DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

General Discussions => Current Talk '24 I => Topic started by: Mysterious Benefactor on November 01, 2017, 10:26:42 PM

Title: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on November 01, 2017, 10:26:42 PM: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way (http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/258514/dark-shadows-begins-screening-online-new-documentary-way/)

Finally a bit of news concerning the documentary - though no details.

And considering many of us already own the entire series on DVD, I don't know how many fans they seriously expect to sign up for the streaming service? Although, IF you don't own the entire series, $79.00 is cheaper than buying the entire series and presumably the extra DVDs. Though even an advanced look at the documentary won't get me to subscribe for a year. But I would consider $7.99 for the month the documentary becomes available if that will be allowed...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Patti Feinberg on November 02, 2017, 05:29:45 AM: MB, are you saying someone? has made a documentary about the OS of 'DS'?

Do you know who (the producer and the studio or production company)?

You mentioned paying $7.99 month, is it an on-going streaming series?

Which service will air it?

Thanks,

Patti

[Creeping]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: dom on November 02, 2017, 02:51:02 PM: All that info is in the article, Patti. If the link isn't working for you let me know and I will copy and send it to you.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on November 02, 2017, 04:31:42 PM: I forgot to mention that one would also think the "exclusive bonus content and behind-the-scenes archival footage" would have to be something really special to keep fans paying for it, so it will definitely be interesting to see what it is once it becomes available. That content, if worth it, might be the only thing that would have fans considering subscribing month to month and certainly for a full year...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: michael c on November 03, 2017, 01:45:08 AM: interesting, and it would seem necessary development.

the home video market is collapsing. and this has always been a big cash cow for MPI. a company that often seems to exist in another era.

getting this property into an online or streaming service needed to happen.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: dom on November 03, 2017, 02:20:09 AM: My impression is that the extra goodies are those found on the DVDs.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on November 03, 2017, 02:45:03 AM: Because it says "exclusive," I've presumed that means exclusive to the streaming service. But who knows? We've presumed before and got bitten on the ass for it. I suppose we'll see...

I wonder if the edited '04 pilot had been planned as one of the exclusive extras? If so, so much for that idea because it's been available online for months.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on November 03, 2017, 02:52:59 AM: It just stuck me that I wonder if this new steaming service will mean DS will no longer be available on Hulu once the new service is up and running?
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: dom on November 03, 2017, 01:44:20 PM: Quote from: Mysterious Benefactor on November 03, 2017, 02:45:03 AM
Because it says "exclusive," I've presumed that means exclusive to the streaming service.

Perhaps, but this is MPI we're talking about, lol.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on November 03, 2017, 05:46:06 PM: [pointing-up] Exactly!! [b003]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: michael c on November 04, 2017, 10:54:40 AM: maybe the "extra goodies" are the 1996 Christmas ornament and underpants MPI is still trying to unload. [hall2_rolleyes]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Midnite on December 24, 2017, 03:05:39 AM: Here are a couple of those "extra goodies" just added to MPI's streaming service: https://darkshadows2.vhx.tv/cast-crew-interviews

Pretty sure both the interview with Alexandra and On Location Clip are available on You Tube. [b071]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Robot_Quentin on December 27, 2017, 01:02:50 AM: Do you have to watch the streams on a computer or tablet??

Or is there some other angle I'm missing like a Roku/Amazon Firestick or other such streaming device? I'm just thinking of the easiest ways I'd watch on my not-so-smart TV.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Gothick on January 06, 2018, 01:51:47 AM: On a DS fan site on Facebook, I just took note of this segment of a Shadowgram update (I think it was listed as "update #403") dated Dec. 29:

Among the most anticipated events is the debut of the brand-new, full-length documentary.

SHADOWGRAM Official DS News Online Update # 402 recently premiere-announced that the documentary details the complete history of DS, along with the story of series creator/executive producer Dan Curtis. Numerous DS personnel and others also share their DS memories and connections.

