DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '05 II => Topic started by: PennyDreadful on October 07, 2005, 04:18:13 AM
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I've encountered several rumors to the effect that DS was plaiing a mummy storyline following 1897, and that this idea was dropped in favor of the Leviathan storyline. A poster on the old DS newsgroup even stated that they had read about it in a blurb from a 1969 TV Mirror magazine. He posted that the blurb claimed something to the effect of: "the Collins family in the present will have to deal with a living mummy from Egypt."
Does anyone have any information or specifics on this reputed storyline? I'm very curious to find out if this was really something the DS writers & Dan Curtis were planning, and what this storyline might have entailed.
I'd bet dollars to doughnuts they would've wrapped up our fav fuzzball Alex Stevens in those bandages! [egypt]
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Everyone, someone, has to get the info. on this, get it actually written or something, and basically make it good enough that it'll be possible for me to rewrite my memory, so that all this replaces the Leviathans in my head and soul. Only this way can I be happy.
Hard, considering a mummy would just be like the dead people Jeb and Gerard summoned up... staggering and throttling. Building a storyline around that? I don't know. Hard to have a creature who doesn't transform into a regular-seeming human part of the time... he doesn't take part in things, except for those throttling moments, which can't go on for long. The rest of the time, people have to talk about how scared they are of him. That gets old too. Some person controlling a mummy could be more of a focus for the story I guess.
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This is interesting. I had never heard that rumor. Although, I wouldn't have been crazy about a mummy storyline, I think I would have enjoyed it more than the Levitahan story -- which i really think was the beginning of the end for DS. I always enjoyed DS best when it was recreating one of the classic horror stories. Anytime they left the classics, I enjoyed the show a lot less.
They toyed around with a short Egyptian storyline in 1897, when Laura and Quentin came back from Egypt. Maybe the present-day mummy story would have had some connection to that. Perhaps Quentin had done something scandelous in Egypt and now the mummy and his protector had searched through time to find him. Or maybe Quentin had a cache of Egyptian antiquties hidden somewhere, among them a mummy. Could have been fun.
I just couldn't get into the Levithan storyline. Those people seemed to have only a contrived connection to the Collins famiily. And why would a group like the Leviathan's choose little old Collinsport? I just couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to invest in it.
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[hall2_rolleyes] I think the only substantiation would be that Dan Curtis once said, "I would have put a mummy up in Collinwood if I could have figured out how to get one in Maine." or something very close to this. I just can't remember if which tape it's on, as I think it was on camera rather than a written interview. I think the other thing that adds to this lore is that I have also heard more than once, including from Diana Millay herself, that she was asked to if she could come back to the series. This was during the last few months, so had the show gone past the 1841 story, there were plans to bring Laura back, who is naturally the best character to attatch a mummy storyline of some kind to. [egypt]
Michael [hall2_cheesy]
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I think a mummy storyline might have worked well, if they had taken a page or two from Universal's 1932 version. In other words, the mummy awakes and performs a spell to bring him back to full life, the way Karloff's Imhotep did. After all, since DC picked up the reincarnated love storyline from that film to form the basis of the early Barnabas/Maggie story, I think it's only fair they ought to have done a mummy story and tried to twist it another way. [hall_wink]
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The coast of Maine is a cold, damp place. A Mummy would have rotted faster than fish on the docks.
Not that physical realities were EVER allowed to interfere with plot devices on DS... [hall_rolleyes]
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The coast of Maine is a cold, damp place. A Mummy would have rotted faster than fish on the docks.
