into a goof-spoof. Johnny Depp plays Barnabas Collins makes Collin's character no longer the romantic, Gothic-love-lost-revenge-seeking vampire that Jonathan Frid played so well. Instead, Depp makes Collins look like a bumbling, buck-toothed Nosferatu-turned-Not-for-a-lot-clue nerd, only made worse by the living folks who bring him "up-to-date" with the new world. If you are into good, classic "Gothic Horror" from the 1950-70's, then this Dark Shadows movie is a great place to start! All the cast from the show are in the movie, and the house where they filmed the movie & show is in Tarrytown NY called "Lynnhurst Castle" - and is filled with paranormal activity! Ghosthunters "TAPS" of SciFyTV did an investigation there even! This is a fun movie - not too scary or gory, but a nice little horror story that may leave you sleeping with a light on or a crucifix pendant....just in case! ;o)

I'm glad I bought the Fan-Favorites DVD before I bought the whole series. I was going to buy it just on its reputation alone, dark Shadows is not the show for me. I love a lot of the older series: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wild Wild West, Invaders, Tarzan; staring Ron Ely, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Barnaby Jones, Harry-O, Mission Impossible, UFO, Space 1999, Emergency, Columbo, Ellery Queen; with Tim Hutton, The A-Team, Hawaii 5-O, The Hardy Boys; even Monk; perhaps it was the old-style English-like Dinner-Theatre format--surveillance-quality cameras, big-heads, and only two-folks in each frame; or, the fact that soap-opera in general has always made me feel queasy? Perhaps if I followed the series from start-to-finish I'd be a better devote; I've always believed that if enough people like something then there must be something to like about it--I'm just not getting it in this series.

It relied heavily on posers; and to a lot of them I found myself say, "So-What!" As George Peppared might say, "I just couldn't get into the Jazz!" There's a peculiar frame of mind this might become enticing to; I just couldn't find the concerted efforts to be bothered with it.

I found Dark Shadows uninteresting and solely designed just to set off your emotions; there is merit here, but not enough for me--I will not be purchasing the complete series.

I would not detract from those who know more about it. I've loved things myself that others have found as nonsensical.

It is a show for those who have had some tradition of watching it; but what do I know, one of my friends loves Coronation Street?

This daytime television soaper-shocker serial has evolved into a cult classic since originally airing on ABC from 1966-71, and is certainly a contender for one of the most unusual television series ever made. In addition to its Gothic tales involving the supernatural, what set DARK SHADOWS apart from the other TV soap operas of its day was the remarkable cast, including famous and glamorous Hollywood screen star Joan Bennett as the aristocratic matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Oscar-nominated actress Grayson Hall(THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA) as Dr. Julia Hoffman who tried to develop a cure for vampire Barnabas Collins but wound up falling in love with him instead. And of course, the superb Jonathan Frid as reluctant vampire Barnabas Collins himself. Incidentally, Frid's perpetually tormented character was what brought the show such tremendous success and remains the best remembered aspect of this enduringly popular series. Made on a noticeably low budget, DARK SHADOWS concentrated on plot and character rather than cheap thrills, though there were plenty of eerie, spooky moments and creepy Gothic atmosphere. The primetime revival of the ever-popular series in 1991 featured more elaborate settings and special effects but was less successful and lasted barely two months on the airwaves. Like it or not, DARK SHADOWS completely changed television history and remains one of the most well-remembered TV series of all time. The show's success led to two offshoot feature films starring a number of the series regulars. The first and most successful was HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS in 1970, followed by NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS in 1971.

I flip flop between Lost in Space and Dark Shadows as my favorite show. Both quite different, but the enjoyment value of viewing the shows is what counts.

Dark Shadows is so popular on Facebook. A few of the cast members are found there, as are many role players. There are a few groups dedicated to the show. Awesome!

As a child, I began watching the show after the introduction of Barnabas Collins. Of course the ratings went up dramatically after he was written into the show. I got caught up with that and watched the show religiously until the end of the series in April 1971.

