Anyone else who has received the Fest paperwork has seen the announcement that the DS actors will be performing roles originally portrayed by other members of the cast on Saturday afternoon, 8/26.

Has this ever been done before at a previous Fest?

I think this might be the best-attended part of the entire weekend, because I, for one, would wait in the rain for the chance to see John Karlen play Burke Devlin.....

The hotel is known as the "Marriott Brooklyn Bridge".

The address is 333 Adams St., Brooklyn, NY, 11201.

The phone number is 1-718- 246-7000.

I asked if it was too soon to book reservations for an event next August, but the person I spoke to asked me to call back tomorrow during the day, and ask for the sales department.  I can't imagine why...unless she thought I was trying to book a convention myself.

In any case, I will call again tomorrow.....but I'd be very surprised if they weren't already taking reservations for an event less than a year away.  Oh, and I will ask about a DS discount.....

You get to spend an entire day at the studio, wandering at will and watching everything.  You even get to choose what storyline (or, if you know, what particular episode) you're going to see being shot.

There's just one restriction: You can only ask three questions while you're there: one for the performer of your choice, one for a member of the production staff (directors, producers, writers and designers) and one for a member of the crews ( technical crew, set builders, costume and make-up people, etc.)

Even after 40 years, I'm betting there are still SOME unanswered questions out there!!! 

Test Post

cyan

Is now available, and being advertised and reviewed with considerable enthusiasm.

The problem is: Nothing about the title or the reviews will give you so much as a hint that it's a Dark Shadows book.

S.E. Hinton, author of acclaimed novels such as The Outsiders and Rumble Fish has written her first book in 15 years, entitled Hawkes Harbor

Nowhere on the book jacket, or in the blurbs, is any mention made of Dark Shadows.  None of the names will have the slightest ring of the familiar.  But if you're a Dark Shadows fan, and, in particular, a fan of the character of Willie Loomis, it won't take  long for you to realise that S. E. Hinton has written the story of Willie's life.

Beginning with his early childhood traumas (the death of a parent, his placement in the Orphanage from Hell) and on to the tales of his years at sea with his friend Kell, Jamie Sommers lives the life of Willie Loomis, in detail not even the most devoted fan would have conjured up.

We learn about his years among pirates and thieves in the South China Sea, the rich and famous off the coast of France, and especially with his Irish gun-runner friend, Kellan.  Or is his name really Jason Maguire?

But we know where this young man is headed, and what (make that who) lies in wait for him.

At first, I thought I'd finally over-dosed on Dark Shadows.  I've just been to my first Fest and I spend an awful lot of time on this forum.....   I kept thinking.."okay...now you're seeing Willie Loomis in a novel by one of the best known authors in America."

But after Jamie ends up in a Psych Ward.....and we learn about his encounter with a Vampire.....well, I knew who Jamie Sommers really was, and so will you.

It will amuse you to recognize characters in spite of their unfamiliar names.  Believe me, you'll have very few doubts about the major figures.  You'll also recognize incidents from the beginning of the original storyline that lead to the arrival of 'Grenville Hawkes', and the direction Jamie's life takes from there.

And if you read the novel carefully, you'll notice the only time a name from the series appears in print.....but if you're not looking for it, it might slip right past you, it's so short.  Almost as if S. E. Hinton was playing a game with fans of the show, to see if anyone caught on to the joke.

Imagine my astonishment and delight, to have purchased the book on a whim....knowing almost nothing about it at all.....only to find the ultimate "fan fiction" retelling of  the relationship of Willie Loomis and Barnabas Collins.

Which leaves me wondering.....why on earth didn't any of us know about this already? 

....was on the Metro Channel this afternoon.  No idea if that 's even available outside the NY metro area.

What a superbly nasty peice of work she is in THAT film.

Too bad they never gave her a chance to play that bitchy a role on DS.....she'd have been a delight to watch!

Judith, rousting her brothers out of bed to show them who's boss after Grandmamama dies, hardly qualifies!   

It was a death that began it all and another death that led us on.  The first was of the man called Brendan and I saw the moment of it.

A quote from "Morality Play", by Booker Prize Winner Barry Unsworth