Convincing someone to watch DS!

[GooberCollins]

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!

Having known my grandparents for 14 years, and knowing what kind of people they are, the only thing that'll make them more open-minded is a few swings of Julia's medallion.

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

Repeat as needed.

I must try that sometime. 

[Garth Blackwood]

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!

I really have to know: what aspect of DS taught you this lesson? Was it Quentin's legendary interest in brandy that his family was so closed-minded about? Or maybe how Barnabas struggled to convince Edward, for example, that he was still cool eventhough he was a vampire?

[Gothick]

Goober, I am cackling wildly at the thought of your swinging Julia's medallion in front of your folks while murmuring "Find the center of the light!" and somebody shrieking "Dear God, that thing is Satan's own bauble!"

I watch WAY too many hyper-melodramatic old movies... (I have been watching the wonderful old Boris Karloff "Thriller" series--I highly recommend it to all fans of DS!)

G.

[GooberCollins]

I'm convulsing with laughter from the last two posts.

[MagnusTrask]

Maybe the grandparents will like Trask.   Call it the Trask Show.

[Garth Blackwood]

I'm convulsing with laughter from the last two posts.

They have pills for that!! are you ok?

[GooberCollins]

Maybe the grandparents will like Trask. Call it the Trask Show.

I can just see my grandmother. "Go, Trask! Stake that vampire! Burn that witch!"

No, GB, I think I lost my spleen somewhere along the line. Maybe a lung, too. Oh well, I needed to clean up, anyway. Thanks for the concern, though.

To get people into DS before the new movie, we could possibly hack several websites and replace them with video of DS.

Come to think of it, that could work out of cyberspace. If you have a key to your brother's home, go in when he's out and replace all his DVDs with DS. Then lock him in when he gets home.

[Gothick]

Goober, are you sure you're not related to Nicholas Blair?  Your last post sounds like the horrifying dreams of an Evil Genius!

Or, as Dr. Hoffman once exclaimed:  "That's monstrous!"  To which Blair sneeringly riposted:  "It is MEANT to be."

*wink*

G.

[GooberCollins]

Your last post sounds like the horrifying dreams of an Evil Genius!

Thank you for the compliment! I, however, just prefer to think of myself as someone who thinks... outside the box.

Seriously, though, the best approach is probably just to have anyone you want to get in on the show over at your place while you have the show on your television.

[Cassandra Blair]

Yay! It really warms the cockles of my heart (whatever those are) to learn that an intelligent, articulate 14-year-old is way into Dark Shadows! Glad to know that the show will live on. It's great to hear what you think about the show, Goober!

I guess I'm a second generation fan (45 yrs old); although I saw a bit of the show as a kid, really got into it during the Sci-Fi run. Oh, and btw - the head of Judah Zachery ruined me when I was 7 or 8. Still scared of disembodied heads. 

A few friends (and my husband) have been known to watch it with me, but it's more of a curiousity to them than anything else. Oh, they enjoy it and everything, and will sometimes ask to watch it when we're hanging out, but they're not seeking it out on their own.

I do have two friends who are into Dark Shadows, but both of them are a little older than I and are actually first generation run-home-from-school fans. Each of them has a couple dvd sets, and when we see each other (we live in different cities), we watch. Always trying to convince them to get more of the dvd's. Maybe now I know what to get them for Xmas! 

[GooberCollins]

Thanks.

Actually, all of DS would have probably ruined me at 7 or 8. I had a paralyzing fear of vampires at that age. I saw an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (The Tale of the Midnight Madness) about a vampire that scared me out of my skin. I've obviously gotten over it.

[MagnusTrask]

I can just see my grandmother. "Go, Trask! Stake that vampire! Burn that witch!"

Now I'm picturing them in makeshift bleachers in cheerleader outfits with a big "T" on them, shaking pom poms at the TV.

[loril54]

Some of the great episodes to see.  I think the episodes where Maggie is in the room
in the basement when she was kidnapped.  The shows when Barnabas is trying to make
Julia think that she is mad.  The episode in 1967 in black and white were very suspenseful and had great chemistry.  That is where the show really began to grow.

[LeFanu]

yeah, for me it would be the show where barnabas tells victoria and carolyn about josette's death.

also the episode in which julia [spoiler]gets the harassing phone calls from barnabas masquerading as dave woodard's ghost.

and i love the episode where nicholas blair turns angelique's hand into a skeleton.

lets see, what else? oh yes, the whole sequence with the psychic medium janet findley and the ghost of quentin. that is really chilling, to me anyway.

and i love the beginning of 1897, when barnabas first shows up as a "cousin from england". again.[/spoiler]

and any interaction between barnabas and angelique. these are the kind of things i like to show to friends, and my partner. they are all curious about dark shadows, maybe i can ramp up their interest. the 1897 storyline is really compelling. think that's a good place to start?

[Lydia]

I wouldn't go for separate episodes.  I would show the beginning of 1897, starting with episode #701 and continuing for several episodes.  It's good storytelling, and although Barnabas makes reference to 1969, on the whole there's very little back story that you would have to tell your friends, because at that point the characters were as new to long-time viewers as they were to first-timers.  Eventually you would have to explain to your friends about 1969 Collinwood, but if they're not sucked in by that time, they'll never be.