REVIEW: 'The House of Despair' - Dark Shadows Audio Drama **SPOILERS**

New Audio Drama a Must Buy
by Penny Dreadful

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*****MANY SPOILERS FOLLOW*****

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I put the CD in with some trepidation.  After all, I was rather disappointed by the highly anticipated ¢â‚¬ËœReturn to Collinwood.'  The characters and situations in that particular audio production didn't, in my opinion, accurately capture the characters and feel of Dark Shadows.  I worried these new dramas might suffer from similar problems.

There was no need for worry because the new Dark Shadows audio drama, ¢â‚¬ËœThe House of Despair' is excellent.

The writing is very good.  The classic Dark Shadows characters are spot on, and are accurately depicted through well-written dialogue and first-rate acting.  Quentin here is world-wise but still sarcastic and stubborn.  He is not the full blown hero as in ¢â‚¬ËœReturn to Collinwood', but a man searching for answers who is still haunted by his past sins and by his poor choices.  Whereas Willie served as comic relief in ¢â‚¬ËœReturn to Collinwood,' here he is an anxious, troubled man who has seen too many horrible things in his lifetime.  Maggie now owns the Collinsport Diner, which was bought with help from Roger in an effort to keep her quiet about the things she had seen at Collinwood.  Maggie is weary and very insistent on staying far away from the Collins family.  Angelique, ever untrustworthy, is very aware of her power and has some of the most frightening moments in the audio play.  Her disturbing outburst when Barnabas is discussed offers dark insights into the witch's heart.  She is still utterly obsessed with Barnabas Collins.  The script offers characterizations which are very much in keeping with those of the classic series.  It is easy to imagine the characters progressing in the manner depicted in ¢â‚¬ËœThe House of Despair.' The writer, Stuart Manning, has a clear understanding of the subject matter, and has a firm grasp on the various nuances of Dark Shadows.
     
The audio drama also succeeds in evoking the atmosphere of mystery, dread and impending doom which was a hallmark of classic Dark Shadows.  Big Finish got it right, even down to the cliffhangers at the end of each episode.  The sound effects, music (some of which is Bob Cobert's) and acting offer an ominous, Gothic picture of modern Collinsport.  Collinwood, which has been taken over by evil forces, looms alone on the hill - presumably abandoned long ago by the missing present-day Collins family. Quentin, trying to unravel the mystery of his missing family, seeks aid from both Willie and Angelique. 

The actors do an amazing job of once again inhabiting their original roles.  John Karlen especially brings the neurotic, troubled Willie to vivid life once again.  Indeed, all of the actors really shine in ¢â‚¬ËœThe House of Despair.'  David Selby, Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott all succeed marvelously in recreating their original series roles, and portray the characters as if several unpleasant years have gone by in Collinsport.

New characters also fare well.  The Collinsport residents are appropriately suspicious and frightened when Quentin strolls into the Blue Whale.  Quentin, in turn, is appropriately flippant in response.

In Mr Strix , the audio drama gives us a supernatural being hitherto unseen in the ¢â‚¬ËœDark Shadows' mythos - a strix  or striga, which is a mythical Roman being often depicted as an evil flesh eating bird.  The final confrontation with character leads to revelations about the whereabouts of Barnabas Collins.

The role of Barnabas has been recast in the audio drama.  While many might not approve of this, the change is explained nicely in the story.  Barnabas has been given a new body in ¢â‚¬ËœThe House of Despair.'  I admit to wishing I could have heard Jonathan Frid deliver Barnabas' lines.  However, Andrew Collins does an admirable job of filling some very large and very important shoes in the Dark Shadows universe.  The explanation given for the different voice in the story makes it much easier to digest and accept a new actor as Barnabas.  Giving Barnabas a new body almost seems appropriate since Big Finish helped to keep Doctor Who alive.  Doctor Who, of course, is well known for periodically changing bodies.

The final scene in ¢â‚¬ËœThe House of Despair' is perfect.  We end with Barnabas, Quentin and Angelique, the original series' three most well-known and immortal characters standing together in the Old House.  They are all that is left of the Collins family, and none of them really trust each other.  Each of these characters is unpredictable and capable of being quite dangerous.  The very fact that the writer kept this in mind shows that he knows and understands the source material quite well.  I do wish we could have had Jonathan Frid in this final scene.  I can't help that.  Selby and Parker are great here, and it just seems right that Frid would be there with them.  However, I can accept the change, especially since there is a legitimate reason for it within the context of the story.   

