DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '09 I => Topic started by: Blue_Whale_Barfly on March 23, 2009, 02:10:29 PM
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Hello everyone, I don't think I've posted here since 1795 but I thought of this board when I saw this:
http://www.hulu.com/dark-shadows
Sorry if this has already been discussed.
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While it's great to see these on Hulu, I'm a bit confused. It is, after all, a Dan Curtis Production. I know when Gooba was showing the original DS episodes, they were told to cease and desist. That said, I don't agree with that approach, although I realize it's a legal copyright issue. I say, let someone on the 'Net air these things. Why not? In my humble opinion, it can only serve to help sell the DVD's, which is a position I've maintained for years. [easter_evil]
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While it's great to see these on Hulu, I'm a bit confused. It is, after all, a Dan Curtis Production.
Hulu is a joint venture between NBC/Universal and News Corp (FOX), but they also have content from other studios. They're a legit service. It's not like YouTube where anyone can upload anything until the copyright holder cries foul. The clearances are arranged in advance.
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Thanks for posting this link Blue_ Whale_ Barfly. The visual and audio are great. Something very odd happened to me mid way while I watching the Pilot episode when suddenly I received multiple I.E. warnings that something unusual had occurred and it completely knocked me off the I.E. back to my desktop. Is anybody else experiencing this or has a possible explanation?
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Excellent to see DS in any form available on a legit site on the Web. The more exposure the show gets to the most people, the better. [easter_wink] And Hulu actually advertises its services on TV, so more people are likely to realize the site exists.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us, BWB. [easter_smiley]
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Fantastic. I tried watching the revival when it first aired but couldn't get into it. After reading unbiased good opinions about it here on the forums for years (and growing up ALOT, lol) I've become very interested in seeing it. And now I can through mature eyes. I wouldn't think of purchasing DVDs or tapes of something I'm not sure I'll like. I am grateful for a second shot at it, at no cost to me. Thanks for posting this link, BWB!
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Hulu also has the first three seasons of Kojak, which includes guest appearances by Thayer David ("Acts of Desperate Men," "Silent Snow, Deadly Snow"), Grayson Hall ("Hush Now, Don't You Die"), John Karlen ("Web of Death"), and Lara Parker ("Dark Sunday").
They also have Alias Smith & Jones for the Roger Davis fan.
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Oh boy! Thayer, Grayson & Karlen! Thanks for reporting that! Looking forward to catching those too!
Nice to know RD has at least one fan, lol.
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Nice to know RD has at least one fan, lol.
[bagoverhead] Oh I had no idea it could be read that way. [angel4]
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DS fan Kosmo has sent me a bunch of links over time to shows with DS alum that are on Hulu. This weekend he found John Karlen's appearance on Lou Grant ("Gambling"). Others are:
Don Briscoe in I Dream of Jeannie ("A Secretary Is Not a Toy")
LP in Swat ("The Steel-Plated Security Blanket")
Dennis Patrick as "The Golden Man" in Lost in Space.
George Mitchell can be seen as Sitting Bull in the Time Tunnel ep "Massacre."
Thayer David's Charlies Angels ep called "Target Angels"
RD and LP in their Galactica 1980 ep "The Night the Cylons Landed"
Plenty of DS alum were in Hill Street Blues, including John Karlen in "Freedom's Last Stand" and "The Spy Who Came in From Delgado."
And The Rockford Files with Lara Parker ("Sleight of Hand"), Roger Davis ("The Kirkoff Case"), etc.
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Excellent to see DS in any form available on a legit site on the Web.
Even better, I just checked out the pilot and I see Hulu has the unbutchered, 4X3 aspect ratio NBC version with the completely correct day-for-night effects in place. [thumb]
It's too bad that we didn't know that the '91 series was available on Hulu back when we were doing Watching Project #2 for it. But perhaps anyone who's interested in rewatching the series or watching it for the first time might still take the time to share their thoughts in the WP#2 topics on Current Talk '08 II. And they might also want to check out the promos and other materials that I shared back then. ;)
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Hey cool! Thanks for the link!
