Dark Shadows mentioned in October 9, 2007 issue of ABC Soaps in Depth

[EmeraldRose]

I just thought I'd let you all know that, in the InDepthAnswers section on page 41 of the aforementioned magazine, there's a question about Dark Shadows! I don't know it it is a copyright infringement if I type the text here. If so, I guess the Moderators will delete it.

Q. I have a question for you. Why was the original DARK SHADOWS cancelled? My mother used to watch the show all the time!
                                                                                                              Vera Cowled
                                                                                                                     Tyler, TX

A. The gothic daytime show, which aired from 1966-71, in a way fell victim to its own fan base. Since it appealed to a younger demographic than any of the other soaps, ABC felt that, despite high ratings, it was the most expendable when costs needed to be cut. But before then, vampire Barnabas Collins and the rest of the werewolves, witches and zombies enthralled viewers and easily won its time slot, influencing pop culture for decades to come. It has been shown in reruns through the years on channels like Sci Fi, and the series was even remade by NBC in 1991. A few months ago, it was even reported that Johnny Depp is interested in bringing SHADOWS to the big screen!

There is also a picture of Barnabas with the caption, Fans loved sinking their teeth into the campy soap opera.

I think this is GREAT! If the text didn't get approval by the Moderators, I'm sorry. I  guess you'll have to buy the magazine!  Maybe it will be mentioned in ShadowGram.

----- Sally -----

[Annie]

Hi Sally thanks so much for letting us know.  Hope you are doing fine these days.
                 Love Anne
            

[adamsgirl]

Thanks so much for passing this along! It's sad to hear that ABC thought so little of the show's "young" fans (we were young once -- LOL!). I think, too, ratings were slipping. All that bouncing back and forth between time lines got a little confusing and frustrating.

[EmeraldRose]

Hi Sally thanks so much for letting us know.  Hope you are doing fine these days.

You're welcome, Annie (and adamsgirl). I'm doing OK, considering... I still miss my mother a lot, and think about her every day. I've gained back about 30 lbs. the past few months, but I will lose it again. I don't want to gain back all that weight that I lost (it was 100 lbs. a year ago). 

I really enjoyed meeting Jonathan Frid last month! Unfortunately, I had the connecting flight from Hell on the way back - at Chicago O'Hare, I had to wait 12 HOURS before I could leave to get back home to San Francisco! 

----- Sally -----

[joe integlia]

dark shadows was also mentioned in the 9-24 edition of tv guide, page 90. article was about recycling programs,mainly the new bionic woman. night stalker and other remade tv series also mentioned.

[Midnite]

The text from page 90 is here:

Another Dark Shadows reference in this week's TV Guide

[Gothick]

Very interesting.  Some of us have other views on the real story behind the cancellation of DS--we've gone over that so many times here that I'm sure the threads could be easily found if you search the boards.

I found it fascinating when I learned that the ratings for the series were actually going up in January-February of 1971.  It makes me wonder whether the show could have found a whole new audience had it continued into the Seventies.

On the other hand, conjuring up the image of David, Quentin and Roger in those loud polyester Seventies outfits with platform wedgies and ties wide enough to serve as bibs makes me grateful NOT to have had to live through all that.

G.

[Patti Feinberg]

On the other hand, conjuring up the image of David, Quentin and Roger in those loud polyester Seventies outfits with platform wedgies and ties wide enough to serve as bibs makes me grateful NOT to have had to live through all that.

And can you picture somewhat aging Carolyn, Angelique, Roxanne in mid-70's disco attire? 
(No, let's NOT picture Julia, Barnabas or Willie!!!!) Oyevah.

Patti

[BuzzH]

No, let's NOT picture Julia, Barnabas or Willie!!!! Oyevah.

Oh let's!     Let's see, Julia I could definately see in a 70's pantsuit ala Carol Brady, Willie would most likely wear bell-bottomed slacks, tight enough to guess his religion, and a shirt unbuttoned all the way down to his navel with have lot's of gaudy necklaces and Barnabas, well, can you just see him in a 100% polyester LEISURE suit!?  Mike Brady eat your heart out!  

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Barnabas, well, can you just see him in a 100% polyester LEISURE suit!?

Uh, no.    While it's absolutely hysterical to picture him that way (), most likely Barnabas wouldn't have been caught dead (no pun intended) in a leisure suit. I mean, the man rarely even took off his tie when he wore a smoking jacket. Leisure as the general population understood it was not something Barnabas would have ever seen himself a part of. Like a true Collins, he would have always dressed as a proper gentleman, meaning classic attire at all times. 

[David]

Wasn't the main cause of the cancellation the desire of Frid & Curtis to move on?
It was believed the show couldn't survive without them.

David

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Frid had negotiated a new contract only a few months before the cancellation was announced. His main beef wasn't that he didn't want to play Barn anymore - only that he wasn't keen on playing Barn as a vampire.

As for DC - perhaps the best thing that might have happened to DS could have been for him to move on and leave the show in the hands of others who were far more knowledgeable about how to run a soap. Yes, DS has often been lauded for the ways in which it broke from many of the traditional soap formulas of the time - but if it had been just a tad less untraditional, it might actually still be on the air today...

[arashi]

I for one raise my hand in favor of the show not reaching the seventies.... or the eighties for that matter, if only for being spared the popular fashion styles of those decades! 

[BuzzH]

Uh, no.  While it's absolutely hysterical to picture him that way most likely Barnabas wouldn't have been caught dead (no pun intended) in a leisure suit. I mean, the man rarely even took off his tie when he wore a smoking jacket.

Um, totally disagree w/you MB.  On both the NBC series and the WB pilot, Ben Cross and Alec Neuman both dressed more casually as Barnabas.  I think the reason Jonathan never did was because of when the show was taped and took place.  The 60's was a different time than the 70's so it made sense to dress Barnabas up more, but that doesn't mean that if the show had gone on into the 70's and beyond, not to mention the fact that the role would have been recast when Frid left (not an unusual thing in soaps) that another actor would have put his own spin on the character.  Sorry, but to say that Barnabas would never 'change with the times' is a bit ludicrous.  

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I presumed we were simply talking about the original Barn, not the '91 or '04 incarnation. And when it comes to the original Barn, we saw him in several different eras and he never once let his hair down, so to speak. Does that mean that we can state with 100% certainty that he would never ever change? OK - perhaps not. But to say that Barn was set in his ways would be an overwhelming understatement, and regardless of the era, much more likely than not Barn would remain "properly attired" in that era's style. For him to change, it seems to me that it would have taken a shakeup in his life that was analogous to a 100 kiloton dynamite explosion to break him out of his deeply ingrained habits.    If not a complete personality transplant! Though on a show like DS, the latter is most certainly not completely out of the realm of possibility.