My Top 10 Dark Shadows Episodes

With Halloween rapidly approaching, I thought I'd list my Top 10 Dark Shadows episodes. 10 out of 1,225? Talk about making tough choices! Going in story order, here's #1: After weeks of both Victoria Winters and the audience being led to believe Roger Collins was responsible for the death of Bill Malloy, Vicki realizes the culprit is Matthew Morgan... and she's trapped in his cottage with him.


#2: The demise of Laura Collins. The original Phoenix storyline was one of the absolute best and a great favorite of mine. It was the series' first great foray into the supernatural, with twists and turns, lots of mysteries, and a brilliant performance by Diana Millay as Laura. Everyone was given something wonderful to do, with a nice balance being found between characterization and the supernatural elements.

With Laura having returned to reclaim her son David, the implications become more and more ominous when Victoria Winters and Dr. Peter Guthrie discover that Laura is an immortal Phoenix and she plans a fiery death for both herself and David. However, warned by the ghost of Josette Collins, Vicki arrives in time to prevent David's death as Laura is consumed in flames. Epic stuff! 

#3: Barnabas Collins arrives at Collinwood. This probably seems like an obvious choice and for good reason, it's an absolutely fantastic episode. After the successful Phoenix arc, the series went full steam ahead with the supernatural by introducing the Collins family's darkest secret: a vampire. Unleashed from his coffin after nearly 200 years, Barnabas arrives at Collinwood claiming to be a distant cousin from England. Introduced to Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and Victoria Winters, Barnabas is suave and charming, with a spellbinding performance by Jonathan Frid.

Although added to the series as the villain to end all villains, Frid's sympathetic portrayal of Barnabas would not only save the show from the cancellation axe, but would have the entire country falling in love with him.

#4: Dr. Julia Hoffman discovers Barnabas Collins' secret. Having survived Barnabas Collins' kidnapping, Maggie Evans was hidden at Windcliff Sanitarium to undergo treatment by Dr. Julia Hoffman. Julia soon discovered clues to the identity of Maggie's kidnapper, and visited Collinwood posing as a historian. Her suspicions about Barnabas proved fruitful; he was a vampire and had taken Maggie in an attempt to turn her into his lost love Josette.

This episode is amazing on so many levels. Julia has no fear of Barnabas and even openly challenges him. Barnabas, however, is terrified of his secret being exposed--especially now that he has fallen for Victoria Winters--and he goes to Julia's room to kill her... Only to find Julia waiting for him. "I've been waiting for you, Barnabas Collins. I've been waiting a very long time."

Grayson Hall's Julia was a tremendous addition to the series. A powerhouse character actress, Hall's multi-layered performance endeared her with viewers. And Julia soon became just as popular as Barnabas.

#5: Sarah appears to Barnabas. The ghost of Sarah Collins (beautifully played by Sharon Lentz) first appeared as a mysterious little girl who helped Maggie Evans escape from Barnabas Collins. Sarah soon befriended and found a kindred spirit in David Collins, while also appearing to Victoria Winters, Carolyn Stoddard, Sam Evans, Willie Loomis, Dr. Julia Hoffman, and Dr. Dave Woodard. The one person she would not appear to, however, was her older brother Barnabas.

With Barnabas and Julia's uneasy alliance having deteriorated, Sarah intervenes when the vampire tried to kill the doctor once and for all. And little Sarah Collins was not happy. Barnabas is overjoyed to see his beloved sister, but Sarah reminds him of a rhyme he once taught her: "That evil is wicked as well understood, the wicked are punished so you must be good." She refuses to stay with him, and promises to never return; that will be Barnabas' punishment. It is an incredibly powerful scene in which we see Barnabas left in tears.

Meanwhile, Vicki still cannot deal with the reality of Burke Devlin's death. And we're afforded a lovely moment with Elizabeth Collins Stoddard adamantly telling Barnabas that she won't stand by and watch Vicki mourning a dead man for the rest of her life.

