Return To Collinwood - In Continuity or Not?

[PennyDreadful]

 I thought this would be an interesting poll.

 I'm curious - do DS fans consider Jamison Selby's audio drama 'Return To Collinwood' to
be 'in continuity'?  In other words, is this part of the actual DS storyline or more a non-continuity story with the  DS actors?  I feel it's most definitely not in continuity.  I look at it as sort of like those Star Wars novels that George Lucas sanctions.  They are not officially part of the storyline.

[Amy Jennings Fan]

No. If it didn't happen on the show, it isn't to be counted.

[Misa]

I haven't listen to it yet, but I still don't think it is official. Just because it was written by one of the actors' children and performed by original actors doesn't make it official. It is still a "what if" story.

Misa

[Barnabas'sBride]

I haven't see "Return to Collinwood"...I debated on purchasing it on CD, but never actually did. I do know what happened in it.

Like PennyDreadful mentioned, I kind of liken it to the Star Wars novels. Not officially canon.

[Midnite]

An interesting question!  I consider myself a bit of purist on the issue in that I think that only what happens onscreen qualifies as true continuity.  Therefore, none of the novels are canon, including those written by DS personnel, and not even Sam Hall's TV Guide article that shows up on one of MPI's tapes (which I don't feel was written in the spirit of DS anyway, but I digress); the DS books are definitely fun, but are not actual continuations of any of the series' or movies' storylines.  That having been said, how much credibility can be given to a potential continuity story that has Carolyn married to Ned Stuart? 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

how much credibility can be given to a potential continuity story that has Carolyn married to Ned Stuart?

   GMTA! 

[TERRY308]

For me, if it didn't happen on the show, it didn't happen at all.  That's just what I think.

[michael c]

i missed the actual performance of 'return to collinwood'(i was with a group of fans in the hotel bar).

but as many have said if it didn't actually happen on the show it's not canon in my opinion.

not the movies.not the ross novels.not the 91' revival.not this play.

these to me are extensions of the d.s. franchise but if it didn't actually occur on abc television between 1966 and 1971 it's simply not canon.

[Barnabas'sBride]

I don't really think of the 1991 series as an extension. I kind of view it separately, as its own thing. It's canon in its own universe...for example, if a radio play or novel came out expanding on the revival, I would say those weren't canon, but an extension of the revival series. But the novels, Sam Hall's epilogue (which I felt was mixed - a few things sounded like something that could happen, but other things just struck me as being way off) "Return to Collinwood", etc, I agree with.

I echo Midnite's comment about Carolyn being married to Ned Stuart in "Return to Collinwood" completely.

[Philippe Cordier]

No.

I have some interest in the Dark Shadows spinoffs, continuations, extensions, whatever - whether they are the novels or new series or HODS or NODS.  But only what happened on the show, between 1966 and 1971, is the true "Dark Shadows."

Interesting that the Sam Hall TV Guide article was brought up - I wouldn't have thought of that.  And I agree with the comments that it seems out of place with the tenor and events on the show.  I can't help wondering if it was written tongue in cheek.

The only way we would know what really happened after 1971 is if the series had continued.  Imagine the possibilities if the original show still continued uninterrupted today ...

 

[PennyDreadful]

I too feel the Sam Hall article is off-base in many ways and is definitely not canon.  I suspect DC would have nixed several of those ideas.

The books, comics etc are not in-continuity either IMO.

[jennifer]

i have to agree with above statements as i consider myself a DS purist
i would have loved to see the show continue in 1971 with the real Barnabas
(in my mind) and julia,chris quentin and so on.... i do love some of the fan fiction
but to me it just is this could have happened!

jennifer

[ProfStokes]

I am also a purist and have generally shied away from fan fiction or even licensed novels because I couldn't reconcile the events and characterizations with what I saw on the show and because I didn't trust in the accuracy of anything that wasn't actually on DS.  The Carolyn/ Ned Stuart pairing is the most glaring incongruity in "Return to Collinwood".  I can only recall one exchange between these characters on the series and don't recall any allusions to Ned being a lawyer.  It would have been more accurate to put Carolyn and Tony Peterson together.  This play was constructed around the actors who were available at the time, and though it holds up in most respects, I still don't accept it as canon. 

Thank you, Penny, for launching this great discussion.

ProfStokes

[Gothick]

I haven't heard or seen it (and from all accounts, Jamison is a very talented writer), but since it was not part of the broadcast series, it can't be part of the canon of DS.

It goes without saying that NONE of the "Marilyn Ross" novels are DS canon, either--thank the Gods!

Sam Hall presented his original article (in text that I don't think made it to the version on the videotape) as possibilities for the fates of the characters.  I do love the idea of Barnabas and Julia marrying, especially in Singapore...

G.

[PennyDreadful]

 In 'Return to Collinwood' some of the characters & situations just seemed 'off'.  For example, Willie and his wife Jessica behaved like a funny sitcom couple - a bit out of character for Willie IMO.  There was some decidedly non-DS style writing.  The Carolyn/Ned pairing didn't work for me either - at all.

 A couple of things that I liked, and could see happening  - the reading of the will was pretty good, with the revelations [spoiler]about Vicki.[/spoiler]  David as an archaeologist made sense too, since that kid was always exploring every ancient and forbidden place he could find.

 The Sam Hall article was interesting, and featured some plausible "what if" scenarios but I really don't think a lot of it would have made it onto the screen. Of course Sam would have his own wife marry the show's star!  If ol' Sam had Barn get back together with Josette, Grayson would have put him in the dog house for sure!   IMO Dan Curtis, plus the rest of the writers on the show, would've had to include their own  input in order to make such speculation more accurate.  I suspect DC would've put the kibosh on some of those concepts.  The article is definitely not in continuity IMO.

 Ok, here's another question - So we are all (so far) basically agreeing that only things that happened in the show are canon.

 So...

[spoiler]Does this include Vicki's demise as revealed in the Leviathan sequence?[/spoiler]

 For me, yes, of course.  It's canon.  No question.  It yeilded repercussions in the present, and led to a plot thread which took place over several episodes.

[spoiler]I dislike what happened to Vicki, but the plot point didn't bother me so much because, as we all know, on DS most folks just don't STAY dead.  I imagine that something might have taken place later to rescue Vicki from this fate.  If not, well, Vicki's death certainly fits in with the tragic endings for many characters in the show.[/spoiler]

 Just another thought to ponder since several folks have commented in the past that they don't accept this sequence despite its existence within the context of the show.