Dark Shadows is a Gothic television soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis, who tells of a dream he had in which a girl takes a long train ride to visit a large mansion. The story "bible", which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was considered daring (and unprecedented in daytime television) when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when, a year into its run, vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid, appeared. In addition to vampires, Dark Shadows featured werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, both into the past and into the future, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles and, as actors came and went, some characters were played by several actors. Major writers in addition to Art Wallace included Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.

Dark Shadows has the distinction of being the only long-running soap to have every episode released for home video (including a reconstruction episode #1219, the videotape for which is lost), first on VHS and currently in progress on DVD. (Episodes were numbered from #1 to #1245, but some episodes were pre-empted due to holidays, news, etc. so the number of episodes actually broadcast is 1225.)

Dark Shadows was distinguished by its vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable story lines and an unusually adventurous music score. Now regarded as somewhat of a camp c l a s s i c, it continues to enjoy intense cult status among its followers. Director Tim Burton and pop icon Madonna have both gone on record as fans of the series. As a child Johnny Depp was so obsessed with Barnabas Collins that he wanted to be him and indeed will get his chance in a new Dark Shadows theatrical movie.

STORYLINES

Victoria Winters: episode 1 (27 June 1966) to 127 (20 December 1966) Victoria Winters arrives at Collinwood as governess for David Collins and encounters strange goings-on in the old mansion. Elizabeth Collins Stoddard has a secret, and never leaves the Collinwood estate. Her daughter Carolyn is staying out to all hours. Roger Collins, David's father, is afraid that someone is trying to kill him. And Burke Devlin has returned to Collinsport.

The Murder of Bill Malloy: episode 46 (29 August 1966) to 126 (19 December 1966) Bill Malloy, Elizabeth's right-hand man, threatens to publicly reveal hushed-up details about the feud between Roger Collins and Burke Devlin, and involving Sam Evans. Malloy's body is then discovered floating in the waters at the base of Widow's Hill. The ghost of Bill Malloy appears to Victoria Winters, and later the ghost of Josette emerges from her portrait at the old house. The spirits of wailing women are heard from Widow's Hill.

Laura the Phoenix: episode 128 (21 December 1966) to 192 (21 March 1967) Young David Collins's mother Laura returns after a ten year absence, searching for her son. She is an immortal phoenix, and wishes to have him join her in the sacred fires of the Egyptian god Ra.

Jason McGuire: episode 195 (24 March 1967) to 275 (14 July 1967) Jason McGuire, an old friend of Elizabeth's long-missing husband Paul Stoddard, shows up and insinuates himself into the Collins household. He knows a dark secret about Elizabeth's missing husband and, much to the family's dismay, she submits to his demands, which includes allowing his violent drifter friend Willie Loomis to stay at Collinwood.

Barnabas: episode 211 (22 March 1967) to 365 (17 November 1967) Barnabas Collins, a nearly two-hundred-year-old vampire, is released from his coffin and brings terror to Collinsport. Doctor Julia Hoffman is called to investigate the strange kidnapping of Maggie Evans, a Collinsport waitress whom the vampire believes to be the reincarnation of his long lost love, Josette.

1795: episode 366 (14 November 1967) to 460 (29 March 196 A seance is held in the great house at Collinwood, during which Victoria Winters travels back in time to the year 1795. In that era, Barnabas is still an ordinary human being, but becomes the object of desire for a deadly witch Angelique, who invokes the vampiric curse upon him. Meanwhile, Victoria is accused of witchcraft by the paranoiac Rev. Trask. She's defended in court by Peter Bradford, a man who follows her back through time to the 20th century.

Dream Curse/Adam and Eve: episode 461 (1 April 196 to 637 (3 December 196 Angelique, a witch who tricked Barnabas into marrying her in the 1790s, returns. At the same time, Barnabas and Dr. Julia Hoffman explore the possibility of freeing Barnabas from his curse, by giving life to an artificial being called Adam.

Werewolf/Quentin's Ghost: episode 638 (4 December 196 to 700 (28 February 1969) A werewolf is loose on the Collins estate and the ghost of Quentin Collins is terrorizing the children, David and Amy.

1897: episode 701 (3 March 1969) to 884 (13 November 1969) In order to save the imperilled David, Barnabas travels back in time using the I Ching, to unravel the mystery of Quentin's ghost. There he encounters Angelique, the phoenix Laura Collins, a gypsy curse, lycanthropy, and the hand of the dreaded Count Petofi.

The Leviathans: episode 885 (14 November 1969) to 980 (27 March 1970) An ancient race of beings coerce Barnabas into joining their ranks. Together they attempt to enslave the Collins family and bring the town under the thrall of their mysterious leader, Jeb Hawkes.

Parallel Time: episode 981 (30 March 1970) to 1060 (17 July 1970) In a closed-off section of the house, Barnabas and Julia discover a doorway to a parallel universe, where the master of the house Quentin Collins has recently married Maggie Evans, who finds herself threatened by the vengeful spirit of Quentin's first wife, Angelique.

1995: episode 1061 (20 July 1970) to 1070 (31 July 1970) Barnabas and Julia travel forward in time to a Collinwood that has been destroyed and a Collins family either dead or mad.

