IT IS ACCOMPLISHED! I wrapped up the final three episodes this morning. I really enjoyed the way this storyline wrapped up, with Morgan trapping Bramwell and then Catherine in the locked room, which Kendrick, seemingly the one good person at Collinwood, was kept out of it. But Bramwell andCatherine manage to stave off Brutus's ghost together, and Morgan tries to kill Bramwell and doesn't, and then rushes to the roof with Catherine, and then scuffles with Kendrick and falls to his death!
And then the final scene, where Melanie has been walking in the woods and gets what's obviously a vampire bite, and so much of the show's remaining cast rushes in, including a guy playing a servant ("Last show! Let's get a paycheck to whoever we can!")... but then Stokes's voiceover tells us the comforting lie that it wasn't actually a vampire, but a wild animal, and she recovered, and everyone lived happily ever after -- Bramwell and Catherine at Collinwood, and Kendrick and Melanie a bit further away. "And while they lived, the dark shadows of Collinwood were but a memory." And then the music concludes with the final musical sting that happens on every episode, urging us to tune in tomorrow for a new chapter that will never come.
This was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I did it. I'll be writing more about the whole experience soon. And I still have Night of Dark Shadows to watch, as well as the 1990s revival series. But I managed to conclude the series itself by the end of the year, and that feels pretty good.
The Baron > Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)December 27, 2025 at 8:03pm
I always thought that it was a shame that the series ended in the past and alternative time. I would have liked to have seen a proper farewell to the "main" versions of the characters. Of course, shows in those days didn't often get "grand finales".
Jeff of Earth-J > Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)December 27, 2025 at 8:15pm
I managed to conclude the series itself by the end of the year, and that feels pretty good.
Congratulations!
I still have Night of Dark Shadows to watch, as well as the 1990s revival series.
I was going to ask about those. I'll be in for those discussions as well.
I'll be writing more about the whole experience soon.
We finished up tonight. It's not so much that the series ended in Parallel Time (I have long maintaineed that every trip to the past results in a parallel timeline), but that it ended with no character from the main timeline. In the past, be it Vicki or Barnabas or Julia, every time the show has gone to the past (or to a parallel timeline), there has always been a touchstone character. This has been the second time through for both Tracy and me together. Looking forward to your discussion of Night of Dark Shadows and the revival series (plus I have a post or two in mind as well).
At this point I had planned to transcribe "Here’s What Really Happened to Barnabas & Co." from the October 9, 1971 issue of TV Guide, which was read by Roger Davis for MPI's final Dark Shadows VHS tape, volume #200. But then I found out that 1) The MPI version was abridged, and 2) Danny Horn already cover it on his "Dark Shadows Every Day" blog. That put a crimp in my plans. It's still worth reading, though, if you're a fan and haven't read it (Horn's analysis of it, too). So what I've decided to due is post the first part of it here, then link to the reast for anyone interested.
"When Dark Shadows recently went off the air, the audience was left with an estate full of troubled characters — and many questions as to their fate. We had certain long-range plans for most of them [Mr. Hall was one of the writers of Dark Shadows — Ed.] — but what the characters would do with the rest of their lives can only be fantasy. However, after three years of living with them, I feel I know moments of their future.
"Elizabeth Collins Stoddard remained the matriarch of Collinwood. After the sudden death of her brother, Roger, she was determined to hold the Collins business empire together until Roger’s son, David, was old enough to take over. She did — with the help of an elegant, very bright man she brought from Boston to help her. With him, she finally found some personal happiness.
"Roger Collins, just before his death, discovered the secret that his cousin Barnabas was a vampire, but he told no one, and vowed to end Barnabas’ unhappy existence. Armed with a stake and a hammer, he discovered Barnabas’ coffin during the daytime, but Angelique appeared and killed Roger. She forced Willie Loomis to carry Roger’s body to the woods, where it was found. Death was attributed to a heart attack."
Thanks for reminding me of this, Jeff. I enjoyed reading it on Danny's blog, and revisiting it now. (I also liked his near-final wrapup with where so many of the actors went afterward, treating their next roles as part of the lives of their characters.)
Incredibly, just as I needed it...the 1990s Dark Shadows revival is now available on Amazon Prime! I had no idea how I was going to see this, but here it is!
Jeff of Earth-J > Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)January 2, 2026 at 1:55pm
As you know, "Dark Shadows Every Day" would look an episodes of the 1991 revival series every time an original series was pre-empted in sequence.
For ease of reference, here are links to the blog posts dealiing with the revival series.
Replies
"My name is Victoria Winters. God bless us, every one."
That's awesome, Baron! It's so good to see their faces again.
