DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '10 II => Topic started by: Zahir on July 18, 2010, 07:00:41 PM

Title: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Zahir on July 18, 2010, 07:00:41 PM

Picking up from this topic:

Quote from: Mysterious Benefactor on August 02, 2005, 09:06:54 PM

The 2004 WB Pilot

I finally saw the 2004 pilot last night in Burbank.  Jim Pierson introduced it, and generally had lots of criticisms to make--about how Marley Shelton was "allowed" to be blonde, about what he saw as "odd choices" by Jessica Chastain as Carolyn, and in general whining about how it wasn't "Dan's vision."

Honestly, I didn't care.  After all the bellyaching I'd heard from those who'd seen it--it was awful, the characters didn't make any sense, the actors couldn't act, etc.--what I saw was an excellent re-imagination of the basic story.  A few plot holes along the way were closed as well.  The look was extraordinary (although methinks it would have been tricky to sustain for a weekly series), the hints of where there going with the whole idea were fresh and interesting.

Yeah, some stuff was different.  Julia was an attractive younger woman rather than a severe older one--but with a speculative reaction to the attacks suddenly happening in Collinsport.  David seemed genuinely disturbed, the most-impacted person in what is clearly a dysfunctional family.  Roger, rather than a sarcastic dilletante, came across as a stubborn and extremely withdrawn man with his own dark secrets.  Perhaps most startling was to see Willie Loomis as someone well-groomed and articulate, if not the sharpest or most ambitious pencil in the box.

For the record, I thought Jessica Chastain gave the single best performance.

A minor complaint--I just didn't like the full portrait of Barnabas.  Methinks it eliminated the power of a "close up" portrait and made less explicable everyone's reaction to their english cousin.  Another complaint (which is also a problem IMHO with the 1991 version) is making Victoria Winters the reincarnation of Josette.  Apart from the fact it is now a cliche, this does not follow the original storyline at all.  That in and of itself I don't mind, but this is weaker than the original.  If Josette has not been reincarnated (as it was in the original series--because we saw her reincarnated in 1897 and know what that would be like) then Barnabas is just trying to turn a look-alike into a brainwashed copy of his love.  Not only is this more disturbing, it creates a most specific conflict in that he has the potential of another, real love in the present--Victoria Winters, not as a reincarnation but as she herself right now.

Anyway, I wrote a fuller review and am posting it on my blog tomorrow morning.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on July 18, 2010, 07:07:41 PM

Quote from: Zahir on July 18, 2010, 06:53:52 PM

and in general whining about how it wasn't "Dan's vision."

Thanks heavens it wasn't. And as I said in the topic from the '05 showing (the topic that's linked at the top of Zahir's post), the fact that it wasn't was one of the best things about it. (One can only wonder if Pierson is fighting for "Dan's vision" with the Depp/DS film? If so, then no wonder a final script hasn't been decided upon because one can probably presume that most of the other parties involved are looking for a fresh take and not a complete and umpteenth rehash of everything that has gone before. But that's a discussion for the Depp/DS film topic...)

I think it is truly unfair to air criticisms during an introduction to the pilot, thereby planting seeds in people's minds rather than letting people make up their minds for themselves. And I know I'm not alone in that as several members have mentioned their problems with the various ways the pilot has been introduced at the Fests...

Quote

what I saw was an excellent re-imagination of the basic story.  A few plot holes along the way were closed as well.  The look was extraordinary (although methinks it would have been tricky to sustain for a weekly series), the hints of where there going with the whole idea were fresh and interesting.

I couldn't agree more.

Quote

Roger, rather than a sarcastic dilletante, came across as a stubborn and extremely withdrawn man with his own dark secrets.

I'm really disappointed that we never got to see how Roger would have been developed because, according to Mark Verheiden (Exec Producer/Writer), Roger was intended to be the real villain and I think Martin Donovan would have been great at it...

Quote

Anyway, I wrote a fuller review and am posting it on my blog tomorrow morning.

