MovieChat Forums > Dark Shadows (1966) Discussion > Watching the early episodes.

Watching the early episodes.

posted 7 years ago by dreamcurse
43 replies | jump to latest

Watching the early episodes on YouTube. I'm up to episode 60. Roger was a real jerk ( I could use stronger language but this a family board.) Elizabeth seems icier, Carolyn is flakier and David is a full blown psychopath. Interesting how the characters will change.

The story moves at a glacial pace though.

Collinsport is actually populated. Lots of extras at the Blue Whale and the diner. Also more characters outside the family. I liked Bill Malloy, too bad they killed him off.

Interesting to see a different Sam Evans and Thayer looks very different as Mathew Morgan.

Looking forward to ow the first story line wraps up and he phoenix.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Glad you're enjoying them on YouTube, dreamcurse. Yes, the characters will change in time. And the early episodes can seem somewhat lethargic. (To be fair, so can later ones.) Victoria's incessant "Who am I?" and "Where do I come from?" repetition is annoying. Especially, since we never get any closure to it! Yet, I like the early episodes. They have a film noir/mystery/thriller feel. Carolyn's sick crush on Uncle Roger is truly gross though! Yuck for her!

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[–] dreamcurse 7 years ago

Yea, Carolyn's crush on roger was a little creepy.

Watching these after watching the Barnabas series it's almost like watching parallel time.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Ha-ha, I guess it would seem like watching parallel time: Pre-Barnabas PT.

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

Well, Roger did refer to his relatives as "incestors".

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

A slip of the tongue of things to come. They looked like their "incestors".

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

Joshua wanted Jeremiah to marry Millicent, and they were cousins.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

I've heard there are extant laws which still allow first cousins to marry. I wonder if there exists or existed a law where a niece could marry her uncle. Imagine Carolyn's bizarre crush on Uncle Roger developing into marriage. By far, it would have been the scariest thing on "Dark Shadows".

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

I suppose if she had the hots for David, it would've been scarier.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

She was so crazy it wouldn't have surprised me if she had the hots for David's robot. On this weird show, with her crushing on Uncle Roger and gross Adam, a crush on a robot would have seemed normal. (Scary, but normal.)

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

Maybe Nicholas Blair should've built an army of robots instead of artificial people. Carolyn would've come onto one of them.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Or, Roger would have been well-pleased if Nicholas built Roger a private army of Chris Jennings robots. All those Chris Jennings automatons at Roger's command. I have a feeling we wouldn't have seen Roger for weeks at a time. Much too busy! (But putting in an appearance in the drawing room every now and then).

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

Until the robots rebelled and Mrs. Johnson found him crouched under the dining room table in his backless chaps.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Even funnier if Mrs. Johnson caught him while wearing her backless chaps!

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

And high heels? Lol.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Mrs. Johnson: Secret dominatrix of Collinwood.

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

She was the one person (besides Nicholas Blair) who knew how to keep Harry in line. She had an affinity for "bad" boys, which was why she took an instant liking to the original Willie Loomis. I bet she oiled down the leather gear for him, whip and all.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

She did have an affinity to les mauvais garçons. She got into cohoots with Burke Devlin fast enough and, as you've said, she took an instant liking to the original Willie Loomis. (It's those old biddy types ya gotta watch out for!)

She must have gotten a bang out of le vilain garçon David Collins. He seemed like superb mauvais garçon material for the future. But, David got nicer as the series progressed. For that matter, so did Burke and Willie. Poor Mrs. Johnson!

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

She must've searched elsewhere. That would explain her fleeting appearances.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Unbilled appearances on "Dragnet" for example. If there were bad boys out there, Mrs. Johnson would be sure to find them.

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

She was a good actress. She should've been in more things.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Yes, she was very good and played Mrs. Johnson and, especially, Abigail Collins to the hilt. I wanted Abigail placed in stocks (with nothing to eat but bread and water) for her sheer wickedness. Clarice was so good at being bad.

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

Her appearances was so spotty. I wonder why.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Yeah, she was certainly underused.

