067; why you should be watching dark shadows.
(this post brought to you by the enabling of lastblazes, and because I've gotten a lot of questions about it lately.)
DARK SHADOWS: WHAT IS IT?
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that ran from 1966 to 1971. The story begins with a young woman named Victoria Winters who is hired under mysterious circumstances to be a governess to the heir of the prestigious Collins family of Collinsport, Maine. From there, she quickly becomes caught in webs of suspicion, mystery, and the paranormal.
The show was not a ratings winner when it first began, but when a paranormal-themed plot involving seances and the mysterious introduction of Laura Collins - a phoenix, as it turned out - people became interested. However, after Laura's plot concluded, Dark Shadows was once again in danger of cancellation. In a moment of desperation, the writers introduced a character by the name of Barnabas Collins (remember this - it's important), a vampire who was determined to find the reincarnation of his long-lost love, Josette. The character of Barnabas was initially only intended for a thirteen-week run, but the character proved so incredibly popular that the writers kept him for almost the entire run of the show. From there, the door was opened to other supernatural plotlines, including time-travel, witches, evil cults, werewolves, and parallel dimensions.
WHY YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING IT:
•Barnabas. No really.
•Classic case of "so bad it's good." The sets wobble, the actors screw up lines, but it's just so endearing that you have to love it.
•But don't get me wrong. When the show has a good plotline, it has a good plotline.
•You're gonna be crazy about it when the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie comes out anyway. Why not be a cool kid and get a head start?
•Remember that bit about parallel dimensions? Yeah - it has its own in-series AU fic. Not counting the movies.
•For Twilight fans - Barnabas basically started the whole vampire media craze. Without him? You'd have no Edward.
•Not to mention that I'm pretty much convinced that Stephenie Meyer stole chunks of dialogue from Barnabas and Josette for Edward and Bella.
•For fans of The Vampire Diaries: they're the same thing. Dark Shadows has just graduated. No. I'm serious.
•Angelique and Nicholas Blair. No, really.
•What I said about line screw-ups and wobbly sets? Other than being endearing, it also provides enormous lulz. "I am defending the right of this woman to be judged innocent... until she is proven innocent!" "My incestors - incestors?! - ancestors are buried here."
•More people need to hate on Burke Devlin with me.
•Because Team Collins is always superior.
•Hot pimpstickings. Barnabas is just passin' 'em out.
•Because of Roger and Victoria - the biggest OTP to ever be completely obvious but never become canon. Even though they were so leaning toward it.
•It's the Supernatural of the 1960s.
•Minus Sam and Dean.
•And the Impala.
•Okay, maybe I lied. But if Dark Shadows were on the air today, the crossovers between it and Supernatural would be crazy.
•In fact, the crossovers between it and everything ever would be crazy.
•The creativity that this show inspires - in me, at least - is amazing. It's almost impossible not to write fic for it, or make icons, or fanmixes.
•For shippers, practically every pairing you could imagine has canon evidence. It's practically impossible to go wrong.
•In fact, there's even potential for a ship war. Barnabas/Josette vs. Barnabas/Angelique. Place your bets now.
•Quentin Collins. No, really.
•There is a magic time-travel room.
•Because it's glorious.
•No, really. You won't understand until you watch.
•It's one of those shows that you do become emotionally invested in after a certain point. Yeah, I've yelled at my screen at characters. No, I'm not ashamed.
•I said so.
SIDE-EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE...
•Addiction.
•Withdrawal.
•Insomnia.
•Loss of your soul.
•Calling the sheriff.
•Unexpected seances.
•Inability to understand.
•A sudden need to live on a cliff by the sea.
•Loving it - inexplicably.
•Crushing on Barnabas - inexplicably.
•Maybe Quentin, too.
•Also, vampires.
And now that I know I've convinced you, you'll want to check out the first ten episodes that I've uploaded here. After that, skip around via torrents - also this brilliant link right here.. Have a ball. Never look back. also this post is public so I feel like everyone familiar should spam it. Just saying.