I look forward to reading it.  [ghost_smiley]

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Taeylor Collins on July 18, 2010, 10:49:34 PM

I hope it's played next year so I can be depressed! :( LOL

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: petofi on July 18, 2010, 11:58:53 PM

Sounds li9ke Mr. Pierson wanted everyone to drink the Koolaid BEFORE they got a chance to check out  the list of ingredients.  : )

Petofi

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on July 19, 2010, 12:55:58 AM

That's a perfect way to put it, petofi.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Zahir on July 19, 2010, 03:26:50 PM

Here is my review:  http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/2010/07/dark-shadows-2004.html (http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/2010/07/dark-shadows-2004.html)

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Taeylor Collins on July 19, 2010, 04:04:33 PM

Great review Zahir!  I know I will depressed when I watch the pilot; however I want to see. As I said on your blog I tend to have like minded DS friends who like I are open to new DS interpretations!   I don't tend to agree with this 'the original' is the end all to end all mentality! Thanks for the great review!

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Phil on September 21, 2010, 07:09:39 AM

Here's the opening shot from the WB pilot, contained on someone's VFX reel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6DhOQjcIA0#t=04m40s

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Cousin_Barnabas on September 21, 2010, 07:49:58 AM

That's great!  Thanks for sharing.  Those first few seconds definitely seem to capture the feel of the show.  However, there's a little too much computer-generated imagery for my tastes and the short, blonde haired Victoria would have taken QUITE A BIT of getting used to. 

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 21, 2010, 06:08:34 PM

That is wild! And an amazing bit of luck. Considering there's no mention of DS on the page, how did you ever come across it?!

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 21, 2010, 10:10:05 PM

I took some captures from the video (Click on each to see the larger version):

(http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap1.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap1.jpg)(http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap2.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap2.jpg)
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap3.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap3.jpg)(http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap4.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap4.jpg)
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap5.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap5.jpg)(http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap6.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap6.jpg)
(http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap7.jpg) (http://www.dsboards.com/images/DS04PilotCap7.jpg)

Quote from: Cousin_Barnabas on September 21, 2010, 07:49:58 AM

the short, blonde haired Victoria would have taken QUITE A BIT of getting used to.

Actually, making Vicki blond was really returning to a convention that all the other soaps played by back when DS was originally on. The virtuous heroines were played by blonds, while the villainous bitches were played by dark haired actresses. DC stood that convention on its head when he had his heroine be dark haired and the bitches (early Carolyn, Laura, and particularly Angelique) be blonds.

I honestly had no trouble accepting a short haired and blond Vicki in the pilot - or a dark haired Angelique. And had the pilot gone to series, I suspect that after a while their hair color wouldn't have mattered in the slightest.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: jimbo on September 22, 2010, 12:25:13 AM

Thanks Zahir for that excellent review of the pilot; thanks Phil for finding that footage; thanks MB for those amazing screenshots

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Taeylor Collins on September 22, 2010, 08:18:30 AM

I have actually heard you can download the pilot on some of these media share sites. I am thinking about looking it up!

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Cousin_Barnabas on September 22, 2010, 08:40:57 AM

MB, thanks for those captures!

I believe I read that blonde/brunette tidbit before.  It's really interesting!  I suppose that had I had a chance to see the pilot, I probably would have grown more accustomed to the new 'do for Vicki.  Without sound or much context, it's sort of jarring, though. 

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 22, 2010, 10:31:44 AM

Quote from: Taeylor Collins on September 22, 2010, 08:18:30 AM

I have actually heard you can download the pilot on some of these media share sites. I am thinking about looking it up!

