Observations of a first time viewer

I finally got my hands on the first DVD set in the Dark Shadows: The Beginning Collection this weekend at the Fest. I haven't seen any of these pre-Laura/pre-Jason episodes so this is a totally new experience for me. I just finished the first two episodes and a few observations to make.

First off it seems like an entirely different show! Not only that but populated by entirely different characters! The look, feel and nature of the show are completely alien to what it later became. I found it somewhat amusing as Carolyn sat in the drawing room with Liz and discussed her inability to find happiness that in a few years time she would be partially psychic and  married to a slimy faux-human from the netherworld!

Roger I love. It's only been two episodes in and he's delightfully two-faced. I loved the scene on the cliff where he cozied up to Vicki after so ungraciously storming out of the house rather than meet her. The look on Alexandra's face when Roger grabbed her after she mentioned Burke Devlin, she looked so young and vulnerable at that moment!

Liz traipsing about the house in an evening gown and pearls, and those huge jewels hanging from her ears! She looked so regal, I now understand why people love the "I choose to do so!" line!

I know some people aren't overly fond of Mitchell Ryan but personally, I love him. I'm so glad to get more of his episodes.

Maggie is fantastic. She seems like the kind of girl who could handle herself well in a fistfight.

I'm having a ball so far with this early episodes and can't wait to see more!

I can't wait for my copy to arrive. I pre-ordered with Amazon.com They are supposed to be released on the 28th but for some reaosn won't arrive til mid September.

It was a very different looking show in the beginning, wasn't it?  You're seeing it as it was originally intended:  as a gothic romance, not a supernatural thriller.  The difference can be quite jolting to those fans who have only seen most of the show from the-monsters-are-here point months into its airing.  For those of us who saw it from the very beginning, the transition doesn't seem quite as jarring because the viewer "slid" into the change.

Gerard

I was startled by the lighting in the foyer at Collinwood.  Later on, the foyer becomes home sweet home, but in the first few episodes, it looks like a drafty old Scottish castle.

I love the look in some of those early shots of the foyer. It's a shame they didn't utilize more of those low angle shots on the series because they were really quite effective and moody. Cinematography references often say that type of angle is used to inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer and to give a sense of confusion and of powerlessness within the action of a scene, all of which would have been perfect for DS. But, for whatever reason, they were dropped. 

I loved that shot from the floor where Roger stood before the drawing room doors looking off in uncertainty (I forget at what now, sorry). The camera angles are really impressive. If they had kept it up instead of going for the insanely tight close-ups it might have made the terror aspect of the show a little more unsettling to the viewer.