DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '08 II => Topic started by: LeFanu on July 12, 2008, 03:33:30 AM
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i was buying the dvd sets kinda piecemeal. a set from the 1795 storyline, then one from leviathans, next one from 1840. then i decided to start with the "beginnings" sets and just work my way thru from start to finish. i've never seen the series that way.
so a couple weeks ago in late june, i started with episode number one. i'm watching one every weeknight and am now up to episode fourteen. it's so cool! i have never seen some of these early episodes and they're a treat!
but it's strange too. i don't recognize sam evans. and who is this matthew morgan character? he is scaring me.
roger, david, victoria and maggie are not that similar to the people they were later in the run. and it feels like elizabeth collins stoddard is always present, even when she's not onscreen, presiding over everything. joan bennett was so regal and enigmatic iin that part! why couldn't she have had a prominent storyline throughout the run? she's an amazing actress.
any thoughts from you die hard fans that have seen these early eps before?
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It is different, isn't it? DS started as a gothic romantic mystery. It was never intended for it to delve into the supernatural. Anything that hinted towards it would eventually be resolved through logical explanations. But even though it had no spooks or things that go bump in the night (well, bumpy things that would eventually be explained), when I first started watching it the show intrigued me with its eerie atmosphere. Long before the first ghost appeared (in order to try and save it from cancellation), I "played" DS as a kid.
Gerard
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I TOO cannot wait to see the Collectors EPS. I have NEVER saw the first 209 episodes except for the premiere ep. :) I cannot wait. The show does have a VERY different feel about it. I almost miss the B&W later on. It gave it a creepy edge. I CANNOT WAIT to see LAURA. This was a story I was SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to in 1991 DS and it was only hinted at.
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I started watching DS from the beginning as well, but I only have the first two Beginning sets so I decided to stop until I can grab the others that are released.
The show definitely has a different feel to it, and all the characters are so incrediably different that its hard to believe how much they changed after Barnabas arrived and everything supernatural really started to kick up. Some have labeled these early episodes as "slow moving" or "boring", and I used to be one of them. But now that I can appreciate the atmosphere that's been created, not to mention some of the STELLAR camera angles that were used (and in a daytime soap opera, no less!), not to mention the set design, music, the acting, writing, directing, and everything else that I've forgotten, these episodes definitely stand out as some of the best of the series. They're not rushed, they're well put together, and what amazes me is that each episode seems to satisfy you while leaving you with more questions at the end.
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I really can't say enough about how much I enjoyed the early episodes especially the Phoenix storyline. I love Diana Millay's portrayal of Laura. The acting was supreme. Joan B & Louis E had nice meaty roles they could sink their teeth into. I really started to appreciate Nancy B's acting ability during this time. Her character was so much more complex then just a spoiled 'rich' girl. It was all good!
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i fell the same way...
the laura collins story is ne plus ultra as far as i'm concerned.
and this is how i started the series.from episode one.i'm very glad i did because during that first year i feel as if i really got to "know" characters who during the full onset of the barnabas years don't get much character development but become more blank slates for whatever supernatural occurrence is at hand.