About the Show
A brief history of Dark Shadows
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"My name is Victoria Winters... my journey is just beginning..."
On 27 June 1966, those words began the journey of a young governess to the
remote coastal town of Collinsport, Maine, which for the next five years would
be the home of the assorted supernatural forces inhabiting the world of
ABC-TV's Dark Shadows, the first gothic soap opera.
>From the murky images of virginal governess Victoria Winters (Alexandra
>Moltke) on a twilight-bound train, to the hulking inky outline of the ominous
>Collinwood mansion, the opening moments of the first episode made it clear
>that Dark Shadows did not intend to play by any of the traditional soap opera
>rules. A heady distillation of gothic romance plots and intrigue, producer Dan
>Curtis' brainchild was not an overnight success. Intially faced with poor
>viewing figures and twee mysteries surrounding the parentage of the young
>governess, in desperation a ghost story was added to the mix. When viewers
>responded positively, the producers decided that the supernatural plots were
>where the show's future lay, opening the floodgates for a vivid cast of
>spectral characters to menace the tortured Collins family and their
>ghost-ridden mansion, Collinwood, a dark wonderland housed in a tiny Manhattan
>studio.
Nine months into the show's run, grave-robbing drifter Willie Loomis (John
Karlen) released vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) from imprisonment in
the Collins family mausoleum, and pop-culture history was born. Dark Shadows
pioneered the silhouette of the angst-ridden vampire searching redemption some
three decades before Angel lusted after Buffy. In spite of Dan Curtis' mandate
to introduce a bloodsucking fiend as his vampire protagonist, the writers and
production staff took a more considered approach, using the vampire myth as a
metaphor for loneliness and isolation.
In the coming years, the residents of Collinsport would be victims to
werewolves, witches, and warlocks, even the Devil himself. Amongst the most
popular supernatural characters were Angélique (Lara Parker), a beautiful
vengeful witch who gave the vampire curse to Barnabas, and Quentin Collins
(David Selby) a Byronic teen idol afflicted with the werewolf curse.
Moving back and forth through various time periods with bravado, and featuring
an ersatz 'repertory company' of actors in multiple roles, Dark Shadows
delivered imagination and adventure in abundance, drawing massive audiences.
The cast toured the country to huge acclaim, regularly drawing thousands of
enthusiastic fans.
In 1970, Barnabas' story was retold in graphic detail--replete with gallons of
lurid gore--in the first of two Dark Shadows films, House of Dark Shadows,
which proved a box office smash. Featuring the television cast, and filmed
concurrently with the tapings of television episodes, the film's gory nature
may have alienated some viewers. For Jonathan Frid, it resolved his growing
dissatisfaction with the role of Barnabas, and confirmed his suspicions that
the role would leave him typecast. In 1971, when his contract had expired, Frid
proved reticent to re-sign, and only agreed when offered the chance to play
another character, Bramwell Collins.
After 1,225 episodes, and still commanding impressive viewing figures, Dark
Shadows ended its network run in April 1971, a cult television legend and a
unique footnote in television history. A final voice over assured viewers that
"...for as long as they lived, the Dark Shadows of Collinwood, were but a
memory of the distant past."
Within days of the final taping, production began on a new Dark Shadows film,
Night of Dark Shadows. With Jonathan Frid declining the starring role, David
Selby, Kate Jackson and Grayson Hall fronted an evocative ghost story with
shades of Rebecca. Sadly, an eleventh-hour editing session saw nearly half an
hour excised from the film, leaving it disjointed and confusing. In spite of
this, its takings were respectable enough for MGM to request another Dark
Shadows film, but Dan Curtis was not interested.
However, this did not signal the end of Dark Shadows. Nationwide syndication of
numerous episodes throughout the next two decades maintained interest in the
show, and helped foster a strong fan culture. The late 1970s saw the first Dark
Shadows convention, ShadowCon, which ran for several years before being
superseded by the Dark Shadows Festivals, which continue today.
>From 1975, a number of Dark Shadows alumni were reunited for the ABC daytime
>drama Ryan's Hope, which taped at the original Dark Shadows studio. In
>addition to a cast that included Nancy Barrett and many Dark Shadows guest
>actors, producer Robert Costello, directors Lela Swift and Henry Kaplan and
>scenic designer Sy Tomashoff were also involved extensively. Costello and
>Swift both won Emmy awards for their work on the show.
Dark Shadows itself continued to endure throughout the 1980s, and after many
rumours of reunions and sequels, Ben Cross assumed the familiar Inverness cape
and wolf's head cane for a short-lived prime time NBC revival series in 1991.
Dan Curtis returned to spearhead the new project, which also starred Barbara
Steele and Jean Simmons. Boasting lavish production values and locations, the
series retold the original Barnabas storyline for an adult audience. Sadly, in
spite of a rigorous publicity campaign, the misfortune of debuting on the eve
of the Gulf War proved insurmountable. The new Dark Shadows was cancelled after
just 12 episodes, in spite of NBC receiving over 50,000 letters of protest.
The 1990s saw the entire Dark Shadows archive repeated via the Sci-Fi Channel,
which continues broadcast today, and their European counterparts gave its
territories their first ever broadcast of the show from 1995-1999. MPI Home
Video has released the entire series on US home video, and HarperCollins
published two Dark Shadows novels in 1998 and 1999.
Today, 40 years since its first broadcast, it maintains an enthusiastic
following of fans, fuelled by successful annual conventions and a vast array of
merchandise. Rumours of a variety of new Dark Shadows production formats
persist, and 2003 saw classic cast members reunited for Return to Collinwood,
an audio play bringing the story into the present day. Spring 2004 saw another
cast embracing the familiar Collins personalities as part of an ill-fated pilot
for the WB network's fall season.
2006 saw Dark Shadows fans mourn the passing of Dan Curtis, the show's founding
father. Ironically, at the same time, the Dark Shadows legend began another
chapter with the announcement of a new series of audio dramas, starring
original cast members.
Indeed, much like Barnabas Collins himself, Dark Shadows retains an immortality
that time steadfastly fails to erode.
www.collinwood.net is operated by the Dark Shadows Journal
Original Content © Copyright Stuart Manning. Design by des...@collinwood
Dark Shadows © 1966 Dan Curtis Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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