First Passion...
"I wouldn't be a Collins if I didn't recognize that my heart, my soul, that my roots are here. And- perhaps- my destiny." -Barnabas Collins, 1967
Hello, my name is Alex and I am a Fangirl.
I would have to say I was born this way since my parents are not-so-closet geeks. I've had many obsessions from "The Phantom of the Opera" [my brother and I would listen to this endlessly on road trips], to the "Hannibal Lecter" series, any Horror novels, to "Harry Potter", Various Comics and Manga, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in all its incarnations, "Doctor Who" and now "House, MD."
But... You never forget your first.
Strangely, when I was young, like 4 and 5 years old, I was an earlier raiser. Freaky, I know. I would be up at the crack of dawn, wandering around our house and waiting for anyone to come and entertain me. My Dad was always up right after since he's always been an early bird. He'd shuffle downstairs to find me curled up on the couch with an old TJ blanket, sometimes curled up with my cat or whatever goosebumps book was out. He'd smile, say 'Morning' and turn it to the Sci-Fi channel [I hate how its Syfy now...].
Then I'd sit enraptured and frightened for an hour or so because of "Dark Shadows."
Forget cartoons! There was nothing like the heady sensation I'd get at hearing the opening theme after the 'hook' and seeing the black and white scenes slowly develop on our old television.
I never noticed there was no real action to the storyline, only dialog. I never realized how many goofs and prop malfunctions went on. I didn't care. Watching an old 1960s show that featured ghosts, vampires, witches, devils and demons was marvelous at that age! I could get away with watching it because there was no real gore! Every 'action' was done off-screen or through the use of 'creative' camera tricks.
And it was brilliant.
Too many shows and films have lost that subtle art of the scare. It's sad.
Anyway, I digress.
When I was younger, I was enthralled with a horror show. When I rediscovered my passion for it at the tender age of seventeen, I realized it was a Gothic soap opera. The romance of the stories had flown right over my head when I was little. I appreciated and still appreciate it now. So for the uninitiated...
"Dark Shadows" is about one family, the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine. They founded the town, have more money than God, and so many problems and secrets that the official family tree is wrong on so many levels, mainly because relatives didn't die or showed up two or three times pretending to be other "cousins." Collinwood, their mansion, (I love how egotistical the family is) was always under siege by spirits and demons. Husbands and wives were buried in the basement or sealed up in forgotten wings of the house. The Old House, the first home built by family patriarch Joshua Collins, was always haunted and used frequently because of its dungeon basement. When Vampire Barnabas Collins returns to his ancestral home, he lays claim to the Old House and lives there throughout the rest of the series. It was all hilariously morbid.
It's because of Barnabas Collins and the acting of Jonathan Frid that "Dark Shadows" has survived these many decades. In Horror History, the character is the first reluctant vampire of its kind... so bite that, Twilight fans. After Bela Lugosi, Frid's vampire is the most recognizable though forgotten in many of the characters of today. There would not have been a brat prince most likely if DS hadn't had a storyline where Barnabas retells his becoming a vampire to a journalist.*
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" was a regular plot device for the show, with Hell literally showing up from time to time.
There was nothing like it at the time and still isn't... unless Johnny Depp does a fantastic film revival. When I found out he had boughten the rights in 2007, I was ecstatic. Now that he's actually going through with the film version, a miserable four year wait for yours truly, I'm getting excited all over again. The casting is good in my opinion. Depp is playing Barnabas, of course. He'd be insane to give the lead role, his role, to anyone else. Eva Green ("Casino Royale") makes an excellent Angelique. I loved hearing that Helena Bonham Carter is playing Dr. Julia Hoffman, my favorite female character. I know the original Barnabas will be in the film, but he's probably just doing a quick cameo. [I apologize in advance if you're in the same theater as me. I will cheer in delight and silently, franticly point him out.] From what I've seen from the casting, they'll be doing the first vampire storyline where Barnabas is Evil and then becomes repentant and starts protecting the living family. I'm nervous with Tim Burton directing. He's had nothing but duds this decade and it worries me. I know this sort of story is up his alley, but if he fucks this up, I will never watch another film of his again.
In order to be successful, they have to capture the romanticism, horror, originality and subtle queues the show used. If they cater to the Twilight/True Blood crowd, it will fail. With filming starting in April, I can't wait to see concept art and cast photos in costume. I'm going to be on pins and needles till then.
*The brat prince is the nickname of Lestat, Anne Rice's vampire of the Vampire Chronicles. The novel I mentioned is "Interview with the Vampire." DS aired their story in 1969. Rice wrote her novel in 74. :)
Hello, my name is Alex and I am a Fangirl.
