Dark Shadows TV Series Comes To DVD (Entire Series Set)

[Shawn Francis]

TV SHOWS ON DVD: TV SHOWS ON DVD: With a May 11th theatrical debut of the new Dark Shadowsfilm (directed by Tim Burton and starring Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earle Haley, Helena Bonham Carter, and Johnny Depp as "Barnabas"), it's probably no surprise that new DVD releases are being planned of the original Dan Curtis-created TV series which started it all. While MPI Home Video hasn't provided any official announcements yet, a trio of advance purchase listings added to Amazon.com gives readers a heads-up about what the studio's new plans are. All 3 titles are scheduled forApril 10th, and it's clear that the first 2 single-disc titles are meant for casual fans. The big title, however, is certainly aimed for the most passionate Dark
Shadows fans!

Here's what's up for pre-order:

Dark Shadows - The Best of Barnabas (180 minutes; $14.98 SRP)
Dark Shadows - Fan Favorites (180 minutes; $14.98 SRP)
Dark Shadows - The Complete Original Series (estimated 5000 minutes; $599.98 SRP)

That last listing is certainly the big shocker of the group! When Universal Studios Home Entertainment released their 20-season set of Law & Order - The Complete Series, we were all amazed at a 104-DVD set with over 450 hour-long episodes. However, MPI's various "volume" sets ofDark Shadowswould clock in at roughly two dozen more discs than that, covering over 1200 half-hour episodes that were broadcast every weekday from 1966 to 1971. So, while we don't know what the official disc count forThe Complete Original SeriesDVD set will be until MPI issues their official announcement, it certainly looks like this will be the new record-holder!

Amazon's discounting this enormous set to $419.99 as of this writing (subject to change without notice, at Amazon's discretion), which happens to be less than the bigLaw & Ordercollection. A quick calculation shows that to be less than 35 cents per episode (plus we're not sure yet, but there's obviously a great chance it will include all the extras that the previous DVD sets have had in the past). It's a big amount of bucks at once, but even so you've got to see that this is a LOT of bang for your buck! We can't wait to bring you all the detailed info about this package, and the package art as well. Stay tuned, of course, and we'll bring that to you just as soon as we can!

[Erick H.]

Wow,that complete series set is gonna take a while to get through.Are there still missing episodes from the early days of the show or are all the eps. available now ? I'm not current on my Dark Shadows info.

[startide]

Originally Posted by Shawn Francis

[B]
Dark Shadows - The Complete Original Series (estimated 5000 minutes; $599.98 SRP)

I pity the poor bugger who has to review that for their DVD review site.

[f.ramses]

What, exactly constitutes as the "Original Series"? I don't know a lot about this show but I know it's said that there were 1225 episodes and a 5000 minute run time isn't even 1/5th of what I'd expect for that many. I know those are initial details from a retailer so I'm hoping they're not correct but I don't know what "Original" refers to so I wonder... If this has all 1225 episodes I will seriously consider buying it though!

[Shannafey]

I've never gotten a chance to see this series. I know a lot of people like it, but it is still a soap opera and that leaves me skeptical that it will be that enjoyable to me! I couldn't even imagine trying to get through that many episodes!! I think I might bite on the fan favorites one though, since it'll give a good taste of the series for cheap. I bought the newer series for aobut $5 used and still haven't touched it!

[Dobby]

With my luck I'll blow $500 and get a bunch of floaters. I've also gotten damaged DVDs that were in they're DVD holders also. I'll wait till I see what kind of packaging they use. I really want to buy this I love this show!

[maybrick]

I love Dark Shadows, but it really is a series where you're much better off renting them as you watch. It went on so long that you'll NEVER get your money's worth by buying it. Unless you're an absolute diehard fan I doubt you'd watch every episode more than three times in your life time. I first began watching the show back in the 4th grade and close to 30 years later I've still only seen every episode (post Barnabas' intro) once.

To newbies: It may be a task to get through the series. The production values and effects are poor, the acting skill is fair to middling, there are plenty of gaffes due to the virtually live nature of the shoots, and the repetition of already known information in the stories can be quite irritating. It often takes forever to get to where you already know where the story is going to go. A simple plot point can be dragged out for an entire week or two's worth of episodes. But still, there's a charm about the show that cannot be denied.

