These can be further sub-divided, but here are the general categories. I will revise if you think an important story line is unrepresented:
1 - Victoria 2 - Laura the Phoenix 3 - Arrival of Barnabas 4 - 1795 5 - Nicholas Blair/Adam & Eve 6 - Werewolf and Quentin's ghost 7- 1897 8 - The Leviathons 9 - 1970 Parallel Time 10 - Ghosts of Daphne and Gerard 11- 1840 12 - 1841 Parallel Time
All of the story lines had lots of dead weight. I'm tempted to vote for 1897. Love the 1968 Satanic story line, but Adam drags it down.. I also like the Leviathons although lots of people hate those shows.
I would say the Barnabas character was the meat of that show, the other parts were good, but the vampire theme did it for me and most people i know or knew.
I would have to say the Jason McGuire storyline, where he blackmailed Elizabeth Collins Stoddard into marrying him because she thought she killed her husband Paul Stoddard (which was found out to be a hoax). Of course Jason paid the price when he thought there were jewels in Barnabas Collins' coffin (and got killed by Barnabas).
My favorite was the Quentin/Chris Jennings/werewolf storyline with the hand of Count Petofi. Leviathans were interesting too...& the parallel time room.
I enjoyed the storyline when Angelique/Cassandra Collins cursed Elizabeth Collins Stoddard by having her buried alive.
I loved the 1897 storyline and coincidentally the series had its highest ratings. The ratings took a HUGE nosedive with the "Leviathan" storyline.
A minor plot line: "Amanda Harris" (Broadway Actress) AKA "Oliva Corey" ( the stage actress in 1970 time) whose portrait was made by artist Charles Delaware Tate (gotta love THAT name!!!). It was a nice plotline to follow during the "Leviathan" story. I was such a loyal fan that I endured DS to its bitter end, cancellation in April 1971.
After 1897, the show not only lost viewers but ideas. The whole Cyrus Longworth Mad Scientist plot was pretty bad. Parallel time - 1970, 1840. The 1970 PT plotline closely followed "Rebecca" including Dr. Hoffman playing a Mrs. Danvers type character. It was saved only by the great acting of Lara Parker, Angelique. The 1840 plotline was not well done in my humble opinion because of its segue, the destruction of Collinwood in the present time (Dr. Hoffman and Barnabas traveled to the future - 1998, I think, to discover this fact, and finding a mentally ill Carolyn Stoddard.
Angelique was by far and away my favorite character. Her voodoo casting spell scenes by the fire were great fun to watch! Jerry Lacey's Rev. Trask was a hoot, too! My older sisters and I would laugh our heads off! We also enjoyed, too, of course, actors going up on their lines, falling scenery, crouching directors - all captured live on videotape. Apparently, the show was shot live on tape with no stopping to correct mistakes. This was a great part of the series' charm for the true DS fan.
My favorite written line, which was oft repeated: "Roger, have you seen David?" LOL!!! Of course, I often wondered as a child the very odd weather in Maine: not one snowflake and storms without ANY traces of rain! :-)
#4 -- 1795. "A seance has been held in the Great House at Collinwood..."
This launched the time travel to the 18th century and the introduction of Angelique and Josette du Pres falling to her death off Widow's Hill. I still get chills when Victoria Winters returned to the present after escaping execution by hanging for being a witch!
Finally had my first "Dark Shadows" experience by watching the HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS movie:
1. A pretty good score by Cobert, although the frequent abrupt curtailment of the music once a scene ended was frustrating.
2. Kathryn Leigh Scott was a MAJOR cute babe. Holy smokes!
3. Was the original Marvel incarnation of Blade inspired by Jeff Clark?
4. My library has most of the 1966-1971 TV show DVDs. I'm thinking of sampling some of the episodes later this year when I have more time. Any Shadows experts here who can recommend the most essential storyline I should try first? These library DVDs are arranged by months and years, not by the name of the storyline, so I would need to zero in that way. Thanks!
I've been a dedicated Dark Shadows fan since I was a little boy, when my mother and grandmother started watching the program in 1967.
My favorite storyline is the 1795 flashback. Having Victoria Winters travel back in time is not that interesting, but finding out how Barnabas and Josette were undone and the family cursed by the jealous Angelique entertains and fascinates me as much today as it did then. Loved the period costumes, the Colonial America setting, the romantic tragedy, the Gothic atmosphere. I would get impatient with some of the later storylines, but never to the point of switching off. It's all good. It's all so bad it's good.
DARK SHADOWS: THE VAMPIRE'S CURSE aka DARK SHADOWS: THE CURSE OF THE VAMPIRE (2009) is a 210-minute edit of the 1795 storyline that cuts out the subplots and byways to focus on the main narrative. The opening titles and closing titles of each episode are also cut, except for at the beginning and end, of course. It's like a 3 1/2 hour movie. Jonathan Frid is positively brilliant. When he was doing Barnabas, there wasn't another actor in television who could dig as deep or reach as high into a character as Jonathan Frid. Lara Parker is sensational; who can take their eyes off her? The 1795 edit represents Dark Shadows at its best. Don't hesitate. Buy It Now:
The story begins with episode 370 (November 24, 1967) and ends with episode 460 (March 29,1968) with an epilog edited from episodes 211 and 212 (April 18 and 19, 1967). For the longer version as originally broadcast, you'd have to begin with the last disc of Volume 5, all of Volume 6, and the first disc of Volume 7.
DARK SHADOWS: THE VAMPIRE'S CURSE aka DARK SHADOWS: THE CURSE OF THE VAMPIRE (2009) is a 210-minute edit of the 1795 storyline that cuts out the subplots and byways to focus on the main narrative. The opening titles and closing titles of each episode are also cut, except for at the beginning and end, of course. It's like a 3 1/2 hour movie. Jonathan Frid is positively brilliant. When he was doing Barnabas, there wasn't another actor in television who could dig as deep or reach as high into a character as Jonathan Frid. Lara Parker is sensational; who can take their eyes off her? The 1795 edit represents Dark Shadows at its best. Don't hesitate. Buy It Now:
There is one other I find through the Amazon link, featuring The Ghost of Quentin Collins storyline. Available on dvd or for rent or purchase on Amazon digital video.
There is one other I find through the Amazon link, featuring The Ghost of Quentin Collins storyline. Available on dvd or for rent or purchase on Amazon digital video.
Good to know. I have always suspected that great edits were possible if the dead weight was removed.
I would love to see a similar edit of the 1968 Satanic Nicholas Blair storyline, with Adam's appearances kept to a minimum.
