DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '02 II => Topic started by: murph on August 17, 2002, 07:47:01 PM
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I would like your opinions on what I discuss below.
Sorry for the length but I think it's important.............
I am trying to offer some constructive criticizm on the first DS DVD which in my opinion seemed to be put together with very little thought and effort. It seems only to exist to make someone a lot of money. I say this because I also purchased the DS Blooper video which is humorous at times but also seems to have been thrown together with very little thought and to make a quick buck. Does anyone know if the actors/actresses are receiving compensation for their work in the episodes they appear in? I hope so. It's because of them that probably 99% of the people are purchasing the DVD's.
My desire is to get people discussing this so that hopefully the future DVD sets will have a lot more quality than the first one did.
I am a huge fan of the show (mostly because it represents a time of innocence for me.) and few things are more relaxing to me than coming home from work to spend the next 45 minutes watching the episodes I had taped earlier in the day. (I fast forward through the commercials.) Then I get on with the rest of the evening much more relaxed.
I eagerly anticipated the DVD release and purchased it right away. The episodes look great on DVD but with the cost of $50. including S&H I expected much more than I received. It is my understanding they expect to release all the episodes on DVD. I believe there were 1225 episodes taped which means that assuming 40 episodes per set there will be 31 DVD sets released.
If someone purchases all of them at roughly $50 apiece they will spend over $1500!!!
I would be very interested in purchasing all of them if they were of superior quality. The reason I didn't care for the first set is because the extras were so skimpy, in my opinion. The 15 minute overview of the first 10 months of the show (before Jonathan Frid joined the series) was very good. The interviews with Jonathan Frid, Kathryn Leigh Scott and John Karlen were a hugh let down for me. Don't get me wrong I am not faulting the actors at all. (In fact Jonathan Frid's portrayal of Barnabas is the primary reason I ran home from school all those years ago to watch the show.) The interviews seemed so disjointed. The viewer does not see the interviewer or hear their questions, so we are left with the actor answering questions from someone we neither see or hear. The interviews are also very short about 5 minutes in length apiece. An engineer friend who knows a lot about DVD technology told me they could have kept the 40 episodes on the set and still had plenty of room for some great extras.
I don't think it takes a degree in Business to realize that
the target audience for this DVD is all the kids who watched it during it's original run who are now in their 40's and 50's. I know for myself I believe there are so many things that could be included in the DVD's. A few examples could be an in depth look at the major events that occurred during the show's original run. (The first man on the Moon, assasinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, the Vietnam war, etc.) A look at the music and books that were popular. The reason I think this would be so interesting is because like most soaps at least of that time they never discuss current events or real people. They exist completely in their own world. To look at what was going on during the time the show was on I think would be facinating.
Another could be a friendly backstage look at the friendships, etc. that existed between the cast and crew. This has the potential of being done very well or very badly.
I know this would cost money but I believe if the powers that be put out a really high quality product then many people would respond, including myself by purchasing most if not all of the DVD sets. As it is I do not to plan to purchase any more unless the the quality goes up and I believe there are many others who feel the same way.
What do all of you think? Do you have other topics that you think would be of interest and would be a great addition as extras to the future sets of DVD's released?
I am not assuming that the powers that be will listen to our suggestions but we can always dream. Do you think there should be more energy put into the making of these DVD sets or do you think the first one was superior and met all your expectations. I'd like to know.
Thanks for your input,
Murph
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I think some of the interviews are the ones that made it onto the pre-Barnabas VHS tapes, but I could be wrong about that.
FWIW, there is someone on these boards who works at MPI and was interested in feedback.
Luciaphil
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I think the DVDs are great -- they represent fantastic value for money and offer the highest-quality home entertainment release of the show to date at the cheapest price ever. Which is more than enough to keep me purchasing the sets.
There really aren't a lot of potential extras for "Dark Shadows" -- the outtakes that survive for the entire run amount to barely 10 minutes, remaining promos are in single figures and spread over a potential 30 sets, it is going to be thin. The material just isn't there.
Dan Curtis Productions have invested in some new interviews for the discs, which will be seen over upcoming releases.
As it stands, there are already minor technical problems that need to be addressed, and which won't improve if more disc space is given over to supplemental materials. I'd rather see the stuff you propose used for future documentaries or special programmes, where it can be covered in more depth.
In my experience, extras on most tv-related discs don't amount to much and generally promise a lot more than they ever deliver. My primary concern when purchasing the VHS tapes was to enjoy the episodes themselves, and that hasn't changed now I'm watching those episodes on DVD.
