Dark Shadows: A New Generation of Fans

Last year, my husband heard that Dark Shadows,one of his favorite childhood shows, was available on DVD. Growing up, I had heard about the show from my older brothers and sisters, but I was still very young when it went off the air. My husband remembers jumping off the bus and running down the dirt road to his house every afternoon to watch this show. My Mother remembers my brothers doing the same thing. Even one of her sisters would come over to gather around the tv and watch it with them. Seeing how excited everyone seemed just talking about it, I knew I had to see what this show was all about. What made them remember this show after all of these years?

Dark Shadows ran for five years from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971 on ABC.

It was produced by Dan Curtis. He came up with the idea from a dream he had.

It was considered a Gothic Romance.

The show was about to be cancelled before the appearance of Barnabas Collins, the vampire.

• Joan Bennett
• Jonathan Frid
• Grayson Hall
• Louis Edmonds
• Nancy Barrett
• Lara Parker
• David Selby
• Kathryn Leigh Scott
• David Henesy
• Thayer David
• Alexandra Moltke

For more information on the cast, and show you can visit: http://www.collinwood.net/

After a few episodes of watching and getting a feel for the plot, I was totally and completely hooked, along with MY CHILDREN! It was great. It had everything a good show needed. The tension. The drama. Great actors. It also had something else no other show had at the time. A Vampire! Graveyards. Secret rooms. And plenty of suspense. I had found something I could share with my children without worrying about what they would see or hear because this was from a time when TV was still decent. Don't get me started on what passes for Family TV today.

Apparently we are not alone in our fascination with this Gothic romance. In 1983 the first annual Dark Shadows Festival was held. The festival is the offical Dark Shadows convention where the actors are invited to speak and meet their fans, old and young.

One of the best things about having the shows on DVD, besides being able to watch 10 in a row instead of having to wait until the next day, is the interviews. At the end of each DVD, they have an interview with one of the actors, directors or writers. It really gave me a better understanding of how the show was taped live and seeing the actors reminisce about the goof ups was just as funny as seeing them myself. I think they had a blast making the show.

I heard a rumour that I hope is true. A Dark Shadows Movie is in the works with Johnny Depp starring as Barnabas Collins. I read somewhere that Johnny Depp wanted to be Barnabas when he was a little boy. I hope his wish comes true. I am a big fan of Johnny Depp and I think he would make an excellent Barnabas. He seems to have a knack for playing the odd and quirky characters.  I look forward to hearing more about the movie.