DARK SHADOWS: WHAT IS IT?
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that ran from 1966 to 1971. The story begins with a young woman named Victoria Winters who is hired under mysterious circumstances to be a governess to the heir of the prestigious Collins family of Collinsport, Maine. From there, she quickly becomes caught in webs of suspicion, mystery, and the paranormal.
The show was not a ratings winner when it first began, but when a paranormal-themed plot involving seances and the mysterious introduction of Laura Collins - a phoenix, as it turned out - people became interested. However, after Laura's plot concluded, Dark Shadows was once again in danger of cancellation. In a moment of desperation, the writers introduced a character by the name of Barnabas Collins (remember this - it's important), a vampire who was determined to find the reincarnation of his long-lost love, Josette. The character of Barnabas was initially only intended for a thirteen-week run, but the character proved so incredibly popular that the writers kept him for almost the entire run of the show. From there, the door was opened to other supernatural plotlines, including time-travel, witches, evil cults, werewolves, and parallel dimensions.
WHY YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING IT:
•Barnabas. No really.
•Classic case of "so bad it's good." The sets wobble, the actors screw up lines, but it's just so endearing that you have to love it.
•But don't get me wrong. When the show has a good plotline, it has a good plotline.
•You're gonna be crazy about it when the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie comes out anyway. Why not be a cool kid and get a head start?
•Remember that bit about parallel dimensions? Yeah - it has its own in-series AU fic. Not counting the movies.
•For Twilight fans - Barnabas basically started the whole vampire media craze. Without him? You'd have no Edward.
•Not to mention that I'm pretty much convinced that Stephenie Meyer stole chunks of dialogue from Barnabas and Josette for Edward and Bella.
•For fans of The Vampire Diaries: they're the same thing. Dark Shadows has just graduated. No. I'm serious.
•Angelique and Nicholas Blair. No, really.
•What I said about line screw-ups and wobbly sets? Other than being endearing, it also provides enormous lulz. "I am defending the right of this woman to be judged innocent... until she is proven innocent!" "My incestors - incestors?! - ancestors are buried here."
•More people need to hate on Burke Devlin with me.
•Because Team Collins is always superior.
•Hot pimpstickings. Barnabas is just passin' 'em out.
•Because of Roger and Victoria - the biggest OTP to ever be completely obvious but never become canon. Even though they were so leaning toward it.
•It's the Supernatural of the 1960s.
•Minus Sam and Dean.
•And the Impala.
•Okay, maybe I lied. But if Dark Shadows were on the air today, the crossovers between it and Supernatural would be crazy.
•In fact, the crossovers between it and everything ever would be crazy.
•The creativity that this show inspires - in me, at least - is amazing. It's almost impossible not to write fic for it, or make icons, or fanmixes.
•For shippers, practically every pairing you could imagine has canon evidence. It's practically impossible to go wrong.
•In fact, there's even potential for a ship war. Barnabas/Josette vs. Barnabas/Angelique. Place your bets now.
•Quentin Collins. No, really.
•There is a magic time-travel room.
•Because it's glorious.
•No, really. You won't understand until you watch.
•It's one of those shows that you do become emotionally invested in after a certain point. Yeah, I've yelled at my screen at characters. No, I'm not ashamed.
•I said so.
SIDE-EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE...
•Addiction.
•Withdrawal.
•Insomnia.
•Loss of your soul.
•Calling the sheriff.
•Unexpected seances.
•Inability to understand.
•A sudden need to live on a cliff by the sea.
•Loving it - inexplicably.
•Crushing on Barnabas - inexplicably.
•Maybe Quentin, too.
•Also, vampires.
And now that I know I've convinced you, you'll want to check out the first ten episodes that I've uploaded here. After that, skip around via torrents - also this brilliant link right here.. Have a ball. Never look back. also this post is public so I feel like everyone familiar should spam it. Just saying.