Destruction/Fall of Dark Shadows?

[VictoriaWintersFan]

Hello,

I know Dark Shadows had many visitors when the show was cancelled, but I am watching The Dream Curse/ Adam and Eve Storyline and I have to admit it has its good and boring parts, but I think the show was still good here.

When did the show start to loose viewers? What are the most popular SL's throughout the whole show's run?

My Favorite So Far: (I only started watching this past summer)

(1) 1795 Flashback
(2) Victoria Winters's return to Present Time

I am just now watching the Dream Curse and Adam Storylines and they are pretty good. I have also seen a lot of 1970 Parallel Time and enjoyed that as well. I watched the 1995 SL and a little after that then stopped watching.

I wanted to get DVD sets so  I started with Set 5 and bought through Set 7 to get the 1795 Flashback and its ending. I havent gotten the other Sets before 5 because I want the Pre-Barnabas episodes, it would be weird if I watched Sets 1-4 for the *first* time and then watch the early episodes for the first time after that, so I am waiting to see all that from the begginning.

Should I get any other SL's besides Victoria Winters's run on the show?

[DSA]

DS's ratings peaked during the 1897 storyline with an average of an 8.4. It went down to a 7.3 during the Leviathan storyline. But it really went down during the 1970 PT storyline. Everything just went bad during the cyrus longworth ordeal when all the main characters left to go make the movie. To me, that was the worst DS episodes ever! The writing got better when everyone was back, but sadly the ratings didnt.

I suggest getting the 1897 sl or 1840.

[stefan]

Hmmm...interesting. I also saw the 1795, Into to Barnabas (both I feel are brilliant) and part of the Eve Adam Dream Curse stuff less good and mostly stupid, on home video.  My problem and my lack of interest after 1795 is that they lost sight of Barnabas and, in my opinion, started to get sloppy storywise.  What was so interesting about Barnabas and Angelique and what happened to Vickie (going back in time 1795) was that the witch Angelique (very believable somehow) and the vampire Barnabas were played against a somewhat realistic backdrop so the majority of the characters (beautifully and sensitively written) were as confused and as baffled as the audience. Characters reacted with horror and sadness at the deaths and strange occurrances. After 1795 DS got "monster happy" and pushed cheap and uninteresting Frankenstein and Wolfman types (though the actors were fine) but it all got sooo tacky I lost my romantic attachment and instead of feeling bad that someone became a monster because of a tragic curse I laughed at the silly wolfman makeup. In my opinion, if they wanted to give JF a break, they should have created a new generations of vampires etc. around Barnabas or/and Angelique ONLY and kept the awful Frankenstein ripoff out of it. I laughed outloud everytime JF said "experiment" and he said it about 2 or 3 times an episode.

[VictoriaWintersRox]

Like DSA said, Dark Shadows' ratings peaked in 1969 during the 1897 storyline. They began falling during the last half of 1897 and Leviathans, but still remained respectable. In the last half of 1970, the ratings dropped badly, which led to it's cancellation. Interestingly enough, the ratings began to go up during its last full month on the air.

I personally think the show never really lost its "touch." The show wasn't very good during the summer of 1968 (Adam...Dream Curse...*shivers*) and from November 1969 - May 1970 (Leviathans and first half of 1970PT...the first half of Leviathans wasn't too bad, and I liked the second half of 1970PT).

Other good periods of the show (other than the 1966-1968 pre-Adam episodes), IMO, were the haunting of Collinwood in late 1968/early 1969, 1897, the second half of 1970PT, 1840, and 1841PT.

[DSA]

In the last half of 1970, the ratings dropped badly, which led to it's cancellation.

Which happened because of HODS.

[VictoriaWintersFan]

Well I think I am going to purchase Sets 10 and 11, and then stop for awhile. I am not sure what other SL's to get. I am hoping they will release the Pre Barnabas episodes (1-209) on DVD, I would love to have all of Victoria Winters's run on the show, which quite frankly was the best time of the show accoriding to what everyone is saying.

So should I get 1897 Flashback on DVD? or 1970 PT? I have watched some of the current 1840 Flashback and Parallel Time and I dont care for it at all.

[Stuart]

I don't think any soap ever entirely falls -- if a format's lasted several years, the basic premise has to have legs.  The reasons for the cancellation are numerous and weren't really based on ratings...

Soaps have high and low periods all the time -- it's all part of the cycle of continuous production.  I think that the show had problems with all the disruption the movie caused, but nothing insurmountable.  I personally think that the "soapier" format Lela Swift introduced in the last few months when she became producer did a lot to improve the show, as the upswing in ratings seems to support.  I think had the show made it back to the present full-time, it would have borne fruit on a much bigger scale.

