Dark Shadows binge-watching on Amazon Prime

[Earth 2 Chris]

Anyone else still watching Dark Shadows on Prime? I watch at least two episodes a night. Perfect way to wind down before bed. I started when the Barnabas storyline began, and am now up to the story where David is trapped in the mausoleum's secret room. I remember part of this storyline from Sci-Fi's replays in the 90s.

I'm loving the hell out of it. If I make it through before Amazon pulls it off of Prime, I may go back and watch the pre-Barnabas stories. But I got a LONG way to go!

Chris

[johnnystorm]

Interesting you say this, as my wife and I just started watching DS on Hulu. I never really watched it back in the day, and kinda just got caught up in it. Just finished Season One. It's pretty addicting.
I get a kick out of how often someone screws up a line and has to get back on track.
Only thing that bothered me is how quickly Barnabus adapts to modern times. For a guy imprisoned for a couple centuries, he understands electricity, money, clothing, women's lib, etc. Do they ever explain this?

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Oh, it's on Hulu now too? Wow, I didn't know that.

Yes, he does adapt quickly, but we never are really shown just WHAT he did to Willie. We know he bet him and put him under his control. So maybe Willie explained a lot to him on command, or he may have even been able to read his mind. Although he couldn't seem to do that with Maggie...

Chris

[Earth 2 Chris]

One thing that annoys me is that now I'm into the color episodes, every once in a while you get a bad quality black and white episode thrown in. I guess the original color master is lost, and this is one of those kinescope copies or some such?

I do have to say that now having watched the episodes filmed in B&W, the show had a sheen of atmosphere that color strips away. While the color adds to the 60s garishness of it, it takes away some of the Val Lewton-like shadows the series originally had going on.

Chris

[enyawd72]

^I always preferred the black and white episodes...gave it the old Universal horror feel.

[palitoy]

Question for DS fans.

I got into the show when it came back in the early 80s, I think on NBC. I remember watching the first episode they aired, it was in colour. Am i misremembering that or did they skip the BW shows for that run?

[Earth 2 Chris]

They must have skipped to the color episodes. The change to color happened around the conclusion of the initial Barnabas storyline.

Chris

[palitoy]

Yeah I assume that's what they did, I guess I assumed Barnabas was on the show in the BW days too.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^He debuted during the B&W period, about a year into the run I believe. The first storyline where he kidnaps Maggie and tries to make her into Josette was in B&W.

Chris

[palitoy]

Ah I wasn't sure. I love DS but i have trouble keeping track of the storylines and such.

[Earth 2 Chris]

My memories of watching it on Sci-Fi in the 90s are very vague, and what I saw was spotty spread across the series. But I loved it then, and now. My Dad always told me about it. He got hooked on it in first run when he'd come in from work.

I get the storylines mixed up too. I keep expecting Quentin to show up, but I gotta go to the 1790s first!

Chris

[PNGwynne]

When I was a child, Dark Shadows reruns were must-see TV after school. I recall them with Batman '66 and Little Rascals. I also recall wanting Barnabas merchandise but it was long gone by then. I really had no memory of storylines, I was much more familiar with the DS film which was rerun often. Like you, Chris, I watched the soap intermittently in the '90s on SciFi and then had a better sense of it. I'm not sure why I never taped it.

I sort of want the dvds, but my memory of the show is that the quality is uneven, though I like that flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants tone. I'm trialing Amazon Prime, so I guess I should watch it there. This thread is interesting.

And, I really wish I had gotten the DS reMegos!

[Earth 2 Chris]

^You and me both on those ReMegos. They went quickly!

I just hope it stays on Prime and Hulu long enough to get through the run. Averaging at least 2 episodes a night, it is still going to take me a couple of years to get through this!

Chris

[Earth 2 Chris]

Now deep into the 1795 storyline. I only seen snippets of these episodes on the "Vampire's Curse" compilation video. My wife has been semi-involved in my binge-watching, until now. The period drama has drawn her in! BWAHAHAHA!!!

Chris

[Earth 2 Chris]

Now I'm into the 1897 storyline, which is apparently the most popular period of the show, and was definitely the height of its popularity in it's initial run. I can see why. David Selby is just as good, if not better than advertised, as the somehow-lovable rogue, Quentin. I do recall watching a good chunk of this period on the Sci-Fi channel in the 90s. This is what hooked me on the show, even though I didn't get to see every episode in order.

Anyone else still binging at the moment?