What are the chances of a new Dark Shadows?

[Sunny_Collins]

The difference between a new concept and a re-make of a pre-existing work is like the difference between a new born baby and Frankenstein's Monster. Especially when the baby was is particularly beautiful and delightful.

DS is a victim of its own success. If the original show had been a short-lived, barely acknowledged series with few fans, it would actually be easier to create a new version with new people and new ideas. But it's been kept alive for 40 years and the first fans are still devoted to the original the way it was. How does a new creative team get around that? How do they choose between what was, and what could be?

Why would anyone try it at all?

Well put, Rainey! Although I never watched DS when it originally aired, I prefer it over any newer versions, and that particular set of actors who played and defined how we view their characters, is something that can be captured only once, IMHO.

That's not to say a new DS wouldn't be successful, but it still wouldn't have that charm and ambiance of the original.

As for me, I don't want the characters to be reinvented. I like them the way they are.  

[Barnabas'sBride]

I would enjoy watching a re-imagining if it was done well, so a new tv series would interest me. I didn't care much for the revival as a whole because it was too much like an exact remake of HoDS, but I was highly interested in the WB pilot.

Though I must say that I'd love to see a major motion picture made out of the 1795 storyline starring Depp as Barnabas and with Burton as the director.

[BuzzH]

A producer like John Wells could easily pitch a new DS project to the networks (if he wanted to) and the networks will absolutely listen to him especially if they have a development deal in place. I have to admit that I was angry and puzzled when John Wells subsequently turned his back on the 2004 pilot.

Me too Jimbo!  Now, I'll admit, given my loathing of the 91 series, I wasn't jumping for joy over the prospect of a new Dark Shadows, UNTIL I heard that John Wells was involved!  I love/d his shows (ER & Third Watch to name just 2).  So I was scratching my head when he didn't seem to fight harder for the WB pilot.

[Sunny_Collins]

I'm sorry, but I just can't see Johnny Depp playing Barnabas. Just my opinion though.

[Bobubas]

I think the best option is a new feature film- after all, Johnny Depp has gone on records as saying that he would love to play Barnabas.  If Tim Burton directs, that alone would give a new widespread interest in "Dark Shadows" worldwide- a win-win proposition.

I'm with you Charles. A new film via the Depp/Burton connection could be the springboard for more projects down the road. 

[jimbo]

Me too Jimbo!  Now, I'll admit, given my loathing of the 91 series, I wasn't jumping for joy over the prospect of a new Dark Shadows, UNTIL I heard that John Wells was involved!  I love/d his shows (ER & Third Watch to name just 2).  So I was scratching my head when he didn't seem to fight harder for the WB pilot.

Thanks. I really did not know what to expect when I first heard the news back in 2003/04 that the WB gave the greenlight for a new reimagination of DS. I think the filmed pilot lived up to my expectations. I like the idea that they kept the opening story line. I think they could have had someone else discover Barnabas. Why is  the Willie character somehow always involved in finding and releasing Barnabas? The Barnabas discovery/release story line is too tired. A little more imagination there may help. Oh I am getting off course a bit.

John Wells could have and arguably should have gone back to the WB and ask them to reconsider. From what I have heard, he did not do that. He did not present any ideas to the WB on fixing the pilot. Maybe he truly believed that the entire casting was wrong and that there was no hope for the project. Maybe because he was not even a fan of Dark Shadows and decided to go on with a new project that he actually believed in. We have to be realistic here. I think a big time producer is going to have to come forward in order for a new DS project to get off the ground. I don't think the networks are knocking on the doors of DCP (or whatever the name) asking it for new ideas for a new DS project. I think we are in for a long wait if anyone expects that to happen. But you never know. I think someone is eventually going to come up with the idea of making a new DS tv series or movie.

[Janet the Wicked]

Myself. I hate remakes. There are so many aspiring writers out there with fresh ideas. However! I thought the new Shadows had potential. The scene where Victoria Winters is riding on the train is so powerful. A blonde Vicky? Why the heck not?
Anyway, I thought the preview trailer thing was exceptional. This from a chick that tunes to TCM on a daily basis and hates remakes.
My goodness, if you look at the crap Hollywood is churning out these days. Who wants to see a remake of every sixties show - wait...Did they do a remake of Mister Ed? Yeah, I think they did. And it flopped.
Anyhow, I think Warners(or whomever it was) did a nice job with the new Dark Shadows and I would have watched it. I am not a primetime TV person, but I would have tuned into the new DS. I thought the premise was fresh and up to date. I also think it's pretty darn neat that Dan Curtis' work lives on. Way to go, Dan! Woo hoo!!!