Be very careful about doing that! If indeed it is available from one of those sites, you may not be lucky enough to find it the first time you try. What you will more likely find are sites that are up to no good. Some will tell you that you need to install their software in order to download files with them - but what you'll actually end up doing in downloading viruses or spyware. And even if they don't ask you to download their software, that still doesn't mean you're safe because sometimes the file you'll download is itself the virus or spyware or contains the virus or spyware. In particular, be very careful of downloading anything with a .rar extension. Yes, many are legitimate - but so many more aren't. And after decoding/reassembling anything that comes as a RAR file, under no circumstances click on/open any .exe files no matter what any accompanying TXT file(s) might tell you to do! And it's not just viruses and spyware that these people want to install on your computer - I've read that there's something going around that once installed on your computer will prevent you from using a search engine again because every time you click on a link in a search engine, instead of going where you want to, you'll end up at some site that seems to be trying to sell you something (which is bad enough) but is actually attempting to gather any personal information you might provide to it (like e-mail address, street address, phone number, etc.)... These people are very sneaky, so I reiterate: be very careful!

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: onyx_treasure on September 22, 2010, 07:34:53 PM

     This is the first time I have seen any portion of the pilot.  I did not realize they were doing the train bit.  I don't think there is any trains running in Maine.  There is the Downeaster that goes from Portland to Boston but I don't know much about it.  A bus would have been more realistic or even a small plane to a local airport.  I know DS has never been  about anything plausible but a train is about as realistic as her coming in a horse drawn carriage or a flying saucer.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Nightfall59 on September 22, 2010, 08:00:58 PM

Quote from: Mysterious Benefactor on September 21, 2010, 10:10:05 PM

Actually, making Vicki blond was really returning to a convention that all the other soaps played by back when DS was originally on. The virtuous heroines were played by blonds, while the villainous bitches were played by dark haired actresses.

Yes. I'm old enough to remember--just barely--when this was usually the case. The blonde haired innocent; the black haired siren.

Anyway, these captures are great. I remember running across a website a few years back that had pictures up of the actors involved in this pilot. There was to be a young Asian Julia. I remember thinking at the time that Grayson probably would have thought that a hoot...a young Julia.  [ghost_grin]

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: michael c on September 22, 2010, 08:09:39 PM

the image of a beautiful,dark haired girl traveling up the new england coast came to dan curtis in a dream. so victoria's arrival in collinsport by train seems to be an unchangeable element of the DS mythology.

considering that the series main character is a vampire and time travel a frequent occurrence whether or not trains actually run through maine is a minor quibble.

the series skewed convention even more by making josette a readhead. not traditionally a haircolor associated with ingenues but with wickedness and witches.

for me vicki is a fair skinned,dark haired heroine in the "snow white" tradition. i've never seen the 2004 pilot so i can't say if the actress was good or not but it would have taken some getting used to a short haired blond as victoria winters.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Lydia on September 22, 2010, 08:31:02 PM

Quote from: mscbryk on September 22, 2010, 08:09:39 PM

considering that the series main character is a vampire and time travel a frequent occurrence whether or not trains actually run through maine is a minor quibble.

Nice point, although the scenery around the train surprised me.  Yeah, evergreens and coastline should suggest Maine, but that particular picture doesn't - or anyway, not to me.  I saw the 2004 pilot at the 2009 fest, and I didn't see anything beforehand about it being shown, and there are no opening credits, so when it first came on the screen, I didn't know what it was, and the train and its surroundings didn't turn on any lightbulbs in my head.  I realized only gradually what I was seeing.  It was sort of a neat way to approach it.

Quote from: Nightfall59 on September 22, 2010, 08:00:58 PM

There was to be a young Asian Julia. I remember thinking at the time that Grayson probably would have thought that a hoot...a young Julia.

I like the idea of an Asian Julia.  I figure Barnabas, as an 18th century New England male, would view the idea of love between himself and an Asian woman to be unthinkable, and I would like to have seen that played out.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: onyx_treasure on September 22, 2010, 08:36:50 PM

     The only reason I mentioned the train thing was because some people mentioned during the last remake that they saw palm trees in some of the outdoor scenes.  I live in Maine and at the time I did not notice the palm trees.  We don't have passenger trains here.  I guess if you live somewhere else, you can imagine anything you want about Maine.  My father still thinks I have moose in my front yard.  I did 20 years ago.  A moose came out of the woods looking for love in all the wrong places and the police and animal control caught him downtown.  They gave him a lift back to the woods.
     The actress seemed emaciated.  She almost looked like a ghost.  Whatever the hair color, I thought they would have chosen someone more strikingly beautiful.  I did not see the pilot so maybe this was not a good picture of her.  Is there a way to see other stills of her?