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Another could be a friendly backstage look at the friendships, etc. that existed between the cast and crew. This has the potential of being done very well or very badly.
The Sciography was suppose to contain that type of information and also interviews with fans. However, when unvailed at the 2002 DS Festival Banquet, even with edited cuts, it caused some controversy...I don't think this is a direction that they want to take now.
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The DVD's, with set one being the only one I have seen thus far, are excellent. The quality of the video and audio is superb compared to the VHS versions. I have the whole series on MPI VHS, but some during the course of 5 years of purchasing and collecting the videos, I can't count the number of defective videos I came across and some were kept because I didn't realize they were defective, as in black spots that would pop up from time to time, which I thought were defects in the master copies, but apparently some were defects in the videotapes. The quality of the picture on the DVD's is great even in freeze frame mode, which on some video versions don't look good at all. I had bought the Dark Shadows DVD that MPI had put out a couple of years ago, contain three segments and found both the picture and sound quality superior to Video and that is why I decided to replace my video collection with DVD. Also DVD's take up a lot less space for storage.
As for my videos, they will not go to waste. Once I have enough of the DVD's collected, I will let a friend of mine, who is a big DS fan, but can't afford the tapes and doesn't have cable, have them so she can enjoy the episodes again. I know that she would really appreciate that.
Raholt
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As for the extras, yes, it might be nice if what they offered were new interviews with the surviving cast, but aside from that, there is not alot of additonal video material to add to them. The blooper video you mentioned was taken straight from episodes that aired and there just isn't a lot of unaired footage available, but little ever existed. Since they didn't edit the episodes and stop tape for mistakes the bloopers and all became part of the series itself. I know with modern films there are all kinds of material released on the DVD, including bloopers, alternate endings, portions of the film that were cut before it was released, but that stuff doesn't exist for DS so I'm just grateful for what does exist, the interviews as well as the episodes themselves. Given the fact that in the days when DS was made, most networks did not save soap opera or other types of series for that matter, but instead recycled the video tape, we are lucky to have copies of all but one to see nearly 40 years later. I have no complaints about the DVD's because I'm glad they are here at all because the odds are so much against that being the case.
Raholt
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>>>>>>>>The episodes look great on DVD but with the cost of $50. including S&H I expected much more than I received.
$50.00!!!!!! OUCH!! Where in world are you spending $50.00 for them?? There are lots of places that are selling the DVD's for as low as $29.95. I got my set for $26.95! I would be happy to list these places for you if you so desire. Don't plunk down $50.00 for them, they are not worth it. Especially with the quality and lack of extras that MPI puts on them!
>>>>>>>> I know for myself I believe there are so many things that could be included in the DVD's. A few examples could be an in depth look at the major events that occurred during the show's original run.
MPI has already put out several very well done documentaries on the history of the show over the years. I don't really know what else is left to talk about! I saw the unaired sci fi channel docudrama at the recent DS Festival. Although, it started out good, and tried to tie in events like music and counterculture to the DS audience, it ended up being a fluff piece, full of gossip and should be buried forever.
>>>>>>>The interviews are also very short about 5 minutes in length apiece.
Keep in mind Murph, those interviews were done around 1986! Jonathan Frid does not really grant interviews on DS anymore, unless he is paid lots and lots of money. We are lucky we have gotten what we have from him as is! By adding more extras to the sets, MPI would have had to increase the price of them. With 40 more sets to go, I am sure there is room for plenty of good extras down the road. Let's let MPI know how we feel. They love DS, and are open to improvements.
I agree with you on many points of your complaints on the DVD's from MPI. I have been very vocal on this board recently myself about the quality of the episodes, and the digital remastering. My TV is near High Definition quality, and because it has over 1000 line resolution, it brings out all the picture problems that come from a low bitrate produced DVD. My problems specifically are with the "artifacting" mosaic patterns that come from poorly encoded DVD's, when played on an HD or similar type of TV. These problems could be solved if MPI were aware of them and wanted to spend a little bit more money on them. For me the quality is poor, but at least it is watchable and I will definately live with it, because I love having the show on DVD. But, I think there is room for improvement on MPI's part, and they could up the bitrate a little bit to produce an even sharper picture.
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Slight correction to my above post: I paid $39.95 for the DS DVD's, not $26.95! I found them at Best Buy for $39, but I know of several internet sites that charge as low as $41.95. $50 is still way too much.
