First Impressions of the Remix

[Brandon Collins]

MB--interesting stuff in your spoiler laden post above. Thanks for the information. And I agree with you re: EP playing BM.

I also agree that today's audiences are anything if not impatient, and that can mostly be seen clearly with Lost, as MB pointed out. I have to admit that I was one of the people who intially were ticked at the show for all the non-answers they provided, because I don't think you can drag something along for too long and not give the audience anything to chew on. But the pacing of the DSR seemed like every second there was a new revelation, a new plot twist, something to drive the story further. I do have to give kudos to the writers for managing to cram all the story into 13 episodes, because I think they did it rather nicely.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

the pacing of the DSR seemed like every second there was a new revelation, a new plot twist, something to drive the story further.

And that was basically my point. I brought up Lost to illustrate how a good portion of today's audiences will criticize shows that often move at a slower pace and that don't necessarily deliver plot twists/answers every second (or at least in seemingly every act  ). The quicker pace of the '91 series was simply giving today's audiences what they supposedly want.    (Or maybe I should say what today's American audiences seem to want because slower paced stories definitely continue to be told on English TV and in other parts of the world. But that's an entirely different issue...)

The interesting thing is that DC firmly believed even back in the day of the original DS that audiences had short attention spans and if the show didn't give the audience thrills and chills in every act, the show would lose them (which is why in the latter half of the show's run (and especially in its final year) it was practically essential to watch every day because plot points were often established and never fully explained again, and if anyone missed that first explanation, they could have easily found themselves confused). I don't honestly believe that (American) audiences' attention spans were that short back then, but it has become truer now - and it becomes even more true with every passing TV season...

[GooberCollins]

My favorite thing about the revival's 1795 storyline was the fact that we didn't hear "A seance has been held at the great house of Collinwood..." at the beginning of every episode. And Roy Thinnes took the already creepy Reverand Trask and just made him into a total freak. GUH!

I do wonder how closely they would have stuck to the original formula had the show continued, because I think the constant time warps killed the original, as they brought in new fans who were puzzled when the time returned to present day and kept the hardcore fans from seeing the characters they knew and loved. As someone pointed out, what Curtis wanted, Curtis got, even if it would have meant the end of the show... again. I'm going a bit off-topic here, though.

Another annoyance of mine with the revival series is the fact that they used the same house for Collinwood and the Old House. Took a bit out of the atmosphere, if you asked me. I always liked the fact that in the original, you were likely safer at the gloomy, menacing Collinwood than the cozy, welcoming Old House. Having them both be the same house took that away.

I do like the revival's opening. Hearing the theme music play over a sweeping view of a (teeny) Collinwood was very atmospheric and set the tone a little better than the simple waves and floaty text of the original.

[McTrooper]

I'm not sure I understand your point about the Old House and the New House GooberCollins I'm pretty sure the revival had two separate houses not one.  Do you mean they used the same style or location?  I know the original had a vastly diffrent style between the two houses, so I think I understand that point though.   

[Gerard]

Apparently, they did use the same house (exterior shots) for both the Old House and Collinwood, just changing whichever side of the house for filming.  I do agree it took away something, providing no unique quality for either.  There were times in the revival when I wasn't sure where the characters were with regards to what structure on the "estate."

Gerard

[GooberCollins]

Yes, I meant for filming. And I think that they might have used the same house for the interiors, as well, not just the exteriors.

[Brandon Collins]

They did use the same house for interiors and exteriors in the revival. It's been said in other topics on the board before, and if you pay close attention to the woodwork and decorative details on the interiors and exteriors of "Collinwood" and the "Old House" they look the same. I remember that in another thread on this board that someone mentioned the fact that they were shooting a scene in the Old House that had fog, which drifted down the hall and into the "Collinwood" part of the mansion they used for filming.