Episode #364 hits the ball out of the park and scores on several levels as David, who has up to now been disbelieved concerning his fears of Barnabas, is vindicated when Julia confirms everything. Which leads to the family holding a seance in the hopes of contacting Sarah in the following episode, and beginning one of the series' greatest story's ever.

#6: Angelique curses Barnabas. When the character of Barnabas Collins became far too popular to kill off (as originally planned) the DS production team found themselves faced with a dilemma. How to continue with the character? With a stroke of genius, it was decided to take the series back in time and show how Barnabas became a vampire in the first place.

During a seance to contact the ghost of Sarah Collins, Victoria Winters disappeared and found herself in 1795 surrounded by a sea of familiar faces. A clever twist ensured that no new cast members were needed; the present-day characters all had counterparts in the past. However, there was one new, very important addition: Angelique Bouchard, the maidservant of Josette du Pres and former lover of Barnabas, played to perfection by Lamar Rickey Hawkins. Angelique was soon revealed to be a witch, and she would stop at nothing to win Barnabas back.

Wicked spells abounded, with Barnabas nearly choking to death, Joshua Collins being transformed into a cat, and Josette and Jeremiah Collins eloping. Barnabas finally agreed to marry Angelique after she cured his sister Sarah from a spell she herself placed upon the little girl. The doomed marriage came to an end when Barnabas discovered Angelique was responsible for all the tragedies at Collinwood, and he determined to kill her.

An electrifying confrontation left Angelique shot by Barnabas' flintlock, and Angelique--believing she was dying--had one final thing to say to the man she loved: "I set a curse on you, Barnabas Collins! You wanted your Josette so much, well you shall have her--but not in the way that you would have chosen. You will never rest, Barnabas, and you will never be able to love anyone--for whoever loves you will die! That is my curse, and you will live with it through all eternity!"

Moments later a bat appeared in the room, and attacked Barnabas, sealing Angelique's curse by turning him into one of the living dead.

#7: Angelique attacks Barnabas. After Victoria Winters returned to the present, Angelique followed and, donning the disguise of Cassandra, married Roger Collins and initiated a deadly Dream Curse intended to revert a now cured Barnabas Collins back to being a vampire. Angelique's plan failed and she fell victim to warlock Nicholas Blair's (played by the amazing Humbert Allen Astredo) punishment. In a clever twist of poetic justice Nicholas transformed Angelique into a vampire.

Episode #605 was right smack in the middle of the series' homage to Frankenstein--the Adam and Eve storyline--and Angelique revealing herself to be one of the undead to Barnabas is a definite highlight. There's also the added bonus of Dr. Julia Hoffman and Professor Timothy Eliot Stokes (played by the wonderful Thayer David) keeping Nicholas distracted while Barnabas searches his house. An awesome combination of epic proportions.

#8: Quentin's ghost takes over Collinwood. With a chilling twist on Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw", David Collins and Amy Jennings discovered a sealed off room in the west wing of Collinwood. The two children unleashed the malevolent ghost of Quentin Collins, and were soon possessed. Things spiraled out of control as Quentin's insidious presence eventually forced the Collins family to abandon the ancestral mansion. Quentin's maniacal laughter filled the house as his music played and echoed over sweeping shots of the empty rooms. One of the series' scariest and most effective episodes ever!

#9: Judith's revenge. In order to save the life of David Collins and rid Collinwood of Quentin Collins' ghost, Barnabas Collins traveled back to 1897 using the mystical I Ching wands found in Quentin's room. This began the series' most epic storyline, which saw it reaching its height in popularity with 20 million viewers tuning in! Originally only meant to last a few months, 1897 was extended to nearly a year and saw some of the most imaginative storytelling and richly drawn characters ever.

My favorite moment of all was Judith Collins Trask's delicious vengeance against her cruel, philandering husband, the Reverend Gregory Trask. Trask, having employed black arts practitioner Evan Hanley to gaslight Judith, had her committed to a sanitarium in which to gain control of the Collins family fortune.