IT IS ACCOMPLISHED! I wrapped up the final three episodes this morning. I really enjoyed the way this storyline wrapped up, with Morgan trapping Bramwell and then Catherine in the locked room, which Kendrick, seemingly the one good person at Collinwood, was kept out of it. But Bramwell andCatherine manage to stave off Brutus's ghost together, and Morgan tries to kill Bramwell and doesn't, and then rushes to the roof with Catherine, and then scuffles with Kendrick and falls to his death!
And then the final scene, where Melanie has been walking in the woods and gets what's obviously a vampire bite, and so much of the show's remaining cast rushes in, including a guy playing a servant ("Last show! Let's get a paycheck to whoever we can!")... but then Stokes's voiceover tells us the comforting lie that it wasn't actually a vampire, but a wild animal, and she recovered, and everyone lived happily ever after -- Bramwell and Catherine at Collinwood, and Kendrick and Melanie a bit further away. "And while they lived, the dark shadows of Collinwood were but a memory." And then the music concludes with the final musical sting that happens on every episode, urging us to tune in tomorrow for a new chapter that will never come.
This was a lot of fun, and I'm glad I did it. I'll be writing more about the whole experience soon. And I still have Night of Dark Shadows to watch, as well as the 1990s revival series. But I managed to conclude the series itself by the end of the year, and that feels pretty good.
I always thought that it was a shame that the series ended in the past and alternative time. I would have liked to have seen a proper farewell to the "main" versions of the characters. Of course, shows in those days didn't often get "grand finales".
I managed to conclude the series itself by the end of the year, and that feels pretty good.
Congratulations!
I still have Night of Dark Shadows to watch, as well as the 1990s revival series.
I was going to ask about those. I'll be in for those discussions as well.
I'll be writing more about the whole experience soon.
Me, too.
We finished up tonight. It's not so much that the series ended in Parallel Time (I have long maintaineed that every trip to the past results in a parallel timeline), but that it ended with no character from the main timeline. In the past, be it Vicki or Barnabas or Julia, every time the show has gone to the past (or to a parallel timeline), there has always been a touchstone character. This has been the second time through for both Tracy and me together. Looking forward to your discussion of Night of Dark Shadows and the revival series (plus I have a post or two in mind as well).
At this point I had planned to transcribe "Here’s What Really Happened to Barnabas & Co." from the October 9, 1971 issue of TV Guide, which was read by Roger Davis for MPI's final Dark Shadows VHS tape, volume #200. But then I found out that 1) The MPI version was abridged, and 2) Danny Horn already cover it on his "Dark Shadows Every Day" blog. That put a crimp in my plans. It's still worth reading, though, if you're a fan and haven't read it (Horn's analysis of it, too). So what I've decided to due is post the first part of it here, then link to the reast for anyone interested.
"When Dark Shadows recently went off the air, the audience was left with an estate full of troubled characters — and many questions as to their fate. We had certain long-range plans for most of them [Mr. Hall was one of the writers of Dark Shadows — Ed.] — but what the characters would do with the rest of their lives can only be fantasy. However, after three years of living with them, I feel I know moments of their future.
"Elizabeth Collins Stoddard remained the matriarch of Collinwood. After the sudden death of her brother, Roger, she was determined to hold the Collins business empire together until Roger’s son, David, was old enough to take over. She did — with the help of an elegant, very bright man she brought from Boston to help her. With him, she finally found some personal happiness.
"Roger Collins, just before his death, discovered the secret that his cousin Barnabas was a vampire, but he told no one, and vowed to end Barnabas’ unhappy existence. Armed with a stake and a hammer, he discovered Barnabas’ coffin during the daytime, but Angelique appeared and killed Roger. She forced Willie Loomis to carry Roger’s body to the woods, where it was found. Death was attributed to a heart attack."
For more, click HERE.
Thanks for reminding me of this, Jeff. I enjoyed reading it on Danny's blog, and revisiting it now. (I also liked his near-final wrapup with where so many of the actors went afterward, treating their next roles as part of the lives of their characters.)
Incredibly, just as I needed it...the 1990s Dark Shadows revival is now available on Amazon Prime! I had no idea how I was going to see this, but here it is!
As you know, "Dark Shadows Every Day" would look an episodes of the 1991 revival series every time an original series was pre-empted in sequence.
For ease of reference, here are links to the blog posts dealiing with the revival series.
EPISODE 1
EPISODE 2
EPISODE 3
EPISODE 4
EPISODE 5
EPISODE 6
EPISODE 7
EPISODE 8
EPISODE 9
EPISODE 10
EPISODE 11
EPISODE 12
-
396
-
397
-
398
-
399
-
400
of 400 Next