Dark Shadows biggest LOSERS (present time storyline)

[TNickey2003]

New poll.

[arashi]

Wow! Long time between polls.

My first vote went to Angelique... because damn, if she didn't bring about her own downfall more than once! In retrospect I should have voted for Barnabas for the same reason.

[michael c]

i don't like to think of any of our characters as "losers"...

however in the dark shadows universe nobody ever really "wins".it seems to have at it's core themes of loss,despair and unrequited or unfulfilled love.

everyone gets brief reprieves but some new catastrophe is always lurking around the corner.

[Jackie]

I know the poll is for which character(s) would feel like a loser and I would think just about all of them.  So I voted for who "I" thought were losers.   

I am adding Harry Johnson to the list.  IMO, he was a loser and had nothing to add to the storyline except be controlled by Nicholas and do his bidding.

[Brandon Collins]

This was a tough poll for me because there are so many things to factor in. Many of the characters that existed in the DS universe had a problem to contend with, whether it was self inflicted or caused by someone else. So my votes went to:

Vicki Winters: Because damn, if she didn't get stupid as time went on. It seems that her loss of intelligence could've stemmed from the various things she had to go through at Collinwood, such as that threateningly insane charge of hers, the persistant refusal of her questions about the reasons for which she was hired and about her lineage. And, oh yea, perhaps the biggest thing that ever happened to her intelligence was the arrival of that very OLD man who somehow seemed to captivate everyone. Plus, ya know, she went through all that drama with going back in time, being tried and hanged as a witch, then losing her love, finding him, and finally, being pushed off a cliff.

Maggie Evans: Because, as everyone knows, she was once a tough-talking sass who told it like it was, and then some. Her demise seemed to come as soon as the very OLD man mentioned earlier came into town, and after Vicki disappeared to Barnabas-knows-where, Maggie was offered the position which would nail the final hinge on her coffin--governess at Collinwood. Where, she would subsequently be frightened by Mr. Juggins, become the always tread upon lady (since the spot was vacated by Vicki) and oh yea, her Pop's was killed by the ex-scorned lover of the man who was interested in her.

Angelique: Because she caused so much shit in her quest for a certain very OLD man, yet recieved so much shit in her quest for a certain very OLD man. 'Nuff said.

Jason McGuire: An unlikely choice, yes, but a reasonable one. For months he tormented Liz with the thought of her husband, Paul Stoddard, being dead, when, in fact, he wasn't. Jason extorted Liz and made various advances at her, attempting to get her to marry him, all so that he could get her money and the Collins estate for himself. But, when a certain very OLD man arrived, Jason was quickly snuffed out. And, let's face it, he didn't achieve his ultimate goal. And as many of us know, not achieveing a goal which you have been working so hard towards for so long, can be quite depressing and make one feel like a loser. Plus, to be so twisted, sick, demented, wrong, and abusive, you have to know that his life previous to Collinwood was a big shit hole.

[barnabasjr]

Sabrina Stuart by far!

[Charles_Ellis]

I'm disappointed NO ONE mentioned Bill Malloy, the long-suffering Collins cannery manager.  He had to suffer being under Roger's thumb and also obviously pining for Liz Stoddard.  Ultimately, it was his love for Elizabeth that proved to be his undoing as he was trying to clear the mystery surrounding Burke's manslaughter charge to keep Burke from harming Elizabeth and the business.  Ironically the equally devoted to Elizabeth (in a different way) Matthew Morgan thought Malloy was going to hurt the family, so he pushed him off the cliff.  And when you consider all that Bill had done for the family over the years......   The writers made a big mistake in killing him off so soon in the story- he was an interesting character who could've added to DS in the long run.

Two more 'townies' met tragic fates thanks to the Collinses: Sam Evans and Joe Haskell.  All Joe wanted was to run his own fishing boat someday and settle down with a nice girl.  Carolyn was just impossible to deal with, and he came very close to happiness when he and Maggie got together.  But then came the likes of Barnabas, Nicholas Blair and Angelique to ruin everything.  And to top it off his own cousin Chris Jennings (who unbeknownst to either was a Collins) sent Joe over the edge of sanity with his lwerewolf curse.   As to the man who could've been his father-in-law:  where do I begin with Sam Evans?  It goes all the way back to that hit & run Sam just happened to witness- from then on his life was controlled by those weird kooks in that big house on the hill.  Forced into silence by Roger, nearly burned to death by Laura, and lastly Barnabas unwittingly sealed Sam's fate by first hiring him to age Angelique's portrait, leading to his blindness.  Lastly Adam, who was made as a possible doppleganger for Barnbas, dealt Sam the fatal blow to the head.   

As to female characters:  two women from 1897 top the list.  Jenny Collins & Beth Chavez both fell for Quentin and paid a terrible price.  Jenny was truly one of the most tragic characters in the show's history as she had to deny her Gypsy heritage to make in the outside world- kind of like "Imitation of Life" which had a light-skinned black girl "passing for white".  To make things worse,  Quentin abandons her for Laura and she loses her mind while pregnant  with his twins.   Beth Chavez was forced to play nursemaid for the insane Jenny and hide the secret of the twins under the Collins family orders.  And like Jenny, she soon found herself heartbroken by Quentin, and we all know what poor Beth's fate was! 

[Lydia]

I've got to disagree with you on Bill Malloy, Charles.  He got off pretty easy.  If his one-sided romance with Elizabeth had become two-way, he never would have fit in with her lifestyle, and the relationship would surely have ended bitterly.  He was much better off worshipping her from afar – or from a-close – or from a-something.  While he lived, he feasted on Mrs. Johnson's delicious cooking.  (I'll bet her New England boiled dinner was out of this world!)  His death was, as far as one can tell, quick and painless.  And after his death, he apparently had a harem of ghosts to keep him company.  Bill Malloy was clearly among the Dark Shadows winners.

[Taeylor Collins]

Kudos Lydia and so very true!   Great Post!