DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '04 I => Topic started by: Patti Feinberg on February 17, 2004, 12:34:24 AM

Title: New DS Format
Post by: Patti Feinberg on February 17, 2004, 12:34:24 AM: Do you think the (HOPEFULLY!) new DS would be a traditional 1 hour show, or a serial-type show? Tune in next week to see if Anne leaves Quentin waiting at the altar.... sorry, I couldn't resist :-*

And....does anyone/everyone think it will be an hour? (Most but not all shows now-a-days are an hour, but there's some successful 30 minute pieces.)

I wonder because I've recently caught a few eps of Dallas and Dynasty on Soap; perhaps a 1/2 hour serial would be a good start.

(Remember when all soaps were a half hour...then they went to 45! minutes briefly before the now shown hour?)

What do you think would work?

Patti
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Raineypark on February 17, 2004, 03:07:38 AM: Patti, off-hand I can't think of a single half-hour prime-time drama on television today. I'm not sure I can even remember one! Sit-coms can be a half-hour.....but not dramas.

I'd also be very surprised (and disappointed) if it bears much resemblance to a day time soap opera. The producer has worked on the likes of ER and West Wing.....I'm expecting intelligent dialogue and appropriate pacing at the very least!
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Maria_Merriweather on February 17, 2004, 04:07:03 AM: Personally, I wish DS would return as a soap opera. The staginess, the serial format. all added to the show's appeal for me. Since we aren't getting that, I'm hoping for a one hour drama that captures the gothic/mystery atmosphere. >:D
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Darren Gross on February 17, 2004, 04:53:13 AM: It's a 1 hr prime time format show. I think it was mentioned in the TV guide thing.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: coterie-mc on February 17, 2004, 06:01:39 AM: The 1991 DS w/Ben Cross started on a sunday night here in the boston area at 9 p.m, the following night was part 2, then it ran once a week. (http://www.military.com/UserImages/119449)
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: victoriawinters on February 17, 2004, 07:56:28 AM: Heck, I remember the first time a daytime serial went to a full 90 minutes!!!!! They did revert it back to 1 hour.

Yes, it will be an hour. In terms of character development and story, I think more can be done in the hour format. Usually, WB orders at least 22 new episodes per year which is more then network stations get. So, I think a lot of ground will and can be covered even though it's not a daytime serial.
(http://home.pacbell.net/cbsbiz/Victoriaquill.gif)
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Darren Gross on February 17, 2004, 08:12:55 AM: The 91 series premiered in a 'mini-series' format. On a Sunday the two-hour pilot was shown and the following Monday or Tuesday was another two-hour episode (in reality, the 1hr eps 2 & 3 edited together with #3's voice-over removed). From there on in the episodes were shown once a week in their planned 1hr format but on whatever arbitrary day of the week NBC felt like showing it.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Gerard on February 17, 2004, 01:29:58 PM: I'm imagining the new show will follow what seems to be the current trend regarding dramas (and I really can't say that this is how they work for sure, since I actually watch very little TV, save for The Simpsons and South Park - I've got a very animated mind): that it will be a combination of both a continuing story, with each episode also having a one-show, self-contained, all-is-resolved sub-story.

Gerard
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: LorraineAAB on February 23, 2004, 07:30:34 AM: Quote from: Gerard on February 17, 2004, 01:29:58 PM
I'm imagining the new show will follow what seems to be the current trend regarding dramas (and I really can't say that this is how they work for sure, since I actually watch very little TV, save for The Simpsons and South Park - I've got a very animated mind): that it will be a combination of both a continuing story, with each episode also having a one-show, self-contained, all-is-resolved sub-story.

I sure HOPE the substory is NEVER a funny one, thrown in to "break the tension" or to show the "absurd ironies of life" or whatever the excuse is. They could even get away with that stuff on "The West Wing", fans can pull it off in satirical fan fiction, but it wouldn't work for the show proper. Whatever humorous moments on the old program were inadvertant, most of them due to bloopers that resulted from the no-retakes policy and tight schedule.

Or, in a few cases, because of some inconsistency in the script. If one DELIBERATELY tried to write something like the immortal "Willie has the willies" ad-lib or whatever that was, it would fall flat now. Overwhelmed as DS sometimes was with outrageous supernatural plots, even with the campy elements, it was NEVER "DS Lite", nor, far as I know (only from reading synopses), was the 1991 series.

