Dark Shadows Set 5 Beginnings

This boxed set from the iconic Classic TV soap opera Dark Shadows represents the next to the last set of episodes before the fabled appearance of 175-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins.

MPI Home Video should be congratulated for continuing to release these less familiar and seldom seen episodes onto DVD.

In this boxed set, containing 35 episodes that first aired in 1967, the first-ever seance in soap opera history is held! Seances and other supernatural events became a staple of this unique soap opera throughout the remainder of the fantastic series.

The Collins family is continuing to cope with the unexpected return of Roger Collins' wife, Laura Murdock Radcliff Collins, whose presence becomes even more mysterious, supernatural and - very dangerous.

Roger (Louis Edmonds) had told his young son David (David Henesy) that his mother was dead, but she had actually suffered a mental breakdown and was confined in sanitarium. Since being released, she apparently had been living in Phoenix, Ariz., unbeknownst to the Collins family.

Without warning, Laura (Diana Millay) returned to Collinwood and demanded full custody of her son. Roger's sister, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Joan Bennett) steadfastly refused, and was inexplicably stricken by what appears to be a trance. The family also learns that a woman, identified AS Laura Collins, was found burned to death in Laura's apartment in Phoenix three days prior to Laura's arrival at Collinwood.

Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke), Collinwood governess, becomes so uneasy about the frightening events surrounding Laura that she decides to do everything in her power to prevent David from seeing his mother. She joins forces with Dr. Peter Guthrie (John Lasell), a psychic investigator, who has come to Collinwood to investigate these odd occurrences.

In this boxed set, artist Sam Evans (David Ford) continues to be tormented and compelled to paint the beautiful Laura in a setting surrounded by flames - with young David by her side. Laura threatens Sam, saying she would ensure that he'd never paint again if he didn't stop and destroy the painting of her and David. Soon after, Sam falls asleep, dreams of Laura's eyes, then awakens to find real flames in front of him. He reaches to put out the fire and badly burns his hands. On the other side of the room completely away from the fire, the portrait of Laura and David has been burned through!

In an attempt to find more out about Laura, Victoria and Guthrie hold the seance to contact the ghost of Josette Collins, who has helped members of the Collins for more than 100 years.

Bonuses include interviews with Millay, writers Ron Sproat and Malcolm Marmorstein, and author/horror expert Leonard Wolf.

These early black and white episodes take place prior to the arrival of the reluctant vampire, played by the gifted Jonathan Frid. Frid joined the cast at Episode 211, which first aired 04/18/67. Almost immediately, the show skyrocketed to international iconic status. Many fans who began watching once Barnabas became a fixture on the show, never saw these early episodes, or when they were syndicated for a short time.

Dark Shadows-The beginning Collection 5==We are now well into the Supernatural-Joan Bennett and Louis Edmounds carry the story lines-The rest of the young cast our beginng to show their acting chops as their characters take shape. The casting is good and the scripts are sharpe. Black and White was the best way to go here creates a perfect atmosphere for the story line.

I don't know why MPI didn't release Dark Shadows from the beginning of the series; the first year is definitely worth watching. The early warring with Burke Devlin seemed a bit dragged out until the murder of Bill Malloy. The Beginning Volume 5 is very suspenceful as we watch the 2nd supernatural plot line of the series play out. Not only is it good in it's own right, but it is an important background story for when Laura reappears in the Barnabus years. I've enjoyed these early episodes very much, they are a must for any Dark Shadows fan. Dark Shadows has a cinematic quality to it that has not been rivaled by any other soap opera in television history. The special effects were very advanced for the 1960s. I guarantee that fans of the suspence/horror genre won't be dissapointed either.

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