Fan Article

[Midnite]

Fantastic article (I think ) by Stuart on www.barnabasundead.com that addresses some of the negative reaction to a new DS.

[Philippe Cordier]

I'm glad you called our attention to this.  There's a lot to read on the BarnabasUndead site.  I hadn't paid any attention to it since the initial "plot synopsis", which sounded like nothing more than a summary from the old show.  But the site seems to be gaining credibility.  No Maggie Evans??  I guess it IS better if the new series is original and not just a rehash of the original.  I haven't read Stuart's article yet but read the casting recommendations.  I was convinced by so many of them (particulary actors/actresses I wasn't familiar with).  KLS's comments were a hoot!

[Gothick]

Well, the phrase "this is Collinwood in a new zip code" is a choice one.

My new title for the WB series:  Collinwood 90210!

they may be undead... but that doesn't mean they don't have to moisturize!

Many thanks to Stuart for telling it like it is re Dan Curtis.  If I really cared about the new series, my #1 anxiety would be how much of a role DC is going to play in hands-on production.  Let's hope for the sake of everyone involved that his title of Exec Prod is an honorary one.  (Board mods, please delete this if what I've written is deemed potentially offensive.)

Thanks,  G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Thank you so much, Midnite, for posting the link to Stuart's article - and a HUGE THANK YOU to Stuart for writing it.      I've been privately lamenting the very same points that Stuart raises (and briefly addressing them whenever they've come up here on the forum), but it's wonderful to see someone pull all of the issues together and address them so beautifully. My hat's off to you!  [hatoff]

(If I have one small quibble, and it's an extremely minor one, it's that fans in the early-to-mid '90s didn't keep their hopes of an NBC revival of the '91 series alive without the actual possiblity of that taking place. Debbie Smith, who worked as DC's assistant for much of that time, and who was basically DC's spokesperson on the old Pridigy BB (which had been moderated by DS Companion co-author Melody Clark), had posted that NBC's Warren Littlefield actually came to his senses (think finally realizing the huge 18-49 demos the '91 series brought in) and wanted to revive the '91 DS as a series of TV movies, similar to what they were doing with Perry Mason. However, ultimately DC decided against that idea. Honestly, considering how the '91 DS was treated by NBC when it was canceled, who could blame him? And also, DC was still hoping to revive the series as two and then one theatrical film. But alas...)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

they may be undead... but that doesn't mean they don't have to moisturize!

  What a great tag line! With lines like that, who needs to recycle ones from the '91 series' ad campaign like "A love story beyond time - and beyond imagination," "Evil no man can face - passion no woman can forget," or "Some family secrets just can't stay buried." 

[Raineypark]

"A love story beyond time - and beyond imagination," "Evil no man can face - passion no woman can forget," or "Some family secrets just can't stay buried."...

Well, that qualifies as some of the worst ad copy I've ever read in my life. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Really? I honestly liked those tag lines. But then, I loved the entire ad campaign for the '91 series - particualrly the more than 30 promos NBC produced that ranged from 10 seconds to 2 minutes long, and some of which were specifically designed to play in home electronics stores and movie theaters. But maybe you had to be there...

[Raineypark]

Well, then just ignore me.  It's probably because I never thought of Barnabas as "romantic" so the promos strike me as silly.

30 different promos?  Isn't that excessive by any standard?  What did they think they had on their hands?.....the best thing since "Miami Vice"?..... or a turkey they were desperate to hype before anyone noticed?

I never saw any part of the 91 series....honestly don't even remember HEARING of it..... 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

30 different promos?  Isn't that excessive by any standard?

It was amazing!

What did they think they had on their hands?.....the best thing since "Miami Vice"?..... or a turkey they were desperate to hype before anyone noticed?

Brandon Tartikoff, who was the head of NBC at the time, was very much behind the show. But sadly he left NBC for another job before the '90-'91 season ended, and his successor, Warren Littlefield, wasn't a big supporter of DS. As I mentioned above, he came to eat his words later, but it was a case of too little too late...

I never saw any part of the 91 series....honestly don't even remember HEARING of it.....

You mustn't have watched much of anything on NBC between December 20, 1990 and the series' debut on January 13, 1991 because promos ran almost every hour - often with 3 or 4 completely new ones showing up in a given day. It was wild!

[Raineypark]

You mustn't have watched much of anything on NBC between December 20, 1990 and the series' debut on January 13, 1991 because promos ran almost every hour - often with 3 or 4 completely new ones showing up in a given day. It was wild!

Now that I think about it....I was working full time, had a 3 year-old child, and had just bought a house that needed LOTS of rennovating.....you're right....I almost never watched anything back then!!

[jimbo]

Hey Stuart I was really moved by your article. It made me re-examine what Dark Shadows means to me. DS was and is always there for me in good times and more importantly in bad times. I escaped into the fantasy world of DS during real bad times and I think that kept my sanity and gave me hope to look to the future.
When you said that DS "2004 will be a new show FOR a new audience" I know what you mean. But I still like to believe that Dark Shadows is still our show and it is not lost to us here. DS will always be there for us. We will always have our Dark Shadows and hope that the new audience embraces the 2004 Dark Shadows as we have.
Thanks for the article!

[Stuart]

Thanks for the kind comments - I'm really glad people enjoyed reading it.

I suppose deep down the new project does make us examine why we're fans of the original, which is never a bad thing. I think fans are very important and our opinions matter, but it doesn't mean we're right - and I'd place myself on the top of that list.

If I can enjoy the new project and its stories in their own right, I'll be a pretty satisfied viewer, I think.