I should also add that the reworking of Robert Cobert's opening title theme is wonderfully eerie. The combination of Cobert's themes with original music by Joseph Fox gives ¢â‚¬ËœThe House of Despair' a newness, while still allowing listeners to keep one foot firmly planted in the classic mythos.

¢â‚¬ËœThe House of Despair' succeeds where other Dark Shadows updates, remakes and continuations did not. It truly captures the elusive, peculiar feel of the original Dark Shadows.  I recommend that all Dark Shadows fans pick up a copy of this audio drama.  I think this is the best thing to happen to Dark Shadows in a long time.  I hope that the rest of the audio dramas are as excellent as this one.

PennyD, what a marvelous review!

Another plus that I can't praise enough is the timeless quality of "The House of Despair."  While the story takes place sometime before "Return to Collinwood," as I'm listening I can picture it occuring any time after the end of the series.

By avoiding references (for the most part) to current events, our beloved original became a timeless classic that was not defined by its broadcast era.  This decision, I believe, helped pave the way for it to be enjoyed by generations to come.  Yes, the clothing and equipment do date it somewhat, but I feel these aspects add to its nostalgic charm, whereas an avoidance of references to "current" events such as the Viet Nam war, the hippie culture {cough}, political assassinations, the Sexual Revolution, the Cold War, etc. serves to avoid trapping the story in its decade.  "The House of Despair" and its sequel follow in these same timeless footsteps.  Even when a familiar tune plays during a scene in "THOD," for example, I can imagine that we've gone back to the 60s just as easily as I can envision that the Collinsport Inn is playing "oldies" on its sound system.

Of course, writing is going to reflect the sensibilities of the writer and the times in which s/he lives, and this is also true of the style of DS.  But these audio stories keep my interest because they have updated the plots to respect the listeners' modern expectations.  To use the example of the Strix, while we may not have been ready for such a creature in the 1960s, it suits post-XFiles and Smallville audiences perfectly.  The same can be said for [spoiler]the spell that brings Angelique back.[/spoiler]

"The House of Despair" and "The Book of Temptation," like the series, are about characters and themes.  Story considerations are updated yet remain loyal to the original.  They are also thankfully free of pop culture references; these worked well in Buffy, but it wouldn't have been Dark Shadows.

I've enjoyed these reviews.  I'm interested in hearing these audios now.  What is a Strix?  I understand it's some type of bird but what's the mystery or supernatural significance?

  You are absolutely right Midnite.  Dark Shadows and other worlds of gothic horror exist on isolated planes of existence which are more or less devoid of overt cultural references.  'The House of Despair' definitely maintains this important aspect of the classic series.

  There is a trend towards "reality-based" things nowadays and that style does not suit Dark Shadows at all.  The references to eBay, Forbes Magazine, and other real cultural things in 'Return to Collinwood' and in the WB pilot strongly detract from the otherworldly quality of the DS universe.  Such references shatter the artificial, macabre reality which must be constructed for the Gothic to be effective.  This is why I was annoyed during the making of the WB pilot when I heard the WB wanted Collinsport to "be like any other modern city," even though the writer Mark Verheiden argued that this was inappropriate for Dark Shadows.

  Another trend I've noticed in other DS continuations, and often in fan fiction as well, is the insistence that Barnabas, or someone else, must eventually install electricity and plumbing in the Old House.  I can't see this happening.  It's too optimistic for Dark Shadows.  The Old House is almost an Undead thing unto itself.   To give it "life" in the form of electricity is to shatter the Gothic atmosphere of the place.

  There's always HOPE in Dark Shadows, but in the end there is always tragedy.  The characters can believe in that hope, but to actually fulfill it is to ruin the mood and structure of the DS universe.  When something positive happens in DS, it is inevitably tempered by something dark and tragic shortly thereafter.  It might sound negative, but if one looks at the series as a whole, this is always the case.  That's why, for example, I can't see characters like Chris Jennings and Sabrina Stuart living happily ever after.  There is no "happily ever after" on DS - only the hope that there might be.