Those of you reading this and familiar with the show know what I'm talking about. Memorable characters such as Julia Hoffman, Angelique, Nicholas Blair, Adam, Quentin, Willie Loomis, Carolyn, Roger, Elizabeth, Maggie, David, Count Petofi, etc etc.... That's why we watch it. Of course, some ghosts, some other vampires, werewolves.

The music.....Robert Cobert, you are a genius.

The sets.....likewise, Seymour Tomashoff. Incredible!!

Why try to update the show? I couldn't handle the NBC version after maybe 30 minutes. Thank goodness it has arrived on DVD (I do have plenty of VHS tapes....)!!!!!

I'm absolutely in love with it! It may seem to be a little bit long but "dark shadows" are completely worth watching. Nothing can be compared to it. You want to laugh? Here you are! You want to see some love story? Something spooky? Some sad story? If so, "dark shadows" was made just for you!

This show has aged, was made on a shoe string, didn't do retakes for anything, relied heavily on dry ice fog & cheap chroma key.

But it works!

It starts of as a cheap cross between Pyton Place and Jane Eyre but ends up a cross breed of Dr Who and Hammer Horror.

At first glance the scripts and dialog are not always the best but when you stand back and look at how many episodes they (1200+) where making I'm stunned its as good as it is. Also helping this show was the cast which where largely stage actors who fitted their characters well as well as many actresses who where as attractive as skilled.

Near the 200 episode mark the show was on the block so with nothing to lose the show's creator decided F##k it lets drop a Vampire into the plot!

Bang the show was suddenly a hit and the writers proudly pronounced they did not just steal from horror literature they happily looted it!

The Frankenstein monster, the Wolf-man, Ghosts, witches, warlocks, Jekyll & Hyde, dis-embodied hands, even H P Lovecraft as well of course as Dracula. All became fodder for story arcs of this series.

Sadly the last season was just dropped with so many plot threads which where never finished but to be fair they where starting to retread old story lines so it was starting to run on empty near the end.

Keep in mind it is a product of its time (60s), for almost 300 episodes it was in black & white and in that time the concept was definitely new but now in the post Buffy era not so much.

So if you like dry ice fog & wonky chroma key this is for you;)

I am old enough to be one of the kids who dashed home every afternoon to watch my favorite vampire. I am still just as much in love with it. In watching it again, I realize just how gloriously awful it was - over the top acting, really strained dialogue, cheesy sets, flubbed lines and yes the occasional boom mike in the shot. It is just wonderful, and each scene done in one take. The difference between the series and "the movie" - the series took itself very seriously. It wasn't intentionally campy - they played it straight and full throttle. If Ed Wood had done a soap opera it would have looked a lot like Dark Shadows, although the original DS did have talent. I don't understand how Burton/Depp missed the mark on this, especially since they claim to be fans. The "horror" of Frid's Barnabas was that he looked just like anyone else - you couldn't see the monster inside until it was too late.

As a kid, I waited every day for 4pm for DARK SHADOWS to appear on TV. I watched in fascination all the going ons with Barnabas the vampire, time travel (I wanted that staircase that took you to the 19th century!) corpses rising from their graves. When the show came to an end in 1970, it was a sad day.

The show resurfaced in the early 1980's. As an adult, I could see all the flaws, all the signals that told us, this was live television, done on a very low budget. I appreciated Director/Creator Dan Curtis and company going against all odds.

As with all soap operas, the actors in DARK SHADOW had to stretch the material (Remember they had a collective 2 hours plus every week to cover.) Many actors would repeat what the other actor just said (Example BARNABAS: "This room was once filled the scent of lilacs." GIRL (in awe...) "....the scent of lilacs!" Flaws normally covered by alternate takes came up (much of this was live TV) We saw boom mikes, camera catching the edge of set, and the most celebrated goof- a pesty fly that won't leave vampire Barnabas Collins' (Jonathan Frid) nose, while Barnabas delivers a menacing monologue. But, all in all, it was fun. A thrill. It's always great to see this old soap opera once and a while.