Also, if they're still intending to set the story in Maine, one HOPES they find or construct a more authentic Maine-type town set, and find another, older-looking C'wood rather than a return to that Greystone place. Otherwise, there's no atmosphere--- one ends up with Anytown, USA. (Unless it's New Jersey.... YEEAAH, Collinsport, New Jersey! Now, THAT would be cool ! I'd say Collinwood, Ohio, but I'm not even sure that's near a Great Lake, never mind an ocean.)

AND re-create a more authentic New-Englandy-type old cemetery, with historically-correct stones. And, PLEASE, hire artists better versed in creating 1700's portraits that LOOK like the style painted in the 1700's, not like enlarged, painted-over 8 x 10 head shots and magazine poses !!

L.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Connie on February 23, 2004, 06:51:15 PM: Quote from: LorraineAAB on February 23, 2004, 07:30:34 AM
Whatever humorous moments on the old program were inadvertant, most of them due to bloopers that resulted from the no-retakes policy and tight schedule.
Or, in a few cases, because of some inconsistency in the script.

Well, there was quite a bit of humor in 1897. A lot of exchanges between Quentin and Judith were very amusing. And what about Carl?? That whole scene where he first meets Barnabas was hysterical (and brilliant IMHO). Also, there was a scene with Carl and Sandor that totally cracked me up. Wow, there was so much enhancing humor in 1897.

Of course we shouldn't forget Roger and his sarcastic wit. ;D
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on February 23, 2004, 07:02:43 PM: Quote from: Connie on February 23, 2004, 06:51:15 PM
Well, there was quite a bit of humor in 1897.

And we can't forget some of Magda's great remarks, particulartly whenever she reacted to Barnabas as though she was his servant whose sole responsibility was keeping the Old House clean. Those were often priceless. :D

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Of course we shouldn't forget Roger and his sarcastic wit. ;D

No other character could ever match or hope to compete with Roger's sarcasm - he's in a league all his own! [lghy]
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: dom on February 23, 2004, 08:42:33 PM: Yes, Roger was a riot and the king of sarcasm. That said, Nicky Blair was pretty good with the zingers as well. And Liz (when mixing it up with bro. Roger) could certainly hold her own, my fave being her comment to Roger as he was trying to enter Viki's room (uninvited) late one evening, telling him that Ms. Winters was brought to Collinwood to take care of his son, "Your son, Roger, not you." LOL!

Of course Liz's jabs were never meant to be commical but they had me rolling just the same - One of the many reasons episode one is my all-time favorite, and one of several reasons La Liz is my fave character.

Special mention - to Mrs. Johnson (think mayo), the early Maggie Evans (kooks), the original Sam Evans (his philisophical/cryptic musings), MR's Burke (think broomstick) and Laura (one can only imagine the battle of wits she must have shared with her husband, not to mention her on-screen retorts) - each at times making me sceam with delight. Kudos to the early writing team.

dom (Begging MPI to release the pre-Barn's to DVD concurrently w/the present releases.)
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Patti Feinberg on February 25, 2004, 02:49:03 PM: Another thing, I never watched Buffy, but since it's on in a.m., I've been watching what I think is the last season.

Anya (she was on 90210, is this the character's name), is not a human?

Also, I don't know the deal with Willow, but....

the one thing I notice with this last season, and I believe was prevelent on 1991 DS, it's very oppressive, heavy-burdened....

Orig. DS wasn't; yes, you had times when it seemed overwhelming, but not oppressive. On Buffy (and again, I believe 1991 series), very down-trodden.

I hope that they don't try to hard to down-cast everyone and every situation.

Patti

Okay...I'm in to modify (and clarify).

What I love/love/LOVE about orig. DS was the closeness in desperate time; take Leviathan; on one had, you had most everyone, and in this corner, was Barn, Julia, Grant/Quentin and Maggie (and, you're also cheering for them to save Carolyn).

Even when things are going bad, there's still a strong sense of family. Granted, the Collins family may sort of be 'screw you' if someone isn't a Collins, but it makes it lovable.

Right now on Buffy, I hate/hate/HATE the way most everyone is i s o l a t e d.

(BTW, whoever is playing the principal on Buffy would be GREAT on a new DS!!)
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Julian on February 25, 2004, 03:42:04 PM: I laugh out loud at Roger's lines sometimes. I loved it when Liz invited Burke and Vicki to live in the west wing and Roger asked her if she was going to start running a hotel. The scenes between Liz and Jason were also great - even though he had the upper hand, she more than held her own in their verbal sparring. It's too bad the character was let go, I think Dennis and Joan worked so well together they could have become a soap super couple.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Midnite on February 25, 2004, 05:51:54 PM: Quote from: Patti on February 25, 2004, 02:49:03 PM
Anya (she was on 90210, is this the character's name), is not a human?

