| Dark Shadows | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Based on | Dark Shadows byDan Curtis |
| Directed by | P. J. Hogan |
| Starring | Alec Newman Jessica Chastain Marley Shelton |
| Production | |
| Producer | The WB |
| Camera setup | Single |
| Running time | Approx. 1 hour |
Dark Shadows is a one-hourtelevision pilot that was aremake of the 1966–1971gothicsoap opera television seriesDark Shadows. The pilot was commissioned byThe WB and produced in 2004, but not picked up for a series.
Victoria Winters arrives by train to Collinsport, where she has been hired by the Collins family to tutor their youngest member,David. She is welcomed by matriarchElizabeth Collins Stoddard, but experiences strange and disturbing dreams during her first night in the mansion. Victoria meets David, the son of Elizabeth's brotherRoger Collins, who is constantly plagued by memories of his mother. Meanwhile,Willie Loomis and his girlfriend Kelly Vance go to the Collinwood crypt in search of treasure, and open the locked coffin ofBarnabas Collins. In the process, Kelly cuts her hand and some blood falls upon the desiccated corpse, reviving him. A vampire, Barnabas drains Kelly of her blood and attacks Willie. He later attacks Elizabeth's daughterCarolyn Stoddard, who is walking to her car from a romantic encounter withJoe Haskell on his boat.
Barnabas presents himself at Collinwood as a distant relative from England, as Elizabeth and a less than enthusiastic Roger note his resemblance to the historical Barnabas Collins, whose portrait hangs in the mansion. Victoria feels immediately drawn to Barnabas. He asks permission to restore the Old House, and although Roger cautions him against it, he is determined to proceed. David and Victoria visit the Old House and Barnabas shows Victoria a portrait ofJosette DuPres, which greatly resembles her. It hangs in Josette's room, which had been walled up until now. Willie, now working for Barnabas, bears fang marks and cannot say enough good things about Barnabas. At night David wakes and goes into the woods, where he removes a dagger from the ground. What might be the spirit of the witchAngelique is now apparently free. Meanwhile, Dr.Julia Hoffman confirms that Carolyn's wounds match those on Kelly's recently discovered corpse. Carolyn, late at night at the hospital, wakes and looks longingly out the hospital window, murmuring "Come back." When Victoria drives back to Collinwood she seemingly hits Angelique with her car. The disfigured Angelique screams, "He's mine!"
The pilot included new characters not previously shown in the original or the 1991 versions of the series, including Sophia Loomis and Kelly Vance. CharactersMaggie Evans, Sam Evans and Sarah Collins from the prior versions were included in the script, but did not appear in the filmed pilot (although Sarah is mentioned by David).
Alec Newman went on to play a grown up David Collins in an audio series ofDark Shadows produced by the British companyBig Finish, which was created as a continuation of the first T.V. series and starred many of the original actors.
TV Guide reported in November 2003 thatThe WB had secured the rights to adapt the 1966–1971gothicsoap operaDark Shadows into a new television series.[2] Created byDan Curtis,Dark Shadows had previously been remade as a short-lived1991 prime time series.[3][4] Apilot was commissioned and produced in 2004.[5][6] Not wanting to have two vampire shows in competition with each other, The WB canceled theBuffy the Vampire Slayer spin-offAngel to make room forDark Shadows in the 2004–2005 television season.[7][8]
With a budget of $6 million, the pilot was written byMark Verheiden.[9] It starred Alec Newman as Barnabas, Marley Shelton as Victoria, Blair Brown as Elizabeth, Martin Donovan as Roger, Kelly Hu as Dr. Hoffman, and Jessica Chastain as Carolyn.[8][10] The pilot was cast younger than previous adaptations, and was the first iteration ofDark Shadows with diverse casting for major characters.[9][11] Todd McIntosh was the lead makeup artist, with prosthetics built by Andrew Clements.[12] They created a series of looks for Barnabas in varying stages of decomposition as he transitions back to the appearance of a living man.[12] The original director,Rob Bowman, backed out of the project at the last minute due to other commitments, and was replaced byP. J. Hogan.[9] Curtis, Hogan, and The WB reportedly all had different visions for the series.[7][9] The pilot was filmed at theGreystone Mansion inBeverly Hills, California, which also served as theCollinwood Mansion for theprevious 1991 remake.[8][9]
The pilot was screened for The WB in June 2004,[9] but was not picked up for a series.[5][9][12] WB chairmanGarth Ancier said in July 2005, "We had a new director [Hogan] come in who was accomplished in movies but frankly didn't do a particularly good job ... The script was terrific, but creatively, the end result did not come out the way we'd all hoped for."[9] Jeff Thompson wrote inThe Television Horrors of Dan Curtis that The WB later regretted its decision, as the 2004–2005 season saw the debut of several popular "mystical and quirky" series likeLost,Desperate Housewives,Medium,Ghost Whisperer, andSupernatural.[9]
The pilot never aired because The WB passed on the series.[5][12] It was screened at a 2005Dark Shadows festival inLos Angeles, with subsequent showings at the 2006Dark Shadows 40th Anniversary Festival inBrooklyn, New York, the 2008Dark Shadows Festival inBurbank, California and the 2009Dark Shadows Festival inElizabeth, New Jersey.[9]
In his bookDark Shadows,Harry M. Benshoff wrote, "Perhaps the most interesting thing about the pilot was its luridly lit visual design, one more reminiscent of Italian horror films by Mario Bava and/or Dario Argento than the original series."[11] CriticMark Dawidziak commented at the 2005Dark Shadows Festival that much of the pilot was "lighted like a French whorehouse."[9] Thompson praised the cast, in particular Newman and the female performers.[9]