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Well, I do think the price is okay considering that one DVD set = eight VHS tapes, which would run $80 through MPI's website. I think DVD Collection 1 is good in some ways... the menus are awesome, the overall design of the DVDs is good, and the picture is fine on my low-tech TV. I do think it was cheesy of MPI to promise "new interviews" though, when they were actually just old material. All in all I'm pretty satisfied.
One things I would definitely like to see is the DS revival series on DVD... they could fit the entire 12 episodes into one set and sell it independently of the original series. I'm sure there would be a lot of extras they could pull together for that one.
One question: that sciography that Sci-Fi yanked... WHAT was so controversial??
Joe :)
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>>>>>>>I do think it was cheesy of MPI to promise "new interviews" though, when they were actually just old material. All in all I'm pretty satisfied.
Joe:
Well, actually, these interviews are "new" in a way. Even though they were taped in 1986, they are outake segments of unused material, that has not been released before. I don't mean to complain and come down so hard on MPI for the DVD's. I do love MPI for doing them, and I am grateful to have them. But it's just I have seen better quality on discs from other independent companies like A&E, Anchor Bay, and IMAGE. THis has nothing to do with the condition of the original DS tapes. It is solely the way the disc's themselves are manufactured. If MPI could just up the bitrate a bit, I would be totally satisfied. And the price is ok with me, as long as it is in the 40-45 dollar range.
>>>>>>One question: that sciography that Sci-Fi yanked... WHAT was so controversial??
Well I saw it at the banquet at the Festival and I really didn't think it was all that bad. Certain parts were actually very well done. But after about 20 minutes into it though, you can see that this was turning into something quite nasty. The narrator began talking more about the private lives of the DS stars, Don Briscoe's forey into drugs, Mitch Ryan's bout with alcholism, Joan Bennet's drinking problem, the "fued" between Frid and Selby......and many more unpleasant things that had nothing to do with the show's success. It was like the E True Hollywood story's version of DS. I really don't know why it was so shocking however, as I thought most people already knew about most of the unpleasant things that the special talked about anyway. But in all fairness, it did present DS in a VERY bad light and I for one am glad that it will never air.
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I am so grateful that this thread was started because I was going to start one with questions of my own about the DVD sets. I purchased all of the VHS DS tapes when they first came out and although I got many at a discount rate, the cost of the entire series at that time (254 tapes) was $5067.00!! ($19.95 per tape.)
I purchased the "Dark Shadows Special Edition" DVD some time ago. I was not happy with the picture quality. If the new sets are the same quality, I will not be interested. On the new DVD episodes they have already committed an unforgiveable (in my book) mistake by not including the pre-show slates, which WERE included on the Collector Series VHS tapes. Why in the world these slates were not included is beyond comprehension!! DVDs are supposed to contain EXTRAS that VHS tapes do not have! These slates were a wonderful addition, helping to keep the episodes in order, being a resource for the dates the episodes were taped and aired, and were sometimes great FUN when one of the actors held the slate (such as Alexandra Molke blowing kisses to the audience). Just the thought of not having these slates is keeping me from buying the DVDs, notwithstanding the poor quality that several of you are referring to. Within the next decade, according to the FCC, most of us will have High Definition TVs. If the imperfections of the new DS DVD sets show up on the HDTV sets, will this give MPI an excuse to re-re-release the episodes once again?
As for Murph's question about the Blooper tape, I totally agreee that it was sloppily thrown together. I remember way back in the early days of the DS Festivals that Joe Integlia put together a wonderfully hilarious blooper tape that puts MPI's tape to shame. The problem with MPI's tape is that blooper after blooper is too quickly presented without any set up, explanation, or enough time for the viewer to laugh. I feel that they could have stretched the bloopers on that one tape to THREE blooper tapes if they had asked someone like Roger Davis to host the bloopers ala' Dick Clark. For instance, Roger could have set up the blooper where Julia is dialing the police as Barnabas and Lang bang on the locked parlor doors by saying something like, " Now notice how Barnabas seems to forget Dr. Dave Woodard's name and has to be reminded by Dr. Lang who knew nothing of Dr. Woodard's murder." With set ups such as these (and possibly a laugh track) MPI could have made itself more money by releasing more tapes and the fans (and non-fans) would have better understood the bloopers.
