DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '06 I => Topic started by: jeffreywj777 on February 11, 2006, 05:50:57 PM
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I just saw that SciFi will be showing Passions starting next week at the 9:00 am time slot. I have seen the show referenced several times here on this board and just wanted to know what everybody thinks of it. I'll probably watch it for the first week at least just ot satisfy my curiosity.
Also for any Doctor Who fans, SciFi will start airing the new BBC version of Doctor Who starting on March 17th at 9:00 pm. I believe there are thirteen episodes in this first season set. SciFi might redeem themselves yet.
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I watched Passions for two or three months when it first came out. I found it breathtakingly boring. After I lost interest in it, I would still watch one epsiode a week and not only did I not miss anything, I still found the pace of the storytelling to be extremely dull. I think more happens in one episode of As The World Turns than in two weeks worth of episodes of Passions. I've cought a few episodes recently and it looks to still be exactly the same. I mean, two people can be standing in a room talking to each other for five straight epsiodes. And the conversation is about absolutely nothing.
Considering the advertisements they're showing on Sci-Fi make it look like some sort of supernatural thriller, there are going to be a whole lot of extremely disappointed people when they start watching it.
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I've seen a couple of minutes of Passions. Actually, because of MB's recent post on CE/A about a DS reference on Passions, just yesterday (Friday), I was actually alternating between OLTL and Passions. I agree somewhat dull; there did not seem to be alot of individuality. Perhaps that just takes time, but I believe Passions has been on for what, at least 5 years?
Passions on SciFi....INSTEAD OF DARK SHADOWS!!! Horror....Yet Another Reason NOT to Watch SciFi....a gypsy curse upon them!!!
Patti
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Well, I will say that people who want something supernatural will eventually be disappointed. Even though Tabitha (the witch) is still on, the degree of the supernatural in it has really decreased over the years.
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I am a regular Passions viewer. I admit it's a very slow paced show, but the early episodes are worthy of Sci Fi.
From it's debut on July 5, 1999 until August 2002, 75% of the show's stories dealt with the supernatural. It was all done darkly comic, toungue in cheek, like a cross between Dark Shadows & Bewitched. There were many bizarre homages to Hitchcock's Psycho & The Birds, Titanic, Cleopatra, Wizard of Oz, plus stories about witches, demons, zombies, and voyages to Hell itself. It was grand, and ended when actor Josh Ryan Evans (Timmy the Living Doll) died of heart disease. A big part of Passions died with him.
Though Tabitha the witch (Juliet Mills) is still on, only 25% of the show currently deals with spook stuff. The current episodes are unworthy of Sci Fi, but these early episodes, when the show truly rocked--will fit right in!
I suggest we support the Passions reruns, as that may be a way to get DS back on Sci-Fi.
David
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What I remember about Passions is Tabitha throwing her demonic ventriloquist-dummy child into the washer as punishment and an iris-insert of Juliet Mills telling the audience with a big wink not to try this at home.
I may be hallucinating again, but I seem to recall hearing that the boy who played Tommy died a couple of years ago.
It seems odd that Passions has lasted so long, but then one contemplates just how long Friends lasted. From what I can determine, that show was about a lot of vapid people yapping about absolutely nothing.
G. the cranky Yankee
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I may be hallucinating again, but I seem to recall hearing that the boy who played Tommy died a couple of years ago.
... actor Josh Ryan Evans (Timmy the Living Doll) died of heart disease. A big part of Passions died with him.
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Golly, that's sad. Thanks for letting me know. I apologize if my flippant comments upset any of his fans.
G.
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It's worth tuning in just for Timmy. He was a scene stealer. David is correct, the show was not the same after him.
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I started watching Passions about one year into the first run.
After Josh/Timmy died, I regretted not tuning in from day one.
These Sci-Fi reruns feel like a gift.
I'll be taping and keeping all the Tabitha/Timmy stuff.
I've now seen the first two eps.
A lot of it is set-up and character introduction.
But Tabitha has already appeared, as has an angel--an actual angel.
There are already many, many hints of supernatural horrors to come.
Come on folks, B & W DS eps are slow paced, but we love those eps anyway for the stories/characters.
For it's first 3 years, Passions was a bona-fide horror soap, with a little Bewitched thrown in.
Give it a chance!
And show Sci-Fi that we're still here so we can get DS back!!!
David
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Also, just a note. Rarely on Passions (at least in the first three or so years), when supernatural stuff is happening, they play the DS theme. ;)
Although I think they kind of stopped with it shortly after Timmy died. :(
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The DS theme & other DS music were heard a lot during the first "Norma" story (picture Psycho's Norman Bates as an axe weilding lesbian, and you get Passions' Norma!!)
