Convincing someone to watch DS!

[Gothick]

I was considered a weirdo back in 1970 among my friends because I was still watching DS when just about everyone else I knew had given up on the show.  Since then, I've always been wary about attempting to "introduce" anyone to the show.

And I find it refreshing whenever a teenager writes in about loving the show. Without people such as yourself, no one will really care about preserving the legacy of our show!  Despite the role DS played in pop cultural history of the Sixties, I do think the shows have a "timeless" quality about them.

Grayson's episodes during the first six weeks or so of Leviathan are stellar.  One of my favorites is the one that is sort of a duet between herself and Nancy, when Julia is fretting over what happened to Barnabas in 1897 and psychically hears the voices of Magda and Charity talking about the disappearances of Barnabas and Kitty in the drawing room.  Great stuff.

cheers!  Gothick

[JS]

Goober, you are very wise for your old age. 

[GooberCollins]

Thanks, JS. 

In response to Gothick, I'm still considered something of a weirdo by some people for liking what I like. "You're 14, shouldn't you be watching Nickelodeon, not 40-year-old soaps?" Personally, I think that family networks would do well to have programming like DS. I've attempted to watch the current lineups, and one of the (many) despicable things about them is that there's not enough "spooky" programming for children. Kids of the 60s watched DS, and I, as a kid of the 90s, watched Are You Afraid of the Dark?. There are no "spooky" shows on now that are really appropriate for children. Though DS wasn't a children's show by any means, the millions of people who "ran home from school" certainly liked it, and, with the possible exception of things like the Head of Judah Zachery (which would have traumatized me when I was 7 or so), it wasn't really too intense for them, in terms of themes, violence, or sexuality. But I'm getting off-topic here.

I agree that DS has a timeless quality, especially since they did so many of the arcs set in the past. The only ones that I really think are dated are the Leviathan, 1970PT, and Ghosts of G&D arcs, where you occasionally hear slang words circa 1970, like "groovy," being used by hipsters like Hallie, Bruno, and Sky.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Around here we know better than to look down on teenagers simply because they're teenagers because some of the most articulate and thoughtful members of the forum have been teenagers. I've personally been blown away in the past by the keen insights of some so young yet mature beyond their years. Which is not to say that all teenagers are articulate/thoughtful/insightful - I've taught high school, so I know for certain that's not true - but for whatever reason DS seems to attract a fair percentage of the ones who are. And quite frankly we'd be extremely remiss not to accept/welcome them with open arms. 

[David]

 

But there's one thing that I'm sorry you missed out on Goober~~that mad dash home from school every day!
Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end!

David

[Garth Blackwood]

as a kid of the 90s, watched Are You Afraid of the Dark?.

Hey goober did you watch that in syndication? 'Cause I remember watching that and I was a little kid at the time ... By the way I'm a next generation fan of DS too so hopefully there are more of us and DS will still have a following decades from now ...

[Taeylor Collins]

Well I am glad I started this thread.  Some great feedback.  Good to see you "come out" Goober.  My brother loves DS and partner loved the 1991 version.  We all talked last night and we are gonna give a STORYLINE a shot.  We are gonna start with Victoria's return because it's basically picking up where the new show left off.  A few things will have to mentioned and explained.   1968 and 1969 years you can't get any better so maybe they will get hooked maybe they won't.  GOOBER, we are currently watching Buffy and they love it.  It took a bit of conviving there, but now THEY ARE HOOKED.  We are in our 30's.  I can't believe some people believe Buffy is too old. LORD.  There are some bad effects, but STORY is what always carries a good show. RIGHT?  Thanks for everyone great comments! 

I guess I am second generation.  It all still confuses me.