(By the way, we have Joe Integlia to thank for the survival of the infamous Grayson Hall blooper when Julia was interacting with Tony Peterson in his office and Lela Swift yells "CUT!" Joe taped this blooper when it was aired in the early 1980s on an Atlantic City, NJ independent TV station. This wonderful LONG blooper was later erased from its master tape by Worldvision. Too bad that MPI can't give Joe credit where credit is due. Then again, MPI never credited Bob Issel for finding the Dark Shadows Game TV commercial which they use on their videos.)
And speaking of Roger Davis and the MPI DS series, has anyone noticed that the Sam Hall article (that appeared in TV Guide to tie up loose ends on the prematurely cancelled DS) was narrated in an EDITED form by Mr. Davis? Why did MPI choose to edit Sam Hall?!!
One other question about the DVDs. Are they complete and uncut? The VHS DS tapes were "supposed to be" complete and uncut but were they? On Volume 49 of the Collectors Series, at about 1 hour 14 minutes and 59 seconds, there is a 16 second segment that has been trimmed from that episode (just before Barnabas carries Maggie into the secret room of the mausoleum). Yet, this scene is shown in its entirety on the Regular DS MPI tape (Volume 5 at 1 hour 16 minutes and 33 seconds.) This seems to be the fault of the MPI editor. I wonder if this segment is missing from the corresponding DVD episode in the first box set and if there are other segments that we might find missing on later DS DVD releases? They have already let a typo slip by them on the first boxed set. Where is quality control?
As for possible extras on the DVDs, I know that actors' commentaries would be impossible for each episode but what about special episodes, like Lara Parker commenting throughout Angelique's first episode in 1795 or Angelique's famous "Burn! Burn!" house of cards routine? Or Alexis waking Angelique? How about Dan Curtis commenting throughout one of the episodes that he directed? It might not be accurate, but it would give the old winds-of-war-bag a chance to toot his horn! ;) And it's too bad that the enmity between Frid and Curtis will probably prevent Frid from doing episode commentaries as he enjoyed doing at the early Festivals. (Yes, he ENJOYED it. A scene would be played on screen and he would critique himself to the delight of the audience.)
Since DS was a daily show in a decade of turmoil and triumph, it would be neat if (as Murph suggested) some of the major national and world events could be included somewhere on the DVD. This would likely mean much more to us "old-timers" who watched the show in its original run than it would to the many "youngins'" who have discovered DS in reruns. Also, the possibility exists to include DS-related promotional events that correspond to a particular episode (like "The day that this episode aired, David Selby was grand marshall of the 'I Am an American' parade in Baltimore".... or....
"This episode aired the day that Jonathan Frid first appeared on the Merv Griffin show"... or... in the parallel time episodes "This episode was taped on the same day that filming for 'House of Dark Shadows' began.) There are MANY extras that have been shown at the Festivals that could be included on the DVDs. For instance, how about Humbert Allen Astredo's screen test for the part of Prof. Dave Woodard on the 1991 DS series?
There are many ways that MPI could be creative without going to great expense (and driving up the cost of the DVDs). Sadly, with their track record, it doesn't look as if MPI is interested in creativity. :-/
SDP
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>>>>>>One question: that sciography that Sci-Fi yanked... WHAT was so controversial??
Well I saw it at the banquet at the Festival and I really didn't think it was all that bad. Certain parts were actually very well done. But after about 20 minutes into it though, you can see that this was turning into something quite nasty. The narrator began talking more about the private lives of the DS stars, Don Briscoe's forey into drugs, Mitch Ryan's bout with alcholism, Joan Bennet's drinking problem, the "fued" between Frid and Selby......and many more unpleasant things that had nothing to do with the show's success. It was like the E True Hollywood story's version of DS. I really don't know why it was so shocking however, as I thought most people already knew about most of the unpleasant things that the special talked about anyway. But in all fairness, it did present DS in a VERY bad light and I for one am glad that it will never air.
I agree with doombuggy69 and others here who have said that they didn't find the Sciography DS episode (shown at the Festival banquet) as offensive as KLS and Marie Wallace seemed to. I totally enjoyed it. And I think, with its "E! True Story"-like format, if it had aired it might have drawn in some younger fans who otherwise might not have ever given DS a second look. For me, the "gossip" was all common knowledge to most DS fans, presented in the form of contemporary satire. And while I think I could understand someone from our parents' and/or grandparents' generations (like Joan Bennett) not "getting" the tongue-in-cheek humor of the show, I think KLS, Marie and John Karlen (if he indeed walked out of the banquet as KLS said he did) are being thin-skinned and prudish about the whole thing. Jim Pierson had set up the show by telling everyone it wasn't to be taken too seriously but it seemed to backfire on him. He has since done damage control it seems, even getting KLS to back peddle somewhat. Of course she'll keep coming to the Festivals! She knows what side her bread is buttered on!
