WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Today's installment in the '04 pilot's slideshow (atop this board) concludes one of the more humorous sequences in the pilot. And because it's one of my favorites I thought I'd make a post gathering it all together using a combination of the script and how things actually play out:

Previous to what we're going to get into, Roger comments how impressed he is with Vicki, and then after the script reads -

Behind them, Willie enters, setting Victoria's bags in the Great Hall. Seeing Willie, Roger's face tightens.

- Roger is supposed to say -

Page 08 - Roger (CONT'D): 'I suppose we owe you an apology. Loomis should have delivered you an hour ago.'

- which is February 7th installment of the slideshow. However, in the pilot before Roger delivers that quote about Willie, Willie interrupts Roger by entering carrying Vicki's bags and breaking through the gathering of Roger, Vicki and Liz by delivering an unscripted -

'Excuse me.'

- and after that is when Roger actually says -

Page 08 - Roger (CONT'D): 'I suppose we owe
you an apology. Loomis should have delivered
you an hour ago.'

- to which Willie replies in the script with -

Page 08 - Willie: 'She's here, isn't she?'

- which is the February 8th installment in the slideshow, though what Willie says in the pilot is ever so slightly different -

Willie: 'Yeah. She's here, isn't she?'

- (obviously there's no love lost between Willie and Roger) and after the script explains -

"Before Roger can scold him, Victoria interjects."

Page 08 - Victoria: 'It's my fault. I asked Will to
play tour-guide and show me around Collinsport.'

- which also happens to be February 9th's installment in the slideshow - and to that Liz replies with a pleasant and unscripted -

'Oh.'

- and the script explains -

"Roger senses he's being played, but doesn't push it."

- before Roger delivers February 10th's quote -

Page 08 - Roger: 'Really. Both stoplights?'

- and continuing to attempt to cover for Willie, Vicki replies with the quote for February 11th -

Page 08 - Victoria: 'I was curious.'

- and after that Roger is scripted to continue with his sarcasm by remarking 'And I'm sure all your late night "sightseeing" has left you exhausted' - but either that was cut before shooting or in the editing of the scene. Too bad because it's quintessential Roger.    And it also sets up Roger's next quote in the slideshow. But more on that after pointing out that the script then explains -

"A young maid, SOPHIA (20), enters. Seeing Sophia, Roger flickers a smile, and she smiles back -- a moment that Willie notices with some discomfort."

- however, things don't exactly play that way in the pilot, but we'll deal with that shortly. First we'll move on to how after that Roger is scripted to deliver today's quote -

Page 09 - Roger (CONT'D): 'Sophia, take Miss Winters to her room. And make sure she doesn't get lost this time.'

- but while it's different in the pilot, it's certainly no less sarcastic because Roger actually says -

Roger: 'Miss Loomis, show Miss Winters to her
room. With luck you won't lose your way like
your brother.'

- but getting back to Sophia and Willie's reactions, as seen in the capture, Sophia does indeed smile and Willie does indeed display discomfort - but in the pilot it plays as if they're reacting to Roger's insult against Willie rather than a smile Roger may have given to Sophia - though whether that change in impression is because of creative editing or whether Roger's possible look at Sophia was intentionally dropped and never shot, we'll probably never know...

But summing up with the main reason for this post, you've got to love the patented Roger Collins sarcastic wit!    If Roger had continued to have been written like that had the pilot gone to series, Martin Donovan's Roger definitely would have given Louis Edmonds' Roger a run for his money in the sarcasm department. And Vicki's attempt to cover for Willie is also fairly humorous...

[Robot_Quentin]

Really a crying shame that they didn't get the ball rolling again with a new DS right after the theatrical release at least! 

[Gothick]

I missed the 2004 pilot slideshow. All I've seen is the Innovation comics thing which I've stopped following.

The 2004 pilot was fun! Too bad it's not included on that new disc. At least it is available online on Archive dot org for those who want to see it.

cheers, G.

[Gothick]

Ah, OK, now I see that there IS a slide show, but the one that's on display doesn't feature the captures you included in this post from last month. I imagine you simply haven't had time to do captures from the actual episode. And that's entirely understandable given how very heavily laden your plate is, MB!

All the best, G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Given that whenever the pilot shows up on YouTube, it gets taken down, we've been hesitant to use too many captures. So we've used them sparingly...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

the Innovation comics thing which I've stopped following.

This off topic here, but you may want to get back into it because things are about to pick up substantially. Now that Book 2, Issue 1 has laid the groundwork, Issue 2 is about to kick things into gear. And for the most part it's not necessary to have read Issue 1 to understand what happens in Issue 2...