[Barnabas'sBride]

With John Wells involved in the production of the WB series, I was looking forward to it. I think the WB series would've possibly been more of a re-imagining instead of a remake due to his influence. I think he would've brought something to the table, and it's a shame it fell through. I've had a couple of shows get cancelled on me and hearing that the pilot didn't get picked up for fall of '04 definitely ranked at the top of those disappointments.

A Depp/Burton collaboration would be brilliant, IMO, even though it will likely never happen. Anything Depp touches these days turns to gold now that everyone sees what kind of talent the man has. It would certainly get the world into DS again.

[arashi]

Personally I would LOVE the idea of a new show. I love the classic, and I always will. But seriously, the only way to keep the series alive  is to inject new blood into it.

[retzev]

I wanted to see the '04 series succeed, but only for the sake of Darren Gross's restorations of the theatrical films, and I'll support any future projects for the same reason. Otherwise, the 1,225 episodes of the classic are more than enough for me.

[Ryan Collins]

I have heard the Johny Depp rumours for a long time now. I would love if HBO decided to do a Dark Shadows one hour show with Depp in the lead.... i think that would be huge..I just feel that their are a good amount of Angel and Buffy fans who have no idea about Dark Shadows and it's influence on those two shows. Their is a huge market out their for DS, not only for the older generation of fans, but younger fans of gothic drama as well.....And DS is the Father of the gothic drama.

[stefan]

Though I must say that I'd love to see a major motion picture made out of the 1795 storyline starring Depp as Barnabas and with Burton as the director.

Whoo Hoo!!! You and me both. Wouldn't it be fun? Johnny D and Burton would bring in the viewers that haven't got much clue on DS, and, I know I'd pay to watch that : ).

[Barnabas'sBride]

I'd pay regular evening prices at the theater - quite expensive these days - to watch that, and I'd even pay it multiple times.

Ryan - If Depp were to play Barnabas, it would only be in a theatrical film. They could never afford to get Depp for an on going television show, and with the success of Pirates of the Caribbean he's proven box office revenue. A big screen movie would be the only way they could go. But I do agree with you that there is a market out there for DS.

[michael c]

i'm in two minds about a new d.s..while i'd welcome it,as retvez pointed out,the 1225 original episodes are more than satisfying.

i don't know much about other "cult" shows(like star trek)but i do know that versions spun-off from the original were populated with new characters.that doesn't appear to be the case as much as with d.s..i can't think of any other show that is so hidebound in which characters simply have to be there!

for instance i remember when the 2004 pilot was in production and there was alot of chatter about who was going to play quentin.now of course on the original series quentin didn't even appear until late in the show's third year and after nearly seven hundred episodes.so his inclusion was not so much that it would make any sense storywise in the first season(and it would take at least that to get barnabas' storyline off the ground)but because he's one of the hidebound characters that fans remember and were expecting.

a similar thing happens with liz when new versions are in discusion.elizabeth was an extremely important "presence" on the original for two key reasons.one being that she was the grand dame of this whole thing who was with the show from it's first episode.the second being that she was portrayed by silver screen legend joan bennett.the sad truth was that after the barnabas character took off and the show became increasingly supernatural liz got very little in terms of character develepment or her own storyline.so her inclusion in any future version would not be so much that they were going to give liz this huge platform but simply because you absolutely cannot tell this story without elizabeth collins stoddard.

as it was introducing victoria,barnabas,julia and angelique(who were all introduced on the original show over a period of several months in gradually unfolding storylines)in a one hour pilot was pushing it but those are the characters fans expect to see so they had to put them all in there right off the bat.

this is of course for "us" the fans more than anybody.the general public doesn't know who these characters are.even people who casually watched the show when it first aired remember very little of it.barnabas collins seems to be the one everyone recalls and of course he became the official "face" of the marketing juggernaught the show produced.

for a new version to succeed it would have to appeal to several million people and hearty bunch that we are we don't number in those volumes so it would be interesting to see how they approached it.

[Willie]

Otherwise, the 1,225 episodes of the classic are more than enough for me.

I agree with that as well.  I can understand people wanting a remake/re-imagining of a show that was on once a week and got cancelled after a season or two, it leaves you wanting more.  But with 1,225 episodes of Dark Shadows, you can watch two episodes a night, 365 days a year, and it takes almost two years to see them all.  That's plenty for me   Besides, it's like ten different shows anyway.  Every time they switch to a different time period or new plot line, it's like a whole new show.