I think it was a bit ironic that early on in the Fest, KLS was presenting her own bit of satire (perhaps for catharsis) when she publicly read the personal letter of an unnamed angry customer to whom she had mistakenly sent a wrong order of Pomegranate Press books. While she seemed to present for the audience the attitude that the letter had amused her, I wonder if any other fans there thought that she was taking an opportunity to publicly make fun of fans who take their DS too seriously? Even more ironically, this was only moments before the angry little developmentally disabled fan accosted her on stage! (Do you think it was HIS letter that she was reading?) :o
SDP
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She knows what side her bread is buttered on!
I don't think Ms. Scott spends time worrying about it...
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I am very appreciative that MPI has done what they have with the DS series over the years. There will always be bad video glitches when the source is from 35 year old VTR ...If u look at A&E's early Avengers eps they look even worse than DS...It'd be nice to have some more recnt interviews but the show is what's important for me...How many times will all watch the interviews again...as for the controversial documentary ...I havent seen it but I have never been interested in the private lives of stars...It doesnt matter who did drugs or live alternative lifestyles...only what a performer does on screen...I think I am in the minority here, probably but I can see why stars like Harrison Ford try to remain basically private people...to even discuss a departed person's alleged drinking problem has NOTHING to do with DS...I do wish MPI would speed up the release process for the DVD's though...after Sept, they are going to be quarterly...tooo long!
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KLS' publishing company concentrates on DS material. It's not Joe Schmoe off the street who buys those books. Sure, once in a blue moon, someone may conceivably pick up a copy of a DS book and plunk down cash for it, but I would bet the farm that the majority of her business comes from DS fans.
I would imagine that guarantees her presence at Fests.
Luciaphil
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It'd be nice to have some more recnt interviews but the show is what's important for me...How many times will all watch the interviews again...as for the controversial documentary ...I havent seen it but I have never been interested in the private lives of stars...It doesnt matter who did drugs or live alternative lifestyles...only what a performer does on screen...I think I am in the minority here, probably but I can see why stars like Harrison Ford try to remain basically private people...to even discuss a departed person's alleged drinking problem has NOTHING to do with DS.!
I agree...
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Count me as a happy fan of the first DVD set--and someone who's eager to buy the entire series... It's already a huge improvement over the VHS set, and considerably cheaper to boot...
Sure the extras on set one are slim--they've got to spread them out over 25 (or however many) sets, and there's not a lot of material to choose from which hasn't already been released on the Special Edition DVD...
As for the quality--I don't have an HDTV, but if I did, I'd fully expect them to be much worse than on a standard set. None of the current generation of HDTVs do a good job of dealing with poor source material--it's also a big issue with weaker satellite connections. Better DVD encoding would help, but it's not the sole cause of the quality degradation, much of it has to do with how it's converted to the HDTV screen. The discs look beautiful on most standard TVs, and perfectly decent (to me) on my computer's DVD-rom--which has a much higher resolution than HDTV...
Given the huge number of episodes/sets that will be forthcoming, I (for one) would not want to see them spreading out their 40-episode packs over a larger number of discs--not for the marginal quality increase that would result, given these original materials...
I agree that we're not being treated to some deluxe presentation. Other than the nice menu, it's pretty basic. Then again, this is MPI we're dealing with, not BBC or Warner. I would love improvements, but I'm pretty darn happy with what we've got.
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(such as Alexandra Molke blowing kisses to the audience).
Do you know if this is on one of the pre-Barnabas episode slates? Becuase I plan on buying those on VHS and I'm wondering if they're pre-Barnabas or after Barnabas' arrival.
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>>>>>>>Do you know if this is on one of the pre-Barnabas episode slates? Becuase I plan on buying those on VHS and I'm wondering if they're pre-Barnabas or after Barnabas' arrival.
Yes, the Alexandra blowing a kiss slate, is on one of the Pre Barnabas tapes. I am not sure which, I would have to comb through them to find it. It's somewhere in the Laura story though. You can also see this on the DS Behind the Scenes tape that MPI put out years ago. ((It's on the special Edition DVD too))
PLEASE put all the production slates on the DVD's MPI!!