Judith, upon being released, had learned the truth about Trask. That he forced Hanley into placing a spell upon hapless school teacher Tim Shaw to murder Minerva Trask. Together with Tim, Judith set a plan in motion to remove Trask from the equation once and for all. Knocking Trask unconscious via a drugged glass of brandy, Judith and Tim left the so-called Reverend in Quentin's abandoned room. Trask awoke to find to his horror that Tim has sealed the entrance with bricks. Through a small hole, Trask sees Judith who tells him he will now have "all the time to meditate he would like." Tim places the final brick in the wall.

Brilliant retribution for a thoroughly loathsome character! And the late, great Joan Bennett is fabulous!

#10: 1995. Time travel had become a much anticipated staple of the series, with journeys to 1795 and 1897, and even a Parallel Time of 1970. In an imaginative and clever move, the writers took Barnabas and Julia not to the past, the present or sideways in time... but to the future. Escaping from Parallel Time, Barnabas and Julia found themselves in the year 1995 in a completely destroyed Collinwood.

Although this storyline only ran for a short couple of weeks, it was one of the best, with great mysteries around every corner, beloved characters older and completely insane after the horrific events of 1970 left Collinwood in ruins, and the terrifying ghost of Gerard Stiles to contend with. The image of Stiles sneering at Julia from a window scared me witless!

Doctor Who'ing

It's been quite a while since I last posted. But I wanted to write down my thoughts as Beth, Wes (and now the adorable Pike) continue our Doctor Who marathon of the Classic Series. We finished "The Ark" and got through "The Celestial Toymaker".

Of the two, "The Ark" was enjoyed the most, while "The Celestial Toymaker" turned out to be a difficult story to get through. They liked the idea of the Doctor and his companions unwittingly bringing an illness (and its consequences) down on the space-ark. Wes commented on the early sci-fi trappings of aliens being referred to by numbers instead of names

"The Celestial Toymaker", for its part, was seen as a good idea executed badly. I've never understood why a certain portion of fandom holds this tale up as a classic, because--let's face it--the story isn't very good. I'd go so far as to say it's the weakest of an otherwise strong season. My friends praised the Toymaker for being an interesting character. We all agreed he needed a better outing.

Beth didn't like the inconsistency in which the companions--particularly Steven--were portrayed. She saw Dodo, who despite having an unfortunate name and appalling fashions, being the most sensible of the two. I've always liked Dodo, even if the majority of fandom doesn't. She's no Vicki, that's for sure. But I don't think she deserves any hate.

Wonder Woman: The Early Years

Being a Wonder Woman fan pretty much since day one, I can remember the Lowndes Middle School library having several of the early comics in plastic binders for reading. I spent many happy hours devouring them, and when I learned that DC had reissued the early adventures in omnibus format, I ordered myself a copy. As corny and as cheesy as these initial strip stories can be, they are a lot of fun. What struck me was how closely the pilot for the WW TV series starring Lynda Carter adhered to the original comic.

Of course there are some things that are risible. Including Diana changing places with a nurse who just happens to look like her and is named Diana Prince. Then there's the fact that she carries a small suitcase around with her WW costume in it for when she needs to change. Thank goodness for Lynda Carter coming up with the idea to spin around and become WW!

Being of its time (the 1940s) there's quite a bit of racism in these strips; Blacks are depicted in the minstrel style while Asians are referred to as "Japs." Women are not as independent as they could be. Even Diana finds herself constantly mooning over Steve Trevor, at one point even bursting into tears when he leaves the hospital and she thinks she'll never see him again. Get a hold of yourself; you're Wonder Woman for goodness' sake!

In hindsight WW's creator William Moulton Marston's predilections for kink are very evident in the stories. I lost count of how many times WW ended up in chains or tied up. There's even a housewife character whose husband chains her to a stove! Not to mention WW's allies - the girls of Holliday College - being shown hazing potential sorority members with paddles.