A premiere screening of the theatrical documentary will be held sometime in 2018 for fans and DS personnel to attend. Dates, locations, and confirmed details will continue to be premiere-announced through these SHADOWGRAM Official Updates. (end quote)

Again, there are NO SPECIFICS AT ALL mentioned here. So, I don't know how worthwhile it is to post this "update," but if nothing else, this is the latest twitch from the near-moribund DS publicity machine. What's left of it.

cheers, G.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on January 06, 2018, 02:08:15 AM: But at least we know the documentary hasn't disappeared into the ether somewhere and is still on track to debut at some point.

Interesting that initially it will be screened it theaters.

Thanks, Gothick. [santa_smiley]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Uncle Roger on January 06, 2018, 02:28:21 AM: Curiouser and curiouser, as they say. Some fans actually seem to believe that the premiere of the documentary warrants a red carpet screening. More power to them.
If anything, this will likely be a very scaled down event, along the lines of the Mabuse screening. Probably in lieu of an actual festival.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Gothick on January 06, 2018, 02:59:11 AM: I had the same thought, Uncle Roger--the "premiere" will be an opportunity for fans to gather and a couple of the surviving cast members to sell their latest books and do autographs. I haven't kept track of what they've said about the Festivals. I think they said the 2016 one was the last they would do, but who knows.

The documentary and the 2004 pilot would make a nice DVD release, along with whatever other little bits they can put on it. I'd buy it just for auld lang syne.

G.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Uncle Roger on January 06, 2018, 05:41:36 PM: Very little has been said about a potential festival. Shadowgram manages to sidestep the topic altogether. Despite the existence of a festival committee, the only person who decides these things is The Pierson That Be and I don't know if he is interested in this anymore.
I do find it very telling that when fans have asked KLS about a 2018 festival, she tells them that they need to get after Jim. So it will be interesting to see what, if anything, materializes.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: michael c on January 06, 2018, 07:46:23 PM: indeed on one of the FB pages recently KLS herself was telling US to get on Jim about the festival. as if we had more influence on him than her, Parker, Selby and the other fest stalwarts. [santa_shocked]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: michael c on January 06, 2018, 07:48:55 PM: indeed on one of the FB pages recently KLS herself was telling US to get on Jim about the festival. as if we had more influence on him than her, Parker, Selby and the other fest stalwarts. [santa_shocked]

i've been hearing it's "the last" since i attended my first fest in 2003 or 4. but it does really seem like the whole operation is winding down. [santa_sad]
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Gothick on January 06, 2018, 08:06:22 PM: When I write about the next (final?) DVD release, I'm trying to keep up the front that I actually care if the content features anything OTHER THAN Grayson's Playtex commercial.

I mean, really.

G.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Uncle Roger on January 06, 2018, 09:29:02 PM: While KLS was able to shame Pierson into continuing the festivals at the so called final festival some years ago, maybe she no longer has that kind of leverage. While the fanbase is undeniably loyal, it is also scattered and unfocused.
No matter how one feels about the Depp movie, it did not bring new blood into the fandom. Quite the opposite, it alienated a lot of the fanbase.
The fandom is simultaneously aging and dwindling. There really have not been any attempt to broaden the audience. It's been a long time since there has been any sort of advertising done in the general media. Newbies stumble onto to it quite by accident, if they find it at all. Articles about festival activities have gotten some press but those always seem to be after the fact.
The last gasp seems to have been the cruises, which were beyond the budget and availability of the majority of fans. Very few photos have surfaced of the last one, so maybe that's the end of those.
People are full of all sorts of ideas about having festivals in different cities, which is not necessarily realistic. Any time the festivals deviated from the NY/CA areas, the numbers weren't there. Nor do the fans seem that eager to support anything that doesn't have the festival brand attached to it, as the Friends of the 1991 DS events demonstrated.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Gothick on January 06, 2018, 09:48:28 PM: Yes, the last Friends of 91 DS event in NYC was canceled, wasn't it, due to lack of pre-registration? The main area where I see fannish activity is on Facebook groups. I know there are some younger people who have become fans, but it's quite random. Unfortunately, if the series is no longer on hulu, that will remove from the game the last somewhat more visible arena where the series was seen. I don't know how successful MPI's attempt to run their own DS channel is going to be.