Issue 1 often featured characters we didn't know because they were created for Book 2. But Pete and Fred are gone - and Nathan will interact with Barnabas, Willie, Vicki and Julia. In fact, those four characters are the ones dealt with in the first seven pages of Issue 2 and most often throughout...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Swamp Thing Review: Sophisticated Suspense

What does a review of Swamp Thing have to do with the '04 DS pilot? Well, apparently Mark Verheiden is a writer and executive producer on ST, positions he also held on the DS pilot, and this review not only singles out Verheiden's work on the pilot but also laments that "very few people actually got the chance to see" it. Of course, if the pilot wasn't taken down from YouTube, that could have been remedied, but that's not how TPTB want to operate...

[Uncle Roger]

I was a huge fan of the Alan Moore era of Swamp Thing. Moore had a knack for writing genuinely disturbing stories with a minimum amount of gore. The stories after he left the title were extremely uneven. Some were quite good, others just incoherent.
I'm pleased that they are using Abigail Arcane in a large capacity. The character has enough back story to propel a series on her own. I'm not familiar with the actress who's playing Abby but I hope that she's better suited to the material than Heather Locklear was. Not that I don't love Heather when she's properly cast but she had no credibility as a character who was supposed to be from eastern Europe.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Worst Series Finales of the Decade - WEEDS

Yes, the guy with the mustache on the bottom left of the photo is indeed Alexander Gould, who played David in this pilot:

[Uncle Roger]

He's a long way from Finding Dory and even further away from Finding Nemo.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I've mentioned this before, but for the life of me I don't understand why today's quote in the '04 Pilot Slideshow -

Page 36 - Roger (still suspicious): 'As long as I'm
not involved. Welcome to Collinsport.'

- was dropped in the YouTube version of the pilot. It completes the scene by letting the audience know Roger has given his permission for Barnabas to restore the Old House, whereas in the YouTube version Barnabas' request is left dangling. Weird. Plus, deleting any Roger material is a huge shame...

[Gothick]

I'm still baffled by why the 2004 pilot wasn't included in that long delayed home video release earlier this year. Presumably, WB or whoever controls the rights wanted more moola than the distributor was willing to pay.

Meanwhile, this story is so vague that it does not really warrant a new thread IMO, but perhaps eventually it will qualify for one?

http://www.collinsporthistoricalsociety.com/2019/08/a-new-dark-shadows-tv-series-is-in-works.html

G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'm still baffled by why the 2004 pilot wasn't included in that long delayed home video release earlier this year. Presumably, WB or whoever controls the rights wanted more moola than the distributor was willing to pay.

Your guess is as good as anyone's as to why the pilot wasn't included, but I don't know if money was an issue. For several years the pilot was controlled by Warner Brothers, and supposedly they went so far as to have it locked away in a vault except for the times when it was being shown at Fests. But when the pilot was pulled from YouTube the reason given was because of a copyright claim by MPI Media Group (which came as quite the surprise, but that's another discussion) - and MPI is the company that released the Master of Dark Shadows video.  Who knows? At this point everything seems so convoluted.

Meanwhile, this story is so vague that it does not really warrant a new thread IMO, but perhaps eventually it will qualify for one?

Fascinating. But as the article rightly points out, so much has to and can happen before a new DS can get made and actually see the light of day. I don't really know much about Bradley Gallo. The only thing I do know about him is that he's worked mostly on independent projects, but that doesn't really tell us much so far as getting a new DS off the ground goes. But I'm sure we all remember that back in the '80s another independent producer tried to get a DS reunion movie made and nothing ever came of that, despite many of the original stars expressing interest when approached. Although, there's one big difference now: DC has passed on and it was because of DC that the reunion movie never got off the ground. But DC is no longer with us, so...

Thanks so much for posting the link, Gothick. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A couple things that I neglected to comment on with regard to a potential new DS:

• It's interesting that Bradley Gallo is apparently already working with Warner Brothers. That must mean they already have the rights to do DS as a series. Not being able to secure the rights to DS is what killed the '80s reunion move. But either Warner Brothers and/or Gallo have already passed that hurdle.
• and that could be because some online reports say Amasia Entertainment, the company that would do the potential series, was founded by DC's two daughters. But I can't find confirmation of that. All the sites I've found say Gallo and his partner Michael Helfant founded the company. Who knows? Though all may be made clear eventually.
• And supposedly "the major streaming services are being targeted." But I wonder if Warner Brothers might consider a DS series for their own upcoming streaming service? It's going to become available at some point in the spring of 2020. Given everything that still needs to happen before a potential new DS can see the light of day, it's not likely it could be ready that early. But a great deal of WarnerMedia is already expected to be a part of the service, including all the Warner Brothers produced shows on the CW and HBO, as well as additional content produced by them.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, here's news of a project Bradley Gallo is definitely moving forward with:

Emily Blunt, Jon Hamm Join Jamie Dornan in ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’

The interesting thing is that even though he's an independent producer, he certainly works with big/hot names. And as the Forbes article which referenced DS also mentions, he recently sold a film starring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman, and you don't get much bigger or hotter than she currently is. In fact, she'll be portraying Queen Elizabeth II is the upcoming 3rd season of The Crown (with Helena Bonham Carter playing her sister, Princess Margaret).