The Dark Shadows Almanac: Millennium Edition

by David Selby

  Patchy imports of the Gold Key comic books notwithstanding, it fell to House of Dark Shadows to introduce would-be fans to the residents of Collinwood, as part of a double-bill with The Hooded Executioner. Night of Dark Shadows was apparently never seen in British cinemas, though both films would play on British television repeatedly. The mid-1980s saw House of Dark Shadows released for the home video market, where it remained available for several years.

  Such fragmented exposure aside, the first notable Dark Shadows ‘invasion’ was mounted by the forces of Paperback Library, who remaindered huge numbers of their Dark Shadows novels to British book-sellers during the 1970s. Even today, many titles can still be found at British book-fairs for cheap prices. For the small, but dedicated legion of British readers that became fans through these books, it would be some two decades before they would see the actual show the stories were based upon.

  The 1990s boom in the European cable and satellite industry seemed to hold the key to making Dark Shadows available to British viewers. BSB considered purchasing the original series, while the British Broadcasting Corporation bought the rights to the 1991 revival, though never screened it. News in 1995 of the establishment of a European arm of the American Sci-Fi Channel offered hope. Initially available only to a minuscule number of cable viewers in Europe and South Africa, Dark Shadows debuted on Sci-Fi Channel Europe at 2:00 pm on November 2 1995, their first day of scheduled broadcast.

  Two episodes were screened each weekday, whilst the revival series played on Saturday nights at 8:00 pm commencing from November 4. By coincidence, Dark Shadows was to receive its first British terrestrial broadcast only weeks later in the form of Episode 737, which formed part of a special ‘Soap Weekend’ on Channel 4, broadcast on December 3 1995.

  As part of Sci-Fi’s initial publicity campaign, Kathryn Leigh Scott was employed in a number of specially shot promotional films, produced for the channel by Kevin Davies. Edited into compact 30-second segments, these were broadcast prior to episodes along with other spots utilizing an existing interview with Dan Curtis. The most elaborate of these was Dark Shadows: The Early Years, a three-minute mini-documentary composed of Curtis and Scott’s interviews and clips from 1966 episodes.These played frequently until late 1997, whereupon Sci-Fi Europe ceased all onscreen promotion for the show.

  The years that followed brought mixed fortunes for the growing number of British Dark Shadows fans. 1996 saw the establishment of the Dark Shadows Journal, the first overseas Dark Shadows fanzine, and Kathryn Leigh Scott made personal appearances to meet fans. Meanwhile, late-night satellite repeats made the show available to a wider audience, and the revival series enjoyed several repeat runs. March 8 1997 saw Sci-Fi Europe bring viewers the Dark Shadows Chain Reaction, a day of 10 stripped episodes selected from a fan-poll. Early plans for specially shot fan interviews and linking materials were ultimately abandoned, though a fan contact address was shown following certain episodes. The special received modest press coverage, though certainly more than most Sci-Fi Europe broadcasts at the time.

  Conversely, at the same time as this upshot of activity, the ongoing broadcasts of the show had reached something of a crisis point, reduced to just one new episode a week. The summer of 1997 saw the show disappear from schedules altogether, returning the following winter to little fanfare, though now with an episode seen every weekday. Undoubtedly the show’s audience had already suffered adversely from the inconsistency of such scheduling, and this would ultimately begin Dark Shadows’ slide towards cancellation. Following a turbulent time during 1998, a drastic shake-up of Sci-Fi Europe’s broadcast range took place, leaving many viewers unable to see episodes for months on end,with others unable to obtain the show at all. Following a complete overhaul of Sci-Fi Europe’s image, their interest in sustaining Dark Shad ows had seemingly evaporated. Without vital promotion, the show limped through to its final year, increasing to two weekday episodes during its last weeks. Very little about the final months of Sci-Fi Europe’s broadcast remains noteworthy, though by coincidence Keith Prentice’s Dark Shadows debut aired on September 27 1999, the seventh anniversary of his death.

