More Storyline Speculation

[DSFan008]

I like the idea of future family members showing up, or posibly future versions of David or Caroline

also i'd have liked to see a "Creature from the Black Lagoon/seamonster story.

[Raineypark]

Sea Monsters, eh?  Actually, that might have been a great idea.  A ghostly galleon sails into Collinsport Harbor, seeking vengence for the sins of a prior generation.

In other words, a rip-off of "The Fog".....

[CyrusL]

I like the idea of future family members showing up, or posibly future versions of David or Caroline

also i'd have liked to see a "Creature from the Black Lagoon/seamonster story.

Actually, I agree completely,  that a  sea creature would have worked in the Collinsport setting, plus a pure "monster" would have kept interest, especially for the younger viewers. Dan always said he would have had a mummy in Collinsport if they could have found a good reason for one to be there. (Not that Laura couldn't have brought one...)
      I am surprised no one has mention the best classic plot the series didn't try, "The Phantom of the Opera". This could have been well adapted as it has the pertinent elements of both gothic horror and romance.

Michael 

[Barnabas'sBride]

I love The Phantom of the Opera (books, music, movies)...

It certainly would've been....interesting to say the least to see DS attempt that story. I just can't picture it. Still, it does fit in very well with some of their other stories.

[Ian]

Sea Monsters, eh?  Actually, that might have been a great idea.  A ghostly galleon sails into Collinsport Harbor, seeking vengence for the sins of a prior generation.

Like I said in another thread...I never really thought it would have been a good idea to have non-humanoid type monsters on DS at that time. To me, it may have just appeared to be like a big mess of...maybe too much paper-mache? If DS were to come back *cries over the passed over pilot* a monster would be a good idea given how special effects have advanced so much since the 60s-70s.

[Raineypark]

The best part of Dark Shadows was always the relationships between the characters.  Gothic mysteries are not the same as Science Fiction.  We have to care about the characters and the less "human" they are, the less we care.

Barnabas was the first "monster" on the show.....and everyone cared a great deal about him.

Well, almost everyone...

I think a "Phantom" type character might have worked very well.  But a completely non-human entity would have been hard to accept.
 

[Barnabas'sBride]

I agree that the characters and their relationships were the best part of DS. That's why I got addicted to DS in the first place, the characters. I can love a concept or a setting,  but if I don't care for the people I'm watching, then none of it matters. I didn't fall for Barnabas only because he was a vampire. That was part of the original appeal for me, but it was also the complexity of his character...the humanity combined with the supernatural.

I'd also prefer gothic mystery to science fiction when it comes to DS, though I enjoy scif-fi. It just doesn't work with the DS concept and story, IMO.

With any new series, I'd feel the same way. *cries over pilot as well*

[PennyDreadful]

The best part of Dark Shadows was always the relationships between the characters.
 But a completely non-human entity would have been hard to accept.

 Absolutely.  Every "monster" on DS (for the most part) had a humanity to them.  They suffered from human emotional frailties and the interaction between these characters and the "normal" characters was always wonderful.  DS still has a good following today because the characters and their relationships are the heart of the series.  These character-driven stories have sustained Dark Shadows' longevity, and have kept people interested in the show for decades.  The supernatural element makes the show extremely unique, but the underlying character development and interplay is what makes the show a classic.

  On the subject of random monsters, I absolutely agree with your comment about completely non-human entities.  I can't see a place for a Creature from the Black Lagoon-type on DS.  No way, IMO.  Nor could I ever envision things like giant ants, tarantulas, killer robots, etc. ad infinitum on Dark Shadows.  There is an enormous divide between the tortured, cursed beings of gothic horror/romance and B-movie monsters. They are two different things entirely.  Or at best, in some cases, the latter is a MUCH watered-down version of the former.

   Regarding sci-fi (and some other genres like Fantasy).  Imgaine if you will....

  Lara Parker's Voiceover: On this strange night, an otherworldly alien spaceship has landed before the ancient Old House on the great estate...
   The door to the Old House creaks open... we see small, silver-clad, alien beings enter the house.  They clutch mysterious ray-guns in their small hands as their almond-shaped eyes peer at Barnabas' portrait above the
mantle.
   Suddenly, Josette's spirit appears to the aliens.  The head alien shouts, "ACK! AAAK!  AKAAAK!!"  Then all the aliens fire blue and red beams of light from their rayguns.  The rays go right through Josette's ghost, who shakes her head and silently weeps.... Just as I am weeping at the very thought of such a ridiculous scenario!   

   Ok that was dumb, but it was fun writing it.  Anyway, yeah, that would have sucked.  

~Penny Dreadful~ 

[Midnite]

Sorry, but please don't post fan fic.

[MagnusTrask]

First of all, good, real science-fiction also deals with characters, not monsters.    I never thought of Black Lagoon as SF.

I was fascinated with the opening to the Leviathan storyline in 1795, and it seemed to be a radically new and different sort of thing (before what was going on was made clear), dealing with something much bigger and more mysterious than any of the previous events, that had just concerned Collinwood and its inhabitants.     It even seemed possible then that these beings were from some sort of future-- it sounded at one point as if they'd traveled back, not forward.     Anything seemed possible at that point.   Even aliens.   It did seem as if DS was ready just then to launch itself into some broader, more amazing sort of story, to top 1897, perhaps.

Of course, it turned out just to be a couple hooded characters worshipping a big antisocial asthmatic snake with a deadly fear of television cameras.

I don't long to have seen DS rip off more old horror novels or movies.   I'd want them to have done more original ideas.

[Mark Rainey]

Uh, forgive me, Midnite, but I didn't see that as a posting of fan fiction; merely a vivid and highly amusing example of the point Penny was making. Surely a couple of paragraphs used in jest are not taboo...?

[Midnite]

Uh, forgive me, Midnite, but I didn't see that as a posting of fan fiction; merely a vivid and highly amusing example of the point Penny was making. Surely a couple of paragraphs used in jest are not taboo...?

Well, I didn't remove it because it *was* brief.  But please understand where I'm coming from-- if we don't address it, everyone assumes it's okay to write funny (or not) scenes to illustrate their point, and then when the next vivid and highly amusing example is longer and we pull it, the poster is shocked and upset and the mods are accused of being arbitrary, though that's not the case at all.  Been there, Mark.  So, across the board, we remind that we don't accept fan fic.

[ProfStokes]

Of course, it turned out just to be a couple hooded characters worshipping a big antisocial asthmatic snake with a deadly fear of television cameras.

  That's the funniest and most accurate one-line summary of the Leviathan story line that I've seen yet!  Welcome to the board, Magnus_Trask.

ProfStokes

[MagnusTrask]

Thank you, and thank you, Prof.    (I'd have joined last year, if the board had let me.)

[Mysterious Benefactor]

(I'd have joined last year, if the board had let me.)

Unfortunately, during the latter half of last year, after we'd switched over to SMF from Yabb SE, there were system problems with registration. But thankfully those problems have been worked out now.