[David]

Taeylor:

a few key eps from the original I'd suggest the three of you watch before moving on to Vicki's return:

1. In 1967, Barnabas tells Carolyn & Vicki about Josette's death. (Listen to the Wind, such a sorrowful sound......)

2. Barnabas' first night as a vampire

3. Death of Josette

4 Josette rises from the grave

5. Trask gets walled up in the Old House

though these plot points were covered in 91, these five
eps are flawless, spooky, and will help reel them in.
In particular, your bro' and his BF will fully understand the hypnotic
magnetism of Frid's Barnabas from the first two eps I'm suggesting.

Happy Watching!
David   

[MagnusTrask]

Goober, anyone who grabs for some simple excuse like numerical age to justify treating someone else's opinions as worthless has to be desperate to raise himself up by pushing others down, because he doesn't have anything real to be proud of in himself.   

[GooberCollins]

Thanks to everyone.

I can't believe some people believe Buffy is too old.

I apologize, I phrased that poorly in my last post. They just won't watch the show for whatever reason; it's not because it's too old for them. Some of them have caught the reruns occasionally due to my prodding, but I've failed to convince anyone to actually get the DVDs and watch the thing straight through.

As per Garth Blackwood's question about whether or not I watched AYAotD? in syndication or not, I'm not sure, but I likely did. I watched it on Nickelodeon in the late 90's; I'm not sure precisely how old I was. In an interesting parallel to DS, despite my having been born more for the time of the second Midnight Society on AYAotD? I always preferred the first one, and despite being born closer to the DS revival, I've always preferred the original.

MagnusTrask, I thoroughly agree. It was an enormous annoyance to me whenever I saw in someone's profile something like, "Don't contact me in a private thread if you are under the age of 18." And it certainly couldn't be that they only wanted to discuss more adult topics, as that site had fairly strictly enforced rules against that.

[Mark Rainey]

The formula for convincing neophytes to watch DARK SHADOWS is fairly simple.

Take one hard stare, apply it liberally to the subject, then say, very forcefully, "You must."

Repeat as needed.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

How didn't the rest of us think of that, Mark? Especially when that has to be the most often repeated imperative on DS! 

[barnabasjr]

Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end!

We'd sing and dance forever and a day!

[Brian]

He complains he has a hard time getting into "OLD" shows.  One good thing though, (the boyfriend)  He loves Grayson. Any definitive Grayson ep's one would recommend , please do.

Okay, from this middle-aged gay man who watched DS in 1968-1971, just tell them both that they're not really gay unless they can appreciate older movies, color or B&W, and not just DS but all those great old Bette Davis/Marilyn Monroe/Joan Crawford/Doris Day--dare I add more?--movies.  It's not all about Andrew Lloyd Webber or Madonna.  You're not a real "gay" until you can appreciate the history of entertainment that speaks to gays.  And more:  drag queens used to do showtunes and actually sing live!  That's real drag!  (Not "To Wong Foo" or "Priscilla" but "Outrageous.")  And Julia Hoffman is the ultimate drag queen - just because she's played by a woman doesn't mean she's not a queen!.  LOL.  What else?  Oh, yeah, "Satan in High Heels."  "Polly Magoo?"  Oh..and one more...they should check out the Carmen Miranda DVD collection.  Now there's a real female drag queen!!! who came years before Julia Hoffman.  LOL.  and IMHO.  Brian

[Brian]

I'm 14. That's not a typo, and I'm not kidding... my already scornful grandparents seem to think even less of me than they did before ever since I started watching DS, even flat-out telling me that I shouldn't watch the show. They have a big thing against fiction dealing with the supernatural in a non-religious contex..

Goober...not to disparage your grandparents, but my parents (born in 1936/1937) were always supportive of my interests, including DS in 1969, and had no problem with me watching it when i was only 12-13 years old.  Dad sometimes watched, too, and he always fondly rememebed "Barnaby" Collins (his memory of the character's name).  In fact, my great-grandmother, born in 1896!, sometimes watched it with me.  And she enjoyed it, too!!  Stand by your interests and continue to do your best to educate your family about being open-minded and non-judgemental -- which is one of the things that DS taught me!

Brian