DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '16 I => Topic started by: Mysterious Benefactor on May 08, 2016, 01:26:55 AM
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Actually, it's a reissue of the latest compilation DVDs in one package. However, it's being listed at $19.98, which is much less than they cost separately. And Amazon even currently has it for only $11.60.
Check out:
Dark Shadows - '50th Anniversary Collector's Edition' DVDs Announced by MPI (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Dark-Shadows-50th-Anniversary-Collectors-Edition/22239)
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a "collector's edition" of random, out of context scenes and episodes is a rather odd concept. even by MPI standards.
i really don't get the market for this? [ghost_huh]
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The thinking seems to be that this collection is 'for new fans who want to check out the high points of the show's (very long!) run, or for older fans who want to have readily-available highlights at a low cost,' or for fans who might 'buy it as a gift for friends who ask you, "what's this show all about?"' But who knows? As some sort of a 50th Anniversary celebratory memento, it does seem rather lame to reissue already existing material... [ghost_blink] But I suppose for any fan who decided against buying the original releases because they figured they didn't really need them, the reduced pricing and the gathering of everything into one set might be an incentive to buy it. But how many fans is that likely to be? [ghost_undecided]
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Is this the 2016 equivalent of the $5.00 vhs tapes that used to show up in Kmart and Wal-Mart for impulse buyers who might not be willing to invest in a more expensive collection?
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There's probably that, too.
I have to confess that I bought a lot of the early VHS compilation tapes (Best of DS 1 & 2, Best of Barnabas, Scariest Moments, and especially the 1840 Flashback) - but that was because 1) they contained material that hadn't been seen since it was originally broadcast, 2) with only 20 eps coming out monthly on VHS, it was still going to be years before that material came out on the regular VHS releases, and 3) there was really no guarantee that MPI was even going to continue to issue VHS releases long enough for that material to actually come out. The notion of all of DS coming out on VHS was certainly a dream we all hoped for, but it was far from a certainty, especially considering how impossible it seemed to be to get the fifth year of the show out in syndication - and releasing the pre-Barn era seemed even more impossible. Thank heavens everything did actually come out! But that's just the thing - now that everything is out, unless you're a completist, the compilation DVDs often seem superfluous to the average fan, so I can't imagine that they sell anywhere near as well as the VHS compilations once did. And so this new DVD collection probably will be bought mostly by impulse buyers who might not be willing to invest in a more expensive collection, in which case, calling it a "Collector's Edition" would seem to come across as a misnomer...
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Yeah, the scattered clips seen way out of context were sort of the That's Entertainment of Dark Shadows. The 1840 episodes were a huge deal when they were released.
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one can also imagine MPI pressed out these "best of" compilations in the millions. once the "editing" was done cranking out the DVDs likely cost pennies a piece...
so simply repackaging a product they already had is a cheap way to remarket and and make a few more dollars. still promoting it as a "50th anniversary collectors' edition" is pretty weak...
that said on some boards i've already seen fans clamoring for it. so "completists" are always on the hunt for new goodies.
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to this day one can still spot the old "best of" VHS in thrift and junk stores.
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I agree it's a pretty lame celebration of the 50th anniversary, BUT for someone who doesn't have it already, the 1795 condensed storyline disk alone is worth the 12 bucks or so Amazon is charging. It's not perfect, but the story is boiled down to about 4 hours or so. The same is done for the "Turn of the Screw" ghost story featuring Quentin. That one ends on a cliffhanger though. That's about the best I can say about this collection.
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that said on some boards i've already seen fans clamoring for it. so "completists" are always on the hunt for new goodies.
PT Barnum would be in his element
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BUT for someone who doesn't have it already, the 1795 condensed storyline disk alone is worth the 12 bucks or so Amazon is charging. It's not perfect, but the story is boiled down to about 4 hours or so. The same is done for the "Turn of the Screw" ghost story featuring Quentin.
And it's a better price on Amazon than buying both The Vampire Curse and The Haunting of Collinwood because Amazon has them for $6.39 and $10.99, respectively.
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A couple of years ago, I bought a 'Fan Favorite' which I believe have 10 eps.
Does anyone know if the eps I bought will be on the DVD, which I just put my order in?
Thanks,
Patti
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A couple of years ago, I bought a 'Fan Favorite' which I believe have 10 eps.
Does anyone know if the eps I bought will be on the DVD, which I just put my order in?
Based upon past experience with the other re-releases, I would predict that the Fan Favorites DVD will be identical to the version put out a while back, except for the packaging. We saw many of the VHS special tapes included in the final DVD volume. When the coffin set came out, if my memory is correct, there were no added video features and nothing was edited.
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Hi Patti I think the new set has other stuff on it. There are the 1795 DVD edit and the Quentin 1968-69 DVD edit. The blurb on the new set should tell you exactly what it contains. I don't recall the Fan Fave Rave disc being included but I haven't been paying attention.
