DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '14 II => Topic started by: Uncle Roger on July 25, 2014, 08:25:14 PM
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Now, somewhat on the same topic, here's a question thrown out to our fantastic general audience. Dan Curtis originally wanted to do a "direct" sequel to HoDS where Barnabas returns but the concept was ended when Mr. Frid refused to reprise the role. If it had gone forward, what would've happened? Most of the original cast had been offed. All that was left of the major characters was Elizabeth, David, Maggie, Jeff and Todd. Oh, and Mrs. Johnson. There wasn't much left to build on.
In theory, Barnabas and any or all of the other vampires could have been resurrected by removing the stake from their hearts. Barnabas had limited success in trying to control Carolyn. Would he have been able to control her, Roger and Stokes? Stokes would have made a particularly cunning adversary.
Willie and Julia certainly appear to be really and sincerely dead.
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I know I read somewhere that DC was planning to do a bigscreen version of 1795 as the sequel to hoDS. How it would have played out is anybody's guess. Presumably cast members such as Thayer, Karlen, Grayson et al whose characters had been killed off in hoDS would have portrayed some of the 18th century personnel. The original scenario could have been rewritten to provide new roles for some such as Karlen.
G.
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I am looking at Dark Shadows Year One from Dyanmite Comics as the prequel to HODS, even though it's probably too long to have been a movie.
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interesting. I've never heard about the proposed "big screen" version of 1795...
since Victoria was pivotal to that storyline it would have had to be completely restructured if they were not going to try and get Alexandra back or recast the role for the film.
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I'm thinking, Michael, if they had made it, it would've been the original, non-time-travel story sans Vicki. Phyllis Wickes would have remained the original governess but I wonder if they also would've "stretched" it out with the witchcraft trial and all that, instead ending it with Barnabas being permanently entombed by Joshua.
Gerard
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Back in 1970 (post HODS and prior to any cancellation rumors), there was an interview in Grayson Hall's fanzine that a second film would either be a 1795 version or a Quentin story. I got the impression that the 1795 version would have recapped the Barnabas origin story. It would have been interesting to see what impact that would have had on the daily show.
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if they had made it, it would've been the original, non-time-travel story sans Vicki.
The likely scenario would have probably been the original timeline. Though it might have been an interesting twist if, say, somehow Maggie (there apparently being no Vicki in the hoDS universe) was somehow transported to the past and she was able to prevent Barnabas from being cursed, thereby undoing all the events of hoDS. Though I suppose that wouldn't have been what DC would have wanted because if he did a Barnabas sequel, he probably would have wanted to try to outdo the vampire blood and gore of hoDS, sacrificing even more character moments in the process. [ghost_rolleyes] Plus, if Frid would have been willing to continue to play Barnabas, and if DC would have been willing to do more than two DS films, in all likelihood MGM and DC would have wanted to be able to feature vampire Barnabas in as many sequels as possible.
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I supposed they could have told the 1795 story in a more straightforward, linear way without Vicki or anybody else traveling back in time from 1970/1 to "witness" it or to try and change it's outcome. it could have been more of a traditional "prequel" without any scenes set in "the present".
in terms of NODS once it became clear that Frid was not onboard and Selby would be heading up the cast I wonder why they decided to go with a totally new story outside of established series' canon rather that some version of the "werewolf" story with which Quentin had become so strongly associated???
it should be noted that by the time a more traditional "sequel" to HODS could be filmed KLS would also have been departed from the scene (she left the company shortly after the HODS filming and did not appear in NODS). so any story set in 1795 would have meant a recast for Josette???
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Back in 1970 (post HODS and prior to any cancellation rumors), there was an interview in Grayson Hall's fanzine that a second film would either be a 1795 version or a Quentin story. I got the impression that the 1795 version would have recapped the Barnabas origin story. It would have been interesting to see what impact that would have had on the daily show.
by the time such a film could be produced and released the daily show would have already left the air. so it really wouldn't have made a difference.
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it should be noted that by the time a more traditional "sequel" to HODS could be filmed KLS would also have been departed from the scene (she left the company shortly after the HODS filming and did not appear in NODS). so any story set in 1795 would have meant a recast for Josette???
Perhaps. Though perhaps KLS would have returned to do another DS feature if the script was right and featured Josette/Maggie - especially considering the DS features were shot in such a short period of time. But, of course, we'll never know...
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perhaps...
but since KLS was off-contract and determined to move to Paris with her fiancé it's interesting to ponder a recast for such a prominent figure as Josette.
was Virginia Vestoff on-contract? would that have been a possibility?
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in terms of NODS once it became clear that Frid was not onboard and Selby would be heading up the cast I wonder why they decided to go with a totally new story outside of established series' canon rather that some version of the "werewolf" story with which Quentin had become so strongly associated???
I think that DS had been moving much more into the supernatural/fantastic/psychological direction, and away from the classic monster mode (vampires, werewolves, Frankensteinian creatures), by this time. The story in NODS seems to be much more in line with the kind of stories that DS had been doing during its last year or so.