  The final episode of Dark Shadows aired on Sci-Fi Europe on November 3, 1999.The problems posed by an embryonic cable industry and a channel with ever changing programming policies had robbed many viewers of an opportunity to enjoy the show, Sci-Fi Europe having decided that it lacked the ‘mainstream popularity’ they desired. As of this writing, they have no plans to repeat Dark Shadows, though doubtless the Collins family would feel heartened to learn that their loyal branch of ’cousins from England,’ patiently awaits its return.

  Studio History

  WHEN DARK SHADOWS DEBUTED IN JUNE OF 1966, THE SERIES WAS TAPED at ABC-TV’s Studio 2 at 24 West 67th Street. In late August of 1966, the show moved to ABC Studio 16, a newly renovated structure at 433 West 53rd Street that had previously been a lumberyard. Dark Shadows would remain at this studio for the remainder of its run. After the series ended in 1971, PBS leased the studio from ABC through most of 1972. During this time, a variety of PBS shows were taped at Studo 16, including some episodes of The Great American Dream Machine, and a variety series entitled Free Time. The latter was particularly noteworthy for an installment starring John Lennon and Yoko Ono (A World in the Grapefruit of Park) on the very floor where Barnabas and company once roamed.

  From 1972 to 1975, Studio 16 was home to various ABC network and local news and public service programs. In 1975, the ABC soap opera Ryan’s Hope debuted in the studio, remaining there until the mid-1980s.

  The studio was empty for a few years until it was sold and renovated as the Red Zone night club and restaurant in 1989. After that establishment closed, the studio was again vacant, but was turned back into a television studio in 1994 for the short-lived syndicated topical discussion program Last Call. In 1995, a new syndicated talk show featuring singer Carnie Wilson moved in, followed by the Montel Williams Show.

  DAILY STUDIO SCHEDULES

  STANDARD SCHEDULE IN 1966

  7:00-11:00 a.m. Lighting

  8:30-10:30 Morning Rehearsal

  10:30-11:30 Break/Make-Up

  11:00-12:00 Engineering Set-Up

  11:30-2:00 Camera Blocking & Run Through

  2:00-2:30 Dress Rehearsal

  2:30-3:00 Test Pattern

  3:00-3:30 Episode Taping

  3:30-4:00 Knockdown

  3:45-4:15 Technical Meeting

  4:00-6:30 Dry Rehearsal for Next Episode

  4:00-7:00 Reset Studio

  REVISED SCHEDULES

  The schedule would vary slightly over the five years of production.

  By 1967, Morning Rehearsal was from 8:00-10:00, with Break from 10:00- 11:00, followed by Camera Blocking, Run Through, and Dress Rehearsal from 11:00-3:00.

  By 1968, Morning Rehearsal was from 8:00-10:30, with Break from 10:30- 11:30, followed by Camera Blocking, Run Through, and Dress Rehearsal from 11:30-3:15. Taping was from 3:15-3:45, usually followed by Dry Rehearsal for the next episode from 4:00-6:30 (later changed to 4:30-6:30).

  In 1970, Camera Blocking, Run Through, and Dress Rehearsal were extended to 3:30, with Taping taking place from 3:30-4:00. The times for Morning Rehearsal, Break, and Dry Rehearsal remained unchanged.

  Morning Rehearsal-The actors review and read through the script in the upstairs rehearsal hall, along with the director and production assistant. Initial blocking is also done in the rehearsal hall, informing the actors where they will stand in the studio for each scene they are to appear in that dat. The script is timed and dialogue may be deleted should the script run too long.

  Break-Although this was the only time for the actors to eat lunch, albeit rather early in the day, many of the performers were in the make-up room during this time or they spent additional time rehearsing their lines privately or with other conscientious actors.

  Camera Blocking-The process in which the director arranges the placement of the actors on the sets for the various
scenes to be taped that day.

