"Just About Fainted"

Dark Shadows finally in production!!!!

Sorry, I geeked out, almost fainted, actually had tears of joy welling in my eyes when I read this press release.

Dark Shadows, if you did not know, was a daytime series that aired on ABC from 1966-71. Influenced by great works of gothic romance, horror, and science fiction, the series was incredibly popular from 1967-early 1970, particularly among teenage and young adult audiences. It is, for the record, one of the few soap operas from that time period for which almost all episodes have survived (the lone missing episode exists in audio form matched with still images). It is also one of the few soap operas to ever enjoy a life in syndicated reruns. And, of course, there are the two motion pictures starring the series' cast: House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971).

Oh my, look at how much I'm geeking out on this right now! Sorry, let me give some background.

The show centers on the Collins family, a troubled and apparently more-than-cursed bloodline living in a great mansion (Collinwood) within a fishing village (Collinsport) in Maine. Initially, the story centered around the arrival of Victoria Winters, who bore a striking resemblance to family matriarch Elizabeth Stoddard, to serve as governess to 9-year-old David Collins. Victoria soon becomes enmeshed in a number of family mysteries and local intrigue. Ratings started going up when the series began incorporating elements of the supernatural (first, a ghost of a long-dead but often-remembered ancestor, Josette, then more ghosts, then a character who turned out to be a mythical phoenix), but for most of its first year, the series was struggling to find its audience.

Figuring he had little to lose, series creator Dan Curtis decided to introduce a character named Barnabas Collins -- he just happened to resemble the portrait of a Barnabas Collins who supposedly died over 175 years earlier, and he just happened to be a vampire released from his chained coffin by Willie Loomis (just your average drunken fuck up, really). Barnabas eventually shifted from villain to reluctant vampire, and the series explored in great detail his wish to become mortal once again. In part, this hope was fueled by the medical experiments of Dr. Julia Hoffman, who discovered a particularly destructive cell in the blood of Barnabas' victims, isolated the cell, and successfully neutralized it. Famously, Barnabas became enamored with multiple women who he was convinced could replace his long-lost love, Josette (including Victoria Winters).

During its run, the show sampled from such works as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Turn of the Screw, Dracula, Frankenstein, "The Premature Burial," "The Tell-tale Heart," The Picture of Dorian Gray, and even some of the then-obscure works of H. P. Lovecraft. It would include witches (Angelique, specifically, who was spurned by Barnabas in the 1790's and subsequently cursed him with vampirism), werewolves (including Quentin, played by David Selby, later of Falcon Crest fame), "flashback" story lines that would delve into the Collins family's convoluted and cursed history, and a number of "live to tape," caught-on-camera flubs, bloopers, and mishaps.

It is an incredibly complicated story, but its campyness -- much appreciated by the show's fans -- can make the series an acquired taste.

In 1991, NBC launched a revival of the series (again created and overseen by Dan Curtis), featuring Barbara Steele as Dr. Julia Hoffman, Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins, and Jean Simmons as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. The series began with high ratings, but press coverage of the sudden development of Desert Storm quickly eroded the show's audience. It produced 13 hours. Another attempt was made for the WB in 2004, but only a pilot was produced. The 1991 revival series is quite lavish by comparison to the earlier series and its two motion pictures. The revival is also available on Netflix and, for anyone interested in Dark Shadows, I always suggest the revival as a good "entry way" to the older series.

All this to say that, reading the above press release, I was overcome with joy at the few production and plot details made available. I have been afraid that a remake of Dark Shadows would give it the True Blood treatment, or the Twilight treatment, or the Vampire Diaries treatment -- not that these franchises do not have their audiences or their merits, but they are, simply put, not Dark Shadows (and vice versa).

The casting choices -- Depp as Barnabas, Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Stoddard (omigosh love it), Helena Bonham Carter as Julia Hoffman (holy crap love it), as well as the remaining cast all seem spot-on (of course, the unknown names seem spot-on given their images that I could find via Google). I am also excited to see that Angelique will actually appear in the film -- although, as both series have shown, there's enough 18th century plotline to make a sequel film (maybe that will be an option). Setting the story in 1972 gets past the whole, "How does Barnabas fit into today's globalized world?" conundrum (which was not a problem even in 1991, but would be a big issue in the 2000's), and it also gives a nice nod to the 1960's/1970's garishness of the original series. Plus, the people tied to the visuals of the film (Burton's associates from Sleepy Hollow and Alice in Wonderland) seem perfect for providing Dark Shadows with just enough of that foggy, dark, shadow, gothic goodness.

I am uber-excited, and I cannot wait for the film's first trailers and, of course, its May 2012 release!

*Squeal*