Putting the negatives aside, I really enjoyed diving into these stories and I found the book difficult to put down. Looking forward to getting the second volume!

Doctor Who'ing

With my friends Beth and Wes, our marathon journey through Doctor Who has brought us to the beginning of the third season. Today we tackled four stories: The Time Meddler, Galaxy 4, Mission to the Unknown, and The Myth Makers.

The Time Meddler was a particular delight for Beth, who enjoyed the mystery of a time-traveling Monk up to no good in 1066. Unwilling to spoil my friends, I kept the Monk's identity of being another Time Lord a surprise. Beth agreed that she liked the Monk's mischievous machinations compared to those of the more evil Master. She even commented that it was probably more fun traveling with the Monk than the Doctor!

I was saddened that this was our last complete story to view for a little while. It's silly, I know, but I genuinely fretted over whether my friends could handle recon after recon.

We watched Galaxy 4 via the great recon that was intended as an extra on The Time Meddler DVD. This story fell into the "okay" category, which actually might be a first during our viewing so far. Beth's reaction to the Drahvin spaceship--"They live in a trailer?"--made me burst out laughing.

Maaga, leader of the Drahvins, missed her calling as a Dominatrix, we felt. Just look how much she loves punishing her drones, and those orgasmic monologues about bringing harm to others.

Steven's out-of-character behavior, with his background as an astronaut being forgotten when he finds himself trapped in an airlock, raised an eyebrow.

Mission to the Unknown was a surprising oddity for Beth and Wes. They were taken aback by the absence of the Doctor, Vicki and Steven, as well as the prospect of an ongoing Dalek series (which we all agreed would have failed). The Varga plants were noted as being especially unusual, and the make-up for the alien Malpha was praised.

On a personal note, I was horrified that the soundtrack of the Loose Cannon recon was so terrible. It's been a while since I last watched it and, if I'd've realized, I would have certainly dubbed the clean CD soundtrack over it.

Finally, there was The Myth Makers, which turned out to be the biggest hit of the day. It's a personal favorite of mine, and I was thrilled that Beth and Wes enjoyed it too. Wes liked that Donald Cotton's witty script was akin Monty Python, and I was pleased to find Beth smiling throughout.

Vicki's abrupt departure at the story's end came as a shock. After the adventure was over, I enlightened my friends to the circumstances regarding Maureen O'Brien's leaving the series, and how William Hartnell was absolutely furious with new producer John Wiles over it.

Although Vicki's goodbye is a nice one (especially compared to certain other companions) the decision to write her out was a rotten one. Today, even script editor Donald Tosh laments it. O'Brien and Hartnell had tremendous chemistry, and it would have been wonderful to see more of the First Doctor/Vicki/Steven TARDIS team.

So, my friends survived three recons in a row... Which, I'm relived about! Thankfully, there's at least three surviving episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan to enjoy next time.

Pic Spam

Just because I had to share the awesomeness that is Matt Smith.

Kingdom of the Dead, Parts 3 & 4

Finishing up the second season of Dark Shadows full-cast audio dramas, Part three of Kingdom of the Dead sees Lysette Anthony's villainous Dr. Rankin return and set her sights on the inhabitants of Collinsport. Having been drawn together, Barnabas, Angélique, Quentin, Maggie, Willie, and David are all assaulted by their worst fears. It's a harrowing an effective sequence, especially when an old telephone appears in David's hands and his trauma at the hands of Quentin's ghost returns.

Cleverly, Rankin is ultimately defeated by unleashing a creature upon her that cannot feel fear: the werewolf. Although I've often found that using Angélique to cast a spell and defeat a villain has been used too often in the audio plays, here her powers are put to clever effect. Having Angélique bypass the power of Quentin's portrait and transform him into the werewolf again is something I could easily see happening in the TV series.

