Dark Shadows

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I’d like to start this continuation of the Dark Shadows discussion from the old board with a look at some of the new and upcoming Dark Shadows audio stories from Big Finish Productions. There aren’t nearly as many Dark Shadows audio adventures as there are Doctor Who ones, but the Doctor Who series has been around longer. The Dark Shadows audios are a mixed bag. The first release was a full-cast sequel titled “Return to Collinwood”. Later they began to release a series of interconnected sequential stories grouped in short “seasons”. More recently they’ve been going back to the timeline of the original television show and telling interstitial one-shots. As the Dark Shadows series seems to be catching on, Big Finish seems to be ramping up their production schedule. “Curse of the Pharaoh” was released in September, and the next four are set for monthly release beginning in January at a special subscription rate.

CURSE OF THE PHARAOH:

“Curse of the Pharaoh” stars Nancy Barrett (reprising her role as Carolyn Stoddard) and Marie Wallace (perhaps best known as “Eve” on the TV show) in a new role, famed Egyptologist Dr. Gretchen Warwick. The story doesn’t specify, but I assume it takes place shortly after the end of the series original TV series, circa 1970 or so. Both actresses are kind of rusty and sound as old as they are, not as young as they (Caroline, anyway) are supposed to be. Barrett was always a better actress than Wallace, and that remains true. Wallace’s shortcomings are spotlighted in this “dramatic reading” in which she plays other bit parts, most of the male (Bob the bartender at The Blue Whale, Eliot Stokes on the telephone, Carolyn’s father in flashback), which she performs in a gruff kind of storybook voice as if reading aloud to a child. The story itself is a sequel to the unpopular “Leviathan” television storyline. If you’ve never heard a Dark Shadows audio and thinking of trying one out, there are better ones to start with than this.

KEY: OB = Old Board; UR = Un-Reviewed

Return to Collinwood - 169

SEASON ONE:
S1.1 The House of Despair - 1
S1.2 The Book of Temptation - OB
S1.3 The Christmas Presence - 264
S1.4 The Rage Beneath - 7

SEASON TWO: Kingdom of the Dead - 7

DRAMATIC READINGS:

1. Angelique’s Descent-Pt. 1 - OB
2. Angelique’s Descent-Pt. 2 - OB
3. Clothes of Sand - OB
4. The Ghost Walker - OB
5. The Skin Walkers - OB
6. The Path of Fate - OB
7. The Wicked & the Dead - OB
8. Echoes of Insanity - OB
9. Curse of the Pharaoh - 1
10. Final Judgment - 1
11. Blood Dance - 1
12. The Night Whispers - 1
13. London’s Burning - 2
14. The Doll House - 30
15. The Blind Painter - 87
16. The Death Mask - 88
17. The Creeping Fog - 89
18. The Carrion Queen - 89
19. The Poisoned Soul - 96
20. The Lost Girl - 96
21. The Crimson Pearl - 114
22. The Voodoo Amulet - 129
23. The House by the Sea - 170
24. Dress Me in Dark Dreams - 154
25. The Eternal Actress - 162
26. The Fall of House Trask - 163
27. Operation: Victor - 166
28. Speak No Evil - 166
29. The Last Stop - 166
30. Dreaming of the Water - 167
31. The Haunted Refrain - 167
32. A Collinwood Christmas - 167, 264
33. The Phantom Bride - 167
34. Beneath the Veil - 167
35. The Enemy Within - 167
36. The Lucifer Gambit - 167
37. The Flip Side - 167
38. Beyond the Grave - 168
39. Curtain Call - 168
40. The Harvest of Souls - 170
41. The Happier Dead - 168
42. The Carriage Damned - 168
43. The Devil Cat - 168
44. The Darkest Shadow - 173

SEASON THREE: Bloodlust - 170-172, 181, 269

45. Panic - 173
46. The Curse of Shurafa - 173
47. In the Twinkling of an Eye - 173
48. Deliver Us from Evil - 173
49. Tainted Love - 173
50. ...And Red All Over - 175

Echoes of the Past - 176

Blood & Fire - 176

Haunting Memories - 177

Phantom Melodies - 178

Dreams of Long Ago - 178

THE TONY & CASSANDRA MYSTERIES:
The Mystery at Crucifix Heights - 179
The Mystery of La Danse Macabre - 179
The Mystery of Flight 493 - 180
The Mystery of Karmina Sonata - 180

SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT:
Trio - 180
Honeymoon from Hell - 180
Retreat -180
1:53 AM - 180