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Taeylor Collins on October 02, 2010, 03:07:04 PM

Thanks MB I know about most all you told me.  I wouldn't trust it unless I knew it was safe.  The only places it can be found is pay sites so I wouldn't dare even think about trying that.  I am wasn't born yesterday.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Taeylor Collins on October 02, 2010, 03:30:05 PM

Sorry for the double but I love Marley Shelton. She was hysterical in Planet Terror and I personally love the whole Tippi Hedron look!

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Sara Monster on February 13, 2011, 07:52:28 PM

Just wanted to bump this old topic on account of the news of some of it's footage being available to view at:

http://www.alecnewman.net/
(Go to media, Show Reel & select 'Dark Shadows')

Although it just shows a rather small clip, gotta say: it looks rather good!
Just wish I could watch it in full some day.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on February 13, 2011, 08:05:19 PM

Thanks so much for alerting us to this, Sara! I had no idea that Alec Newman was featuring a clip from the pilot on his Web site. The last time I was there, which was a very long time ago, it wasn't there, and I haven't been back since.

As for the scene, I absolutely loved it when I saw the pilot and I'm really glad that it's featured on the site. The chemistry between Barn and Vicki (and Alec and Marley) is just smoldering! Though I have to admit that the details on the dagger are a bit fuzzy for me right now because I've only seen the pilot once and that was back in '05. I recall that Angelique was responsible for David finding the dagger, but I don't exactly remember how or what her motivation was. Can anyone refresh the details?

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Sara Monster on February 13, 2011, 09:23:57 PM

Quote from: Mysterious Benefactor on February 13, 2011, 08:05:19 PM

Thanks so much for alerting us to this, Sara!

No problem, it was actually up on http://darkshadowsnews.blogspot.com/
& I thought someone else would had mentioned it on here by now.

Quote from: Mysterious Benefactor on February 13, 2011, 08:05:19 PM

The chemistry between Barn and Vicki (and Alec and Marley) is just smoldering!

I agree! And I rather like the look of this Barnabas (after seeing him in action) & Vicky's little 'jump' when he held out the knife towards her.  Just little things, I suppose, but effective..

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Cousin_Barnabas on February 13, 2011, 11:57:51 PM

Well, having never seen the pilot, except for the few clips that are scattered here and there online, I can't make an accurate judgment.  But, from this scene, in particular, it looks like it went for a "COvertly over-the-top" approach.  It's not melodramatic in its presentation, but it is in its idiosyncrasies.  In this regard, the acting seemed the antithesis of the original.  It reminds me of the 1991 series - on steroids.  The sets looked nice, but the direction of the actors seemed unusual for a modern piece of television - the long, drawn out hand kiss (Let's make 'em think he's gonna bite her!), the jump.  I could never see Frid or Moltke doing any of this (And when there was a similar scene, it was downplayed.).  Cross and Going might walk the line, but never go that far.  In terms of acting, I would hope Depp Shadows would be more subtle.    

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: arashi on February 15, 2011, 09:07:51 AM

If this show had aired I would have fallen hard for Alec Newman.

Thank God he's in the audio dramas because he's damn fantastic.

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on February 15, 2011, 09:55:35 PM

From what I've seen of his work in other things and especially his work in the '04 pilot, I truly believe Newman was a perfect choice for Barnabas. But alas...

I love this shot from the end of the clip:

(http://www.dsboards.com/images/Barn-Vick04.jpg)

In fact, a larger version is currently my computer's wallpaper.  [snow_wink]

Title: Re: WB 2004 Pilot Redux
Post by: Taeylor Collins on February 16, 2011, 12:55:05 AM

I love the scene. I love the rich reds in the background.  This is nice for someone like me who hasn't seen the pilot.  No it doesn't look like anything Frid or Cross would have done but isn't that the point?