Gerard: episode 1071 (3 August 1970) to 1109 (24 September 1970) Ghosts from the 1840s are possess David Collins and Hallie Stokes. Barnabas and Julia try to find a way to prevent the future destruction of Collinwood.

1840: episode 1110 (25 September 1970) to 1198 (27 January 1971) Using a stairway through time hidden within the walls of Collinwood, Julia travels back to the 1840s to unravel the mystery of Gerard and Daphne. When Barnabas joins her they find an unexpected ally in their old foe, Angelique.

1841 in Parallel Time: episode 1199 (28 January 1971) to 1245 (2 April 1971) In a parallel universe Bramwell Collins returns home to find that his true love, Catherine Harridge, has married his wealthy cousin, Morgan Collins. The Collins family is under a curse that requires them to hold a lottery, the loser to spend the night in a room that will leave them either dead or insane.

Main cast

Humbert Allen Astredo played Nicholas Blair, Evan Hanley, and Charles Dawson

Nancy Barrett played Carolyn Stoddard, Millicent Collins, Charity Trask, Leticia Faye, and other roles.

Joan Bennett played Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Naomi Collins, Judith Collins, and Flora Collins.

Clarice Blackburn played Sarah Johnson, Abigail Collins, and Minerva Trask.

Don Briscoe played Tom Jennings, Chris Jennings, Timothy Shaw, and Chris Collins.

Kathy Cody played Hallie Stokes and Carrie Stokes.

Terry Crawford played Beth Chavez and Edith Collins.

Joel Crothers played Joe Haskell and Nathan Forbes.

Thayer David played Matthew Morgan, Ben Stokes, Professor Timothy Eliot Stokes, Sandor Rakoski, Count Petofi, and other characters.

Roger Davis played Peter Bradford, Jeff Clark, and other characters.

Louis Edmonds played Roger Collins, Joshua Collins, Edward Collins and other members of the Collins family.

Jonathan Frid played Barnabas Collins and Bramwell Collins.

Grayson Hall played Julia Hoffman, Natalie du Pres, Magda Rakosi and other characters.

David Henesy played David Collins, Daniel Collins, Jamison Collins, and Tad Collins.

Kate Jackson played Daphne Harridge.

John Karlen played Willie Loomis, Carl Collins, and other characters.

Jerry Lacy played Tony Peterson and various members of the Trask family.

Diana Millay played Laura Collins, the phoenix.

Alexandra Moltke played Victoria Winters.

Denise Nickerson played Amy Jennings, Nora Collins, and Nora Jennings.

Lara Parker played Angelique, Catherine Harridge, and other roles.

Christopher Pennock played Jeb Hawkes, Cyrus Longworth, and many other roles.

Addison Powell played Eric Lang and several minor characters.

Kathryn Leigh Scott played Maggie Evans, Josette du Pres, Rachel Drummond, Lady Kitty Hampshire, Maggie Collins, and many other characters.

David Selby played several characters, all named Quentin Collins.

James Storm played Gerard Stiles.

Marie Wallace played Eve, Jenny Collins, and other characters.

Many other well-known names appeared in minor roles, including Mitch Ryan (1966, 1967), Dana Elcar (1966-67), Donna McKechnie (1969-70), Conrad Bain (1966, 196, Abe Vigoda (1969) and Marsha Mason (1970).

FORMAT

Although the series began as a typical American soap opera (with several story threads running open-ended simultaneously), it eventually evolved into a format closer to modern day Spanish-language "novellas". There would be one overarching storyline, with several minor subplots tying into it, involving every single character in the show. The storyline would eventually be wrapped up, and a new storyline begun in its place. This was especially noticeable in the various time travel storylines. When Victoria Winters travelled back to 1795, for example, the principal storyline was to show how a human Barnabas Collins was transformed into a vampire and how he happened to get chained up in his coffin (where Willie discovered him). The storyline had a definitive beginning (Victoria finding herself in the past), middle (Angelique placing the vampire curse on Barnabas), and end (Barnabas chained up in the coffin and Victoria sent back to her proper time). Every cast member on the show at that time played a character who had some function in this singular storyline. This was in sharp contrast to the typical American soap which tends to feature at least three or four major storylines at a time that might play out over the course of many years, with only a few characters deeply involved in any particular plot-thread.

An unusual feature of this format was that whenever the storyline shifted into a new time and a new storyline was begun, a majority of the cast played all-new characters who would not continue past the conclusion of that storyline. This gave the writers a certain freedom to actually kill off central characters, including the heroes & heroines whom the audience would usually root for, and characters performed by contract players. For instance, Kathryn Leigh Scott (who played "Maggie Evans" in the modern day storyline) was recast as "Rachel Drummond" in the 1897 storyline. Although Rachel was a central heroic character throughout the first several months of this particular storyline, her character was killed off halfway through it. Soon thereafter, Scott returned as an entirely different character, "Kitty Soames." Then, when the storyline shifted back to the present day, Scott simply resumed her Maggie Evans character and continued with the show. This allowed for a bit more suspense than the normal soap, as no character was off-limits and the audience could not be sure who would actually survive harrowing ordeals. (Viewers of All My Children, in contrast, can be relatively certain that Erica Kane will not be killed off, regardless of the predicament she's placed in.)

Courtesy Wikipedia

Next time I will start with a detailed synopsis of the first storyline