[Nancy]

My understanding is that the ratings were fine when it was decided to cancel DS; the decision was not based on falling ratings at that juncture.  The release of HODS gave parents the impression the show was bloodier than it was.  The gore of HODS was a result of the loosening of some censorship requirements in the film industry at that time.  (Film buffs will note that the really gorey horror films started to come out during the run of DS). The same "loosening" was not simultaneously happening in the TV industry but concerned parents are not going to be bothered studying the entire issue. They complained and advertisers listen to those complaints.  The last thing advertisers whose market was the daytime audience wanted to do was have their products associated with something that might appear less than wholesome.

At any rate, I also suspect that certainly some previously diehard fans had a change in taste or at least a change in priority.  I know from talking to other fans over the years, they were ten or eleven years old when they started to watch the show and junior high school and entry into high school definitely changed their viewing habits.  This primarily because the choice was to stay home after school and watch the series OR miss out on being in school plays and other extracirricular activities.  My interest in the series was less strong after 1897, I remember that, and given the choice between watching a series that didn't interest me as much anymore and being in plays, on the school paper, etc. the latter had to win out. I know I'm not the only one who made that choice.  Too bad we didn't have VCRs back then! That would solved the problem completely!

Nancy

[jennifer]

i agree Nancy i had others things to do and hated 1840pt but i would have stayed with the show had they come back i was not watching it every day by then but checked in a couple of times a week vcrs would have helped
but there also was so much less on tv then and no IMs or computers
so i really did miss it when it was gone!

jennifer

[JWGucciEnvy]

I as well am watching the adam/dream curse storyline for the first time too. And I must admit i really dont care for it. Dr. Lang and the word experiment was really getting on my nerves.  I was happy to  have Dr. Lang gone.

I like to point out something I am glad that Dark Shadows got cancel.  Because of 2 reasons 1) I wouldnt have had the chance to see these shows on DVD./Tape/Sci-Fi.

Second, i belived if the show would have continued during ABC golden age of daytime in the late 70's and early 80's.  Dark Shadows would have become General Hospital and the older cast would have been replace with hip new younger people and have Adventure stories about artifacts.  I think the original appeal would have been lost.

[DSA]

Second, i belived if the show would have continued during ABC golden age of daytime in the late 70's and early 80's.  Dark Shadows would have become General Hospital and the older cast would have been replace with hip new younger people and have Adventure stories about artifacts.  I think the original appeal would have been lost.

you're right. And look at GH today, it has become a cheap Sopranos knockoff with the mob. We're lucky that the hospital hasnt been blown up because the hospital isnt significant on the soap anymore.

[stefan]

The difference in creativity and originality between 1795 and the dream cruse is truly amazing. Maybe they thought it was the vampire monster stuff which was drawing in the viewers but it was obviously the WAY the vampire/witch story was written and the intensity of its lead actor Jonathan Frid. Excellent supporting work helped especially Thayer David, Clarice Blackburn, Louis Edmonds and Lara Parker. They all seemed to be in their element. OH well... I still think with the right casting the DS staff could have created a new generation of Barnabas and Angelique victims among the Collinsport townsfolk without adding a fuzzy vaaarewolf, frankenstein and vorlock.
Speaking of General Hospital up until recently I was also a big GH fan but stopped watching because of the loathsome backstage politics and the mob Sonny Corinthos hour BUT... for years GH had a wonderful dark romance between Laura Spencer and Stefan Cassadine worthy of the best of the Dark Shadows gothic romances.

[DSA]

Speaking of General Hospital up until recently I was also a big GH fan but stopped watching because of the loathsome backstage politics and the mob Sonny Corinthos hour BUT... for years GH had a wonderful dark romance between Laura Spencer and Stefan Cassadine worthy of the best of the Dark Shadows gothic romances.

which is the reason why, if you look at this weeks soap ratings, GH has dropped to it's all time low rating of a 3.1.

[stefan]

I don't want to take too much time veering off the post topic but GH has been at 3.1 several times this year but still always seems to go up 1 to 3 points and back down again. Unless it goes below 3.0 and STAYS there Guza/Pratt and their mob agenda are probably not going anywhere. It's really a shame.

[DarkShadowyFigure]

I'm not sure I have a favorite SL. Some SL's did seem to go on too long (the Leviathan SL comes easily to mind) while some didn't last long enough for me (1795). I stayed with and enjoyed the show til the end. Most of my friends at the time had stopped watching DS in late '69.