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Current Talk '04 I / Re:Shadows of the Vampire
« on: March 27, 2004, 08:06:01 PM »I would like to know more about why NBC had rejected the pilot which was eventually aired. Perhaps there was a re-shoot?
No reshoots, jimbo. Here's the story as explained in the book, Dark Shadows Resurrected:
On May 16, the pilot was delivered to the network. Brandon Tartikoff and his colleagues would now view the completed project and decide if they felt the effort was worthy of being picked up as a new series for their fall schedule.
It would be a week before NBC officially announced their line-up for the 1990-91 season. But with the tremendous amount of publicity surrounding Dark Shadows' resurrection, the audition of the pilot appeared to be a formality. Yet, when NBC revealed their schedule, Dark Shadows was nowhere to be found.
Dan Curtis received an apologetic call from Tartikoff, who explained that Dark Shadows had narrowly missed being picked up. But Curtis wasn't prepared to give up without a fight. He expressed his dismay and disappointment to Tartikoff, pointing out that there had been an understanding from the beginning that the show was destined to get on the air. As a conciliatory effort, Tartikoff responded with an offer for five new Dark Shadows episodes to be put on NBC's schedule as a mid-season replacement. However, Curtis knew the abbreviated order was half-hearted as well as inadequate for a show of Dark Shadows' scope. It simply wouldn't be financially sound for Curtis and MGM to produce a minimum of five episodes. The expense and ambition of the show would require a commitment of at least thirteen hours. But Tartikoff declined, and Curtis notified the stunned cast and production members that Barnabas would not be rising from the dead after all.
NBC's rejection was unexpected, unsettling, and temporary. Two days after Dark Shadows was declared dead and buried, Tartikoff phoned Curtis with a reprieve; the network had reconsidered and was now prepared to offer a firm thirteen-hour order for Dark Shadows as a mid-season replacement. Tartikoff promised Curtis that the series would be given priority back-up status, assuring him that it would be inserted into the schedule as soon as an opening became available.
Curtis moved swiftly...
Continuing the story as laid out in SHAODOWS IN THE '90S: The Dark Shadows Concordance 1991:
The new series was originally slated for fall, 1990 season. First October 28, then [a] November release were announced. Curtis explained the show simply wasn't ready to go on the air in the fall.
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and in subsequent years there was talks of having two DS theatrical films using the 1991 cast
As for the films, here's the message that was posted on the old DS message on Prodigy on June 24, 1993 (as you'll note from one of my recent posts, Debbie Smith, DC's former assistant, often posted on the old Prodigy BB in his name and with his complete authorization):
To: All "Dark Shadows" Fans
From: Dan Curtis
We are considering producing two big-screen "Dark Shadows" movies that in effect would be a 4 hour retelling of the story that was done in the 13 hour mini-series on NBC -- with additional twists and turns!
The first 2 hour movie would take place primarily in the present -- it would involve the love "triangle" between Barnabas, Victoria, Julia, and Angelique -- ending in tragedy for Barnabas.
The second 2 hour movie, the sequel, would have Victoria going back to the past to change the course of history, to save Barnabas and the Collins family. We envision the second picture in theaters approximately 6-8 months after the first. The plan is to use the same cast we had in the NBC series.
We would love your reactions!
Sincerely,
Dan Curtis - Producer/Director "Dark Shadows"
News of the project quickly spread to the "normal" press and throughout fandom. But the films were not to be - mainly because no studio was willing to finance them - not even after the project was scaled back to only one film...