Dark Shadows on Tubi

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Yeah, that Jeff Clark bit at the end of Leviathan made absolutely NO sense. Wasn't Chris Jennings supposed to bring about Jeb's demise, originally? I think I read they had to come up with a last minute fix since the producers fired Don Briscoe over his drug problem constantly interfering with production.

Chris

[Dark Shadow]

^Yeah, that Jeff Clark bit at the end of Leviathan made absolutely NO sense. Wasn't Chris Jennings supposed to bring about Jeb's demise, originally? I think I read they had to come up with a last minute fix since the producers fired Don Briscoe over his drug problem constantly interfering with production.

Chris

You are correct, in the initial buildup, the Werewolf is the only thing that could take out Jeb. Then towards the end they added that he's also vulnerable to ghosts for whatever reason. Ultimately, it was a brainwashed human being that took him out. I don't exactly remember the timeline for Chris' departure, but he was still in the storyline at the end of the Leviathan arc and made appearances in Parallel Time.

I think he and Amy "leave" Collinwood after the return from Parallel Time (I think). Which only further muddies the reasoning behind inserting Jeff Clark into the story. Aside from a brief mystery, his character virtually has no purpose in the story. I'd love to know what that was all about, maybe something as simple as circling back to 1796, or Roger asking for another role?

[PNGwynne]

Was Briscoe fired because of drugs? I'd read something about his mental health and retiring, was he self-medicating?

[Earth 2 Chris]

^I think Briscoe did have mental health problems, but his drug issues (possibly self-medicating as you said) is what got him fired. The Dark Shadows wiki page states "After leaving the series Briscoe returned to his family home in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was declared legally disabled because of his illness and remained there, shunning the spotlight, for the rest of his life."

It could be total bunk, but I have heard shortly after being fired from DS, Briscoe had a really BAD that trip fried his brain, thus his disability. Again, that may all be conjecture, but I have read/heard of it in several circles.

Very sad either way. He was one of my favorites on the series. I think he could have had a very nice career.

Chris

[RonnyG]

Sad to report we lost yet another Dark Shadows alum. Geoffrey Scott who played Sky Rumson during the Leviathan storyline. Apparently he died back in February, but it is just now being reported.
https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/geo...or-1234920109/
923r.jpg

[Barnabas Collins]

RonnyG:

Sorry to hear about Diana Millay. First I'm hearing about it. She was a great actress in so many classic TV shows, including Dark Shadows. I saw her in a Laramie episode recently.

Barnabas Collins

[Dark Shadow]

Regarding Don Briscoe, there have been at least three separate stories that I have read about over the years. The first version I read is that prior to him leaving the show, Don was drugged and assaulted while on a boat trip with a few fellow cast members (and several other passengers), which caused him to have a nervous breakdown and he voluntarily left the show.

The second version was that he self-medicated after the assault and was "encouraged" to leave the show to get help. The third version was that he was suffering with bi-polar depression for years and had turned to self-medication which led to his direct termination. I have no idea which, if any, of these stories is accurate. They are all tragic, and whatever it was that happened to him, it affected him for the rest of his life.

....

Very sad to hear about Geoffrey Scott, I liked him in his role as Sky Rumson (and also as Mark Jennings on Dynasty, he had some very memorable scenes on that show).

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Oh wow, I hadn't heard about the drugging and assault before. That's even worse. As you said, they are all very tragic stories.

I was kind of surprised Geoffery Scott never returned to the show. I liked him as Rumson too. That side story with him and Angelique was one of the better subplots in the Leviathan story, IMHO.

Chris

[Dark Shadow]

^Yes! I agree, it was one of the highlights of that arc for me also. (Great scene when they each realize the other's betrayal of secret pasts and he bursts in with torch in hand, and she in turn uses her fail safe: scarf + personal object = threat neutralized.)

[RonnyG]

Just heard that Robert Rodan, who played Adam, passed away March 25 of heart failure. 2021 is being brutal for Dark Shadows fans.
https://groups.io/g/shadowgram/message/378
Robert Rodan color 1968 Dark Shadows publicity shot cropped _1_.jpg

[Earth 2 Chris]

Wow, yes it is. RIP.

I'm really surprised they never brought Adam back, and let the whole connection between him and Barnabas drop.

Chris

[Dark Shadow]

Man, tough year on DS actors for sure!

I'm really surprised they never brought Adam back, and let the whole connection between him and Barnabas drop.

Chris

It would've been great to have seen him in another role. I wonder if his height was an issue for a regular role, overshadowing the leads?

His exit was bizarre, even by DS standards, and a year later we were left to wonder whether he died in his tracks when Jeb reinstated the curse, or if the writers simply forgot
about the connection.

[Earth 2 Chris]

50 years ago today, Dark Shadows aired its final episode. The Dark Shadows Every Day blog ended today in honor of the anniversary.

https://darkshadowseveryday.com/

Chris

[Dark Shadow]

50 years ago today, Dark Shadows aired its final episode. The Dark Shadows Every Day blog ended today in honor of the anniversary.

https://darkshadowseveryday.com/

Chris

Thank you for posting this! Great to see that Danny finished his project, and extra awesome that he did so on the 50th Anniversary of the final episode! I frequently pull up his older posts as I'm going through the series, but it's been several months since I've checked in on his progress. I just finished 1995 last night.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^He's throwing a live stream party tonight to celebrate, in case you or anyone else is interested.

Chris