Dark Shadows - DVD Collection 1

If you're new to Dark Shadows and are curious about this show and want a good starter sampler, this DVD collection is perhaps the best and least expensive way to start. For to begin with less than these 40 episodes will not give one a good idea of the scope of this programme. Quite frankly, even 40 episodes isn't enough to give anyone the idea of the scope of this show as there were so many changes in events and characters throughout the series. Keep in mind this is/was a five day a week soap opera (even if it is gothic), that it was on for approximately four to five years, that, as with all soap operas, it is mainly dialogue-based and moves at a snail's pace, and that, as such, can be very boring and tedious at times! And do expect low budget effects, bouts of melodramatic acting, and loads and loads of flubs and mistakes that made it onto film (due to the fact that the show was more often than not taped live and editing wasn't an option). However despite the many drawbacks, Dark Shadows is charming, addicting, imaginative, romantic, and eerie. And no matter how much one likes or dislikes a particular episode, one simply MUST see the next episode...and the next...and the next...and so on.

In a nutshell, Dark Shadows, with all its faults (probably more than any other show that ever aired on television), is pleasing because of the suspense and intrigue, and the imagination that propells it; because of the continuing story and the characters involved (who are portrayed by some very talented actors); and because of the romantic, supernatural escapism that draws us in. Watching Dark Shadows is very much like watching a play on a stage; and if one views it that way (no pun intended) all the mistakes, flubs, etc. will simply not matter.

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Here it comes again -- that night train carrying governess Victoria Winters to mythical Collinsport and the start of an enthralling TV saga. There's that handsome stranger (who will eventually time-travel to the alternate dimension of "Dharma & Greg" as Greg's well-oiled father) who ladles on ironic foreshadowing by way of introduction: "Welcome to the end of the world." Miss Vicki tosses off a response that would prove more ironic than even the show's production team realized at the time: "I'm afraid I'm not going that far. Only to a house called Collinwood." Oh, my dear, you're going much farther than the end of the world as you know it.

Creepy ol' Collinsport has never looked more inviting, thanks to the savvy folks at MPI Home Video who know how to serve up irresistible fan-fare in stylish boxed sets sprinkled with nifty extras. Collection 1 includes interviews with series stars Jonathan Frid, Kathryn Leigh Scott, and John Karlen, all of whom recall their DS experiences with fondness and appreciation for the unique opportunities the show provided. Not to mention the unexpected fanaticism it sparked.

The fan loyalty endures, despite the fact that, as Frid points out, "Dark Shadows" was one of the shortest-lived daytime soaps (airing on ABC from 1966-71). "We ran out of gas," is how he sums up the limitations of the show's specific material. "There are only a handful of classic horror stories, and we did them once and twice over." Why stop at once or twice? Now you can enjoy eternally crisp rewatchability in doses of 40 episodes per box.