Product Description

With its alluring tales of Gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue, Dark Shadows became one of the most popular daytime series of all time. Since first airing on ABC-TV from 1966-71, Dark Shadows has earned the reputation as being one of the most unusual and enduring programs in television history. The character of Barnabas Collins, a guilt-ridden 175 year-old vampire, brought the show tremendous success. In 1841 parallel time, Daphne Harridge becomes suicidal at the thought of losing Bramwell Collins to her sister Catherine. James Forsythe's spirit reveals why he cursed the Collinses in 1680. The ghost of Brutus Collins traps Morgan Collins and Julia Collins in a secret corridor at Collinwood where they find two mummified bodies. After marrying Kendrick Young, Melanie Collins becomes insane. Morgan is enraged to learn Catherine and Bramwell have resumed their romance. As crises continue to surround them, the Collins family struggle to survive, hoping to finally end the curse that has brought so much sorrow.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21795 in DVD
• Brand: MPI HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2006-09-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .50 pounds
• Running time: 750 minutes

Features

• With its alluring tales of Gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue, Dark Shadows became one of the most popular daytime series of all time. Since first airing on ABC-TV from 1966-71, Dark Shadows has earned the reputation as being one of the most unusual and enduring programs in television history. The character of Barnabas Collins, a guilt-ridden 175 year-old vampire, brought the show tremendous

Customer Reviews

finally,..after jumping the shark
It is, as several other reviewers have noted, sad to see the end of Dark Shadows in its original incarnation, but I for one, bought Set 26 simply to be a "completist." I never really enjoyed the final plotline set in 1841 parallel time, and I really consider this storyline to be the final nail in the coffin. Yes, the writers were running out of ideas and one could argue the show "jumped the shark" several times before, but I think this is where the shark bit back. Jonathan Frid said in interviews he welcomed a different character to play but he appears tired and listless, only Nancy Barrett and Lara Parker seem to enjoy the new characters. Joan Bennett is professional as always despite not having much to do. Many of the special features have been available on single DVD's. MPI really could be accused of a ripoff by selling at the same price as the sets with 40 eps.

I too look forward to the DVD release of the pre-Barnabas episodes. I have them on VHS and the visual appearance (in stunning B&W) and more traditional soap opera dialogue are far superior to what now looks garish and grotesque in color as the series ended. I don't know exactly what happened in terms of budgeting, but the older eps had actual outdoor location shots, car chases, and some surprisingly funny one-liners from characters who became so SERIOUS once the show went completely supernatural. Roger is especially a hoot. And the flubs and bloopers everyone enjoys watching in the color eps are few and far between in the old shows too. I hate to sound disenchanted but it seems like the cast and crew got sloppy as the show went on.

Still an important part of TV history and it is cool to say one owns every episode.

The begining of the end of the show...
Like most reviewers here, I used to watch this show after school in the 60's. I'd run home from school to get to see it twice in the afternoon, once at 3:30 on a Chattanooga station and then at 4:00 pm on my Atlanta channel. Even as a primary school student, the combination of vampires, witches and werewolves didn't scare me one bit. I was fascinated! And just as an aside, the question asked of the boys of my generation was always, "Ginger or Mary Ann?" Incomplete. It should have been "Ginger, Mary Ann or Angelique?" Angelique wins hands down!! Even at 6 years old I knew she was The Bomb!!

This DVD set still has the actors playing many different roles, some of which had no bearing on their earlier ones. It doesn't matter, the show was wonderful and was one of the most fun of any I watched during those years.

I actually rediscovered the series again in 1997 on Sci Fi and taped it religiously to watch after work. I remembered most of the story lines and enjoyed it once again.

Series purists will love this collection and wish there had been more.

The end of the curse...or the beginning?
Yes, Set No. 25 is the final set of the series - that is, starting with the arrival in the first set of Barnabas Collins - but don't forget that that Barnabas arrived in Episode 207, so there are the 206 before that. MPI has confirmed that they will follow the initial 26 sets (just as they did with the VHS series). So sfter No. 26, we can look forward to another five sets of the pre-Barnabas ... some great stuff.

For now, the end of the series brings an end to the cursed room, and the (latest) curse on the Collins Family. Or does it? When Thayer David tells us in the series' final closing monologue that a girl is found in the driveway, with two puncture marks on her neck...it's just from an animal bite. Right? Isn't it? . . .

No?