No-- she'd returned to being a vengeance demon. It was mentioned at one time that they were immortal, but its continuity got lost somewhere.

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Also, I don't know the deal with Willow, but....

Willow is a very powerful witch who is overcoming an addiction to magic. Think Angelique, but without the Dark Master.

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the one thing I notice with this last season, and I believe was prevelent on 1991 DS, it's very oppressive, heavy-burdened....

Orig. DS wasn't; yes, you had times when it seemed overwhelming, but not oppressive. On Buffy (and again, I believe 1991 series), very down-trodden.

Buffy became increasingly dark as the series progressed. The 6th (previous) season was also, and the 5th had its dark moments-- the episode "The Body" is one that I only saw once and have no desire to see again.

Buffy, and the '91 series, were not playing to the kiddies.

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I hope that they don't try to hard to down-cast everyone and every situation.

I hear you, Patti.

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What I love/love/LOVE about orig. DS was the closeness in desperate time; take Leviathan; on one had, you had most everyone, and in this corner, was Barn, Julia, Grant/Quentin and Maggie (and, you're also cheering for them to save Carolyn).

Even when things are going bad, there's still a strong sense of family. Granted, the Collins family may sort of be 'screw you' if someone isn't a Collins, but it makes it lovable.

But Buffy was always about female empowerment. It was her show-- she was "the Chosen One", yet despite Barnabas' being the enduring icon of DS, the DS universe didn't always revolve around him. But like DS, we saw how the people around Buffy-- ordinary people who had no special powers, or at least not in the beginning-- also rose to the challenge to help her time and again much like the DS characters you mentioned, and most times they were very much like a family. Another recurring Buffy theme that will sound familiar is redemption-- about making up for past crimes and mistakes.

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Right now on Buffy, I hate/hate/HATE the way most everyone is i s o l a t e d.

I thought FX was at the end of the series, in which case you should've seen the characters come together. What you may be interpreting as isolation is actually that they've each been to hell and back and found their personal strengths as a result.

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(BTW, whoever is playing the principal on Buffy would be GREAT on a new DS!!)

Unfortunately, he has a steady gig already on 24.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on February 25, 2004, 06:25:31 PM: Quote from: Midnite on February 25, 2004, 05:51:54 PM
Quote from: Patti on February 25, 2004, 02:49:03 PM
Right now on Buffy, I hate/hate/HATE the way most everyone is i s o l a t e d.

I thought FX was at the end of the series, in which case you should've seen the characters come together. What you may be interpreting as isolation is actually that they've each been to hell and back and found their personal strengths as a result.

Exactly. And also, Patti, it's very hard to come into Buffy during its last seasons and fully understand it. Unlike many other series, the characters on Buffy grew and changed from season to season (if you were to watch an episode from the first few seasons, you might seriously begin to wonder if you were watching the same show), and the series is very self-referential, meaning that it frequently refers back to events from past seasons, so, unless you've actually been watching for quite a few years, quite a few things are likely to go right over your head. (For example: In the final episode of the series, Buffy, Willow and Xander jokingly discuss going to the mall after they defeat that season's Big Bad and Giles remarks offhandedly that the earth is doomed. His remark directly relates back to the final moments of Buffy's first season premiere in which Buffy, Willow and Xander were joking about how getting kicked out of school might save them from having to deal with any other demons and Giles made the exact same remark. ;))
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: loki on February 26, 2004, 05:57:01 AM: Is anyone curious to see Kingdom Hospital,(not sure that's the right name) looks kind of interesting. I can't wait for anything Dark Shadows, new or old, still can't believe it's gone. Watched SciFI for Two Years then they just stopped, Thank God for Robin for her wonderful descriptionsof the last 20ish episodes. Looking forward to any news!
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Patti Feinberg on February 26, 2004, 07:15:12 PM: OT but too funny.

I read what Midnite & MB said yesterday about Buffy. I tuned in this a.m., and what should appear, but YOUNG Buffy and Willow (I guess yesterday's 8am ep, which I couldn't see, was perhaps the last)? If so, Buffy says (in the previous ep), "Hi Angel", which I assume is Angel of the WB's cancelled Angel.