MAGGIE & QUENTIN - THE LOVERS' REFRAIN:
The Girl Beneath the Water - 180
The Sand That Speaks HIs Name - 180
The Hollow Winds That Beckon
The Paper to the Flame

GOTHIC PAPERBACK LIBRARY

1. Dark Shadows - p183
2. Victoria Winters - p183
3. Strangers at Collins House - p183
4. The Mystery of Collinwood - p184
5. The Curse of Collinwood - p184
6. Barnabas Collins - p185
7. The Secret of BC - p185
8. The Demon of BC - p185
9. The Foe of BC - p185
10. The Phantom of BC - p185
11. BC vs. the Warlock - p186
12. The Peril of BC - p186
13. BC and the Mysterious Ghost - p187
14. BC and Quentin's Demon - p188
15. BC and the Gypsy Witch - p188
16. B, Q and the Mummy's Curse - p188
17. B, Q and the Avenging Ghost - p242
18. B, Q and the Nightmare Assassin - p244
19. B, Q and the Crystal Coffin
20. B, Q and the Witch's Curse
21. B, Q and the Haunted Cave
22. B, Q and the Frightened Bride
23. B, Q and the Scorpio Curse
24. B, Q and the Serpent
25. B, Q and the Magic Potion
26. B, Q and the Body Snatchers
27. B, Q and Dr. Jekyll's Son
28. B, Q and the Grave Robbers
29. B, Q and the Sea Ghost
30. B, Q and the Mad Magician
31. B, Q and the Hidden Tomb
32. B, Q and the Vampire Beauty
33. House of Dark Shadows - p241

ROB STAEGER: p189

NEWSPAPER STRIPS: p241

[The Baron]

"My name is Victoria Winters. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

[The Baron]

Dark Shadows Reactions: #1DRK

1) "I can't see the slate." Was that bit broadcast?



2) I would have been just a few days shy of my third birthday when this was first aired.



3) "My name is Victoria Winters. I like ham."



4) "Widows' Hill" - right there you just know it's not a good idea.



5) "Roger, you're a fool!" And somewhat effeminate.



6) So, the big mystery is why Elizabeth hired Victoria.



7) Elizabeth is like a cross between Morticia Addams and Jane Wyatt.



8) "That's it, lady, I'm going to do a flashback to get away from your yammering."



9) "Collinsport is only fifty miles from Bangor." Which means that Collinsport has to be in Washington, Hancock, Waldo or Knox Counties. I know that stretch of coastline.



10) "Holy crap! I did a whole flashback and she's still yammering!"



11) I'm guessing that Glint stoneface here is another plot complication.



12) "Mr. Drummond: The Early Years"!



13) I'm also guessing that Glint has a grudge against half of Collinsport.



14) And he hired a cartoon private eye.



15) "You are also a jerk." "Yeah, well, screw you, too!"



16) I wonder if Maggie Evans is going to become an important character - it's hard to tell from just the first episode.



17) "Elizabeth Collins Stoddard hasn't left that hill in eighteen years." Probably not missing much.



18) Cliffhanger: Victoria entered the house!

[Doctor Hmmm?]

13) I'm also guessing that Glint has a grudge against half of Collinsport.

You're only off by about 50%.

[The Baron]

Dark Shadows Reactions: #2DRK

1)I wonder why they're called "drawing" rooms?

2)The women's hair-styles all make me think of Star Trek.

3)Jeremiah Collins, Elizabeth's great-grandfather, built the house.

4)Carolyn's a party girl.

5)Joe Boyfriend is kind of a wuss.

6)Sucker punch!

7)Glint Stoneface - man among boys!

8)"Tea isn't the answer to everything, Mother!"

9)"Boo!" Heh-heh-heh...Awesome.

10)Roger's both femmy and creepy. He sounds like a cross between Roddy
McDowall and Daws Butler.

11)Uncle Femmycreepy is not so happy that Glint is in town.

12)Wow, you suck at the piano, Mrs. Stoddard, no wonder you're crying.

13)Cliffhanger: Victoria goes upstairs!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

1) "I can't see the slate." Was that bit broadcast?

No, consider them “extras” from the “Collector’s Series” (VHS) and “The Beginnings” (DVD) sets.

5) "Roger, you're a fool!" And somewhat effeminate.

And his niece is crushing on him, big time. As Tracys says, “Ew.”

6) So, the big mystery is why Elizabeth hired Victoria.

The big mystery of the first episode, yes, but only one of the mysteries of the shows first year or so. “Shadows on the Wall” (the show’s bible) explains exactly why, and consistent hints are peppered throughout the early months, but after Banabas was introduced, the show’s focus shifted away from Vicki and the mystery was never revealed on screen. All the hints are there, though.

