Why was there only a single season? - Dark Shadows (1991) Discussion

[–] MMLEDWARDS 12 years ago

Due to Desert Storm starting and a lot of news coverage on that...the ratings were not good enough for NBC to pick up for more episodes. I seriously believe that this revival had HUGE potential. I am very dissapointed that NBC did not give it the chance that it deserved. Very well put together with a great cast.

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[–] LeFebvreC 12 years ago

Thanks, it really was such a disappointment that it wasn't picked up for a second season. There wasn't anything good in this genre until 1996 when "Kindred: The Embraced" premiered. That show was picked up for a second season but was canceled when the star Mark Frankel was killed in a motorcycle accident during the summer break.

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[–] emp1966 12 years ago

It was also believed that a fad belonged to its time, and that this was not a good attempt at reviving Classic and suffered ratings wise.

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[–] dedoc1967 12 years ago

It had the misfortune of being both nostalgic and ahead of its time. Shame, I enjoyed it. I felt it was what Twin Peaks should've been.

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[–] Ray Ban 11 years ago

Actually, the initial ratings were pretty good. It was estimated that about 1 in 4 homes in America tuned in. However, due to frequent disruptions by breaking news bulletins and pre-empting due to the Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm the ratings naturally declined because people would tune in for the show and there would be a news special instead. I remember waiting up to watch this show only not to have the episode air. Such a shame, this show was great and had real potential to grow.

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[–] ElectricWarlock 10 years ago

Surely NBC must have realized that's why the ratings were plummeting. I think they should've given it another chance to see if the ratings improved. But I suppose it's too late to think about that now.

Burn, witch! Burn, witch! Burn! Burn! Burn!

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[–] knight_sentinel 11 years ago

I liked the series but I look at it this way Adrian Paul, Michael T. Weiss and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt all went onto bigger better projects.

I liked the three series they ended up on "The Highlander" for Paul, "The Pretender" for Weiss and ""Third Rock from the Sun" for Gordon-Levitt.

Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.

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[–] ohserase 9 years ago

Very bad timing (The Gulf War started), and it was Brandon Tartikoff who put the show on the air. By the time it actually aired (January 1991), Tartikoff had left NBC. His replacement Warren Littlefield had no interest in the show, and with ratings falling by spring 1991, Littlefield cancelled it. In the Dark Shadows Resurrected VHS and book, people protested in front of NBC when it was announced that the show was cancelled. The protest did not help. I love the series as well, and it is a shame that it was not given a second chance.

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[–] bsmith441 9 years ago

Absolutely plus Dan Curtis said a few years later that NBC actually contacted him to consider bringing it back but after its treatment a few years before, he turned them down.

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[–] RelpScooby 9 years ago

I truly hate Saddam Hussain for this !!!! I hope something bad happens in his afterlife; for ruining other people's lives.

I was a teen and was only a sophomore in high school when this came out. Now if "I" being that young, didn't know of the older series and knowing it was a soap; yet enjoyed it...then plz...that's B S about ratings. I knew tons of minority teenagers who loved this show. Ben Cross and Joanna Going lit up the screen and had chemistry and acting skills to keep an audience begging for more.

Now when I did catch the old original TV series, now that seemed pretty dull to me. It's like the sound quality was very bad and the characters and story were the same, butttttttt it seemed like it needed lots of work but remained on the air for more than a year.

So did this show have potential...yes TONS of potential. Adrian Paul, was oooooooook at that dumb show HighLander. Another show that tons and tons and tons of potential was Fast Lane and ALL of it's fans know that...that show got cut short; badly. They can't even release the season that they did have with it's original music *grunt*

All in all....both shows did have actors going on to bigger/better projects but somethings shouldn't have such a short lifespan. Hell, I can't even find the colognes "Real Cool and Heaven" = sorry random thought =)

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[–] bittenhoney 8 years ago

Sometimes there is one incredible season and the magic cannot be replicated. I'm sure one day they will try to do over Dark Shadows with a series. The recent movie was just silly nonsense.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Totally. I thought the movie was insulting.

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