Before the Twilight saga, before Interview with the Vampire… there was gothic soap Dark Shadows and the original TV bloodsucker, Barnabas Collins.
Of course, this was before the prerequisite for fangs included astounding good looks. Jonathan Frid, long a stage actor, may have been an adequate performer, but his claim to fame did not include a handsome face. And it did not seem to matter to his hordes of adoring fans, most of which were young ladies like myself who rushed home from school every day to watch the show.
There was nothing else like it and we were drawn in at once. Shown in high contrast black & white, the script and acting were clearly a throwback to the campy matinee horror flicks we sat through on Saturdays in the tiny downtown theatre.
I decided to give the series another go and started ordering it from Netflix and they’re just as campy as I remember. Eagerly awaiting the 2nd disc of that first season… before the entrance of the mysterious Barnabas.
Tim Burton will be making a big screen version starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas later this year… perhaps to cash in on the current vampire craze? Who knows what they have in mind, but it won’t be the same. And that’s okay. I’d rather the original remain… an original.
25. January 2010 at 2:41 pm
even watched it a second time around probably about 20 years or so ago.
25. January 2010 at 2:49 pm
This is my 2nd time around… I’ve spoken to so many girls who watched it; what a phenom!
25. January 2010 at 2:46 pm
Holy COW! I loves me some Johnny Depp and Tim Burton collaborations! (Except for Sweeney Todd, which I didn’t watch because I. Hate. Musicals.)
I’m counting the minutes to Alice In Wonderland.
25. January 2010 at 2:50 pm
LOVE Johnny Depp – paired with Burton is a definite plus, but I couldn’t watch Sweeney Todd, either. Tried, just couldn’t.
25. January 2010 at 5:43 pm
I definitely remember it, but I can’t say I watched it. My brother and sister both did, however. I just remember wishing it was over (or regretting it came on) because I wanted to see more of “Batman”!
25. January 2010 at 5:53 pm
Adam West or the animated series? Watched Batman too.
25. January 2010 at 8:56 pm
Animated series? Animated series?? Pshaw!
Adam West, of course!!
And Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin and Burgess Meredith were FAR better villains than Jack Nicholson, Jim Carey, and Danny Devito!
Now I will say that the “Dark Knight” version of course set a whole new tone, and NOBODY will top Heath Ledger as the penultimate psycho Joker. That guy made Jack Nicholson look like a Girl Scout!
But as for Batman, we used to spend summers in the swimming pool, watching the clock until we could race-into the house dripping wet to sit on our beach towels on the floor in front of our little color TV set, just so we could watch Adam West and Burt Ward lay some serious smack-down on the bad guys. KAPOW! BAM! BOFF! And we drove Dad nuts to take us to see the Batmobile, LIVE!!
25. January 2010 at 9:50 pm
Talk about CAMPY! There was nothing so over the top as Batman… and my brother and I loved it!
Loved the Dark Knight, but TV Batman was a slice of fun.
25. January 2010 at 6:47 pm
LOL – well naturally I watched it. As you say I would rush home from school and in the summer I actually LOATHED baseball because it was on the same channel that carried the Cardinal games and would be pre-empted far too often by afternoon games.
25. January 2010 at 9:48 pm
Did it prove to have a lasting negative effect on your baseball enjoyment?
26. January 2010 at 6:30 am
Dating yourself here…
26. January 2010 at 7:07 am
Hey, I’m just proud I’ve lived this long. …and don’t hate myself. Turns out 52 ain’t no thang.
I remember when we thought anyone over 30 ought to die. I remember going to the theatre to see Billy Jack! EW!
26. January 2010 at 7:43 am
One tin soldier rides away…
Now who’s dating themselves?
26. January 2010 at 8:56 am
26. January 2010 at 4:33 pm
Pam looks like she is still a teenager girl to me
26. January 2010 at 4:36 pm
I love you.
26. January 2010 at 7:42 pm
OMG. We had a geeky neighbor kid, a post-highschooler, that conceived of using Dark Shadows as a phone prank. He was an “FM” type with a smooth, creative style. He’d call folks and tell them they were on a radio game show and ask them trivia questions about the show. They’d squeal with delight when he told them they’d won a fabulous prize!
I can barely remember watching the show but Barnabas certainly had the bad-guy creds.
27. January 2010 at 7:16 am
Guess everyone knew about the show!