Not that physical realities were EVER allowed to interfere with plot devices on DS... [hall_rolleyes]
Oh, there are lots of ways around that. Even the 1932 version of the The Mummy was set mostly in London, wasn't it. Hardly the driest of countries [hall2_smiley]
I imagine they could have a small exhibit visiting the Collinsport Museum or a few artifacts (including a mummy) on loan from a larger museum for display at the local library or something, then have a middle eastern sorcerer come to town looking for the mummy and brings it to life with a spell from an ancient Egyptian scroll. The living mummy turns on its resurrector killing him, performs additional spells to make itself completely human and takes the identity of the dead sorcerer. He decides to settle in Collinsport while he makes his plans. He has a servant, the dead Sorcerer whom the Mummy brought back to life to serve him. However, the spell that made him human is only temporary you see, he must do something else, sacrifice a virgin to Anubis and/or find a ancient Egyptian relic that has magic properties to bind the spell permanently. I do think it would be too much to try to redo the Maggie/Josette story, but maybe instead he falls in love with the woman fated or foretold that he must sacrifice to make himself permanantly human. So he puts off the big spell as long as he can, killing others to prolong he temporary human existance. If he goes too long without sacrificing someone he begins to revert to his true age and appearence. In the end, he must choose his life or the life of his true love and he ends up choosing his own life, but the woman he loves is saved and the mummy reverts to being a mummy again, and the servent/sorcerer/zombie keels over dead......
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Why do I get the distinct impression you have an entire screenplay of this tale, hidden at the bottom of a desk drawer somewhere, Nelson Collins?.... [hall2_wink]
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Why do I get the distinct impression you have an entire screenplay of this tale, hidden at the bottom of a desk drawer somewhere, Nelson Collins?.... [hall2_wink]
LOL. Thanks very much! [hall2_grin] However, believe it or not, all of that came gushing off the top of my head... (now isn't THAT a vivid image [hall2_wink] )
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Well, if DS had ever gotten around to a "Mummy" story arc, I'd have been in favor of it. Especially if it was set (like the original movies) in the early 1930's. I'm a great fan of Art Deco design, which borrowed liberally from ancient Egyption design. The tomb discoveries of the 1920's were the inspiration for the 1925 Paris World's Fair "Exposition Internationale Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes"
And from that came the fashions we think of as "flapper" style, which, I'm pretty sure, has already been discussed here. It would have been a wonderful visual treat to see the DS actors dressed in those debonair suits and the ladies in such stylized gowns.
But we were talking about mummies, weren't we?..... [hall2_wink]
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The coast of Maine is a cold, damp place. A Mummy would have rotted faster than fish on the docks.
Not that physical realities were EVER allowed to interfere with plot devices on DS... [hall_rolleyes]
I got a kick out of this. I remember how everyone knew Josette was around by the smell of jasmine and Daphne was the scent of lilac. Everyone would be able to escape because a stinking slow moving mummy would be hard to miss. Raineypark, your wry, right between the eyes observations always crack me up.
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Well, if DS had ever gotten around to a "Mummy" story arc, I'd have been in favor of it. Especially if it was set (like the original movies) in the early 1930's. I'm a great fan of Art Deco design, which borrowed liberally from ancient Egyption design. The tomb discoveries of the 1920's were the inspiration for the 1925 Paris World's Fair "Exposition Internationale Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes"
And from that came the fashions we think of as "flapper" style, which, I'm pretty sure, has already been discussed here. It would have been a wonderful visual treat to see the DS actors dressed in those debonair suits and the ladies in such stylized gowns.
But we were talking about mummies, weren't we?..... [hall2_wink]
I like that idea a lot! While I was "gushing" earlier I thought about how it might have been incorporated into 1897 or somesuch, but Depression era Collinsport?? WOW. I love it. When were Elizabeth and Roger born? Could David Henessy and Sharon Smyth or Denise Nickerson have been the right age to play Liz and Roger as children? [hall2_grin] Visiting the museum or library where the mummy was on display and Roger teasing and scaring Elizabeth about burying someone in the basement....... hehehehehe
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Raineypark, your wry, right between the eyes observations always crack me up.
You're too kind..... [blshy]
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BTW, Rainey, I love your avatar, where did you find it?
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When were Elizabeth and Roger born? Could David Henessy and Sharon Smyth or Denise Nickerson have been the right age to play Liz and Roger as children?