I myself don't pay all that much attention to Shadows fandom any longer and I don't really have the time or extra funds to devote to attending the occasional events that are run. 2017 was the 50th anniversary of the appearance of Barnabas Collins and it seems that barely anything happened to celebrate that.

And 2018 was the year we first clapped eyes on Mrs Cassandra Collins... also the 50 anniversary (as of late June) of my first episode ever viewed of DS.

Best, G.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: michael c on January 06, 2018, 09:53:56 PM: i can only speak for myself but i really have no interest in "cruises" (nor the funds) or those odd half day mini events out at Lyndhurst. and as for the "Friends of 1991" events there seems to be a black cloud over them as they are rife with cancellations and last minute no shows every time they try to hold one. in addition they are confusing as they generally attach more OS names to them than 91 participants. i can never make heads nor tails of the lineup.

the preference of the fandom seems to be the traditional hotel bound 2-3 day festival. a big well stocked dealers room. film and video oddities ( "The House" was well received at the last one). the typical cast/crew panels and Q&A sessions. and so forth. stabs at "newness" seem to fall short.

that said of course with a rapidly aging cast (and fan base) how much longer how much longer that's even possible remains to be seen.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Uncle Roger on January 06, 2018, 10:32:52 PM: In some ways, the festivals have paralleled the last days of the series where Curtis and Company were completely out of touch with the audience. (Give the audience what they want to see, guys. Not what you think they should have.)
Interestingly, the get togethers at Seaview Terrace in Newport seem to attracted a loyal collection of hardcore fans. While the intent of these events is admirable to a point; the fees are supposed to go towards much needed repairs on the house. I have not participated since I have issues about paying for the maintenance on someone else's home, especially when the family that owns it is perfectly capable of doing so on their own. Habitat for Humanity for Millionaires?! Uh, no.
I tend to stay away from a lot of the intense fanboys on Facebook. Too much of it is at the level of 16 Magazine. I don't dispute their interest or their intensity but so many are ill informed. Such as: Did you guys know that Joan Bennett appeared in a movie before she was on Dark Shadows? (I'm exaggerating this a bit but not much.)
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Gothick on January 06, 2018, 10:50:52 PM: Ack! I should have written something like "50 years ago, in 1968, was the first time we saw Cassandra..."

The deep freeze here in New England means my brains are more mush-like than ever. At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I'm far from being in the core fan group but my perception is that the days of the DS Festivals are officially over.

G.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on April 20, 2018, 05:42:56 PM: I hadn't checked out the Web site since posting the notice, but I decided to look in on it today. I see where they're indicating that there's an "Exclusive first look at the upcoming Dark Shadows feature documentary and tons of bonus features!" available. Has anyone checked out the first look at the documentary?
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on April 22, 2018, 09:22:00 PM: I'm guessing that the silence on that question means that few people here have subscribed to the streaming site so they don't even have the opportunity to have checked out the preview of the documentary. Obviously I'm also among the ones who haven't subscribed. And as I said when the site was first announced, it might be the case that fans won't even consider subscribing until we learn that content that's not available on the DVDs has been added. So far it would seem as if the preview is the only thing like that that's been added and it's not enough of an incentive to subscribe. I know it isn't for me. I already subscribe to enough sites with fresh content (Acorn TV, Amazon, CBS All Access, and Netflix) that I can just about keep up with so I don't feel the need to subscribe to any site that doesn't...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Gothick on April 30, 2018, 04:27:19 PM: A well-known fan from the original broadcast era posted (on social media) a link for a trailer for the new documentary, which had been posted to youtube. Within a very short time, the youtube video had been pulled. It was gone by the time I saw the post so I have not seen this trailer.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around the mindset that would not want A TRAILER out there to promote a product. Presumably it is because an actual launch date has yet to be finalized.

