A cautionary note: when TCM shows the DS movies, they're unedited by the station (at least they were a few years back, when I recorded them). But the last time I saw them on Turner South, a year or so ago, the editors had butchered them to the point of being unwatchable.

S * P * O * I * L * E * R


After TS's hack job, the climactic death scene of Barnabas proceeds as follows:

From balcony, Jeff shoots his crossbow. Arrow streaks through the air. Scene cuts.

Wow, Willie's on the ground. How'd he get there?

Scene cuts to Barnabas calling Jeff down with his hypnotic voice. Jeff comes down; Barnabas says the line about weddings and witnesses.

Willie's eyes open.

Barnabas bends over Maggie and exposes his fangs.

Barnabas hollers, and we see Willie punch him in the back. Was that an arrow that we caught a glimpse of for about a half second?

Scene cuts to dead Barnabas. Willie's on the ground again (hey, how'd he get there?).

That's it.

Turner South doesn't get me for a viewer when they show DS movies.

[shadow=purple,left,300]--Mark[/shadow]

I enjoyed the 1991 series for its own merits, although it was sadly lacking in a lot of respects. It's a shame it was prematurely cancelled -- due largely to the problem of audiences being unable to find it amid all the coverage of the Gulf War; a highly unfair set of circumstances to compete with. It was just hitting its stride when it was cancelled, and I think it might have had many high points had it been allowed to continue.



One of the show's most glaring faults was its scenery. The intricate miniature of Collinwood was interesting, but obviously a miniature, and inferior in design to either Seaview or Lyndhurst. Greystone simply didn't cut it -- especially doubling as the Old House. Everything about the locale screamed "California," and never succeeded in making me believe this was a small New England town.

I detested the idea of Maggie Evans being Roger's mistress. Didn't do credit to either character. Jim Fyfe's Willie took off on a ludicrous note and then got worse. But during the episodes just prior to the journey back to 1790, his character began to mature and become more tolerable.

I also hated Ben Cross's vampire makeup. Frid always came across as impressive and subtly dangerous when he donned his fangs. Cross looked like a reject from THE EVIL DEAD and had no charisma whatsoever in vampire mode. I'll give him credit for doing Barnabas justice when he was "normal." He's a capable actor and did a good job with the material until he was required to turn undead.

The best part of the revival series was the 1790 period episodes. These came across as intense as anything showing on TV at the time, especially Victoria's trial. For the most part, the actors here were all wonderful in their parts, especially Stefan Gierasch as Joshua. No one could have been more perfect. Adrian Paul was fabulous as Jeremiah, and I liked the fact that the script made him Barnabas's brother rather than Uncle; the relationship worked a lot better that way. Even Jim Fyfe came across better as Ben.

Gotta admit I didn't care for Lysette Anthony's Angelique. She was effective in her own way, but her character came across as a bit too manic; very different from Lara's portrayal. Uniqueness is fine, but the right chemistry between her and the other players never happened. Not to denigrate her performance; it just didn't sit well with me.

By far the best element of the 1991 series was Joanna Going as Victoria. Gone was the clueless twit that Alexandra Moltke had become. In her place was a beautiful, somewhat vulnerable, perhaps naive young woman, but with a decent brain in her head and the wherewithal to take the initiative in dealing with the uptight Collins clan. When Beth and I wrote DREAMS, we had to model Victoria on Joanna, even though all the rest of the characters hearkened back to the original series. To top it off, Going's ability to play Josette convincingly alongside herself as Victoria was no mean feat. She had me convinced she was two different individuals, both with their own personalities and mannerisms.

Dang, I think I'm in love with her all over again.

There is one scene in particular that stands out in my mind as being one of the series' best. That's when Barnabas embraces Carolyn in a twilight setting with Cobert's eerie music playing, and the camera trains on a stream of blood that runs down her neck and over her breasts. It's a beautifully erotic and "mature" DARK SHADOWS moment, one of the few in which Cross works well as the vampire Barnabas. Strangely, I've heard some people say they were offended by this scene. Personally, I find that an inexplicable reaction, when one considers how eroticism and blood figure so prominently in the entire vampire mythos. I can't imagine a more tasteful manner of dealing with a vampire feeding -- showing just enough to be tantalizing.