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I learned of Hulu through the lovely and talented Eliza Dushku during Dollhouse. That is cool. I am gonna try and ressurect those DS disscussion when I finish my reviews which I am working on!
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I got the bugs all worked out as I was able to see the pilot and the second episode without getting booted off IE7 which was kind of shocking. I had forgotten how great the show looked ie... the colors, special effects and of course all that fog. I did see a lot of sunlight (in the so called night scenes) so I am not completely sure if the correct-for day effects were in place. I could be wrong.
Thanks again for the link.
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I did see a lot of sunlight (in the so called night scenes) so I am not completely sure if the correct-for day effects were in place. I could be wrong.
You're correct. I didn't check the captures in this topic:against what Hulu has - and I didn't check all the day-for-night scenes. The ones I did check looked right, but the one of Daphne walking to her car is just as bad as on the DVDs. And what's much worse - I was wrong about Hulu having the original NBC 4x3 aspect ratio. I was going by the fact that the aspect ratio on Hulu is 4x3. BUT what they've done - and this is even worse than what was done for the DVDs - they've cropped the sides of the "widescreen" DVD frames to make them 4x3!! So what that means is that Hulu's version not only has the top and bottom of the original framing cropped, it also has the left and right sides cropped!! [eek] [angryf]
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What caught my attention was near the end of the pilot with Barnabas running after Sarah so if you missed that scene you would not have caught it. Hulu did something worse that MGM's 1991 DS DVDs! I find that hard to believe. jk But it is hard to have credibility on the show when you see that annoying sunlight with a vampire in the scene. That was terrible and not pleasant to the eye. On the other hand the Hulu vids did look pretty good in terms of sharpness and color. When I watch DS I am used to not looking for perfection. I guess that goes for all of us. lol
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I've really gotta watch the '91 series again. I think I still have the VHS tapes around somewhere, that I taped when the show first aired. I have no idea what kind of condition they're in, but I should look for them and check them out. I've heard all the bad things about the DVDs, and it's too bad that the Hulu episodes aren't good either (though I guess I'm glad they're on there, because at least they're convenient).
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I haven't seen the '91 version since it was rerun several times on the Sci-Fi Channel, so I'm very grateful for this link to watch it again. As a matter of fact, I've watched several episodes today since my car was in the hospital (and I lost a day of work) and had lots of time. This allowed me to re-evaluate my perceptions of the remake.
I still found it lacking in the subtley of the original. Much of the first episodes was basically a remake of HoDS, in some cases virtually scene-for-scene and line-for-line. I couldn't help but think that if this was a "realistic" story, the entire national media would have descended on Collinsport to report that there actually are vampires. And I keep wondering where the police got those huge silvery crosses from. In the original, the very word "vampire" was not even uttered until almost a year into the storyline.
When I first saw the remake, I had problems with casting, but now not so much anymore. Originally, I didn't like Ben Cross as Barnabas and was middle-of-the-road with Barbara Steele as Julia. Now I see them as very well cast. I even started getting use to Ely Pouget's portrayal as a more, shall we say, "fun-loving" version of Maggie. She was more in tune with DC's original portrayal of Maggie as a much hard-working, in-your-face girl. However, I still think Jim Fyfe was miscast as Willie.
Collinwood still comes off as impersonal and sterile. That model of the exterior doesn't help matters; I keep waiting for Godzilla to come and stomp on it. The interiors, although lucious (whether stage-settings or the authentic house it was filmed in) lacked the proper atmosphere.
I originally didn't like the screenplays (probably because of that lack of subtlety), but now I appreciate the writing more.
I did notice, on this internet version, that things are "brighter" in the night scenes, but I've been able to ignore it.
All in all, I'd say that I am enjoying it more than my first viewings of it, whether when it appeared on NBC or in reruns on Sci-Fi.
Gerard