Once the enemy is finally defeated, events hurtle to a climax in Part four. Quentin, having fallen in love with Susan Griffin, co-owner of the Blue Whale with her husband Ed, discovers she has become a victim of Barnabas'. Meanwhile, Angélique has enlisted Ed to be her servant.

Interestingly, as Maggie learned the truth about Barnabas earlier in the storyline, so David is also afforded the chance to discover that Angélique is, in fact, his former stepmother Cassandra. David makes a ruthless deal with her in order to rid Collinsport of the creature from the point between life and death that Barnabas and Quentin first encountered in Part one. Reverend Trask does the job for them, however, by murdering Susan and the being is banished.

With things back to normal--or as normal as they can possibly be at Collinwood--a distraught Quentin decides to leave town again just as Carolyn Stoddard returns. Barnabas, meanwhile, after a blistering confrontation with Maggie, also departs... Albeit not for good. His mission is to find Dr. Julia Hoffman with the hope that she might cure him of his vampirism again.

Kingdom of the Dead finishes on one hell of a cliffhanger as David and Carolyn are reunited, with the former carrying a familiar disembodied hand. Both Carolyn and David have been possessed by Count Petofi!

Over the second season has been a can't miss success. It's one hell of a ride, with the actors giving it their all and bringing these beloved characters back to life so brilliantly. I'm excited about the prospect of the malevolent Count Petofi returning, which was an idea bandied about for the final TV storyline. I do wonder if season three will see recasts for Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Roger Collins, and Dr. Julia Hoffman, all hinted at to be coming back.

Also, it's worth mentioning that Kingdom of the Dead sees the first blatant continuity nod with the first Dark Shadows audio drama, Return to Collinwood, with Willie Loomis meeting his wife from that play, Jessica, portrayed by Marie Wallace.

Kingdom of the Dead, Parts 1 & 2

Having finally had a chance to listen to the second season of Dark Shadows full-cast audio dramas, I thought I'd post my thoughts about the story. The first part deals with the ramifications of the previous season's cliffhanger, in which the ship The Lorelei sank with Barnabas Collins and Quentin Collins still on board. The pair find themselves trapped in the halfway point between life and death, where a new villain awaits them. Angélique manages to find her way there, however she can only rescue one... and she chooses Barnabas. This creates a rift between Barnabas and Quentin, opening up old wounds and creating some very tense moments between the characters.

Meanwhile, Maggie Evans finds herself in peril after remembering the ordeal she suffered when Barnabas kidnapped her back in 1967. Her confrontation of Barnabas is a moment we were never granted in the TV series, and Kathryn Leigh Scott clearly relishes sinking her teeth into the wealth of emotion she's given to play. In order to protect her from Barnabas, Willie Loomis has no other choice but to hide her at Windcliff Sanitarium, which does not sit well with Maggie after having endured two previous stays there (first, at the hands of Barnabas, and then later, Roxanne Drew). But, Maggie finds herself in even more danger as the Sanitarium has been taken over by the sinister Dr. Rankin, played by Lysette Anthony, in reality a creature that feeds off of fear.

Maggie isn't alone, however, as she finds an ally in the mysterious orderly, Patient D, played by Alec Newman. In a surprising move, it turns out that Patient D is, in fact, an older David Collins, suffering from amnesia. David, having attempted to use magic in order to forget the horrors of Collinwood, has made himself vulnerable to Dr. Rankin's machinations. Although Rankin is seemingly defeated, things are not well in Collinsport, as a descendant of Reverend Trask appears on the scene, and, to put it mildly, all hell is about to break loose.

Halfway through the story, and it's been a fantastic ride so far. Part 1 largely deals with the aftermath of The Rage Beneath, and Kingdom of the Dead itself doesn't properly get going until Part 2. I've had a couple of minor quibbles while listening, most glaringly being why Angélique, determined to protect Barnabas at all costs, doesn't simply erase Maggie's renewed memory?

Looking forward to Parts 3 & 4 tonight!