That's a wonderful production publicity still of Nancy in her about-to-be-Undead makeup in front of Lyndhurst.  Great find!

Nice to see shots of Michael Stroka in those captures.  I usually missed him altogether when I used to watch this on my VHS tape.

G.

Anyone interested in the history of DS fandom might want to read this short entry on the Fanlore site.  There are a couple of peculiar typographical errors, but some interesting info is given. What is provided is only a very brief outline of the history as it is known to me (and I'm far from an authority on it since I was not at all connected to the fandom before around 1995).

https://fanlore.org/wiki/Dark_Shadows

There's a link to another page that provides a listing of DS fanzines--I haven't checked that out yet.

Best, G.

That's a great discovery, MB!

I seem to recall that there was a week of shooting at Lockwood after all the work at Lyndhurst had been done, so all of this came at the end of the work on the film, which is interesting to know.

G.

Great line and beautiful capture of her as she says it.

G.

Phyllis Wickes was Sarah's governess in the "original" timeline of 1795.  Phyllis and Vicki switched places when that bizarre seance occurred.  In the history book, it said that Phyllis was tried and convicted for practicing witchcraft at Collinwood, so presumably she was the one Angelique originally framed to divert suspicion from herself.

Sarah was in the episode of Vicki's arrival in 1795.  I thought Sarah was much nicer alive than she had been as a ghost.

G.

Interesting sequence--thanks, MB! 

I actually found myself wondering looking at the photo of Davis with Joan and Thayer if DC would have changed the 1795 story to have Davis, as an altruistic version of Nathan Forbes, in a more heroic role. A thought stimulated by the fact to which I stupidly never paid attention that Jeff is wearing Nathan's uniform here, or so it would seem.  KLS's diary does say that DC wanted Davis to become KLS's new love interest after the wrap-up of the PT 1970 story and she did not react at all well to that news.  And who can blame her.  The original sequel to hoDS was reportedly planned to be set in the 18th century, at least in part.  Undoubtedly a version of the Angelique curse narrative would have been the plot focus.

Another thought I had reading through what you shared is that this time around, one may presume that Maggie did realize that Barnabas's interest in her was romantic.  It's been so long since I last saw the film, and my short term memory is so patchy now, that I can't recall whether the subsequent scenes of them having dinner and spending time together while Jeff is out of town include cues that she acknowledges and accepts that Barnabas is courting her.  My memory, for what it is worth, is that the scenes have Maggie's reactions ambiguous.  Is she simply touched that somebody as worldly as Barnabas is interested in her, or does she realize that he has romantic feelings for her. And, in turn, does she reciprocate?

Given DC's determination to give priority to the standard horror narrative that kicks in fairly quickly, it may all be left undefined and uncertain. Because, as you say, DC would be thinking, "nobody's gonna waste time wondering what emotional stuff is going on here before we get to THE FANGING and THE BLOOD."

cheers, G.

That lucky sod! I wonder if Mrs P shared the story of the latest "doozy" she'd spotted on the highway from her front window.

G.

How amusing. Of course, the reporter who wrote that had no idea of the irony of this situation, given the infamous role of Password in the history of Dark Shadows, and the fact that Michelle's best known work in certain circles was her portrayal of the Mistress of Collinwood.  In a film, incidentally, made sometime after the period 1980-99.  So much for the notion that her career can be summed up in the trite phrase, "queen of 1980s and 1990s movies."

Kyle MacLachlan used to be very pretty.  I haven't seen him recently.  (I didn't play the clip because they take far too long to load on that site for me, and their adverts are INTERMINABLE.)  I might have been tempted to let him win a few points, although his pout in Dune was so very fetching.

G.