Dark Shadows: Collection #20 (DVD)

I’ve seen a few episodes of this, the first supernatural soap (predating Passions by over 30 years), here and there over the years — I even watched the revival nighttime series in the early 90s for awhile — but I am by no means a big fan, nor an expert on the phenomena. I do know it was a ground-breaking show about a family of vampires, witches and ghosts, and that a lot of people were really obsessed with it in the Age of Aquarius. Young female fans were reportedly ga-ga over the vampire Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) — a tortured type who skulked around in a cape, bemoaned his fate, and wore enough eyeliner to rival Twiggy.

Since 2002, MPI Media has been eking out impressive boxed sets crammed with complete, uncut episodes and bonus features. On September 27, 2005 Collection #20 will be available.

This season follows Barnabas in a strange world of parallel time planes. But he doesn’t have long to enjoy his new surroundings; in the second episode, insane, alcoholic author William H. Loomis discovers Barnabas’s secret and traps him inside a chained coffin. Meanwhile, cold and cruel 12-year-old Daniel Collins becomes convinced that his deceased mother, Angelique, is coming back from the grave. Quentin Collins is stunned when Alexis Stokes, Angelique’s identical twin sister, arrives. The ghost of Dameon Edwards starts haunting the mansion. Scientist Cyrus Longworth continues his diabolical laboratory experiments to separate the good and evil in man; upon drinking a questionable potion, he transforms and terrorizes barmaid Buffie Harrington. Housekeeper Julia Hoffman learns a dark and deadly secret. Maggie Collins suspects that her husband Quentin may have been responsible for Angelique's demise…!

Yep, it’s a sudsy soap through and through. Although I am decidedly not a devotee of the genre (I must confess to watching only 2+ hours of this 11-hour gothic extravaganza) I can see how Dark Shadows would be very addictive to certain people. The creepy, curious or just plain crazy characters are a hoot, and their back stories are wildly inventive.

Through the cloud of coffins, candelabras and cobwebs, you can see just how down-n-dirty the soap style was in those days — shot live and with precious little rehearsal time, you can definitely understand how daytime TV got its reputation for being sub-par. The flubbed lines, awkward silences, blurry zooms, dipping booms and dangling bat puppets on strings are quite something to witness.

Bonuses on the Dark Shadows Collection #20 include exclusive interviews with actress Paula Lawrence (“Hannah Stokes”), writer Joe Caldwell, and soap opera journalist / historian Michael Logan. Each offers a truly fascinating perspective on the Dark Shadows hoopla.

While it’s not my personal cup of plasma, I will say that that from its oh-so-dated Theremin-themed opening song to the campy cliffhanger endings, this DVD of Dark Shadows will definitely brighten the day of any existing fan or those who might have a penchant for sappy soaps awash in gothic horror.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson