Dark Shadows
Necking in the afternoon.
Dark Shadows (1966-1971)
Seasons: 12,
episodes: 1225
Episode runtime: 22 min
Average rating:
8.1/10
6 524
Production
Status
Completed
Creators
Scenario
Ron Sproat
Composer
Actors
Jonathan Frid
Barnabas Collins / Bramwell Collins
Mitchell Ryan
Burke Devlin
Frank Schofield
Bill Malloy
Nancy Barrett
Carolyn Stoddard
Grayson Hall
Natalie DuPres
David Selby
Quentin Collins
Joan Bennett
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard / Naomi Collins
Lara Parker
Angelique Bouchard Collins
Short description
Dark Shadows is an American gothic 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. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was unprecedented in daytime television when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began.
The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles; indeed, as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor. Major writers besides Art Wallace included Malcolm Marmorstein, Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.
Seasons
| Season | Episodes | Release date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 124 | 1966-06-27 | 7.3 | |
| 64 | 1966-12-20 | — | |
| 83 | 1967-03-21 | 1.6 | |
| 90 | 1967-07-17 | — | |
| 93 | 1967-11-20 | — | |
| 237 | 1968-04-01 | 1 | |
| 182 | 1969-03-03 | — | |
| 92 | 1969-11-14 | — | |
| 80 | 1970-03-30 | — | |
| 49 | 1970-07-20 | — | |
| 85 | 1970-09-25 | — | |
| 46 | 1971-01-28 | — |
What's left behind the scenes
- A character named Quentin Collins was invented and introduced into the series' plot at the request of Jonathan Frid, who played Barnabas Collins. Frid asked the show's writers to add a second antagonist to relieve some of the burden on himself.
- For nearly a year and a half, the characters in the series spoke about Barnabas Collins only in allegorical terms ("He's not alive!", "He's undead", "He walks at night, and he's not alive"). The word "vampire" was first used only in episode 410.
- Initially, David Selby wore fake sideburns as Quentin Collins, but over time he grew his own, eliminating the need to spend so much time in the makeup chair.
- Due to a strict broadcasting schedule (which required five episodes a week), as well as the cost and complexity of video editing at the time, almost all scenes were attempted to be filmed in a single take. Actors and actresses regularly forgot their lines and required a teleprompter, sets collapsed, props failed, crew members constantly drifted into the frame, and microphones and backup cameras were perpetually in the way. However, the show's creators turned a blind eye to these blatant blunders, reasonably assuming that each episode would be watched no more than once.
- Screenwriters Ron Sprott and Gordon Russell met with the series creator and writer Dan Curtis when it became known that a second vampire was intended to be introduced into the plot. It was after this meeting that they decided to make Barnabas Collins an 'involuntary vampire' and a conscientious one. This decision proved correct and saved the series from cancellation. Initially, Barnabas was supposed to appear in only a few episodes, but the writers made him the main character. Thanks to them, Barnabas Collins became the first vampire in cinematic history to evoke sympathy from the audience.
- The producers intended to limit the 1897 storyline to three months, but it proved so popular that the timeframe was extended to eight and a half months.
- The mansion sets were destroyed when an ABC Studio executive, while walking through the soundstage, saw the cobweb-covered sets and other what he perceived as clutter; thinking it hadn't been used for years, he ordered it all to be cleared away. Carpenters and set designers then had to urgently restore everything (including the cobwebs) based on previous episodes before filming could resume.
- At the beginning of almost every episode, the voice-over text was read by Alexandra Aisles; however, it later emerged that she had to be paid a full day's wage for this, even if her character did not appear in that particular episode, and this practice was immediately ended. To save money, the voice-over text began to be read by one of the actors or actresses appearing in that episode. Another consideration leading to this decision was that Victoria, played by Aisles, ceased to be the main character as Barnabas Collins became the primary protagonist. Aisles always read the introductory text for all episodes in Victoria's voice, but once this practice was abandoned, the actor or actress reading the text (even if it was Aisles herself) was no longer required to mimic their character's voice. Initially, only actresses read the voice-overs, but over time, this practice was extended to actors as well. The main requirement was that the character be present in the episode so that the production did not have to pay separately for the reading of the introductory text.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
