Saturday, April 2, 2011

40 Years Ago: The Final Episode


40 years ago today, the final episode of Dark Shadows aired on ABC-TV, bringing to a close 1,225 instalments and nearly five years of stories for the residents of Collinwood. The writers had just two weeks' notice that the show was being cancelled, leaving little time for reflection. With their current storyline stuck in a parallel strand of 1841, featuring none of the regular characters, Dark Shadows' swan song ended up being a rather low-key affair, drawing the story to a close with a minimum amount of fuss.


For the last moments of the script, writer Sam Hall devised a little wink to the audience, as the audience saw Melanie Collins struck down with two mysterious wounds on her neck. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear there was a vampire at Collinwood..." said Bramwell Collins, a little knowingly. Too knowingly for Jonathan Frid, apparently, who refused to do the scene, feeling that it mocked the character of Barnabas. So, at the last minute Thayer David was drafted in, having not been scheduled to appear, to say the lines as Ben Stokes. Also added for the recording was a closing voiceover, assuring viewers that the "Dark Shadows of Collinwood were but a memory of the distant past."


Even though it happened by fluke, somehow it seems right that Thayer David, the actor who played more characters on Dark Shadows than any other, performed its curtain call. To much of the audience, the understated ending was a disappointment, but I really like that it's a small, dignified finale. There's no great drama, no major revelations, but instead a nice breathless end-of-term style send-off, wishing some friendly faces well as they fade away.

Of course, cancellation was by no means the end for Dark Shadows. That same month, the press began to report on ABC's plans to put the show's episodes into syndication, while some of the cast assembled upstate to begin work on a new Dark Shadows feature film. And, most importantly, that original generation of viewers clung onto those memories of running home from school to watch the show. Four decades on, and Dark Shadows is still generating daily headlines as a film remake from Tim Burton enters production to massive media interest. A top-flight new cast is waiting in the wings to bring the stories and the characters to life again on a grand scale. Not a bad legacy for a faddish little soap opera made in what creator Dan Curtis once called a "rinky-dink studio". Not bad at all.

The final episode of Dark Shadows can be seen on Dark Shadows DVD Collection 26, which can be purchased by clicking here.

22 comments:

Greg said...

This is an awesome blog. I just found it this evening. 40 years? 2 years before I was even born. I've been watching the series for the last year and it is a fantastic show. Simply one of the best I have ever seen. I definately will come back to this informative and fun blog frequently.

Greg

Dale said...

It's hard to believe that forty years have passed since the final airing of Dark Shadows. The writers really didn't have a chance to properly end the show with such short notice.

I had always hoped that Mr. David's character, Count Petofi would somehow find his way to 1970's Collinwood to wreck further havoc.

At least they saw fit to have Mr. David do the voice over for the last episode closing. I never quite understood why they chose to say "that the "Dark Shadows of Collinwood were but a memory of the distant past", since the show actually ended in the 1840's PT.

Anonymous said...

Dale--
I think you may finally get your wish as it looks like Count Petofi is going to wreak havoc in the lives of Carolyn Stoddard and David Collins and all their family and friends in Big Finish Audio's third season of Full Cast Audio Dramas. Go to www.bigfinish.com for more information, to check out their current Dark Shadows releases, and to wait for the release of the Full Cast Audio that I've mentioned above! ~Tracy

Unknown said...

I remember this day, forty years ago. I was only 9 years old, and the ending was completely unexpected. What a bummer!!! (I remember hating Password afterwards!)

Unknown said...

My mom told me that Frid and Hall had agreed to 1 more year of the show, but that they were reluctant. So that year passed. Then we heard the show was ending. Some don't want to face it, but Frid drove the final nail in the coffin by refusing to do Barnabus anymore. So we all sat in front to the t.v. and watched the final episode. We were in disbelief. Then the next Monday, we were there again. We had this dumb hope that it wasn't true, how could it be. And yes, I hated Password too.

Anonymous said...

I too was one of the kids who ran home from school to watch Dark Shadows faithfully. I would call Dan Curtis Productions and Dan Curtis' secretary told me that the show was cancelled. This was two or three months before. I remember going to my room and I cried like a baby. Dark Shadows was so special to me and to so many other kids at the time. The last 6 months of the show were really awful. The continuity was no longer there, Amadeus Collins and the lottery in the 1690's at Collinwood, huh. Collinwood was not built until the mid 1790's. TV Guide ran an article by Sam Hall with what would've happened to the characters in the present time and it was ridiculous.

Dale said...

Thanks Tracy, for the heads up on Count Petofi. Who will fill in for the late, great, Thayer David?

Anonymous said...

I don't know the answer to that. Toby Longworth played Prof. Stokes in one audio (and did a great job!) so maybe it will be him.

Unknown said...

45 Years!
So happy to learn that there will be a full-feature film. I'm hoping for cameo appearances! I was in my teens watching the show in the 60s...yes ran home from the bus and burst in the door. Enjoying it once again on MPI's DVDs right now, as I never saw the 'final episode.' Can hardly wait to attend the 45 year anniversary festival celebration in August.

bruceburns12 said...

My only complaint with the voice-over is that it speaks of the Collins family of 1841 in parallel time. I would have wanted to hear what happened with the original Collins family in 1970-71.

The Delco Kid said...

There is a Decades channel showing every episode of Dark Shadows. It gets to the point, where the doctor is about to expose the vampire. Thats where it ends, and then starts all over again to the beginning. I never saw a ending episode.