And, in later episodes, it was established~~twice~~that Tabitha once dated Barnabas Collins!!
David
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I watched a very little bit of Passions (the beginning) way back when, and I didn't get into it the way I did DS. It came off too silly for me, and when it wasn't coming off silly, it was just too soap and I'm just not a fan of ordinary soaps. I never liked any of the characters either. I haven't watched it since.
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I like 2 or 3 of the new 27th season of Dr Who. Anything written by Russel T Davies is about worthless to me.
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this is sort of off-topic but because they are "cult" shows with a fantasy angle d.s. is often lumped in with shows like 'doctor who' and 'star trek'.
both of these shows have been remade.especially 'star trek' which spawned several t.v. spin-offs and helped create a "world of star trek".
now this is just me but i'm glad that d.s. exists as a perfect time-capsule.i'm glad it was never spun-off into a "world" of cheaply produced,syndicated fantasy shows that clutter up the saturday afternoon t.v. schedule.
i think that would have been a shame.
i would welcome a new version of d.s.(in the form of a t.v. show or movie)but it would have to be really well produced and well done(i'm still waiting for that tim burton vision).to do anything less would cheapen the original i think. :P
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Does anyone know when Passions first aired?
David, I'm glad for your that a show you love is on.....'that' station.
Friends...vapid...lololol
Patti (but, if I'm being honest...I liked thirtysomething....going to hide now...especially from Rainey & Connie)
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Hasn't one of DS's claims to fame always been that it's the only soap aired in syndication? (Now, granted, with SoapNet, I guess this could be disclaimed for other shows...but it is only a 'soap' station.)
Now, with Passions on SciFi, doesn't this go into the above area?
Patti
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Hasn't one of DS's claims to fame always been that it's the only soap aired in syndication? (Now, granted, with SoapNet, I guess this could be disclaimed for other shows...but it is only a 'soap' station.)
Now, with Passions on SciFi, doesn't this go into the above area?
I thought that when a show is put into syndication. It is on the open market and any network/cable channel that wishes to purchase rights to air it could.
So in my thinking Dark Shadows still retains the title. Because technically Passions is still being aired on a NBC connected network and it isn't on the open market. Because if I remember correctly the Sic-fi channel is owned by the same people who own NBC.
So I don't think one can say Passions is truely in syndication. But that is just my opinion.
FireRose
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Dark Shadows still holds the record for being the only network soap to have its reruns syndicated on local stations. I believe reruns of the first-run syndicated soap Strange Paradise were also shown on local stations in the 1970s and 1980s.
Dark Shadows and Passions aren't the only soaps to have their reruns syndicated on cable, though. There have been seven soaps that have been aired by cable networks at one point or another, not including soaps that air same-day episodes on SoapNet:
(1) The Edge of Night (USA, 1985-1989)
(2) Search for Tomorrow (USA, 1985-1987)
(3) Dark Shadows (Sci Fi, 1992-2003)
(4) Ryan's Hope (SoapNet, 2000- )
(5) Another World (SoapNet, 2003- )
(6) Port Charles (SoapNet, 2003- )
(7) Passions (Sci-Fi, 2006- )
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Hi FireRose,
Did you misspell Sci-Fi channel, or did you spell it this way on purpose, "sic-fi"? I think it's fitting since they cancelled DS. If you did misspell it I'm not criticizing. I am a terrible speller, so I wouldn't dream of bringing anyone else to task over their spelling.
But I think its funny. I will call them Sic-Fi from now on.
Misa
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Dark Shadows still holds the record for being the only network soap to have its reruns syndicated on local stations. I believe reruns of the first-run syndicated soap Strange Paradise were also shown on local stations in the 1970s and 1980s.
Dark Shadows and Passions aren't the only soaps to have their reruns syndicated on cable, though. There have been seven soaps that have been aired by cable networks at one point or another, not including soaps that air same-day episodes on SoapNet:
(1) The Edge of Night (USA, 1985-1989)
(2) Search for Tomorrow (USA, 1985-1987)
(3) Dark Shadows (Sci Fi, 1992-2003)
(4) Ryan's Hope (SoapNet, 2000- )
(5) Another World (SoapNet, 2003- )
(6) Port Charles (SoapNet, 2003- )
(7) Passions (Sci-Fi, 2006- )
Actually, SoapNet also shows the following soaps:
Beverly Hills, 90210
Dallas
Dynasty
Melrose Place
The Monroes
Paper Dolls
Pasadena
Skin
The Colbys
Falcon Crest
Hotel
Knots Landing
Sisters
:)
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Hi FireRose,
Did you misspell Sci-Fi channel, or did you spell it this way on purpose, "sic-fi"? I think it's fitting since they cancelled DS. If you did misspell it I'm not criticizing. I am a terrible speller, so I wouldn't dream of bringing anyone else to task over their spelling.