[rxfiend]

That's with soap operas in general though. Has to drag to fill out the excessive amount of episodes a series puts out. While I would love to get this set, I don't think I would ever be able to devote that much time into it. Bad enough I got stacks of movies that I have yet to watch and bought years ago. lol

[startide]

Originally Posted by maybrick

To newbies: It may be a task to get through the series. The production values and effects are poor, the acting skill is fair to middling, there are plenty of gaffes due to the virtually live nature of the shoots, and the repetition of already known information in the stories can be quite irritating. It often takes forever to get to where you already know where the story is going to go. A simple plot point can be dragged out for an entire week or two's worth of episodes.

You've never watched other soaps I take it then?

[maybrick]

Originally Posted by startide

You've never watched other soaps I take it then?

I certainly have. But even in comparison to soap operas made 20 years ago Dark Shadows drags.

[startide]

Originally Posted by maybrick

I certainly have. But even in comparison to soap operas made 20 years ago Dark Shadows drags.

You do realise your description of Dark Shadows as a soap describes the Bold and the Beautiful episode I saw yesterday? So 40 years have passed since Dark Shadows was on TV and soaps haven't changed a bit! Age shall not weary them... So I guess that makes it a timeless classic.

[rhett]

Wow, thanks for sharing that news, Shawn. That's seriously epic. In a way soap operas are really the best artistic window into a time and place simply because they run every single weekday and almost without fail for years at a time. Considering they are the longest form of storytelling across multiple mediums (The Guiding Light started in radio in 1937 and went on TV all the way to 2009 -- that's 72 years and over 16,000 TV episodes later!) I always thought it would be fascinating to sit through a year or two from a different time. It would really be like a trip to another era. As far as I know there are no other soap operas that are on DVD in a complete form like that. Not sure if I'd be willing to drop that kind of cash on it, but I sure am interested!

[maybrick]

Originally Posted by startide

You do realise your description of Dark Shadows as a soap describes the Bold and the Beautiful episode I saw yesterday? So 40 years have passed since Dark Shadows was on TV and soaps haven't changed a bit! Age shall not weary them... So I guess that makes it a timeless classic.

You know what? Don't take this too harshly, but seriously, fuck off. I was merely trying to help people who have never seen Dark Shadows before and wouldn't know what to expect. It doesn't really matter if what I say applies to other things just as long as it's applicable to the subject at hand. Most people who aren't chicks don't usually make a habit of watching The Bold and the Beautiful, or really anybody else for that matter. If you didn't notice lately, most soap operas have gone off the air for lack of viewers. And for what it's worth, I've never seen actors botch lines as badly on later soaps than I've seen them do on a regular basis on DS. Most modern directors would have the good sense to do a second take, but Dan Curtis was much too thrifty for that. He was basically the "One shot Beaudine" of Daytime television. Unless somebody dropped dead of a heart attack or fell through a floorboard he kept the cameras rolling. Also, soaps are meant to be watched in 30 minute installments once a day. When you put them on VHS or DVD and watch them back to back as you can with Dark Shadows, it makes their limitations all that much more noticeable.

[X-human]

Originally Posted by maybrick

Unless somebody dropped dead of a heart attack or fell through a floorboard he kept the cameras rolling.

Nah, he'd probably just write it into the next day's script as a plot point.

I've never seen any of the series, and normally I like to watch/read as much as I can for an adaptation like Tim Burton's, but Dark Shadows makes that too enormous of a task. Where's the best place to start? When did it pick up steam?

[maybrick]

Originally Posted by X-human

Nah, he'd probably just write it into the next day's script as a plot point.

I've never seen any of the series, and normally I like to watch/read as much as I can for an adaptation like Tim Burton's, but Dark Shadows makes that too enormous of a task. Where's the best place to start? When did it pick up steam?

Generally, most diehard fans agree that the golden age of dark shadows began with the arrival of Barnabas Collins and lasted until the 1890s flashback storyline involving Quentin Collins ended, but I'm personally a fan of the later "parallel time" episodes. I think probably the best place to get a good condensed version of the Barnabas storyline is to go with the 1991 revival series, although once you get to the last episode you'll be a bit sad that they cancelled the series.