Unknown said...

Yes I also ran home and watched dark Shadow.i am now watching it on Decades.

Chris said...

They really had run out of ideas, and it probably should have ended sooner. With both Victoria and Maggie gone, Frid increasingly bored, what's the point? How many more alternate timelines were needed? I think the first time travel storyline should have been the last. It was overkill.

By far the best ending of any daytime drama was that for Edge of Night, which also had a dark mystery element to it. All the previous story arcs are tied up--but there's no happy ending. We're told that dangerous enemies from the past have returned, and the characters will be in danger again, very soon. Because that is the nature of the universe they live in. There can be no final resolution.

So I think if I ever find the spare time to watch the series through, I'll end with episode 1108, the last one with Maggie, and before a final tedious time travel storyline that serves no purpose. And while there's still a Collinwood. Because there must always be a Collinwood.

(Also, Barnabas came for Maggie, and she was his at last. All those Big Finish audio things are themselves an alternate timeline.)

Unknown said...

I didnt remember the final episodes of Dark Shadows and I cannot remember when I stopped watching it. Having now watched the series over again, the Bramwell period certainly did kill the show. I would have rather have seen the last episodes be the fate of the characters. Everybody wanted to see Barnabas marry Julia, Maggie and Joe get married, etc. That would have been a nice ending to the series, instead of how it ended. I am sure I lost interest at that point.

Unknown said...

Again, I have watched, Dark Shadows.
I remain a devoted Fan of the writers & Cast of this historic & amazing Gothic Novel.
Dark Shadows will "Transend Time" for All ages to Enjoy !!

God Bless you All ! And, Thank you, for filling my days & nights with enjoyment thru the years.❤

Unknown said...

I am watching on The Decades channel in Florida.

Unknown said...

I was in grade school when the show originally ran. Yes, we ran home to watch it. It was a very big deal and immensely popular. Watching DS today, you really appreciate how unique it was and how excellently the show's cast was. A true cultural icon to this day.

Unknown said...

It is now April 28, 2020, more than 49 years after "Dark Shadows" left the air. Decades is now showing it at 11:00 p.m. Central Time weeknights. Some great memories!

Unknown said...

Someone.mentioned seeing their own dark shadows being on a video they were filming. It took me back fifty years to the best "Soap" ever aired. Thanks Jonathan Frid. You brought to life a vampire that housewives secretly loved.

Becky said...

I only saw parts of this showing Barnabas. That was in 1960s. I'm now 80. While I've been home during Covid, I saw that dark shadows was on. But it was called THE BEGINNING. I'd never seen it and thought I'd watch it to see where Barnabas got his start. Low and behold I loved the beginning of 8 episodes. It explained so much. It is a fun fun story. I grew up in the time of Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. That's why I was so fascinated with the character of Barnabas. I love both Willy's, and both Burke's, and I think Joan Bennett is a scream... she's illogical, flawed to the core, weird and batty.... loved it. Roger is such a prig it's hard to tolerate him. David is a scream.... Maggie drives me crazy. She never stops talking. And Carolyn is an embarrassment to womankind, running after the older man and never learning a thing. What a great show! Poor Joe, the dummy...

Unknown said...

In a few months we'll have (somehow) survived 50 years without Dark Shadows. I was living in Newport News, Virginia in those years, bussed to and from school and pleading with the bus driver to drive faster so I could get to my TV by the time the intro music finished playing. I missed the final 5 months of the show because my dad got reassigned to a new duty station in Florida and my school let out too late for me to see any episodes. Nearly 50 years later I finally caught up with those episodes and just finished watching the final episode today. So many of the cast members are no longer with us and I never got to see any of them at the DS conventions. Gotta say for the record, I never realized as a kid how cute Nancy Barrett was. I did notice Kate Jackson though. :)

Mandy said...

I never watched it as a kid, being too young and more interested in going outside and playing with friends, then sitting at home in front of a tv after sitting in school all day. But I remember all the buzz about it, and how everyone was talking about the best vampire they ever saw in film, Barnabas Collins. Now that I'm retired, I happened to catch it on Tubi one night and was instantly hooked. Unfortunately, I started on the episode of where Barnabas enters the picture, but after watching a few episodes my sister told me I have to start at The Beginning. So, I went back and started from there. And even though it is slow, and left a lot of questions that were never resolved (why was Vicky really brought to Collinswood anyway?), it is the only way to watch it otherwise you will be left with even more unanswered questions than the writers already left unanswered. And that, to my mind, was the show's biggest failure. Lack of a real progressive storyline, beyond just hijacking the classics for inspiration; planning well in advance the continuation of the storyline, and the end of it that actually made sense and was feasible; and lack of creativity. As a result, much of the story is jumbled and doesn't make sense. I think a lot had to do with the fact that ABC didn't offer much security to the production, always keeping them on a tightrope to keep ratings up, cancellation always a possibility. So, they had to keep upping the ante with crazier and crazier storylines. I just wonder how much better the story would have been if it were allowed to progress organically and more planned out. I would have loved it if they kept the atmosphere dark, Barnabas menacing, and the episodes in B/W. Like a daily Masterpiece Theater. Now that would have really been something to watch. Still, it was very enjoyable, and I was left a little depressed after the series ended, partly because it was entertaining, and partly because of what it could have been. I now understand how upset regular viewers must have felt when the show finally ended.