I would have to say I was born this way since my parents are not-so-closet geeks. I've had many obsessions from "The Phantom of the Opera" [my brother and I would listen to this endlessly on road trips], to the "Hannibal Lecter" series, any Horror novels, to "Harry Potter", Various Comics and Manga, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in all its incarnations, "Doctor Who" and now "House, MD."
But... You never forget your first.
Strangely, when I was young, like 4 and 5 years old, I was an earlier raiser. Freaky, I know. I would be up at the crack of dawn, wandering around our house and waiting for anyone to come and entertain me. My Dad was always up right after since he's always been an early bird. He'd shuffle downstairs to find me curled up on the couch with an old TJ blanket, sometimes curled up with my cat or whatever goosebumps book was out. He'd smile, say 'Morning' and turn it to the Sci-Fi channel [I hate how its Syfy now...].
Then I'd sit enraptured and frightened for an hour or so because of "Dark Shadows."
Forget cartoons! There was nothing like the heady sensation I'd get at hearing the opening theme after the 'hook' and seeing the black and white scenes slowly develop on our old television.
Click to viewI never noticed there was no real action to the storyline, only dialog. I never realized how many goofs and prop malfunctions went on. I didn't care. Watching an old 1960s show that featured ghosts, vampires, witches, devils and demons was marvelous at that age! I could get away with watching it because there was no real gore! Every 'action' was done off-screen or through the use of 'creative' camera tricks.
And it was brilliant.
Too many shows and films have lost that subtle art of the scare. It's sad.
Anyway, I digress.
When I was younger, I was enthralled with a horror show. When I rediscovered my passion for it at the tender age of seventeen, I realized it was a Gothic soap opera. The romance of the stories had flown right over my head when I was little. I appreciated and still appreciate it now. So for the uninitiated...
"Dark Shadows" is about one family, the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine. They founded the town, have more money than God, and so many problems and secrets that the official family tree is wrong on so many levels, mainly because relatives didn't die or showed up two or three times pretending to be other "cousins." Collinwood, their mansion, (I love how egotistical the family is) was always under siege by spirits and demons. Husbands and wives were buried in the basement or sealed up in forgotten wings of the house. The Old House, the first home built by family patriarch Joshua Collins, was always haunted and used frequently because of its dungeon basement. When Vampire Barnabas Collins returns to his ancestral home, he lays claim to the Old House and lives there throughout the rest of the series. It was all hilariously morbid.
It's because of Barnabas Collins and the acting of Jonathan Frid that "Dark Shadows" has survived these many decades. In Horror History, the character is the first reluctant vampire of its kind... so bite that, Twilight fans. After Bela Lugosi, Frid's vampire is the most recognizable though forgotten in many of the characters of today. There would not have been a brat prince most likely if DS hadn't had a storyline where Barnabas retells his becoming a vampire to a journalist.*
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" was a regular plot device for the show, with Hell literally showing up from time to time.
There was nothing like it at the time and still isn't... unless Johnny Depp does a fantastic film revival. When I found out he had boughten the rights in 2007, I was ecstatic. Now that he's actually going through with the film version, a miserable four year wait for yours truly, I'm getting excited all over again. The casting is good in my opinion. Depp is playing Barnabas, of course. He'd be insane to give the lead role, his role, to anyone else. Eva Green ("Casino Royale") makes an excellent Angelique. I loved hearing that Helena Bonham Carter is playing Dr. Julia Hoffman, my favorite female character. I know the original Barnabas will be in the film, but he's probably just doing a quick cameo. [I apologize in advance if you're in the same theater as me. I will cheer in delight and silently, franticly point him out.] From what I've seen from the casting, they'll be doing the first vampire storyline where Barnabas is Evil and then becomes repentant and starts protecting the living family. I'm nervous with Tim Burton directing. He's had nothing but duds this decade and it worries me. I know this sort of story is up his alley, but if he fucks this up, I will never watch another film of his again.
In order to be successful, they have to capture the romanticism, horror, originality and subtle queues the show used. If they cater to the Twilight/True Blood crowd, it will fail. With filming starting in April, I can't wait to see concept art and cast photos in costume. I'm going to be on pins and needles till then.
*The brat prince is the nickname of Lestat, Anne Rice's vampire of the Vampire Chronicles. The novel I mentioned is "Interview with the Vampire." DS aired their story in 1969. Rice wrote her novel in 74. :)