Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series

Long before vampires were turned into sparkling emo teenagers, they were imbued with a sense of old-world romance and mystery.

And for a lot of people, that came from "Dark Shadows." This gothic soap opera had its cheesy moments here and there, but it had that rare quality of being addictive and entertaining even as it had vampires, ghosts and werewolves. Even better: it drips with traditional gothic atmosphere, with a young woman afloat in a dark, gloomy house filled with secrets.

Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) arrives in Maine to be a governess to the reclusive Collins family, intending to find out about her past (since she seems to have some kind of connection to them... or something). Instead, she finds a big stew of weird -- the mansion of Collinswood apparently has ghosts and magic, as well as a vampire in the mausoleum.

Yes, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) is in the mausoleum... and his entrance (and subsequent transformation into the primary character) is the point when the show went from "okay" to "awesome." From then on, the story unfolds into a long, complicated tangle of lost love, amnesia, time travel, witchcraft, MORE ghosts, reincarnation, golems, body-swapping sorcerers, the ancient Leviathans and a parallel universe -- all centered on the Collins family.

It's really quite hard to summarize the entire series, but suffice to say that "Dark Shadows" is a pretty delicious series -- it drips with romanticized gothic atmosphere, with plenty of classic tropes (vampires, ghosts, even a Frankenstein monster). And for a soap opera of any type -- be it supernatural or mundane -- it's actually very well written, with distinct plot arcs and ongoing plot threads.

The slowest part of the story is actually the beginning parts, which were fairly low on supernatural events and focused on Victoria. But once "Dark Shadows" embraced the supernatural, it blossoms like a black rose. Does it have cheezy moments? Yes, sometimes -- but unlike the cheeziness of a lot of vampire-themed TV/movies, there's a dignified, almost classical quality to "Dark Shadows."

And it has a pretty decent cast over all, with Lara Parker, David Selby and Grayson Hall as a few of the most prominent standouts. But the best one is undeniably Frid as Barnabas Collins -- his character was such an intriguing one that he not only became one of the primary characters, but evolved from a tortured villain into a selfless, heroic anti-hero.

As for the layout of this series, nobody is 100% sure at this time of the content, but if it does have 131 discs it almost certainly has the complete series, both with and without the vampire subplots. But don't expect any special extras, probably.

For people burned out on current vampire stuff, "Dark Shadows: The Complete Series" is a refreshingly classic look at vampire/supernatural soapiness. It might take awhile, but it's worth watching.

I won’t try to describe this sublime series in a couple of sentences as many reviewers before me have already done that very well. Horror, suspense, gothic romance and drama, Dark Shadows really has something for everyone.

I do think that it is worth mentioning though that the video & audio quality of the episodes are beyond impressive. They are the same as the individual DVD releases, but given the practice of wiping soap opera episodes from this time period and well into the late ‘70s, it really is a miracle that the complete series of Dark Shadows even exists. The set also hosts a large collection of must-see special features.

Before I purchased this, I viewed many different pictures online of the large coffin box that houses the massive collection of all 1,225 episodes, but I was beyond impressed when it was delivered to my door and I got my first look at it. Pictures just don’t do it justice! MPI definitely had the collector in mind with this impressive presentation that begs to be showcased.

I’ve read other reviews where fans were disappointed with the final product, but I have to respectfully disagree with those naysayers. The detailing on the strong cardboard coffin is impressive and the product is very sturdy. I love the way the red lettering of the show’s logo on the top of the black packaging really pops. When all of the DVDs are removed from the box I also discovered that there’s even great detail on the bottom of the coffin that unless you emptied it, you wouldn’t even see. There are also metal hinges on the left side and a ribbon to hold the lid open when retrieving the DVDs. The picture of Barnabas that the DVD’s spines make up is also a lot sharper than I expected.

Very pleased that this wonderful series was given such a loving and deservedly amazing release. It’s one I think most fans (both old and new) will treasure for a very long time. I know I will.

In closing I just want to say that I think this set is worth every cent. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but in the end the countless hours of timeless entertainment it provides is priceless. Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series easily earns my highest recommendation!

Great series - the kind you get hooked on! Worth every penny paid for. Just sorry the series eventually ended :(