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Yes, the Alexandra blowing a kiss slate, is on one of the Pre Barnabas tapes. I am not sure which, I would have to comb through them to find it. It's somewhere in the Laura story though. You can also see this on the DS Behind the Scenes tape that MPI put out years ago. ((It's on the special Edition DVD too))
PLEASE put all the production slates on the DVD's MPI!!
k, thanks! I plan on buying the pre Barnabas ones on VHS since it's going to take a while for MPI to get around to those.
I haven't gotten the DVDs since I don't have a DVD player (getting one soon tho), but I really wish MPI would keep the production slates on there. Like someone else said, DVDs are supposed to add stuff, not take perfectly good stuff away.
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I've enjoyed reading the responses and I do appreciate everyone's point of view. I hope I have not alienated anyone because that certainly wasn't my intent.
I have learned from reading everyone's respones that as far as being a DS fan I am certainly in the minor leagues. I say this because probably 99% of the reason I purchased the first DVD set is because of the extras. The 40 episodes that are on that set were shown on Sci Fi last October and November. It hadn't been all that long since I saw them and I wasn't all that excited about seeing them again.
I have no idea when I started watching the show, I remember the characters more than the storylines. When the episodes that are airing now, October '68 first aired I was 8 years old. The storyline does not seem familiar at all but I have a feeling I watched it at the time because I remember at about the age of 8 or 9 of being terrified of being buried alive and with Elizabeth having the same fear now, I have a feeling that's where my fear came from.
Anyway, when I first discovered DS again almost 2 years ago they were airing the 1970PT episodes. I have enjoyed tremendously reliving my childhood through this show. Looking at the show through the eyes of an adult my love for the show is mostly nostalgic. So far there haven't been any storylines that I've seen that I loved. There are bits and pieces that I think are good but so far this is not a show that I would watch at the age of 42 were it not for the impact it made on me as a child.
The shows I enjoy now are Frazier, West Wing, Law and Order to name a few. Part of DS charm for me are the many inconsistencies in the storyline the flubbed lines and the boom microphone shadows, etc. But these very things would drive me crazy on a show of today and I would not watch it.
I guess I've learned that I'm not as big of a DS fan as I thought because I love the show but for me nostalgia only goes so far. I can't picture myself spending over $1,000. for episodes I love mostly for the nostalgia
and not the content.
Someone brought up the point that it would be very difficult to have extras in all 31 DS sets and they are absolutely right. Again, I guess there are more people than I thought that are willing to shell out that kind of money mostly for the love of the show and that is great.
I just know at least for me I'm not one of them.
Thanks again
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I don't remember seeing slates on any of the MPI tapes, and I watched, I believe, volumes 1-50 or so a few years ago. Are you sure they weren't just on the pre-Barnabas tapes? If that's the case, then perhaps they don't exist for the episodes after his arrival? I don't know, just thinking aloud... :-/
As for the nostalgia factor, I would guess that many DS fans did get hooked on the show as a kid. Personally, I got hooked on re-runs at an early age in the mid-to-late 70's. And I remember that Ted Turner's tv station here in Atlanta yanked the show while Vickie was still stuck in 1795. I wondered what ever became of poor Vickie for years and years, and I finally got to watch the story's resolution in my late 20's! DS is just kinda part of who I am, I suppose. :)
I used to tell people that you really needed to have watched DS as a kid to "get it" as an adult. However, having just recently developed a Buffy habit as a 32-year-old, I realize I need a new excuse!! LOL
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I don't remember seeing slates on any of the MPI tapes, and I watched, I believe, volumes 1-50 or so a few years ago. Are you sure they weren't just on the pre-Barnabas tapes? If that's the case, then perhaps they don't exist for the episodes after his arrival?
MPI didn't decide to include the slates until the Collectors Series was a definite "go". The slates do exist for the entire series. When the Collectors Series reaches the point where Barnabas is released and those episodes are presented on MPI tapes in their entirety for the first time, the slates are included. They stop where the Collectors Series stopped, the episode where Jason and Liz nearly marry. Some later slates have been included on various MPI compilation tapes, such as a slate from 1897 where the werewolf and a stagehand are slating.
I wish the MPI representative who frequents here would take note of these posts and let us know why the slates aren't included on the DVDs. ?!?