(still OT, but does Buffy end up with Spike?)

Patti
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: jennifer on February 29, 2004, 04:15:49 AM: Quote from: loki on February 26, 2004, 05:57:01 AM
Is anyone curious to see Kingdom Hospital,(not sure that's the right name) looks kind of interesting. I can't wait for anything Dark Shadows, new or old, still can't believe it's gone. Watched SciFI for Two Years then they just stopped, Thank God for Robin for her wonderful descriptionsof the last 20ish episodes. Looking forward to any news!
i work at Kingdom Hospital! :-X

jennifer
i think i will watch it too
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Miss_Winthrop on March 06, 2004, 02:15:24 PM: Quote from: dom on February 23, 2004, 08:42:33 PM
Special mention - <snip> the original Sam Evans (his philisophical/cryptic musings),

Thank you for that! I thought I was the only one who liked the original Sam Evans. In the long run, David Ford ended up being a great replacement for Mark Allen. But, I adored Allen's philisophical and cryptic musings too! He left the show way too soon. He looked the part of a run-down alcoholic artist with the wild hair and secrets to hide! Still, I can't help but wonder if the new show's town will be just another suburban setting or capture the real flavor of a small town village tucked away out of the path of progress as in the original. It'll be interesting to find out.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Mark Rainey on March 06, 2004, 06:04:25 PM: Quote
I thought I was the only one who liked the original Sam Evans. In the long run, David Ford ended up being a great replacement for Mark Allen. But, I adored Allen's philisophical and cryptic musings too! He left the show way too soon. He looked the part of a run-down alcoholic artist with the wild hair and secrets to hide!

I've often believed that the original players for certain roles, even if they were short-lived, had it all over their replacements. Through his longevity in the series, David Ford became the Sam Evans I think most fans identify with; but Mark Allen may have been the more interesting actor in the role. Not to demean Ford at all, because I really like him and appreciate his contribution (I don't think Allen would have fit the role of Andre DuPres so well), but I completely agree that his more tormented and world-weary Sam Evans made for an engaging aspect of the show that I would love to have seen continued.

Same could be said for George Mitchell as Matthew Morgan. Though Thayer David probably is, was, and always will be the most charismatic, versatile, and appropriately utilized actor in the show, as Morgan, he was almost a letdown after Mitchell's eccentric, rather manic character. In regard to Morgan, my emotional response to the two actors was that I admired David's ability to portray the character with some aplomb; Mitchell's screen presence made me genuinely nervous.

--Mark
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Mark Rainey on March 06, 2004, 06:06:30 PM: Quote
Is anyone curious to see Kingdom Hospital,(not sure that's the right name) looks kind of interesting.

After watching Kingdom Hospital, the first word that comes to mind is B-O-R-I-N-G.

--Mark
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Darren Gross on March 06, 2004, 09:29:46 PM: It does look terrible from the commercials.

By all means do check out the original Danish series THE KINGDOM which is brilliant.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Cassandra on March 06, 2004, 09:45:53 PM: Quote from: Mark Rainey on March 06, 2004, 06:06:30 PM
After watching Kingdom Hospital, the first word that comes to mind is B-O-R-I-N-G.

After sitting there watching it for the full two hours, I still don't know what the heck is going on.

(Perhaps it'll get a little more interesting as the story progresses)

Cassandra
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Patti Feinberg on March 06, 2004, 10:04:31 PM: Quote from: Mark Rainey on March 06, 2004, 06:04:25 PM
Mark Allen may have been the more interesting actor in the role.

Same could be said for George Mitchell as Matthew Morgan.

Could someone post pics of these two actors...for the life of me, I can't picture either....

Patti
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: dom on March 09, 2004, 10:07:31 AM: Here you go, Patti. ;D It was a very long and painful process, but, anything for you, my dear fellow Forums member and DS fan. :-*

(http://home.earthlink.net/~dianamaryflo/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/georgemitchellforpatti.jpg)
George Mitchell: The original Matthew Morgan

(http://home.earthlink.net/~dianamaryflo/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/markallenforpatti.jpg)
Mark Allen: The original Sam Evans

PS - Neither of these photos are of the actors as their DS characters.
Title: Re:New DS Format
Post by: Patti Feinberg on March 10, 2004, 11:00:08 PM: :-* :-* :-* :-*d :-*o :-*m :-* :-* :-*

Thank you dahling...I truly don't believe I've ever seen these ??? ???

Patti