I enjoyed the 1991 series for its own merits, although it was sadly lacking in a lot of respects. It's a shame it was prematurely cancelled -- due largely to the problem of audiences being unable to find it amid all the coverage of the Gulf War; a highly unfair set of circumstances to compete with. It was just hitting its stride when it was cancelled, and I think it might have had many high points had it been allowed to continue.
One of the show's most glaring faults was its scenery. The intricate miniature of Collinwood was interesting, but obviously a miniature, and inferior in design to either Seaview or Lyndhurst. Greystone simply didn't cut it -- especially doubling as the Old House. Everything about the locale screamed "California," and never succeeded in making me believe this was a small New England town.
I detested the idea of Maggie Evans being Roger's mistress. Didn't do credit to either character. Jim Fyfe's Willie took off on a ludicrous note and then got worse. But during the episodes just prior to the journey back to 1790, his character began to mature and become more tolerable.
I also hated Ben Cross's vampire makeup. Frid always came across as impressive and subtly dangerous when he donned his fangs. Cross looked like a reject from
THE EVIL DEAD and had no charisma whatsoever in vampire mode. I'll give him credit for doing Barnabas justice when he was "normal." He's a capable actor and did a good job with the material until he was required to turn undead.
The best part of the revival series was the 1790 period episodes. These came across as intense as anything showing on TV at the time, especially Victoria's trial. For the most part, the actors here were all wonderful in their parts, especially Stefan Gierasch as Joshua. No one could have been more perfect. Adrian Paul was fabulous as Jeremiah, and I liked the fact that the script made him Barnabas's brother rather than Uncle; the relationship worked a lot better that way. Even Jim Fyfe came across better as Ben.
Gotta admit I didn't care for Lysette Anthony's Angelique. She was effective in her own way, but her character came across as a bit too manic; very different from Lara's portrayal. Uniqueness is fine, but the right chemistry between her and the other players never happened. Not to denigrate her performance; it just didn't sit well with me.
By far the best element of the 1991 series was Joanna Going as Victoria. Gone was the clueless twit that Alexandra Moltke had become. In her place was a beautiful, somewhat vulnerable, perhaps naive young woman, but with a decent brain in her head and the wherewithal to take the initiative in dealing with the uptight Collins clan. When Beth and I wrote
DREAMS, we
had to model Victoria on Joanna, even though all the rest of the characters hearkened back to the original series. To top it off, Going's ability to play Josette convincingly alongside herself as Victoria was no mean feat. She had me convinced she was two different individuals, both with their own personalities and mannerisms.
Dang, I think I'm in love with her all over again.
There is one scene in particular that stands out in my mind as being one of the series' best. That's when Barnabas embraces Carolyn in a twilight setting with Cobert's eerie music playing, and the camera trains on a stream of blood that runs down her neck and over her breasts. It's a beautifully erotic and "mature"
DARK SHADOWS moment, one of the few in which Cross works well as the vampire Barnabas. Strangely, I've heard some people say they were offended by this scene. Personally, I find that an inexplicable reaction, when one considers how eroticism and blood figure so prominently in the entire vampire mythos. I can't imagine a more tasteful manner of dealing with a vampire feeding -- showing just enough to be tantalizing.
It would have been interesting to see where the show progressed.