7) Elizabeth is like a cross between Morticia Addams and Jane Wyatt.

Ha!

9) "Collinsport is only fifty miles from Bangor." Which means that Collinsport has to be in Washington, Hancock, Waldo or Knox Counties. I know that stretch of coastline.

The real “Collinwood” is Seaview Terrace located in Newport, RI.

13) I'm also guessing that Glint has a grudge against half of Collinsport.

Not Collinsport so much as the Collins family in general and Roger Collins in particular.

14) And he hired a cartoon private eye.

Wilbur Strake, a “cartoon private eye”?

15) "You are also a jerk." "Yeah, well, screw you, too!"

Originally the idea was to make Maggie a hard-bitten “woman-of-the-world” type, but that didn’t last too long before she lost the short blonde wig and transformed into the “girl next door” type.

16) I wonder if Maggie Evans is going to become an important character - it's hard to tell from just the first episode.

Oh, yes. Barnabas fixates on her as the reincarnation of his lost love, Josette, but she also goes on to become David’s governess, an experience which leads to a nervous breakdown.

18) Cliffhanger: Victoria entered the house!

Expect the big cliffhangers on Fridays, not Mondays.

1)I wonder why they're called "drawing" rooms?

I always assumed it was because that’s where you would “draw a fire,” but a quick internet search reveals it’s the room to which you withdraw from the dining room after a mean.

3)Jeremiah Collins, Elizabeth's great-grandfather, built the house.

Dark Shadows tends to use “great-great” as generic for “ancestor” (as it does “cousin” for “distant relative”). The relationship is more generations removed than that, but as we’ll later discover, the modern-day Collins are not directly descended from Jeremiah, anyway. He remains, however, the Collins ancestor who built Collinwood. We meet several generations of Collins throughout the course of the show, however not the ones in the portraits identified by Elizabeth as “Theodore” and “Benjamin.”

4)Carolyn's a party girl.

Nancy Barrett originally auditioned for the part of Vicki, but is better cast as Carolyn.

5)Joe Boyfriend is kind of a wuss.

He soon trades up to a better girlfriend, but becomes no less of a wuss.

13)Cliffhanger: Victoria goes upstairs!

See above.

[The Baron]

I meant not so much that Wilbur resembled any particular cartoon private eye, so much as that he seemed like the sort of stereotypical private eye one might see in a cartoon.

Oh, and I'm putting in the "cliffhangers" as much to amuse myself as anything else.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I know it. Please continue. I promise to quit telling you to wait until Friday.

You left out the bit about how "Vicki spoils a rescue."

[The Baron]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

I know it. Please continue. I promise to quit telling you to wait until Friday.

You left out the bit about how "Vicki spoils a rescue."

Awesome.

[The Baron]

"My name is Victoria Winters. Drop those coconuts."

[Doctor Hmmm?]

9) "Collinsport is only fifty miles from Bangor." Which means that Collinsport has to be in Washington, Hancock, Waldo or Knox Counties. I know that stretch of coastline.

The real “Collinwood” is Seaview Terrace located in Newport, RI.

You mean ... here?

30 seconds later, an 85-year-old Roger came out waving his cane and shooed me off the lawn.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Are you on your cell phone or shouting instructions to the photographer? :P

Do you have the DVD "Dark shadows on Location"? One of these days Tracy and I would like to fly to New England, rent a car and road-trip from Newport, RI to Essex, CN, eat at the Black Pearl restaurant and stay at the Griswold Inn.

[The Baron]

Dark Shadows Reactions: #3DRK
1)Uncle Femmycreepy's got some nice wheels, there.

2)Yow, Partygirl does seem to have the hots for Uncle Femmycreepy. No wonder Joe Boyfriend can't get anywhere with her.

3)Glint Stoneface - Master Moron Manipulator!

4)So, Maggie's father is an alcoholic artist, and, apparently, in on whatever went on between Glint and Uncle Femmycreepy.

5)Uncle Isaac looked a good deal like Ulysses S. Grant.

6)Oh, my God, a door opened! That's it, the place is haunted!

7)So, what, Uncle Isaac was a Dagon-worshipper?

8)"What do you get?" "Information." "You won't get it." "By hook or by crook, we will."

9)Ah, Malloy, the classic Panicky Underling.

10)Glint is an ex-convict? Let me guess, Uncle Femmycreepy and Old Man Evans got him sent to prison?

11)"Have you ever been to Montevideo?" No? How about a Turkish prison?

12)Cliffhanger: Partygirl warns Victoria to lock her door!