In which I wonder the abrupt shift from the end of the Leviathans segment, when Dark Shadows was emphatically a show for children, to the beginning of the 1970 Parallel Time segment, when it was uncompromisingly directed at adults, did lasting damage to the ratings.
Tag: dark shadows
Episode 987: Truly Two
I explain my favorite imaginary recastings, and add to them an imaginary writing staff that might have been able to keep the show going at a high level for several years.
Episode 988: The Staggering Weirdness of Bruno
In which I point out that Michael Stroka looked a lot like William F. Buckley Junior, and think about the comic possibilities in that resemblance.
Episode 989: Scientific Progress Goes Boink
Some remarks about Jack Palance and Dan Curtis.
Episode 990: Let It Burn
I try to think of a way they could have kept us engaged with the usual continuity during periods when the show was mostly set in Parallel Time.
Episode 991: Parsing Sabrina
I look back at the opening of the Leviathans story, and see several moments that look a lot like men afraid of being gay.
Episode 992: Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t
In which I say that the 1795 storyline (a.k.a. ”Meet Angelique”) would have been better if Cavada Humphrey had played a grown-up Sarah Collins who was a bossy big sister to her bratty little brother Barnabas.
Episode 994: Polterguest
In which I wonder how Bruno could have expected to use Alexis’ piano technique to test her identity, since all the piano playing in this part of the series is represented by the same recording.
Episode 1006: Too Big to Do Anything But Fail
I list three occasions on the show when characters are addressed by the name of the actor who plays them.
Episode 1008: This Terrible Truth
I look back at Burke Devlin, and propose we read his relationship with Roger Collins as a case of repressed homosexuality.
Dark Shadows Commentary 