Episodes 1-200 are Kinescopes?(attn: Darren)

[VictoriaWintersFan]

Hello,

I am confused, so the Pre=Barnabas episodes are only available in kinescope form? They lost the early episodes? If this is the case, does anyone know how the episodes will look on DVD when they are released?

Shane

[Brian]

The vast majority of the pre-Barnabas episodes ARE available in their original video tape format--and these tapes were used to create MPIs VHS releases of those episodes.  I can't tell you at this time which episodes were "lost" and therefore only available in kinescope format--but that information is available, I believe, in one or more of the DS books published by KLS' Pomegranite Press.

Anyway--and this is just my opinion--the real question is whether MPI will release the pre-Barn eps on DVD...most likely not, since it doesn't appear they sold in abundance when released on VHS.  (Otherwise, MPI might have started the DVD collections with these early episodes.)

[dom]

It's been confirmed by another Forum member that MPI is releasing the pre-Barns when the current DVD collections reach the end of the show. I believe they either e-mailed or called MPI and asked and got that answer.

Fantastic news, IMHO.

[Darren Gross]

Yes, as Brian said there are are around 28 episodes that only exist in kinescope form. For these, the original 2-inch video tapes are lost, and kinescope transfers to video are used for the TV, VHS and DVD releases. This is why a b & w episode will appear in the middle of a batch of color episodes.- kinescopes were only made on b & w film, and the color videotape is lost. Therefore the only extant copy of that particular episode is a b & w kinescope.

There is only 1 episode that does not exist in film or videotape- that's episode 1219.

All the pre-Barnabas episodes are complete on the collector's series videotapes.

For more info check out pgs 112-115 in the DARK SHADOWS ALMANAC: MILLENNIUM EDITION. Some nice article in that one ;-)