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it should be noted that by the time a more traditional "sequel" to HODS could be filmed KLS would also have been departed from the scene (she left the company shortly after the HODS filming and did not appear in NODS). so any story set in 1795 would have meant a recast for Josette???
If they were going to recast Josette, I'd think Kate Jackson would have worked as well as anyone. I'd rather have seen her than a newbie. Joanna Going would have been 8 at the time LOL.
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I think that DS had been moving much more into the supernatural/fantastic/psychological direction, and away from the classic monster mode (vampires, werewolves, Frankensteinian creatures), by this time. The story in NODS seems to be much more in line with the kind of stories that DS had been doing during its last year or so.
the sensibility and tone of NoDS was much more "adult" than some of the earlier stories on the series.
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but since KLS was off-contract and determined to move to Paris with her fiancé it's interesting to ponder a recast for such a prominent figure as Josette.
KLS worked on DS without a contract for at least the entire last year she was on the show (I forget the exact point she's said her contract ran out). But your point is well taken about her move to Europe.
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I would imagine she was under contract at least through 1969 since they were able to "call" her back (from her African "safari" or whatever it was) to portray Kitty during the later part of the 1897 storyline.
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I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure her contract had already expired by then. I thinking it expired around the time they killed off Rachel. And that would make sense not only if she had a three year contract, but it would explain how she could have taken such a long leave to go Africa. And if that is the case, chances are she came back to work in September of '69 simply because she was loyal to DC, not because she was contractually obligated.
(And an initial three year contract for the original cast would also jibe with how David Henesy was also no longer under contract when they shot hoDS. Hence his threat to DC that unless they were paying him the same amount that they were paying the rest of the supporting cast in the film, he didn't need to do the film because he could have just gone back to school.)
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I don't know just how the legalities played out but as we've discussed in the past, it would seem that MOST of the DS cast were not actually under contract. Which is why people such as John Karlen, Clarice, Thayer, et al. came and went. Both Nancy and Louis took occasional breaks to do theatre, as did Humbert. All of this helps explain why Frid felt he was getting shafted after a certain point because everyone else had been allowed to come and go and by the Summer of 1969, he hadn't had a break of any kind in two years. Not only that, he was often made to do those dog and pony show weekend appearances in places like Peoria, Teaneck, Baton Rouge etc. They worked him really hard.
I always thought that when KLS came back to NYC from her time away, she dropped by the studio just to say hi to whoever happened to be working then. It's possible Dan did set up a formal meeting via her agent, of course.
When she left again in '70 to move to Paris, according to her original memoirs, he actually told her that if she did leave, she would never work again. lol.
Of course as we've seen many times before, KLS's memories, even from the 1980s, need to be weighed against other recorded facts... but I can really imagine DC having said this to her. No doubt while putting the golf ball around the office in true Sixties exec style.
G.
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I imagine at some point Curtis locked Frid into some sort of long term contract. probably Grayson as well...
several other prominent cast members were on contract. we all know Joan had a highly specialized contract that granted her "star billing" (long after it had become clear someone else was the "star" of the show) as well as those annual six week vacations (resulting in her characters' frequent hospitalizations and entombments). Alexandra also had a long term contract that she needed to be legally extricated from during her pregnancy. I get the impression several original actors had two year contracts at the outset as actors like Joel and David Ford began to decamp in mid to late 1968.
I also assumed that in addition to being some sort of personal favorite of Curtis Roger Davis had a two year contract as one loathsome character after another pooped up like a weed for two years. [ghost_rolleyes]
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Well, Grayson got some weeks off in '68 to do END OF THE ROAD (filmed in Great Barrington, MA, out in the beautiful Berkshires), and in '69 to do ADAM AT SIX A.M. In '70 she got release time to do an episode of NIGHT GALLERY and then, towards the end of the year, a family trip out to Ohio to visit Sam's family.
If you check through a publication from the 1960s called THEATRE WORLD, you can see photos from some of the plays that Louis did when he had his sabbaticals. Even Lara and Selby did plays or films on their breaks from the show.
G.
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wasn't Grayson also missing for some weeks around 1969/70 when she had a little "work" done?
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Please stay on topic. Thanks.
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since one of the other moderators was actively participating in the conversation it seemed sort of open.
and in terms of a potential sequel to HoDS (which would have been filmed in late 1970 or 1971) who in the company of players was still tied to the production contractually seemed sort of relevant...
but i'll drop it.
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in terms of a potential sequel to HoDS (which would have been filmed in late 1970 or 1971) who in the company of players was still tied to the production contractually seemed sort of relevant...
That's definitely relevant. But I suspect dom was referring to Grayson's "work", which wouldn't really be. [ghost_wink]
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If a HoDS sequel/prequel had been set in the 1790's, I imagine Lara Parker would've played Angelique, and maybe Jeremiah would've been played by David Selby. Phyllis Wickes? Who better but Kate Jackson. I could see John Karlen doing Nathan Forbes since he was such a versatile actor and co-acted splendidly with Nancy Barrett. Could anyone imagine them being husband and wife in PT70? They did it to perfection.
Gerard