WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT

[Josette]

I finally got to see Uptown Girls tonight.  Marley's part isn't as big as I expected, but it's fairly substantial.  There wasn't a chance to see much range of acting, but at least I got a good look at her.  I can't decide if she would make a "Vicki" or not!

I don't remember too much from Pleasantville, but I taped it the other night and hope to fast-forward through it to find her.  Now that I know what she looks like from Uptown Girls, presumably I'll be able to spot her.

[jimbo]

Nope - and if the two actors we know of are really the only ones to have been cast so far, I doubt very much they're shooting yet.

I think SG mentioned something about shooting beginning in late March or early April. Right now it's certainly looking more like early April.

The last Shadowgram that I received electronically was issue # 111 dated 3/11/2004 and it reflected ..."which will begin filming later this month in the Los Angeles area."
Its really frustrating that Shadowgram has been a bit silent recently and did not report Ivana Milicevic' signing, to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps Dan Curtis is too busy with his other Showtime project, Our Fathers, which he is now filming, to bother  informing Shadowgram with DS developments (if there are any). Its just hard for me to believe that they are having a hard time casting for Willie and Sheriff Patterson for example. It would be nice to get some confimed information like the production's start date, locations of filming etc.... I think we should be thrown a bone here and there.

[Raineypark]

Its just hard for me to believe that they are having a hard time casting for Willie and Sheriff Patterson for example.

That presumes that there's going to BE a Sheriff Patterson....or even a Willie for that matter.  Who knows how many of the original characters they're planning to have in the new series....or which ones they might be?

[Julia99]

well if bloodsuckers abound there is likely to be a police-nemesis sort and the bloodsuckers need a daytime stoodge .. a willie-sort . . .pretty stock characters.

[Raineypark]

Well, we'd all like to think so.....but truthfully, what other Vampire character besides Dracula ever had a Willie-like servant?  And even poor Renfield didn't last long before he ended up in the British equivalent of Wyndcliffe.

 I'm not so sure either of those characters is an absolute must, from the new creators point of view.  They could easily choose to skip the whole "Willie opens the casket" thing and have Barnabas arrive from Martinique in a shipping container.

They could also talk about the police without ever having them actually in a scene.....they certainly did that often enough on the original.

The point I'm making is simply that the show may be VERY different than what we're used to thinking of as Dark Shadows.....not just different in small degrees.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

That presumes that there's going to BE a Sheriff Patterson....or even a Willie for that matter.

According to info that was posted on the barnabasundead Web site, Willie was included in the initial casting call. What's interesting this time around is that, unlike in the '91 version in which Willie was Mrs. Johnson's nephew, [spoiler]supposedly there is no Mrs. Johnson - she's been replaced by a young female servant named Kelly Greer - and Willie is supposedly invloved with her somehow. Also, Willie supposedly works for Roger.[/spoiler]

As for Patterson, he may or may not be seen, but he's definitely mentioned...

[Raineypark]

You know what I don't understand......why on earth is all this information available?  Are they testing the waters for audience reaction before they've actually shot a single frame of film?  Is this show being designed by poll results?  Didn't it used to be that new shows were kept as secret as possible before they had to be shown to the Networks?

I know we're all having a great deal of fun speculating what a new DS might be like.....but I'd rather be in the dark about what's ACTUALLY going to show up on my TV some night, than be bored to death already before its debut.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Basically, the info is available simply because it can be. In this age of the Internet, it's virtually impossible to keep anything a secret because there's always some "source" revealing something to some Web site that's more than willing to post it. That's one of the reasons why a lot of shows will deliberately "leak" fake info just to keep these sites offtrack.

As for barnabasundead, they actually had more detailed info about the pilot posted in their spoilers section than they do now, but they were "asked" to remove a good deal of it...

[Gothick]

Oh God. Are you saying that WAS the real pilot script they had on there?

That thing read like an old MAD Magazine skit on Dark Shadows. not one of their better skits, either.

I guess time will tell as regards the New WB Dark Shadows.

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

That thing read like an old MAD Magazine skit on Dark Shadows. not one of their better skits, either.

Oh, come on. We all know your feeling that DS should never be remade in any way, shape or form - but MAD Magazine?! There was nothing there that sounded anything like THAT. 

[Raineypark]

Mad Magazine, eh?

Thanks guys.....I'm REALLY looking forward to this now....

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Mad Magazine, eh?

Thanks guys.....

Guys? Don't include me in using that description for what was posted.  :-   And of course, we have yet to see any real footage from a WB DS, so who knows if all of what was posted on barnabasundead was actually from the real script or not...

(You might also want to keep in mind that, though I respect Gothick's opinion and do agree with him most of the time, he and I agree about very little when it comes to the '91 series.  )

[dom]

I know we're all having a great deal of fun speculating what a new DS might be like.....but I'd rather be in the dark about what's ACTUALLY going to show up on my TV some night, than be bored to death already before its debut.

It's just the opposite for me, Rainey. Without all of what's going on, there'd be a good chance that I'd skip the show or at least be very impatient with it. I'm a very slow absorber, the more I know ahead of time the more I'll be able to concentrate on the entertainment value of the show.

The biggest problem for me with the 91 series was that I wasted all my viewing time (what little of it there was - which is my point) comparing it to the original and nit-picking it to death and ultimately giving up on it in disgust. Knowing all about it ahead of time would have given me the time to get over it and just enjoy the show for what is was. And that's what seems to be happening with me now with the pilot. And I hope the trend continues.

I pretty much like to keep my negative thoughts to myself. But I've had some reservations about some of what we've learned so far. I'm glad to be able to deal with them now instead of trying to process them while watching the show.

A question for those in the know - Is a pilot made just for the execs to view to decide if they want to put the series into production or will we get to see the pilot as episode one? I hadn't thought of that until now. I've just taken for granted that we are going to see the pilot.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A question for those in the know - Is a pilot made just for the execs to view to decide if they want to put the series into production or will we get to see the pilot as episode one? I hadn't thought of that until now. I've just taken for granted that we are going to see the pilot.

That can vary from show to show - some pilot episodes never air while others are shown as the first or at least one of the first episodes. Sometimes the pilots are even completely reshot because either the network or the shows' producer(s) want to change something.

With DS, though, I think it's almost certain that they'll show the pilot (or a reshoot) as the first episode - particularly because it sets up the entire premise of the series.

[jimbo]

I have read somewhere that something incredible like 95% or more of pilots filmed never make to air and are never seen by the public. I think that we will see the pilot in some format as it seems that the WB is really behind the project, especially with Angel possibly being taken off the air. Another issue may be who will direct the tv series if there is one. Hogan will direct the pilot but then he is off somewhere soon to film another theatrical movie. I guess first things first.