  Run Through-The entire day’s show is rehearsed in sequence on the set, with final alterations made.

  Dress Rehearsal—A fully costumed performance of the day’s episode, performed as if it were the actual taped show.

  Notes—Final comments given to the actors from the director and last minute cuts or changes made in the script.

  Taping-The actual performance of the episode which is recorded on videotape for broadcast.

  Dry Rehearsal—The time when the actors sit down with the director for a rough reading of the next day’s episode.

  Studio Moments:john Karlen and Grayson Hall, Grayson and Jonathan Frid (in character as Magda and Barnabas) and Michael Stroka greet fans outside; Producer’s assistant Harriet Rohr and Joel Crothers; Diana Millay.

  In 1966, prior to going on the air and moving in to its ABC-TV studio, the first rehearsal hall for Dark Shadows was the Terrace Room of the Empire Hotel, 63rd Street & Broadway in New York. When the show began, Dan Curtis Productions was located in the Hotel Buckingham, 57th Street & 6th Avenue, New York. Curtis’ office later moved to Madison Avenue.

  Dark Shadows utilized more sets than the regular daytime dramas. In a given year, the series would use approximately 100 sets compared to around 30 for an average soap opera.

  The format of each Dark Shadows episode includes a teaser (the beginning portion of the show which contains the opening voice-over), the main title (the portion with the theme music), following by either three or four acts, and the closing credits. When the show began in 1966, it contained three acts plus a brief “tag” segment at the end. The tag was dropped after Episode 34. Starting with Episode 589 the series changed to three acts, and with Episode 1051, the series returned to four acts. Also, starting with that episode, the first act aired immediately after the main title, with no commercial break between the two segments. This final format was retained for the remainder of the series.

  Over a period of time, teasers which repeat the end of the previous show become common, but they were rare in the show’s first months. The very first repeat teaser, actually a rerun, begins episode 51, in which Carolyn Stoddard watches Victoria Winters scream as she looks over the crest of Widows’ Hill to see a body face down on the rocks below.

  Victoria Winters’ bedroom.

  Morning rehearsal in the studio.

  Not including commercial time, each episode of Dark Shadows runs approximately 21-22 minutes.

  Dark Shadows episodes were not always taped in sequence. The production schedule would sometimes require that episodes utilizing certain sets or special effects be taped back-to-back. On occasion, shows might also be taped out of order to accommodate a particular actor’s schedule.

  ABC-TV recorded each episode of Dark Shadows on videotape by sending the video and audio signal over phone wires from the Dark Shadows studio to ABC’s tape machines a few blocks away.

  The sound effect of a squeaking bat on Dark Shadows was made by rubbing cork on the side of a glass bottle. The show also had a sound effects library of over 3,000 recordings.

  On the technical page on several scripts, the Parallel Time Room is called the Time Warp Room.

  Episode 1182 is unique in that the cast consists of only four actors who are all shown together in one scene.

  Right Michael Stroka and director Henry Kaplan; Below: Lighting director Mel Handelsman.

  David Henesy rehearses.

  Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke); The Old House.

  Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid).

  Collinwood.

  Marie Wallace played Eve.

  1897: Barnabas; Ct. Petofi (Thayer David) and Evan Hanley (Humbert Allen Astredo); Aristede (Michael Stroka); Edward Collins (Louis Edmonds).

  1897: Quentin Collins (David Selby) and Edward.

  1897:Angélique (Lara Parker),

  Jeb Hawkes (Chris Pennock); Sabrina

  Stuart (Lisa Richards) and Bruno

  (Michael Stroka).

  1970 Parallel Time: Roxanne Drew (Donna Wandrey) and Barnabas Collins.

  1840: Leticia Faye (Nancy Barrett) and Dr. Julia Hoffman (Grayson Hall); rehearsal shots of David Selby, Kate Jackson and James Storm.

