Dark Shadows

[mikelz777]

Are there any fans of the old Dark Shadows series? I remember literally running home from school so I could catch the latest goings-on at Collinwood. I just discovered the trailer for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows movie starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas. Is this for real? It doesn't appear to be in the spirit or tone of the original series at all. From the looks of it, apparently it wasn't intended to be. This looks like a smoking turd to me. YMMV.

Dark Shadows trailer.

Edited March 21, 2012 by mikelz777

[Shawn]

I think the movie looks HILARIOUS. Dark Shadows is ripe for parody, so this doesn't surprise me at all.

[JSngry]

Who's playing Earl Coleman?

[RDK]

I really enjoyed the screenplay, but I haven't liked a Tim Burton film in years. I think the idea of a "fun and satirical" version of DS is fine, but Burton pushes this way over the edge imo.

[sonnymax]

I remember the original series, and I can't say I'm a fan. It's always struck me as an awkward, unintentionally funny program that has receives more credit than it deserves (sorry, RDK). It's perfect fodder for Burton and Depp, imo.

[Rooster_Ties]

My mother was a huge fan of Dark Shadows -- which she only saw because, when I was born (in early 1969), she was out of the workforce for about 5 years (when it ran) until I was in school. I remember seeing it in reruns about 15 years later (mid-80's), maybe on PBS come to think of it, and her going out of her way to watch it then (I think it ran practically at Midnight, or no earlier than 11pm at least).

Not sure if I'll go see the movie, but I do have an urge to see some of the original episodes again.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Rooster_Ties

[Pete C]

I remember how big it was when I was a kid/teenager. I think it was bigger with girls. I never watched a full episode then, but I tried one on Netflix. Amazing how relatively crude the production values were back then. Not my cuppa.

Who's playing Earl Coleman?

Tracy Morgan, but Kevin Mahogany is dubbing the vocals.

[Tim McG]

I was more of a Night Stalker fan with Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak.

[Shawn]

I was more of a Night Stalker fan with Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak.

I also vaguely remember a late 70's TV show called "Cliffhangers" (or something like that), it featured a vampire plot as one of it's continuing stories.

[jazzbo]

My late wife was a fan when she was young, watching it after school. Had some fun watching episodes on DVD with her, she really enjoyed revisiting the show with her then perspective.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

I too watched it after school for a number of years (it was on before 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea') Got a kick out of Quentin....didn't like Maggie.

[JSngry]

Who's playing Earl Coleman?

Tracy Morgan, but Kevin Mahogany is dubbing the vocals.

Will Forrest Whitaker be reprising his role as Bird?

[Dave James]

My soap opera addictions when I was in high school never included Dark Shadows. I was a General Hospital, One Life To Live guy. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I got sucked into Days Of Our LIves in the early '90's, but I managed to shake that off after just a couple of years.

[Pete C]

I was a General Hospital, One Life To Live guy.

My older brother was, and I followed both for a while in the John Beradino & Erika Slezak days respectively (I think Luke & Laura was the tail end of that period).

That woman from Who's the Boss was on One Life to Live, IIRC. Was Tommy Lee Jones on GH or another show? And Donna Mills?

Edited March 22, 2012 by Pete C

[Dave James]

I was a General Hospital, One Life To Live guy.

My older brother was, and I followed both for a while in the John Beradino & Erika Slezak days respectively (I think Luke & Laura was the tail end of that period).

That woman from Who's the Boss was on One Life to Live, IIRC. Was Tommy Lee Jones on GH or another show? And Donna Mills?

Did you know that John Beradino played major league baseball from 1939 - 1952 with the Browns, Indians, Pirates? He was a middle infielder. Career average: .249.

Tommy Lee Jones was on General Hospital. Not sure about Donna Mills. Elizabeth Taylor actually appeared in one episode. Demi Moore's first role was on that show.

[JETman]

A 17 year old Demi Moore debuted on GH as Jackie Templeton, a reporter who had a thing with Tristan Rogers' character (forget the name).

[Pete C]

Did you know that John Beradino played major league baseball from 1939 - 1952 with the Browns, Indians, Pirates? He was a middle infielder. Career average: .249.

Yeah, that's why I singled him out.

A search shows that Donna Mills was on a show called Love is a Many Splendored Thing.

[Neal Pomea]

The Edge of Night and Secret Storm fan here. And Kolchak, Night Stalker.

[Jazzmoose]

I never got to see Dark Shadows after school as it was on at 1PM where I grew up. But it was a definite summer highlight! I remember being extremely disappointed in, I think it was '72, maybe '71 when summer rolled along and there was no Dark Shadows any more. Horrible! Heck, I had all the paperbacks, and even had the 45 of "Quentin's Theme". I guess I was a bit of a fan, but it cured me of watching soap operas forever as I eventually figured out that you could watch the last half of Friday's episode and pretty much cover the week's developments, the the first half of Monday's to resolve the weekend cliffhanger...

As for the movie, no interest at all. Yes, it was silly, but making fun of my childhood isn't high on my list of enjoyable activities unless I'm doing it myself.

Edited March 23, 2012 by Jazzmoose

[Teasing the Korean]

I was obsessed with Dark Shadows as a kid. I loved Barnabas and Quentin. And Angelique. The Dark Shadows LP on Philips was my first soundtrack album and was a gateway into experimental, dissonant orchestral music. I also had, and still have, the Viewmaster reels. When the show was cancelled in 1971, I was crushed, especially right after the Beatles broke up.

When my wife and I got together in the mid 1990s, the show was being repeated on the SciFi Channel. I had no idea they'd saved all the shows. We subsequently started buying the DVDs.

I have all the soundtrack CDs and love Robert Cobert's music. He also did music for the Night Stalker and Burnt Offerings.

Yes, the show has all sorts of problems, but that is part of its charm.

I have no interest in seeing the Tim Burton travesty.

[mikelz777]

I see that it's rated a "rotten tomato" on rottentomatoes.com ranking a 40 out of 100. I don't see many true Dark Shadows fans enjoying it but there are a lot of people who will go see anything if Johnny Depp is in it. I'll be avoiding it in the theater, on DVD and when it eventually shows on TV.