RSS
Home
Dark Shadows, iconic soap opera, premieres in 1966
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Carey Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island. Used as the
Collinwood Mansion for Dark Shadows. (Photo by Jim
McCullars)
June 27, 1966: Dark Shadows premieres on ABC. The show was created by Dan Curtis and based on an episode called "The House" written by Art Wallace and aired on Goodyear Playhouse in 1957. The original story "bible" had no supernatural elements. The action took place at the Collinswood Mansion, a 40 room house that was built in 1795 by Joshua Collins where trouble brewed within its walls.
Victoria Winters arrived at Collinswood as governess to David Collins. Vicki, an inquisitive young woman, sought out the strange family history. The set was eventually occupied by vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, monsters, witches, and warlocks. Creatures not only traveled through time to both the past and future, but also to a parallel universe. The whole show was portrayed against the eerie background music provided by Robert Colbert.
The soap opera ran until April 2, 1971. In that time, over 200 cast members appeared in 1,245 30-minute episodes. Due to pre-empted holiday dates, news interruptions, and other vagaries of daytime TV "only" 1,225 shows were aired. One of the reasons for the unparalleled success was an airtime coup. The groundbreaking series ran at 4 PM Eastern / 3 PM Central – a time slot that permitted teenagers just home from school to turn in while adults were busy with household tasks, like making dinner.
The show has gained a cult following and remains in syndication even 30 years after it was cancelled. It was sold on VHS tape and is now available in DVD sets, one of only two soaps to reach this milestone (the other is the Australian Prisoner). There have been unsuccessful attempts to revive the series as well as movies based on Collinswood and its occupants. There is talk of making a new movie and Johnny Depp may get to fulfill a childhood dream and become one of his heroes, Barnabas Collins, the vampire.
" My name is Victoria Winters. My journey is beginning. A journey that I hope will open the doors of life to me and link my past with my future. A journey that will bring me to a strange and dark place, to the edge of the sea high atop Widows' Hill - a house called Collinwood. A world I've never known, with people I've never met. People who tonight are still only shadows in my mind, but who will soon fill the days and nights of my tomorrows." – Dark Shadows opening
"For most men, time moves slowly, oh so slowly, they don't even realize it. But time has revealed itself to me in a very special way. Time is a rushing, howling wind that rages past me, withering me in a single, relentless blast, and then continues on. I've been sitting here passively, submissive to its rage, watching its work. Listen! Time, howling, withering!" – Barnabas Collins
"Of course a woman is going to kill me. I wouldn't have it any other way!" – Quentin Collins
"I wonder why Willie went in the secret room? Maybe there's something in there he doesn't want anyone to see-maybe something... horrible!" - David Collins
More information on Dark Shadows.
Jonathan Frid played Barnabas Collins. (594 episodes)
Grayson Hall played Dr. Julia Hofmann. (474 episodes)
Nancy Barrett played Carolyn Stoddard. (402 episodes)
Joan Bennett played Elizabeth Collins Staddard. (387 episodes)
Related Articles:
Comments