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

She did seem to walk as though she had foot trouble. Maybe that was the reason. Playing Minerva was pretty much the last we saw of her and she sat in a chair whenever she played Minerva's ghost.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

I'd love to see Clarice in the 1960 "The DuPont Show of the Month" version of "Ethan Frome".

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

I had to read that book in school but I don't remember a damn thing about it. I guess I successfully blocked the horrible experience from my memory, like everything else I was forced to read.

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[–] ElectricWarlock 7 years ago

I love the early episodes. They feel so gloomy and mysterious. The black and white seems to help add to the creepy atmosphere. Carolyn's obsession with Burke does get a bit tiresome after a while, though. I'm excited for you to get to the Laura Collins storyline because I personally think of it as one of the absolute best of the show.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Yes, the black and white episodes do feel gloomy and mysterious. Carolyn, herself, get's a bit tiresome after awhile. She's spoiled, petulant and an ingrate. Her treatment of Joe Haskell is appalling. Her "Poor me, I got stuck being rich and living in this big old mausoleum!" complaining to Victoria is irksome. Her odd rebelliousness with Buzz Hackett. And, her already mentioned crush on Uncle Roger make her almost intolerable. Having said all that, Nancy Barrett was very pretty and a talented actress.

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[–] Attillio 7 years ago

I wonder if Buzz Hackett left Collinsport on his motorcycle for good after Carolyn apparently dumped him? I'd like to think that Buzz went on a search for the meaning of life, like Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper did in "Easy Rider" in 1969.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Poor Buzz got fed up with Collinsport and its vampire, Adam and Eve, Jekyll and Hyde-types and werewolves. So, in 1971 he went across country and joined former "Father Knows Best" star Billy Gray and some real life bikers only to find more werewolves in "Werewolves on Wheels". Buzz just couldn't get a break!

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[–] Attillio 7 years ago

I wonder if Buzz and Billy ran into the Fonz as they motorcycled across America?

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Buzz found Evel Knievel. Billy found Greek actress Helena Kallioniotes. They married, divorced and she wound up living in Jack Nicholson's guest house. C'est la vie!

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[–] dreamcurse 7 years ago

One thing I found interesting was when one of Burke's investigators told him the only Collin's property not mortgaged was the house. He said it was a liability and about all a purchaser could use it for would be a resort.

I'm not sure how successful that would be. With the guests in the west wing haunted by Quentin and Beth and guests in the east wing either haunted by Gerard and Daphne or disappearing into parallel time.

I don't think it would be open long.

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

They could've turned it into a mental institution, then if anyone were affected by ghosts, no biggy.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Seaview Terrace (AKA: The Carey Mansion) used for the exteriors of Collinwood was later used for a university. Those lucky students!

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

They probably would've had a death toll if there was a real cliff behind it.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Yeah, the students and faculty didn't have to beware Widow's Hill! I still want a grand tour of that mansion. Perhaps, one day!

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

I've read that the interior is entirely different than the sets that were constructed.
Just seeing the exterior and the grounds would be interesting. Despite the name, though, I've seen overhead shots suggesting that the place is completely surrounded by other estates, if I remember correctly.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

If you go to the "Seaview Terrace" page on Wikipedia, you can scroll down to the bottom of the page where there are External links. There are links for the "Official Seaview Terrace website" and "Photos of Carey Mansion".

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

Nice pictures. The accumulated budget of all of ABCs daytime shows back then wouldn't have covered the expense of recreating the interiors of the house.

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

The things that I've always felt gypped about in the Collinwood sets are the main stairway being way too short and the only option to enter the rooms on the second floor is by walking across the landing to the left. I've always wanted a taller stairway and left and right options to the rooms up on the landing.

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[–] Fletcherj119 7 years ago

That was a damn strange place for a stained glass window. The second floor should continue behind that wall, like it does downstairs. And I always thought it was odd that they always had to go upstairs to enter the west wing. Was it built like a tree house? No main floor?

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[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 7 years ago

Agreed! And very valid points, Fletcher!

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