I just hope it won't be 8 years before I'm able to make it to another fest! 

It was surprising how little people I knew had changed. 

And Lara Parker actually looked younger. She must have a pact with some powers of the netherworld, or maybe a portrait in her attic that does the aging ...

I forgot to mention that the script writer is Seth Grahame-Smith, author of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", in case that hasn't been posted yet. 

Something I'd like to add to Midnite's excellent summary of Kathleen Cody's appearance is the impression she made. After all these years of not being an actress, Miss Cody was the consummate professional on the stage - confident, exuding warmth, humor, and a very personable quality - it was impossible not to like her! Also, her voice was warm, rich, and again exuded a stage presence that drew you in. (She even joked about the high register of her voice on DS.) She seems to be very happy with her life now - but I couldn't help thinking that she has talent that deserves to be used. How great to learn that she will be recording one of the Great Finish audio productions (which I'm not familiar with yet at this point).

What a wonderful experience, Teresa!

I'm not sure what I'd say if I ran into Mr. Frid that he hasn't heard before. I did see him walk by when I was using my cell phone in the pool area on Friday morning. I didn't realize he was 86 until he mentioned that today during the cast reunion. His wit and charm are so wonderful, such a gentleman unlike so many of today's younger stars. It's hard to picture anyone less urbane and cultured playing Barnabas in the future, IMO.

I'm writing quickly from the computer room at the Marriott. I'm sure others will be able to provide more detailed and technical information, but I'll share some impressions. First, the experience itself: there were five busloads of people from the hotel, and I was on the last bus. I wasn't able to see anything when they were preparing the cement and I realized I wouldn't be able to see any of the ceremony, and then I learned that there was a line to see the movie. It wrapped around the corner and down two blocks; I ended up being the third to last person in line. The temperature was in the 90s, and we stood in line for more than an hour in the sun. (I hadn't thought to put on sunscreen.) From the outside, the theater facade looked extremely small and it seemed doubtful that I would even make it in to the movie, but everyone did get in. And was it worth it! I felt like I was seeing "House of Dark Shadows" for the first time -- and it was the first time I had seen it on the big screen. There were countless details I had never seen before, mostly in the background of the rooms at Lyndhurst. The filming was much more interesting than I had remembered; I especially liked the textures, depths, light and shadows of in the many scenes that had fires flickering in fireplaces, such as at the Blue Whale (not sure if that was what it was in the movie). I had never seen the textures and dimensionality of the ornate carvings, paintings, etc. of Lyndhurst and the Old House interiors (not sure where that was shot). The music also set the mood in a completely unique way, especially the first half hour or so of the movie. The music score was clear as a bell, resonant and effective - again, I had never heard it this way before. Also, many details of the acting - for example, Joan Bennett's control of her character through her facial expressions - came through very vividly on the big screen. At the same time, the print seemed a bit on the dark and murky side, but I can't be sure that the movie wasn't supposed to be "dark and murky." Some of the color may have been washed out. There was some scratching to the audio around the pool scene with David, and at a couple of other points later in the movie. I can't speak at all to the aspect ratio, other than that it wasn't what I would call the widest of widescreens, but I assume this is the way the movie was filmed.

This is the second time that amazon has dropped the price on their DS DVDs as soon as DeepDiscount's semi-annual sale ended. Coincidence? Why doesn't amazon cut their price at the same time that deepdiscount does? That really irks me ... I just bought three sets at DeepDiscount.

I'm wondering about the quality and accuracy of information in publications like "The Dark Shadows Books of Questions and Answers" published by Dale Clark, who is perhaps best known for his "Inside the Old House" fanzine. I haven't seen any of these, even at the two festivals I've attended. Perhaps I've somehow missed the booths? I would like a good - and accurate -  "question and answer" book.

I was favorably impressed with Dale Clark's "Reunion", the first of a series of DS novels, which was lent to me by a DS friend. To me, the story captured the essence of the characters and the show better than anything else I had read. He does lean heavy on the later part of the series, with a very dark Leviathan and 1840s feeling. I know I posted a question about the books several years back but don't recall getting any responses.

Is anyone familiar with these publications - especially the Q&A books?

I haven't been able to find the average running time for individual episodes (without commercials). Was it 21 minutes? 23 minutes?

I thought of trying to figure it out by the Running Time listed on the DVD packages, but that's confusing because there are bonus interviews, varying number of episodes on different sets, etc.

If I could find this out, I will do some math to figure out how long it would take to watch the entire series, from start to finish. It's been a dream of mine to be able to do this - if only I had unlimited time and funds! Just think, having 8 hours a day with no interruptions, obligations, work ... I wonder how long it would take to watch the entire series ...

Update to the above:
If my calculations are right, and if the average episode is 23 minutes, you could watch the entire series in only 58.7 days, if you watched for 8 hours per day!