It would have been interesting to see where the show progressed.

[shadow=purple,left,300]--Mark[/shadow]

I tend to be skeptical when it comes to things beyond the mundane; however, I cannot rule out the possibility of things preternatural (not to be confused with supernatural). One cannot address the issue of the supernatural without bringing into it a lifetime of experience and fundamental beliefs. Certainly, those who are deeply religious generally approach the issue from a completely different angle than the atheist or agnostic. Being one who was brought up in a (moderate) religious environment, my world-view was shaped early on by many of its tenets.

There is a sense of awe or wonder that accompanies the supernatural, which is why I think it has its appeal both in real life and in fiction. The supernatural need not be frightening; but at the same time it might actually represent the ultimate fear (especially for those who believe in the concepts of Heaven and Hell).

Real-life, human evil, even on a grand scale, begins in the minds of mortals; therefore it's basically comprehensible to all of us. Each of us is in some fashion capable of being as depraved, perverted, violent, pathetic, morbid, murderous, twisted, and vile as any other, given the right set of conditions. (Cheery, n'est-ce pas?) Roger Collins himself said, to paraphrase, "Nothing a human being does can be shocking." I think that's largely true. The thing about human evil is that, to me, it's ugly, depressing, frustrating, infuriating, sickening, and all that. But is it frightening? Certainly on some levels it is--because of the tangible personal threat it represents. On the other hand, no other human being is any more or less mortal than I. On a one-to-one scale, it is difficult to be frightened on more than a physical level of another human; in the right set of circumstances, tables may even be turned. On a larger scale, such as war, the threat is amplified but is never any less comprehensible.

When a supernatural element is introduced into an equation, we add the possibility of something far greater (or worse) than ourselves. We add the possibility of the incomprehensible. In addition to possible fear, we now have a sense of awe that cannot be induced by any mere human threat--whether that threat be a knife in the back, a jetliner being used as a bomb, or a nuclear holocaust. Our views of the supernatural may be shaped by the matter of probabilties; in our lives we're far more likely to encounter evil at the hands of other humans than we are to deal with an extradimensional entity that might or might not mean us harm. The supernatural opens the way for a whole new arena of speculation, thus engaging our imaginations on a different level. In comparison, human evil is simply depressing.

Thus the appeal of supernatural in fiction, and when applicable, in real life. I tend to believe that there are certainly things in the universe that we cannot explain, and perhaps never will explain; they may be awesome or horrifying or glorious. Who can tell? As a writer, I find a greater and more enjoyable challenge in searching the realms of lesser probability and presenting them (hopefully) in such a way that, at least for a time, yeah, you believe it.

Just my two-pence worth. Or perhaps three.

Mark

Ben -- Don't forget the "Other Stories" in that same volume, which include This Gives Me the Willies: Hey, That's Funny by K. Jarlen, I'm So Frightened by H. Stokes, and Cane Swords, Hanging Paintings, and Fawlty  Props Aplenty by J. K. Yaeger.

--Mark

I'm really just too tall for my hairline!

Some of our brains can't think and worry about holding our hair in place at the same time. It's complicated, doncha know.

--Mark

In his appearance as Admiral Nimitz in MacARTHUR, one almost expects to see Mr. Powell lugging that tape recorder around with him. "Stiff" barely begins to describe his performance....

Mark

I wonder if Lara Paker's novel is still out there. I would love to read it. I often think the whole 1795 story is kind of a dark humour at anyone who thinks the past was romantic dances and pretty gowns. I did see all of the series and someone who wrote a concordance about it, often felt there were gaps in telling Angelique's story.

ANGELIQUE'S DESCENT is definitely available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I haven't checked to see if they still have it up, but for a while Amazon.com has been offering a special discount to buy AD and DREAMS OF THE DARK at the same time.

(Not at all a shameless plug, by the way.)

[shadow=red,left,300]--Mark[/shadow]

Always, Minja

Who isn't ALWAYS this gross!

Says you.  

--Mark