 "The House of Despair" accurately captures all of this very well indeed.  I look forward to listening to "The Book of Temptation" sometime this week.

- Penny Dreadful -

PS - dsbarnabasfan - a strix or striga comes from Roman legend.  The strix is often depicted as an evil nocturnal bird that feeds on the blood and flesh of human beings. 

PennyDreadful,

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

Well done and thanks.    In this country it couldn't be done.  No one thinks anyone is interested in audio enough to produce anything like this.    In the UK there seems to be more of a tradition of this.   Or maybe Big Finish just barged its way in and created a tradition (with Doctor Who).   Anyway, talk to most US horror and SF (etc) fans and the first aspect they bring up when discussing quality is special effects.     It's a frighteningly empty culture.    Apart from DS fans I'm not sure Americans would ever want productions with NO visuals of any kind.

Well done and thanks.    In this country it couldn't be done.  No one thinks anyone is interested in audio enough to produce anything like this.    In the UK there seems to be more of a tradition of this.   Or maybe Big Finish just barged its way in and created a tradition (with Doctor Who).   Anyway, talk to most US horror and SF (etc) fans and the first aspect they bring up when discussing quality is special effects.     It's a frighteningly empty culture.    Apart from DS fans I'm not sure Americans would ever want productions with NO visuals of any kind.

Well, the BBC have quite a vast radio output, so I guess audio drama is indeed more of a British tradition in that sense. As for special effects, I'm not sure Dark Shadows is a series dependent on absolutely no visuals at all. The difference between Dark Shadows and most other, modern horror series around - and what makes it ideal for audio, in that respect - is that the special effects are always used sparingly and legitimately within the plot, whilst always allowing the story's characters to dominate the action at any given moment.

But yes, you're quite right. Special effects should be just that - special - and now we're being bombarded with CGI left, right, and center, they're becoming anything but... Heyho!

Hello Scott... I only meant that the new CDs are devoid of visuals, being CDs.   

Hello Scott... I only meant that the new CDs are devoid of visuals, being CDs.   

Oh, I wasn't arguing with you at all... Just agreeing with your comment about the way horror and cult fans work nowadays! And yes, whilst the CDs do lack visuals, we can still try to incorporate interesting soundscapes and "special effects" in that sense. I guess it just depends how you define these terms.

Hello, by the way 

BF is very, very good at creating those sound landscapes.    I don't know about elsewhere, but here viewers won't even accept black and white.     They need glittering shiny effects swung in front of their faces.    Julia could take us all over easily.   By the way, I lay into Americans frequently than get all defensive when Brits do.

Small correction -

 They are standing in Collinwood at the end, not in the Old House. 

  There is a trend towards "reality-based" things nowadays and that style does not suit Dark Shadows at all.  The references to eBay, Forbes Magazine, and other real cultural things in 'Return to Collinwood' and in the WB pilot strongly detract from the otherworldly quality of the DS universe.  Such references shatter the artificial, macabre reality which must be constructed for the Gothic to be effective.

Hi PennyD, you really have a way with words and are an excellent writer. I didn't read your review until I heard the CD and your review captivated me almost as much as the CD. Looking forward to your next!

John

penny,

you make an excellent point about the way the story is structured.the characters can always hope for a brighter tomorrow but in the end there is only tragedy.they are for the most part a fundamentally decent(if deeply flawed)group of people who fate has cast a black cloud over.

i remember one scene that expressed this mood rather poignantly.during vicki and jeff's ill-fated wedding roger comes to vicki's room to tell her jeff needs to see her on the terrace.sensing something is wrong she goes to him.when roger and liz are left alone liz stoically walks over to the dresser,stops,sighs and pronounces that "nothing ever works out for any of us does it?"

at the time it nearly brought tears to my eyes because it's so true.

New Audio Drama a Must Buy

As I posted earlier, I enjoyed this review and was glad you posted it on Amazon.  If I may suggest, you might want to post on amaon.co.uk as well.  I'm hoping that this series will pick up a following in the UK.

If I may suggest, you might want to post on amaon.co.uk as well.  I'm hoping that this series will pick up a following in the UK.

 Good idea.  I just posted it on amazon.co.uk.

- Penny