SDP
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Yes, the production slates do in fact exist for all 1225 episodes. The original ABC commercials are all intact on them too. There is one wonderful slate scene from 1897, that is included on the MPI Blooper tape. Barnabas is in his coffin, and the stage manager is making fun of Frid, who is complaining about the coffin being too short for him!! I own some copies of original ABC episodes from 1970-1971 as well, and the slates are all present on them too.
I think we should all forward these requests to MPI to tell them what we want to see. Do they accept email?
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Selby_D._Pearson's
For instance, how about Humbert Allen Astredo's screen test for the part of Prof. Dave Woodard on the 1991 DS series?
This is news to me about HAA! Although I just couldn't force myself to get past episode 4 in the 1991 revival, if HAA had gotten the part of Woodward. it would've been enough to keep me interested. How could they pass up someone like Humbert for whomever played him :(
Unfortunately, they selected so many wrong actors for the parts in the 1991 revival. Ben Cross was all wrong for the part to start with! Argh, I really don't want to go here. :-X However, there were some bright spots in the casting, like Barbara Steele, the fellow who played the sheriff, the part of David and Roger. But, once Hollywood gets involved in anything, it usually ends up being too 'high gloss' and just about useless IMO.
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Hello All,
I've been keeping an eye on the DS Forums and enjoy the feedback on our discs. Dark Shadows DVD Collection 2 has just been released, and I look forward to your feedback on them. We did all the encoding and authoring here in our new DVD facilities at MPI, and spent great lengths in preparing the masters, and re-encoding the picture and sound to try and maximize quality.
We are however putting 4 hours on each disc which in itself is such a large amount of video that compression is inevitable (average Hollywood release is less than 2 hours total), that's the trade off for trying to give the most value in the discs.
Since we are trying to put the most episodes possible, we are limited in space for bonus materials, and we are using bonus interviews from preexisting interview segments due to release schedules.
There are plans for producing new bonus materials on upcoming collections, so that is something to look forward to. In the mean time, we hope you enjoy the interviews from the archives.
Let me know if you see a difference in quality on DS collection 2, and we'll keep trying to give you the best we can!
db
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Hi Doombuggy,
Just curious, do any of your copies of the original ABC episode broadcasts from 1970-71 contain Grayson Hall's Playtex commercial? I know it used to be run sometimes as a commercial for DS (which is a real hoot, when you think about it). I saw the tape of episodes with original commercials released as the final tape of the original MPI collectors series, and I wish they would issue more of these. They are a real blast for those of us old enough to remember watching the show during the original broadcast.
Best,
Gothick
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Re HAA testing for Professor Woodard: WOW, that is wild! I have never heard about this, probably because I was out of the country during the production and broadcast of that series (I was spending 18 months in China doing research during that period) and I have been MASSIVELY unimpressed by that entire effort, though I did at one point sit down and watch all the tapes. The worst episode bar none as to be the one where Abigail discovers Barnabas at the Old House. In the original series, this was a creepy, intense, riveting moment--in the 1991 version, it comes off as a parody of a Dario Argento film! I'm sure that the actors laughed themselves silly over it once the take was done.
The one thing I enjoyed about it was Barbara Steele's performance as Julia. Even though nobody could replace Grayson in that role, I found Steele's take on the character fascinating to watch.
Gothick
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>>>>>Hi Doombuggy,
Just curious, do any of your copies of the original ABC episode broadcasts from 1970-71 contain Grayson Hall's Playtex commercial?
No, I am afraid they don't! But one has Jerry Lacy as "Bogart" in a Right Guard commercial. This is a different one than the Marie Wallace that MPI has released. I also got Robert Rodan in his 1970 CHEER commercial. TV Land used to run it a few years ago!
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Let me know if you see a difference in quality on DS collection 2, and we'll keep trying to give you the best we can!
Thanks, MPI-DVD-authoring, for clarifying about the picture quality questions. However, you didn't mention why the slates are not included (unless we are to infer that there simply isn't room for them). The slates were a wonderful addition to the VHS tapes. Can't you please include them on the DVDs? Pretty please?!! :-*
SDP
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Re HAA testing for Professor Woodard: WOW, that is wild!