But I think its funny. I will call them Sic-Fi from now on.
I wish I could say I did that on purpose, but it was a typo.
A typo that worked out well!!!
FireRose
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Actually, SoapNet also shows the following soaps:
I didn't include the primetime soaps because it's not that surprising that they've been rerun - after all, at maximum they have 360-ish episodes ala Dallas and Knots Landing. Another World, on the other hand, had something like 8891 episodes, while Ryan's Hope had 3515. Primetime soaps have been seen in reruns for quite a while (starting with Peyton Place), whereas reruns of daytime soaps didn't come about until the advent of cable (with the exception of DS).
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Dear Goddess......can we just imagine re-running something like "As The World Turns"? That's been on the air for at least 150 years, no?
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It was grand, and ended when actor Josh Ryan Evans (Timmy the Living Doll) died of heart disease. A big part of Passions died with him.
For me, the whole show died when Josh died. It was nothing anymore. I despise what they did to Juliet Mills after showing off her talent as an actress for the first few years, they stick her in these worthless scenes now where she talks to a baby or spy on people with that bowl. I think it's a slap in the face towards Juliet since she is getting Emmy nominations when she really doesn't deserve it now. In the first three years, especially during Timmy's death, Juliet was amazing. I feel sorry for her. I hope they redo Passions now and give Juliet the stories that she has already shown she can pull off. That's just my opinion and I can't wait for the day when Passions is cancelled because it really sucks now.
I think it's interesting that some DS fans say Passions is a rip off of DS when really it's Port Charles that is most like Dark Shadows. PC started out like DS with non-supernatural stories and then added the vampire and created stories around that. The vampire stories were the biggest part of both shows. I read if PC hadn't have been cancelled they would have done a werewolf story. So I believe PC is a bigger rip off of DS than Passions when it comes to that kind of subject.
Hasn't one of DS's claims to fame always been that it's the only soap aired in syndication? (Now, granted, with SoapNet, I guess this could be disclaimed for other shows...but it is only a 'soap' station.)
I think Passions is the first soap opera to be in reruns while still producing new episodes at the same time. Another World, Port Charles, and those other soaps didn't go into syndication until after they were cancelled. Hopefully this is a sign that Passions is on its way to ending very quickly.
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Satan:
When I interviewed Juliet Mills for Filmfax Magazine & San Francisco's Bay Area Reporter, she said the show was planning on soon sending her & daughter Endora on some very Tabby/Timmy like adventures.
Right after Josh Evans passed, the show tried to bring on more "living dolls" but the audience rejected them, hence Endora, Tabby's daughter.
While the show lost a lot of it's magic with Josh's death, I have to say that the characters of Alistair Crane & Liz are so ridiculously evil, they're fun to watch, and I still enjoy the show.
But Tabby/Timmy was the golden highlight of the show, as the Sci-Fi reruns are making evident!
Port Charles: The werewolf story was underway, and the werewolf, a black woman, was revealed on the show's final, cliffhanging episode.
Port Charles had great potential, and some wonderful moments.
It's our fault for not supporting it.
It's rating for it's las 2 years was a shameful 1.5
David
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Well, it's only your fault if you've got a Neilson box hooked up to your TV. Otherwise, no one knows or cares what you're watching.
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this is sort of off-topic but because they are "cult" shows with a fantasy angle d.s. is often lumped in with shows like 'doctor who' and 'star trek'.
both of these shows have been remade.especially 'star trek' which spawned several t.v. spin-offs and helped create a "world of star trek".
now this is just me but i'm glad that d.s. exists as a perfect time-capsule.i'm glad it was never spun-off into a "world" of cheaply produced,syndicated fantasy shows that clutter up the saturday afternoon t.v. schedule.
i think that would have been a shame.
I was thinking about this and one way that a "spin-off" series similar to what's been done with Star Trek might work with DS would be if, say, a new original primetime network or syndicated DS series was to do a time travel storyline back into the past (like 1897 or 1840) or perhaps into Parallel Time (like a present day PT or 1841PT) and the characters remaining after the original series' character(s) returned to their own time could continue the story from the point the original series' character(s) went back to their own time. The spin-off series wouldn't simply be peopled by characters that the audience didn't know but ones that they'd come to care about over the course of the original series' time travel story. Though, of course, a successful original series would have to be established first - and we're nowhere near that point. :( (Not to mention any new DS writers would have to curb any desire they might have to follow in the footsteps of the original DS writers and kill off practically every viable character as the original series' time travel storyline reached its conclusion.)