G.
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OK the box cover mentions "Fan Favorites", "Best of Barn," "Best of Ange", the Vampire Curse and the Haunting of Crawlinwood as the contents. You only have the fan faves so the rest should be new stuff.
G.
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Back in my younger days, I thought about re-editing the entire series to get rid of all the extraneous and unnecessary plotlines...
ie. the moon-poppy werewolf cure etc.
Somewhere on the internet I saw some fan had edited the first 2 seasons of Twin Peaks down to a four-hour mega movie... That's some dedication for sure.
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one man's trash is another man's treasure...
the minutia, the offhand remarks, the throwaway scenes, are some of the favorite things about the show. not just the big dramatic moments.
one of my all time favorite scenes is a 1967 scene where Carolyn, under a certain "influence", gives Julia a hard time for not being "properly" attired for dinner. it's nothing really. it doesn't push the narrative forward. it doesn't really mean anything plot wise. it's just some cat and mouse.
but those types of moments make up the totality of it.
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What I should've said Michael, was when I was younger and didn't appreciate the nuances and minutia that give DS the undying charm, that nowadays is the REAL reason I watch!
And re-watch, and re-watch, and re-watch... [ghost_grin] [ghost_grin]
Thanks to the official, and my un-official watching projects!!
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for this reason these "best of" compilations have never had any draw for me.
my "best of" could be Julia removing a pair of gloves or Mrs. Johnson complaining about spoiled mayonnaise. they'd never make the cut.
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I so agree, Michael. Mrs. J giving Maggie a dime to show her appreciation is a priceless moment. Laura in 1966 lighting a cigarette. Julia prowling around Chris's cottage in a scene that lasts maybe 12 seconds. Portia Fitzsimmons crisply informing Sam he could be big stuff in the Manhattan gallery scene. Stokes critiquing various individuals' taste in furniture and decor. Roger mewling "oh REAAALLLY Liz!" Judith telephoning Gregory at a certain moment. Hoffman talking about the FIRST Mrs Collins's room. And on and on.
The weirdest thing about the DS "phenomenon" or worse still, "the franchise," is how little all the hype has to do with why we REALLY watch... some of us, at anyrate...
G.
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I'm very partial to Sandy and Mrs. Hopewell.
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You all are making me want to watch the beginning episodes, which are my favorites again.
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this board has always had a strong base of "first year aficionados"...
one of the best things about it. those episodes are pure gold.
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One of my favorite scenes comes later on. After much cajoling from Julia, Chris has finally agreed to visit his little sister at Wyndcliffe. He knows that he should but is nervous about facing Amy. Amy has genuine issues with abandonment. Her parents are gone and have been for some time. Her brother Tom who had been her caretaker died under questionable circumstances. It's not clear how close she is to be cousin Joe but apparently having him as a guardian was not an option. Chris did not come back to Collinsport until after Tom's funeral. Amy is withdrawn and distrustful and feels that Chris is there to ease his guilt and not much more.
This scene just aches. It establishes both Amy and Chris as damaged, without any supernatural angle. They come across as a real brother and sister and help to anchor DS in a level of reality that the program didn't always attempt.
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I agree Uncle Roger. It's too bad the writing for the two characters had not continued with work of this calibre. Their scenes together after this one tended to be pretty perfunctory, but they did have a great chem, which added a distinct quality and really made you think they were brother & sister.
G.
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by this point the "real" human interactions were definitely being shortchanged in favor of whatever monster was coming out of the woodwork.
it was a considerable misjudgement on the part of the writers. but i guess they had lunchboxes and bubble gum cards to sell. [ghost_rolleyes]
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I've often wondered how many viewers were lost when they went full tilt into the supernatural on DS. I've never run across anyone who told me that she watched the show in the beginning and dropped it when it became "silly" but I'm sure there must have been a segment of the viewership that did so.
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if i could guess some of the more "traditional" (ie. housewives) soap opera viewers might turned on 'Search for Tomorrow' once the dry ice machine started cranking. but that void was filled and then some with kids and more adventurous watchers.
to me the show works best when it blends the supernatural with more traditional soap storytelling. it's what gives it it's unique flavor and keeps it from devolving into 'Creature Double Feature' territory. when it's monster-vs-monster, with no real human interactions, it's just dumb.
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Agree with you Michael C.
Case in point would be the 'Dream' sequence(s). There's the 'everyday, mundane' life going on, except for ONE person, trying to NOT tell ONE other person.
I've only seen the '66 Laura, specifically, IIRC it was Vicki, Burke, and __________________ (Joe?).
I like the way it took them more that a nano-second to start to see a pattern. That's one of the best story arcs (and, with that, the whole 1897/Quentin saying, "You're dead", and a little bit later, Barn saying, "That can't be Laura from 1755/whatever).
Patti