Louis Edmonds was offered the role of Joshua on the 1991 revival series. He was in Europe at the time and unable to accept the part. As much as I loved Louis' original interpretation of Joshua, I felt that to have any of the original actors cast in their original roles would make the absence of any other original actors in their original roles (on the 1991 DS) a nagging distraction to my enjoyment of the show. I did hope (in vain, it seems) to see some of the original actors in cameos. The only major part that I thought would be good for someone from the original DS (and somewhat ironic) would have been if Jonathan Frid could have played Joshua, Barnabas' father. ;)
SDP
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>>>>>Louis Edmonds was offered the role of Joshua on the 1991 revival series. He was in Europe at the time
You know I heard that Frid was offered the Joshua role in the 91 show, but he wanted over a million dollars or something like that. But I never knew Edmonds was going to do Joshua. You may be correct, but I just can't see Dan Curtis doing that. Edmonds was not in tip top shape or good health at the time, and his speech and manor had slowed down considerably since even his last AMC episode a year or so before.
I think had the 91 series gone on, and it really should have because I thought it was wonderful, Curtis would have intermixed more original actors with new ones.
The only way a new DS will ever fly is if he creates a "next Generation" continuation of the original series, and not another bloody remake....no pun intended.
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You may be correct, but I just can't see Dan Curtis doing that. Edmonds was not in tip top shape or good health at the time, and his speech and manor had slowed down considerably since even his last AMC episode a year or so before.
Although he likely had throat cancer during the time that the 1991 DS was filmed, he did not know it. Louis was energetic and vital until the summer of 1991 (well after the show's 13 hours had aired). He became ill at the LA DS Festival in July 1991, and had to fly home before that Fest ended. He thought that he had a flu bug as he felt the glands in this neck were swollen. Soon after that, his cancer was discovered and by the time of the next Festival his outward zest and vigor were noticeably lessened. :'( Still, his indomitable spirit NEVER diminished. :)
I, too, liked the 1991 series very much and wished it would have continued long enough to allow the original actors some cameos. NBC later regretted cancelling it. ::)
SDP
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Hello All,
I've been keeping an eye on the DS Forums and enjoy the feedback on our discs.
Let me know if you see a difference in quality on DS collection 2, and we'll keep trying to give you the best we can!
db
That is wonderful! I don't have a DVD player and no immediate plans to get one, so I've just been skimming through this topic. But it is really nice to know that someone actually involved in producing it is reading this, hopefully making use of the feedback, and providing us with a direct response. Thank you so much, mpi_dvd_authoring!!
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Hi. MPI Marketing/Internet Operations here.
To answer your questions about the slates not being included on the DVDs, the simple fact is that numerous slates are missing & we decided to forego the concept.
The idea was to put the original slates on the Collector's Series videos (VHS), which are the original episodes 1-209 before Barnabas and the first 60 episodes with Barnabas that were edited on the original MPI videos. The rest of the series came from a different source (submasters made by the TV syndication company),where the original production slates were deleted from those tapes to avoid confusing local stations who reran the show since the episodes were renumbered for syndication.
All of the interesting slates that pull out to wide shots were used on various compilation videos such as "Dark Shadows Behind the Scenes" and "Dark Shadows Bloopers." But there are very few of that nature.
Hope that answers your questions about the slates. As always, you can contact us at darkshadows@mpimedia.com. Thanks for the feedback.
MPI Marketing
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While not exactly the answers we were hoping for (at least in the latter case) I want to thank MPI for paying attention to us here, for caring about our opinions, and keeping us informed. Getting such specific and personal responses from them in this thread is very encouraging. Thanks MPI Marketing and DVD Authoring!
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While not exactly the answers we were hoping for (at least in the latter case) I want to thank MPI for paying attention to us here, for caring about our opinions, and keeping us informed. Getting such specific and personal responses from them in this thread is very encouraging. Thanks MPI Marketing and DVD Authoring!
Ditto! :)
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I also appreciate the fact that MPI is listening. I have found them to be great to deal with over the phone. I still wish they could push the release schedule up to every 2 months...If they are still watching this thread maybe they can clarify what the release schedule will be...it seems they are releasing sets a month apart in Aug and Sept...I am assuming it'll be quarterly after that...I'd love to have all these in less than 8 years...but, anyway thanks again to MPI
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I still wish they could push the release schedule up to every 2 months...If they are still watching this thread maybe they can clarify what the release schedule will be...it seems they are releasing sets a month apart in Aug and Sept...I am assuming it'll be quarterly after that...I'd love to have all these in less than 8 years...but, anyway thanks again to MPI
I completely agree that every other month is the ideal schedule... I don't think I could swing it every single month (budget-wise)--but quarterly would take an awful long time to complete the series...
Every other month is the schedule they're using for all the Star Trek boxsets, and it seems to be working well. I hope DS follows suit...