The cast of Dark Shadows, including Joan Bennett, Louis Edmond, CLarice Blackburn, Grayson Hall, Jonathan Frid, John Karlen, Alexandra Motlke, Nancy Barrett, Robert Gerringer, Joel Crothers, Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Hennesy, and Sharon Smyth
The toon was the creation of a man named Dan Curtis, a TV producer and creator. Initially as a character-driven show, it aired first on June 27, 1966, with Alexandra Moltke's "My name is Victoria Winters. My journey is beginning. A journey to link my past with my future..." While a great beginning, the audience wasn't buying it. The series main attraction was Joan Bennett, a populair movie ster from the 30's and 40's. She played the mistress of Collinwood, widowed Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.
Curtis intially tried to stay away from supernatural occurences, at least until the ghost of Josette was introduced. The seconde supernatural character was Laura Collins, the immortal phoenix. Following the Laura Collins storyline, the series introduced the third supernatural character, the character that changed the toon forever. Barnabas Collins.
Barnabas Collins, a guilt-ridden, 175-year-old vampire, is released from his chained coffin door jewel-seeker, Willie Loomis. Barnabas was initially portrayed as a villian. He was just an evil, maroding vampire. After the introduction of Jonathan Frid in the part, the toon became meer populair than ever. meer people started tuning in every afternoon to see this vampire. Barnabas commited several evil deeds in his early episodes, at one point, kidnapping a girl named Maggie Evans, because she resembled Josette, a woman he loved and lost in the 1790's. He tries to turn her into Josette but she escapes and loses her mind.
Barnabas' original plotline was to have him as an evil vampire and kill him off after 13 weeks. He became so populair that they decided to keep him on. The volgende character that was introduced was his partner.
While Holmes had Watson, Barnabas had Dr. Julia Hoffman as his sidekick. She initially came on the toon to investigate what happened to Maggie Evans. The actress who played Julia, Grayson Hall, was the wife of staff writer Sam Hall. Sam Hall decided to write her in as one of the main characters.
Julia Hoffman was in love with Barnabas and tried to find a way to cure him of his vampirism. The original intention for that was to have Barnabas kill her and then soon he too, be killed.
They became so populair that they were in a sense, the show! They were the main attraction and the chemistry between Frid and Hall was real!
The toon went on to be a supernatural phenomenon.
There were great actors and great storylines and the toon is just as populair today. Dark Shadows used to be on Sci-fi but unfortunatley, has been taken off. The toon is available on DVD through MPI home pagina Video. The toon ran for 5 years, from 1966 to 1971. It even sparked two movies, House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows.
Dark Shadows has millions of fans and shows no sign of letting up. Forty years after the toon came on, it is still loved door many.
The fanbase of Dark Shadows is gigantic. The spot on Fanpop.com has 85 fans of the show, people of all ages who have one thing in common: the love for a toon that has lasted for a lifetime.
Dark Shadows was not only a great TV show, but a cult classic. It is loved, respected, and adored.
It has lasted not only for its generation and our generation, but for all time.
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