The fan joked, after the link had been disabled, that perhaps the 50th anniversary video would be released in time for the actual SIXTIETH anniversary of the show. That seems increasingly likely.

G.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on April 30, 2018, 05:45:19 PM: Sure, it definitely seems logical to want anyone and everyone to be able to see the trailer so as to broaden the likely buyers pool for the documentary. But let's keep in mind that logic like that has so little to do with these things when it comes to DS fandom. I would bet anything the trailer was taken down because they only want subscribers to the site to see it. After all, they paid money for the privileged - and be damned if in all likelihood there aren't that many of them at this point...

But who knows?

And yes, that joke might be dead on...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Gothick on April 30, 2018, 05:49:35 PM: If that's really the logic behind the trailer being taken down--for paid subscribers only--wow.

It may have gotten beyond the level of scraping the bottom of the DS franchise barrel, at this point. I haven't heard of anyone who actually subscribes to that service. I own all the DVDs so there is no point in it for me.

I've always been curious about the infamous DS documentary that was shown or produced for the Sci Fi network. From what I vaguely recall about it, that was in epically bad taste but it did make people stay awake...

G.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on April 30, 2018, 05:54:49 PM: Quote from: Gothick on April 30, 2018, 05:49:35 PM
I haven't heard of anyone who actually subscribes to that service. I own all the DVDs so there is no point in it for me.

You're preaching to the choir there.

Quote
I've always been curious about the infamous DS documentary that was shown or produced for the Sci Fi network. From what I vaguely recall about it, that was in epically bad taste but it did make people stay awake...

Probably the less said about that thing, the better...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Uncle Roger on April 30, 2018, 09:00:04 PM: It seems to me that the series might be served better if someone other than MPI were in charge of marketing. They were guaranteed a certain amount of sales from the start and have managed to persuade the fanbase to purchase the same material numerous times. (VHS, pre Barnabas episodes, DVD, coffin set, etc.) They've promised new material that has yet to materialize more than once, so even hardcore fans may be reluctant to shell out once again.

Aside from the documentary, the interview that KLS, Lara and David Selby did with Herbie Pilato last year for Decades (I think) has yet to show up anywhere. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere in quite awhile.
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on April 12, 2020, 09:32:51 PM: Just the other day I was wondering if this site even still existed because one doesn't hear (or at least I don't ever hear) anything about it. But apparently it does. Because of a Google link to a post on MPI's Facebook page about how people can watch DS on Amazon Prime, I discovered this ad is atop that page:

(http://www.dsboards.com/images/MPI_DS.jpg)

One does still wonder what sort of bonus material (other than that trailer for the DC documentary) is even on the site because there's never anything about supposed bonus material there, either. (Though perhaps members are sworn to secrecy and can only discuss the bonus material with other members and only on the site. Yeah. That must be it. [b003])

Also, one does have to wonder why MPI is making posts about how DS is available on Amazon Prime because wouldn't sending people to watch on Amazon cut into their own site's use and traffic? But I suppose no one is supposed to question the logic of the post...
Title: Re: Dark Shadows Begins Screening Online; New Documentary on its Way
Post by: Robot_Quentin on December 07, 2020, 11:41:05 AM: The complete DS (including The Beginning separately) is still available on the free streaming app TUBI... Had to use it over Thanksgiving being out of town. Can't be without my daily fix!!

It also has a 3-hour 'movie' entitled "The Haunting of Collinwood" that starts at the episode when David and Amy open Quentin's secret room to find the skeleton. I'm pretty sure it was one of the VHS compilations. Kind of nice it edits the episodes together with no credits or previews/teasers.

Best part its FREE FREE FREE. (with the occasional commercial) No more excuses for not having those DVD/VHS sets! [hall2_grin] [hall2_grin]