Late 1970s DS Comeback?

[Joeytrom]

In an old World of Dark Shadows from the 70s, there was an article about DS returning with Jonathan Frid set to return as Barnabas in a new series under the title "Bitter Hill".  Does anyone remember this?  It was never mentioned again anywhere.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Never heard about it.

The only thing I ever heard about a potential return with the original cast was back in 1986 when two guys, Scott Young and Jack Teetor, of Young/Teetor Productions tried very hard to negotiate the rights for DS to make a TV-movie called Return to Collinwood. Prior to meeting with DC, Young talked to Lara Parker, KLS, David Selby, Nancy Barrett, Louis Edmonds, Joan Bennett and Jonathan Frid, and they all said they were interested pending a script. And speaking of the script, after also talking to all four of them, Young planned to bring Ron Sproat, Sam Hall, Violet Welles and Joe Caldwell on board to write it. And after a lengthy first pitch to Ruth Kennedy of DCP, she said the idea was a possibility because DC wouldn't have to be involved with it. But in the end DC wouldn't strike a deal. So...

[Gerard]

It sounds like the attempt, in the later '70's, to reboot Star Trek back to television.  Virtually all the original cast signed back on for Star Trek: Phase II, and new characters, including Persis Khambatta as a navigator named Ilia, coming from the completely bald Deltan race.  Sets were built, some filming began and then for some reason it all fell apart and was salvaged to become 1979's cinematic sequel Star Trek:  The Motion Picture. 

TLATKLS remarked in a DS documentary, how both DS and ST aired at the same time and both appealed to the same viewing audience for polar reason - the former was often set in the past and the latter was set in the future.  How interesting that both, at the same time, were seriously considered for a late-seventies television reboot or continuance.  Just think of what it would've been like if the proposed Return to Collinwood, even if initially done as a made-for-TV film had been a ratings hit and it returned as a prime-time series, much in the same way that The Homecoming:  A Christmas Story caught the audience and became The Waltons.

Gerard

[Uncle Roger]

I do remember reading that, Joeytrom. I think that there was also another show called Salem's Children or Satan's Children that Frid was supposed to be a part of. I don't think any of those ever made it to the pilot phase.
And I also remember the project that you mentioned, MB. I think that it was in one of The Dark Shadows Files magazines. That was the golden era of nighttime soaps and it sounded like a great idea. I wonder if the script has ever surfaced anywhere.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

That was the golden era of nighttime soaps and it sounded like a great idea. I wonder if the script has ever surfaced anywhere.

I don't think it ever got as far as the script phase. And as well as being the golden age of nighttime soaps, it was also the golden age of reviving TV shows as a series of made-for-TV movies (think Perry Mason, Gilligan's Island, etc) and I believe Young wanted to go the series of movies route. But who knows what might have happened had Return to Collinwood actually been produced...

Three interesting bits:

• Frid was adamant that hoDS be treated as if it didn't exist and a Return to Collinwood film had to somehow pick up from the daytime show.
• What Young planned was to pick up the story from the end of Leviathans.
• And he also wanted to do a flashback to the '20s that would somehow involve Quentin (sound like something that actually was done by a certain someone?).

[Uncle Roger]

It's been years since I thought about this, as I lost the Files publications some time ago. But I seem to recall that the story would ignore much of the last year of the series. I specifically remember that Maggie was still going to be residing at Collinwood. And there would be too distinct parallel stories running simultaneously, with specific characters in each. Whether this would have involved time travel, cast doubling or something else entirely was never mentioned.

[Gerard]

It would've made sense to discard the whole Gerard-haunting/1840-41 thing since it was such a mess in plot and consistency (the '70 PT stood out by itself).  I hope someone, somewhere, in perusing the internet or their memory, can find what the plot of the revival would've been.  Imagine DS done, even in just a made-for-TV film format, in the budgets spent for Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing, etc.  And hopefully we wouldn't have had a Lego Collinwood like in the '91 version.  The ones I built as a child from Lego's were better.

Gerard

[Gerard]

Having a flash-back to the '20's would've been fascinating (however it would've fit into the plot).  Imagine, Jamison, Nora, Carl (if it was set before Barnabas went back into time and offed him) would still be around.  Elizabeth and Roger would be small children.  What if Quentin suddenly showed up?  Of course, if Barnabas had not gone back in time, he wouldn't have, since he had been killed by Beth back in 1897.  There were so many possibilities, all now lost.  Just think of the sets, who would've played whom, the costumes, et. al. 

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here are scans of the first two pages of the article from The DS Files book - and it's pretty much the only info out there about the ill-fated Young/Teetor Return to Collinwood...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And here are scans of the last two pages.

Read them - and try not to sob for what might have been had DC been persuadable...

[Uncle Roger]

Thanks for posting this, MB! I was surprised at how much of this I actually remembered. I don't think that anyone would have expected a tie in to either of the movies. I think most people have always regarded them as separate entities. But what a missed opportunity! 😢😢😢😢

[Gothick]

This isn't related to the BITTER HILL thread (I had never heard of this attempt), but my buddy Curt turned me on to a 1980s pilot called DARK MANSIONS which seems as if it must have been done by people who were fans of our show.  If you watch to the end there are a couple of plot motifs that might seem familiar. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cXNghQR3h8

It lasts around 90 minutes--he sent it to me on disc but I think I sent the disc to another fan after I watched.

Best,  G.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Yes, Dark Mansions was an attempt to revive a DS-type show (DS was mentioned in practically all the publicity for the pilot) but in primetime. And as you know, it's even shot at Greystone.

[The Doctor and K9]

Yes, Dark Mansions was an attempt to revive a DS-type show (DS was mentioned in practically all the publicity for the pilot) but in primetime. And as you know, it's even shot at Greystone.

In fact, one of the people involved with the Dark Mansions pilot went to a Manhattan Shadows convention to talk about it. I don't recall who it was.

[Joeytrom]

Dark Mansions even had an "old house"!  It starred Joan Fontaine.