  1841 Parallel Time: Flora Collins (Joan Bennett) and Catherine Harridge (Lara Parker); Melanie Collins (Nancy Barrett); Bramwell Collins (Jonathan Frid) and Daphne Harridge (Kate Jackson); 1840: Samantha Drew Collins (Virginia Vestoff).

  House of Dark Shadows: Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) and Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott).

  House of Dark Shadows: Barnabas ages and attacks Maggie.

  Night of Dark Shadows: Angélique (Lara Parker); Tracy Collins (Kate Jackson); Carlotta Drake (Grayson Hall).

  Night of Dark Shadows: Promotional photograph session with Kate Jackson, Grayson Hall, Lara Parker, James Storm, John Karlen, Nancy Barrett and David Selby.

  GOING TO COLOR

  Dark Shadows was first televised in black and white. In the summer of 1967, after it had been on the air for more than a year, the change to color was made. For some time, large trucks with remote broadcast color equipment sat at the curb outside the studio, while inside the final black and white episodes were being produced. The last program produced in black and white was Episode 293, taped on Friday, July 21, 1967. From Monday, July 24, to Friday, July 28, the studio was closed so that the switch to color could be accomplished.

  The first episode taped in color was Episode 294, which begins with Maggie’s sudden reappearance at the Blue Whale. The show was taped on Monday, July 31, 1967, and shown on Friday, August 11, 1967. However, on that day it was not telecast in color, but in black & white.

  On Tuesday, August 1, Episode 295, the first show originally televised in color, was taped. At the beginning of this show, an announcement stated, “Good news, this program, Dark Shadows, is now being presented in color.”

  To summarize, episode 294 was originally shown in black and white, and Episode 295 was originally shown in color. But when it came time for the reappearance of Dark Shadows in syndication, this was not the case. For the first time, Episode 294 was televised in color, as originally made, and Episode 295 was shown in black and white, because the original color tape had been lost and only a black and white kinescope was available. For this reason, the announcement that the program is presented in color was heard in reruns over an episode shown in black and white.

  TECHNICAL SHADOWS

  The actors were required to memorize their lines for each show. However, if someone forgot lines during an episode taping, the actor could look at the TelePrompter, a device which displays the lines of character dialogue onto a screen connected to the front of the camera. The type of TelePrompter used on Dark Shadows utilized a paper roll which contained the entire dialogue for each episode typed in extra large print for easy reading.

  Shadows Sources

  The following literary works inspired several Dark Shadows storyline:

  Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (Victoria Winters, 1966; Jenny Collins, Rachel Drummond, 1897)

  Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (Trask, Abigail & Victoria, 1795)

  Edgar Allan Poes’ The Cask Of Amontillado (Barnabas & Trask, 1795) Author Unknown The Dream Deceivers (The Dream Curse, 1968)

  Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (Adam, 1968)

  Edgar Allan Poe’s The Premature Burial (Elizabeth, 1968)

  Henry James’ The Turn of The Screw (The Ghosts of Quentin & Beth, 1968-69; The Ghosts of Gerard & Daphne, 1970)

  Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart (Quentin & Edith, 1897)

  Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby; Dotheboys Hall (Trask’s Worthington Hall, 1897)

  Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit & The Pendulum (Aristede & Quentin, 1897)

  Guy de Maupassant’s The Monkey’s Paw (Count Petofi’s hand, 1897)

  Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Quentin’s Portrait, 1897)

  H.P. Lovecraft’s The Cthulhu Mythos (Leviathans, 1969-70)

  Gre
ek Mythology: Orpheus In The Underworld (Quentin & Amanda, 1969-70)

  Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca (1970PT & Night of Dark Shadows)

  Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Cyrus Longworth/John Yaeger, 1970PT)

  Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1841 PT)

  Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery (1841 PT)

  The Writers of Dark Shadows

  JOE CALDWELL Has written plays, including The Cockeyed Kite, and novels, including Under The Dog Star. He’s also wrote for the daytime soap opera Love of Life and the syndicated serial Strange Paradise.