Why Does The End of 1840 Make Me Feel That The Cast/Writers Stopped Caring??

[wes]

  This thread is missing one point of view.  From the perspective of "Curtis & Co," they were PROMOTED, not CANCELLED!  DCP got deals with ABC and MGM which moved him into a bigger league... Reportedly, there was some talk about bringing the Dark Shadows property to nights, but it just wasn't going to happen in 1971 because everyone was GONNA BE A MOVIE STAR!

  DCP did keep getting bigger, but the Dark Shadows movies stopped... the main problem with the movies was the loss of the Barnabas character.  Not that they wouldn't have liked the TV series to continue -- but, without Dan, and without many favorite performers in familiar roles.  It just wasn't that profitable, either, anymore, for DCP, ABC, or MGM.

  (Just speculating, of course!)

[Raineypark]

I imagine this would be a hugely inappropriate time to admit I stopped watching right around the time that annoying ghost Quentin showed up.....

Don't worry dom...you're always welcome at Lombardi's!

[dom]

 

[Gerard]

And Barnabas is soon to stairway his way back . .now, uh wait. .isn't his body already in 1971 . .how are 2 gonna be merged? 

I've always nagged about that one.  Barnabas I-Chinged himself back to 1840/41,, so just his consciousness occupied his already-existing body, while Julia and Eliot went up the down staircase.  But then they all took the staircase back, even though Barnabas' body did not get sucked back like it had from 1969 to 1897.  When they returned, his body should still be there.  And, of course, the other thing I've nagged about is that they changed the lineage of the family.  There should've been another totally unknown set of Collinses living on the estate (which, I think, would've made for a great story).

But something else I've always nagged to myself about is exactly what was that Java Queen business all about?  That ship was such a big thing in the 1970 prelude, including the crew, having to do with what happened in 1840/41, yet when we get to that time, absolutely no mention is made of the whole thing.  And what about that merry-go-round?  It tinkle-linkled all over Collinwood in the 1970 haunting, and even in 1995, but obviously in 1840 it was already stuffed in a box somewhere, ready to be taken down to the local Good Will.

Gerard

[Nancy]

I stopped watching sometime after 1897 but I might have stopped before then, I don't remember.  I made it a point to watch the very last episode when I found out the show had been cancelled but had no clue as to what was going on, of course.

Nancy

You know, I had stoped watching DS by the time 1841PT was in full swing. I had read in TV guide that the last episode would be airing and I made it a point to watch that last show. It was awful tuning in to bid the cast farewell and not having a clue as to whom anyone was or what the hell was going on. So for me, yes, I agree, it was thee most unsatisfying finale of a TV show in the history of television. And I felt the same way after watching the complete series on video in the 90s.

[Brian]

I remember the final days of DS in 1971--and yes! I did care about Catherine and Bramwell.  I also recall that on April 1st (the show's final episode was on April 2) I told my mother (I was 12 years old, thank you very much!) that DS would not end and it was all an April Fools joke!

Okay--I was wrong. 

Now, about the end of 1840, or Barnabas' and Julia's final scene:

[spoiler]In hindsight, upon watching show # 1198 several times over the last few years, after returning to 1971, Julia and Barnabas have the following exchange:

JULIA: "We changed all of their lives by being in 1840."

BARNABAS: "As well as ours.  Think, Julia, think back to 1840.  Those stairways are likely no more.  Desmond has probably destroyed them by now."

JULIA:  "We'll never forget any of them, Barnabas."

BARNABAS "Never."

And they leave the drawing room.[/spoiler]

As I said above, in hindsite, this exchange solidifies (for me) that Julia and Barnabas have put all their past conflicts behind and will move toward their friendship--and more.  And it seems to me to put a "button" on the modern story lines, even without some of the resolutions we would have liked to have seen.  From what I recall about conversations with Keith Prentice nearly 20 years ago, the show had been given notice of cancellation well enough in advance of the end of 1840, and the 1841PT storyline was a way to give Frid what he wanted (playing a different character), and a way to end the show without leaving the viewers hanging about the 1971 story and characters and resolution to their stories.  (Personally, I am satisfied with that final scene in 1971 with Barnabas, Julia, and Eliot and Liz.  I don't recall what I thought about it more tha 30 years ago. . .)

That's my 2 cents worth....

[Josette]

I think the show would have been better if there had been no additional PT and they had gone back to the present and done something to resolve the characters there.  I have no idea if they had already introduced PT before they knew they were coming to an end.  If they had, then it DID seem necessary to resolve what they had started.

So, given that we had already been introduced to the PT story, I always found it rather fitting that they closed up 1840, had the brief finale in the present to show what had happened, then went back to finish the already begun story in PT.


And, they had that little "tagline" at the end which was rather nice.

[Connie]

I imagine this would be a hugely inappropriate time to admit I stopped watching right around the time that annoying ghost Quentin showed up.....

Yes!  TOTALLY inappropriate!   

[wes]

 ~~~~ Don't cry, Flo! ~~~~

[Cassandra]

And one of my favorite examples is how Jamison/Petofi and Aristede managed to find the Collins Family History book in 1897, despite the fact that Eve/Danielle Roget travelled back to 1796, brought it forward to 1968, and gave it to Vicki as a wedding gift. Not only did Eve/Danielle remove the book at a point in history prior to 1897 - but it had also been removed at a point in DS' own storyline timeline prior to the 1897 storyline taking place, so we can't even argue that Eve/Danielle may not have travelled back to 1796 prior to what we saw in 1897.

Another thing I have a problem with is Ben's diary.
 How did it wind up in Collinwood when it supposidly had been buried with Ben after he died??  As I recall Laura had Dirk Wilkins dig up Ben's grave to get ahold of that same diary in order to find out the dirt on Barnabas during the 1897 storyline!!

Cassandra
   

[Cassandra Blair]

I KNEW the whole thing with Ben's diary in 1840 bugged me for some reason - thanks for pointing this out Cassandra!

My feelings about 1840 are ambivalent.  Really like the early part of the story, and agree with Vlad that it was nicely plotted.  But as of about the time of Angelique's complete change of character, the whole thing goes south, IMHO.  It appears that this is the point at which everyone stopped caring about continuity, the overall story arc etc.  I wonder if that's when the notice came down that the show would be cancelled in a few months' time.  Does anyone know?

[Julian]

There is a great deal I like about 1840 but the witchcraft trial is absolutely ludicrous.  You have a dynamic talent like David Selby and you put him in a plot where he is confined to a jail cell and a court room where he can only shout No!  That's not true!  etc., etc.  Not a very good use of your cast.  And I'm sure someone has probably mentioned it before, but where did Judah get a psychedelic compositon/theme book to use as his journal in the 1680's?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And I'm sure someone has probably mentioned it before, but where did Judah get a psychedelic compositon/theme book to use as his journal in the 1680's?

He had it custom made? 

[Raineypark]

He had it custom made?

At "Judah's Head Shop" 

[Midnite]

At "Judah's Head Shop"