Liz was supposedly born in 1917 and Roger in 1925. So, Sharon Smyth (heaven forbid! [hall2_shocked]) or Denise Nickerson (a much better choice) might have been able to play Liz as a child during the Depression, but David Henesy would have been too old for Roger. However, if the storyline took place in the early-to-mid '30s, David Jay, who was so annoying as Alexander during the Leviathans storyline, might have made for a perfect pre-pubescent Roger. [hall2_wink] (Alexander was almost exactly how I picture Roger as a child. [hall2_grin]) And if the storyline took place far enough into the '30s, how about Kathleen Cody as Liz - perhaps Liz, like Joan Bennett herself, was actually a blonde? [hall2_wink]
Yes, the more I think about it, the better I like it. Just think of the horror of Kathleen Cody and David Jay as the Depression Era Collins children! [hall2_shocked]
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And from that came the fashions we think of as "flapper" style, which, I'm pretty sure, has already been discussed here. It would have been a wonderful visual treat to see the DS actors dressed in those debonair suits and the ladies in such stylized gowns.
OMG, I *love* this idea! Too bad DC & company didn't come up w/this. Another time period to travel to, especially the 1930's, would have been too cool!!
Liz and Roger as children? [hall2_grin] Visiting the museum or library where the mummy was on display and Roger teasing and scaring Elizabeth about burying someone in the basement....... hehehehehe
Another excellant idea!
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The site is called HalloweenOnly.com
This should take you to the available clip art images stored there.
HalloweenOnly (http://www.halloween-clipart.com/)
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Just think of the horror of Kathleen Cody and David Jay as the Depression Era Collins children!
PERFECT casting choices! [hall2_grin]
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I imagine they could have a small exhibit visiting the Collinsport Museum or a few artifacts (including a mummy) on loan from a larger museum for display at the local library or something, then have a middle eastern sorcerer come to town looking for the mummy and brings it to life with a spell from an ancient Egyptian scroll. The living mummy turns on its resurrector killing him, performs additional spells to make itself completely human and takes the identity of the dead sorcerer. He decides to settle in Collinsport while he makes his plans. He has a servant, the dead Sorcerer whom the Mummy brought back to life to serve him. However, the spell that made him human is only temporary you see, he must do something else, sacrifice a virgin to Anubis and/or find a ancient Egyptian relic that has magic properties to bind the spell permanently. I do think it would be too much to try to redo the Maggie/Josette story, but maybe instead he falls in love with the woman fated or foretold that he must sacrifice to make himself permanantly human. So he puts off the big spell as long as he can, killing others to prolong he temporary human existance. If he goes too long without sacrificing someone he begins to revert to his true age and appearence. In the end, he must choose his life or the life of his true love and he ends up choosing his own life, but the woman he loves is saved and the mummy reverts to being a mummy again, and the servent/sorcerer/zombie keels over dead......
You know what? This could be an *excellant* fan fiction Nelson!! Are you up for it!?
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You know what? This could be an *excellant* fan fiction Nelson!! Are you up for it!?
I think I might. I will mull it over this weekend and make some notes. [hall2_grin] TBH, though, not sure where I would post it. What FanFic sites are out there?
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I suspect Laura would've defintely had a connection to any mummy storyline. Perhaps she would have been the mummy's lover centuries earlier. I agree with idea of a 1930s or 1920s storyline. That'd be perfect. I also love the casting choices.
I'll have to try and find Radio TV Mirror mags from 1969 to check on the validity of this rumor. They turn up on eBay periodically.
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Dan Curtis said in an interview that he the one supernatural character he wouldn't use was a mummy, because all a mummy could do is drag it's leg. thats probably what changed his mind and he went with Leviathan.
Penny Dreadful- I think the magazine article may be found in The Collinwood Collection 1 or 2 by Bob Issel.
I was looking at his third issue of this collection and found some interesting items...Roger Davis was being considered to return to DS in March 1971 and Jonathan frid was good friends with Jack Lord and spent vacation time with Lord and his wife at JL's Hawaiian estate.
