It WOULD have been interesting to see what could have been done with an Angelique as Laura storyline on the 1991 series, Midnite!

The character of Laura intrigues me too.  She was one of those DS villains who never does turn into a hero(ine), and really seemed to have her own agenda that wasn't dependent on what any other baddie was up to.   Her showdown with Angelique was pretty riveting television.  Wonder what would have happened if she and Petofi had run afoul of each other?

Her earlier storyline was also interesting, and seems to have set the stage for the purely supernatural bent of most of the rest of the series.  Like Lara Parker, Millay did something with her eyes that really zinged home the evil nature of her character.   And I particularly like her voice.  It helped her convey conceit, desperation and a measure of sardonic humor, which added different levels to Laura.

What was missing, IMHO was Laura's origin.  Would really have liked to have seen how she got her powers.  Is there any indication that she existed prior to her 1785ish incarnation as the first Mrs. Jeremiah Collins, does anyone know?  Did she originate in ancient Egypt?

Not sure about the different Davids (Radcliffe etc.), but I've always wondered if maybe little Master Collins was the reincarnation of the Phoenix's earlier progeny.  That might help explain why he was so, err, disturbed early on in the series.

I started trying to watch Dark Shadows when I was a really little kid, I think it was during the 1840 storyline.  I've loved spooky stuff ever since I can remember.  But my grandmother (who cared for my cousin and me during the day) would hit the roof if she caught me changing the channel over to DS, so I saw very little of the show.

When the 1991 revival series began running on NBC, I was fresh out of college, working my first "real" job and still living with my old college roomate.  He and I really got into the new series.  While renting movies at the video store one night, we found the MPI tapes of the original series and started watching them.  I think these were the early Barnabas episodes.  We found the pacing slow, but liked the atmosphere and the story of lost love.

Unfortunately, the video store only ended up getting a handful of those MPI tapes, and discontinued buying new ones.  We never got to see much more than up to the first color episodes.  Around that same time, NBC cancelled the revival series!

Fast forward to 1999.  I was at the laundromat folding laundry.  They had several televisions there, most of them were tuned into a Spanish language soap opera that was very melodramatic (and perhaps somewhat supernatural?), and set in the 19th century.  This reminded me of Dark Shadows, and got me wishing it was still being shown.  I didn't have cable, and didn't know it was on somewhere!

The next week, I'm again at the laundromat, flipping through the channels of the nearby television, as I fold more laundry.  What should pop on on my screen?  The haunting, strains of that theremin laced oh-so-familiar theme song that plays as the ocean waves whip over the rocks at the bottom of Widow's Hill.  Oh.  My. Goddess.  The original Dark Shadows!

When I got home, I called the cable company.  "Do you carry the Sci-Fi Channel?  Yes?  When can you hook me up?"

I began watching just as the Chriswolf storyline started.  The rest as they say, is history.

Oh, and btw LorraineAAB, I LOVE your avatar!!! Dark Shadows is my precious, too!
 

Hi VictoriaWintersFan!  Whenever the 1897 storyline comes out on DVD, I would highly recommend getting it.  This is one of DS most interesting and entertaining storylines, and it showcases several of the actors (in particular David Selby, Grayson Hall, Thayer David and Nancy Barrett) at their best.  1897 kind of has a different feel to much of the rest of the show, and it's totally engrossing.  Don't miss it!

Although this reply is coming a little late, Nicole I loved what you said!

And I agree with others who say just give me a good script.  I believe that there's tremendous room for interesting television with a gothic premise and thoughtful writing.  Even if they choose to retell some of the original series' storylines, that could be okay.  There's always room to breathe new life into Dark Shadows.

And I really don't agree with the poster(s) who opined that the WB shows only pay attention to teenagers, or rely too heavily on comedy.  Have you ever seen Angel?  It's dark as hell.  And the last couple seasons of Buffy dealt with some pretty heavy stuff.  And it's true, the actors on such shows aren't teenagers.

I for one wouldn't necessarily need a new Dark Shadows to go that far towards the dark side.  Heavily gothic with a sense of brooding and doom would be nice, though.  Although I'm pessimistic about this proposed new series ever seeing the light of day, I'm excited as anything that it actually might happen!

BTW, does anyone watch Fox's Tru Calling?  There's a guy on the show who would make a terrific Willie Loomis.  He plays Tru's brother Harrison.

Just like the ghost of Joanna Mills, once Lazlo had outlived his usefulness, it seems the DS writers just gave up on him.  Perhaps he left the gypsy way of life, settled in England, and fathered a son named Aristede. 

Oy vey!  The 1840 incarnation of Trask is indeed the worst.  I'm totally in agreement that he got off too easily.  IMHO, his father's fate was too mild for him.

Joanna Mills a witch?  Never occurred to me, but it's an interesting idea.  However, I think she was just extra specially motivated by her love for Quentin and her desire for revenge against Samantha.  These factors were enough to bring her back from the other side.

My question is, what do you think ever became of Joanna's ghost?  Or have I just missed the part where she fades away, or goes 'into the light' or whatever?

"guess what??"  Joanna's dead after all and was a ghost this entire time!  If I were her, I would have just stayed on like that in Collinsport for a while, since she was able to fool people into thinking that she was alive.  I thought it was kind of mean of her to tell Daphne that she was alive and well though!      Oh well, at least Quentin is beautiful throughout...

I can't quite remember what happens to Joanna.  Guess I should just be patient and watch the next few eps, huh?   But as I recall, didn't they just leave her character up in the air, with Daphne and Quentin never knowing she was really dead?

Where...is...BARNABAS???     We only have him for the end of '40, then we get this arrogant lech in '41 PT (as opposed to our regular arrogant dumbass [who I love!] in RT).

I was just thinking the same thing while watching yesterday's episodes.  Where the heck IS Barnabas?  Off somewhere making googly eyes at Valerie/Angelique?  I'm sort of half surprised he wasn't around to meet the ghost of Joanna Mills and fall hopelessly in love with her.

And you're right LAFB, Samantha did rock.  That is, she rocked until she hit the rocks below Widow's Hill!

Wow, Gerard.  I'd heard about the Farscape mini, but didn't know it wouldn't be airing on SciFi.  Good!  They don't deserve to make a dime off it!

Though I wasn't a huge fan of the show, it was very well done, and from what I heard, extremely popular.  Then they cancelled it so unceremoniously.

Just goes to show that there are a bunch of boneheads running that network!

Perhaps when/if the new series of Dark Shadows gets off the ground, another network will get to show the classic 1966-71 series, and will make a pile of cash from it.  That would be karmic comeuppance for SciFi!

But I'm not bitter...