Forgive me if this has been discussed elsewhere (I couldn't find anything using the search box), but last month the 91 series was released on DVD in the UK, and it looks like it's a big improvement on the crappy US release from a few years back.

According to the specs given (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Shadows-Revival-Complete-Series/dp/B007K4PVFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338379765&sr=8-1), it's in 4:3 fullscreen! Has anyone picked up this release? And if so, can you give me a rundown of it? Is it truly in the ORIGINAL un-cropped aspect ratio? And what about the day for night scenes and picture tint/coloring? From the runtime I'm assuming it's the original NBC broacast versions and not the extended MPI version, but if the rest is "as it was meant to be", then this is major improvement and a must get...

i know we're still speculating(aren't we?)but vicki as a waitress is kind of a bummer. the whole "jane eyre" component of the gothic governess is elemental to the DS mythology. it was pivotal to dan curtis' conception of this whole story.

My sentiments EXACTLY! I can't imagine Dark Shadows without wide-eyed governess Victoria Winters coming to the mysterious house known as Collinwood. It was the very genesis of this great saga, has been used in every previous version (with Maggie substituting for Victoria in HODS), and is just as integral to making Dark Shadows feel like Dark Shadows as Barnabas' arrival is.  Anything less will be much more than a bummer for me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they stay true to Dan Curtis' vision.

I couldn't agree more MB. They've really kicked it up a notch these last 2 episodes. I almost think they're going too fast in some ways, but it's still really great stuff. And much like MOONLIGHT, which I initially wrote off as just a FOREVER KNIGHT rip-off, the show keeps getting better each week. I loved the 1864 flashbacks and the unexpected twist revealing how the brothers became vampires. Just great stuff all around from the DS inspired elements (relunctant vampire, ~reincarnated long lost love, brothers fighting over the same woman, witch, etc...), and a nice blend of classic and modern vampire mythology, and new twists and turns around every dark corner. I'm definitely hooked and I can't wait for next week's show. Long live The Vampire Diaries.  

I've been enjoying this series as well. Much more so than I expected. There are definitely some not-so-subtle nods to DS, most notably the Josette (or in this case Katherine) angle, which made me as soon as I saw it. I kind of hope they do some flashbacks showing us what happened with Katherine and the 2 brothers in the past. Either in an extended DS way or in a briefer Forever Knight way. I kind of think of TVD as a sort of "DS: The High School Years" at this point, and as such I'm enjoying it. And as a classic vampire fan, I'm also happy that most of the traditional vampire myths have been kept (the "a vampire cannot enter someone's house unless they've been invited" thing, for example). And I have to say that Nina Dobrev who plays Elena (and hopefully Katherine in flashbacks) is stunningly beautiful. She's almost as lovely and enchanting as Joanna Going.

I'm looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here.

Ditto. So who is it? What do they have to say?

Here's all of it in snapshots with the subtitles on so that you can read what the lady interviewed says about the series:

http://img242.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=35297_Dracula_Fact_and_Fiction_-_Dark_Shadows_122_170lo.jpg

Did anyone notice the similarities between the cover for MGM's crappy DVD release and the cover for Universal's great DVD release containing 8 Hammer Film Productions (including 2 Gothic Vampire movies: "The Brides of Dracula" and "Kiss of the Vampire")? I didn't notice it at first, but last night as I sat down to watch the first film on the set "The Brides of Dracula" and I removed the plastic slip case which holds the set together, I couldn't help noticing how the inside cover (which you see partially through the clear plastic slip case) looks almost IDENTICAL to MGM's cover.

Check these out to see what I mean:

Dark Shadows DVD cover
Dark Shadows The Revival - The Complete Series (1991)
(Click on the "See larger image" link.)

The Hammer Horror Series DVD cover
Hammer Horror Series
(Click on the "See larger image" link.)

The full color portions of the cover (Peter Cushing, the Werewolf, and the frame with the title, etc... are all part of the plastic slip case (which looks great BTW). The slip case has a clear section and through it you see part of the inside cover. This is the part that is pretty much identical to the DS cover. We've got the same vampire in moon motif, the same spooky castle/house motif, the same bats flying around motif, the same lightning coming down motif. Even the color scheme is the same. But the difference is that Universal spruced theirs up with the nice full color slip case. Looks 100 times better.

Anyway, it can't be a coincidence that these look so much alike. Someone must've copied the other's concept (or at least part of it). I wonder who the copycat was...?

Dan

Folks, come on, let offer more positive reflections on the MGM 91 release.

Hmmm... Like what? You must've read Darren's post stating that the aspect ratio is 1.78:1 and not 1.66:1 as you had hoped, so that means that a full 25% of the image has been trimmed. There are no extra scenes like in the MPI video releases, no extras whatsoever, and the packaging is ugly. I don't see anything positive about this DVD release.

6 months ago, I left the Median Domain ONE LIFE TO LIVE board ONCE AND FOR ALL because of the horrible, destructive and personally insulting posters who attacked not only the writers and producers, but the actors as well.  That site had many sad, unhappy and vindictive people posting.  Let's not see that here at the DS forum.  DS fans are and have always been nice, positive, supportive folks.  Let's keep that attitude here on the board.

I appreciate the sentiment and I agree with you, but I don't think being critical about a billion dollar corporation like MGM/SONY for chosing to release the most inferior/cheaply produced bare bones product they can is the same as insulting posters, actors, writers and producers. The fact of the matter is that MGM didn't care about the fans of this show or for that matter the producers of the series who were opposed to them creating a faux widescreen print and ruining the integrity of the framing, etc...

And it's mind boggling to think that this is what MGM chose to release when a relatively small company like MPI could (and did) release a version that is infinitely better: complete image intact, extra footage added by MPI (including getting actress Joanna Going to do a NEW voice-over for episode 3), and a full 60 minute retrospective/documentary which is a great "extra".

MGM deserves no praise whatsoever for this DVD release but they most definitely deserve our disapointment and anger.

Dan