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Dan Curtis said in an interview that he the one supernatural character he wouldn't use was a mummy, because all a mummy could do is drag it's leg.
Well that certainly seems a bit short-sighted. All the original Frankenstein could do was walk with its knees locked, and grunt. But that didn't stop DC from using the prototype as a model for Adam.
I'm sure if the writers had been given the chance, they would have come up with some workable storyline. This thread alone is proof of that! [hall2_wink]
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Thanks Joeytrom. I'll check into that. I wonder if any of the DS writers have any memory of this, or other possible scrapped storylines - the "Unseen Shadows" so to speak.
In an interview, James Storm once said he was being fitted for wardrobe for a new character when he heard DS was going to be cancelled. That sounds a bit iffy to me though, but who knows. Hey, perhaps they were fitting him with decaying bandages? [hall2_wink]
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Dan Curtis said in an interview that he the one supernatural character he wouldn't use was a mummy, because all a mummy could do is drag it's leg.
Well that certainly seems a bit short-sighted. All the original Frankenstein could do was walk with its knees locked, and grunt. But that didn't stop DC from using the prototype as a model for Adam.
But Curtis did work actual leg dragging into the DS universe. NODS has leg dragging aplenty. [hall2_cheesy]
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Hmm, I can't remember any TV Radio Mirror articles in the Collinwood Collections.
But Curtis did work actual leg dragging into the DS universe. NODS has leg dragging aplenty. [hall2_cheesy]
LOL Garth Blackwood did too, but Charles Collins is a lot easier on the eyes. [hall2_grin]
Didn't the DS comics do a mummy story?
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Didn't the DS comics do a mummy story?
Wasn't there a paperback novel entitled "Barnabas, Quentin and the Mummy's Ghost"? But it's entirely possible my memory is making that up. [hall2_rolleyes] Anyone ACTUALLY remember that one? [hall_huh]
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There was a mummy story in the old comic book series (with the really horrible illustrations - all the characters looked like they were constipated, and Barnabas never took off his Sherlock Holmes coat, no matter where he was, what the weather was like, or what time of day it was - he even wore it in his coffin if he was a vampire in whatever story they had going; guess it didn't have central heating). I think I still have that particular comic book somewhere.
Gerard
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Wasn't there a paperback novel entitled "Barnabas, Quentin and the Mummy's Ghost"? But it's entirely possible my memory is making that up. [hall2_rolleyes] Anyone ACTUALLY remember that one? [hall_huh]
Your memory didn't let you down, Rainey!-- it was called "Barnabas, Quentin and the Mummy's Curse." A friend tells me that an Egyptian "Isis and Osiris" storyline was presented in the DS comic strip.
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I wonder if the character that James Storm was being outfitted for was in the present time.
Jeremiah Collins' ghost looked a little like a mummy.
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Definitely, they'd have had to concentrate on some person controlling the mummy. For an interesting reason. Like... nope can't think of anything. That's not to say that a really ambitious person couldn't dream up a good, practical use for a mummy.
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Well, I still think Quentin is the key here. And since he never really had a great storyline after 1897, this one could have put him front and center. Considering he already spent time in Egypt in 1897 and he was, at that time, something of a cad -- it would seem natural that some misbehavior from his past has finally caught up with him. I'd suggest that he brought home a boatload of middle-eastern artifacts (mostly plundered) and put them in storage somewhere on the estate back in 1897. Present-day Quentin needs some money for something, so he enlists the help of Professor Stokes to put some of the treasure on the market. Then the story begins. . .
I wouldn't want to see a bunch of new characters coming in to play out this storyline (ala the Leviathans), I think -- to the degree possible, it should involve the Collins family and perhaps Professor Stokes. They could probably get by with two or perhaps three new characters -- the mummy him/herself, someone of Egyptin decent who arrives in Collinsport looking for the antiquities, and perhaps a femme-fatale (good or evil, as the storyline dictates). As I said in a earlier post, maybe Laura Collins could be part of this story too.
And as someone else posted, I think they'd need to get the mummy out of those bandages as soon as possible. One or two walks through the woods in full mummy regalia early in the storyline would be enough of that. And then again, near the story's climax. The logistics of having a fully bandaged mummy walking around a small town would quuickly become laughable.
Still, I have concerns that this storyline would come across like the Leviathan story, unless steps were taken to assure that it didn't. TPTB would need to have learned from their mistakes. Dark Shadows' best storylines came from "within" the show -- usually from within the Collins famliy. Those storylines based on outsiders (and there were thankfully few), seemed to be the ones that failed -- or at least the ones that I didn't like.
Just some thoughts.
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Definitely, they'd have had to concentrate on some person controlling the mummy. For an interesting reason. Like... nope can't think of anything. That's not to say that a really ambitious person couldn't dream up a good, practical use for a mummy.
Well, I'm a New Yorker.....so the most despicable creature that comes to mind would be a real estate investor who's desperate to get the Collins clan out of Collinwood so he can carve up the mansion into high-end condos. I can imagine quite the bidding war over the unit that contains that staircase-through-time..... [hall2_wink]
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I agree, the mummy would have to be like Karloff and ditch the bandages relatively early on. They could have had the bandaged mummy for a week or so, then had it look more human after that. The love story mentioned earlier where the mummy had to choose between himself and his love is perfect DS. The supernatural being's downfall in DS was usually its habit of falling in love.
So it seems we don't know for sure if this rumor about the scrapped storyline is true. Who would know? Dan Curtis or Sam Hall, I suppose. And that's if they even remember. I'd love to find out the details of some of these rumored unused DS storylines - the DS apocrypha so to speak. [hall_wink]
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Perhaps the mummy could be like the Karloff mummy, I always thought this was such a creapy film, the makeup they did on Karloff was really cool, does anyone here remember the close-up? Then they could always tie him in with Laura maybe he made it possible for her to be a phoenix introduced her to the worship of Ra.
Or, maybe the mummy could be a good person with an evil enemy?
There are lots of possibilities as long as they made the mummy more human ala Karloff.
Misa
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Here's a link to a Web site featuring a picture of Karloff in the Mummy makeup.
http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/karloff/karloff.html
(Click on the "Karloff as the Mummy" link under the "Karloff Wallpaper" heading.)
and another too
http://www.doctormacro.com/Movie%20Star%20Pages/Karloff,%20Boris.htm
Pretty cool, I think. [hall_shocked]
Misa
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I just found this site that has a synopsis of The Mummy, with pictures
Misa
http://eric.b.olsen.tripod.com/mummy.html
[hall2_grin]
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A great film indeed. Karloff was fantastic, and that creepy makeup job is unforgetable.
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I think I might. I will mull it over this weekend and make some notes. [hall2_grin] TBH, though, not sure where I would post it. What FanFic sites are out there?
I sure hope you do write a story Nelson! It sounds like a fun and interesting read :)
JUlianka
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That's not to say that a really ambitious person couldn't dream up a good, practical use for a mummy.
Very true! Just get Nicholas Blair on it, LOL! [hall2_grin] [hall_grin]
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Well, I'm a New Yorker.....so the most despicable creature that comes to mind would be a real estate investor who's desperate to get the Collins clan out of Collinwood so he can carve up the mansion into high-end condos. I can imagine quite the bidding war over the unit that contains that staircase-through-time..... [hall2_wink]
Or, they could have the local college fight to carve up the mansion to make it into a music department and boys dorm! Oh, wait, that's been done already! [hall2_wink]
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Or, they could have the local college fight to carve up the mansion to make it into a music department and boys dorm! Oh, wait, that's been done already!
OMG - it's bad enough that it's already happened to Seaview/Carey Mansion. The idea that the same sort of desecration/mutilation that's happened to the real house could happen to the "real" Collinwood is too much to bear! [hall2_shocked]
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Sounds as if more people get to use it, instead of just rich layabouts.