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==History== Creator [[Dan Curtis]] claimed he had a dream in 1965 of a mysterious young woman on a train. The following day Curtis told his wife Norma Mae Curtis of the dream and pitched the idea as a TV series to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. Network officials greenlit production and Curtis began hiring crew members.{{sfn|Hamrick|Jamison|2012|page=3}} [[Art Wallace]] was hired to create a story from Curtis's dream sequence. Wallace wrote the [[story bible]] ''Shadows on the Wall'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Wall-Art-Wallace/dp/B000M78HJC|title=Shadows on the Wall|first=Art|last=Wallace|author-link=Art Wallace|year=1995|orig-year=1966|publisher=[[Pomegranate (publisher)|Pomegranate]]|location=[[Portland, Oregon]]|asin=B000M78HJC|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2021-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525082542/https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Wall-Art-Wallace/dp/B000M78HJC|url-status=live}}</ref> the proposed title for the show, later changed to ''Dark Shadows''.<ref name="DTV Story 1">{{cite web|first=Roger|last=Newcomb|title='Dark Shadows' Premiered 50 Years Ago Today on ABC|work=[[List of soap opera media outlets|We Love Soaps]]|publisher=[[Blogger (website)|Blogger]]|location=United States|date=June 27, 2016|url=https://www.welovesoaps.net/2016/06/dark-shadows-premiered-50-years-ago.html|access-date=August 1, 2019|archive-date=August 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802050535/https://www.welovesoaps.net/2016/06/dark-shadows-premiered-50-years-ago.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Robert Costello]] was added as a [[line producer]], and Curtis took on the creator and executive producer roles. [[Lela Swift]], [[John Sedwick]], and [[Henry Kaplan]] all agreed to be directors for the new series. [[Robert Cobert]] created the musical score and [[Sy Tomashoff]] designed the set. ===Broadcast history=== Perhaps one of ABC's first truly popular daytime series, along with the game show ''[[Let's Make a Deal]]'' (which had moved from its original home [[NBC]] in 1968), ''Dark Shadows'' found its demographic niche in teenagers coming home from school in time to watch the show at 4 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]/3 p.m. [[Central Time Zone|Central]], where it aired for almost all of its network run, the exception being a 15-month stretch between April 1967 and July 1968, when it aired a half-hour earlier. Originally, it was aired in black-and-white, but the show went into color starting with the episode broadcast on August 11, 1967. It became one of ABC's first daytime shows to win the [[Nielsen rating|rating]] for its timeslot, leading to the demise of NBC's original ''[[Match Game]]'' and [[Art Linkletter]]'s long-running ''[[Art Linkletter's House Party|House Party]]'' on [[CBS]], both in 1969. ''Dark Shadows'' began with a 4.1 rating in the 1965–66 TV season, tying for thirteenth place out of eighteen daytime dramas. The audience figures only improved slightly, to 4.3, in 1966–67. 1966 was a volatile year for soaps, and many ended their runs between the premiere date of ''Dark Shadows'' in June and the month of December. By that time, six months had passed, and ''Dark Shadows'' had failed to gain major traction. In June, it ranked #13 out of 18 soaps, and by December, the lower-rated offerings were gone and the show officially ranked #13 out of 13 soaps. "The show was limping along, really limping", head writer Sam Hall remembered, "and ABC said, 'We're canceling it. Unless you pick up in 26 weeks, you're finished.' [Series creator Dan Curtis] had always wanted to do a vampire picture, so he decided to bring a vampire — [[Barnabas Collins]] — to the series."<ref name="barnabasratings">{{Cite web|url=https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/uncategorized/dark-shadows-the-classic-vampire-soap-opera-141834|title=Dark Shadows Remembered: 6 Surprising Facts About TV's Classic Supernatural Soap Opera|date=October 24, 2019|access-date=September 15, 2017|archive-date=June 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609230541/https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/uncategorized/dark-shadows-the-classic-vampire-soap-opera-141834|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Jonathan Frid Barnabas Collins Dark Shadows 1968.JPG|thumb|upright=0.85|[[Jonathan Frid]] as [[Barnabas Collins]], a 200-year-old vampire]] Barnabas ([[Jonathan Frid]]) was introduced in April 1967. With a time slot change to 3:30 Eastern/2:30 Central, many more teenagers found the program. By May 1968, the series was still in last place (out of 12 offerings), but rose to a 7.3 rating, the rough equivalent of gaining the viewership of three million households in the span of one year. ''Dark Shadows'' returned to its 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central time slot in July 1968, without losing much of its audience. ''[[One Life to Live]]'', which was launched by ABC in July 1968 in the 3:30 slot, also sought to reach the newfound young demographic. The series reached its peak in popularity during a storyline set in the year 1897, broadcast from March 1969. By the end of May, ''Dark Shadows'' was ABC's most popular soap opera, and by late 1969 it was reaching between 7 and 9 million viewers on any given day, and ranking 11th out of a total 15 daytime dramas in that time period.<ref>Leigh Scott, Kathryn (ed.) (2012). ''The Dark Shadows Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection''. Pomegranate Press, 1990. pg. 151; {{ISBN|0-938817-25-6}}.</ref><ref>[[List of US daytime soap opera ratings#1960s]]</ref> In November 1969, the 1897 storyline came to an end. With ratings at an all-time high, the writers were under pressure to hold the audience.<ref>Leigh Scott, Kathryn (ed.), The Dark Shadows Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection. Pomegranate Press, 1990. pg. 157; {{ISBN|0-938817-25-6}}.</ref> Fans tended to dislike the portrayal of Barnabas as the pawn of some greater power in the next storyline, known as "The Leviathans". They were more interested in the archetypes of classic horror—the vampire, the witch, the werewolf—than in off-camera suggestion.<ref>Thompson, Jeff, The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis: "Dark Shadows," "The Night Stalker" and Other Productions, McFarland & Co Inc, 2009. pp. 65. {{ISBN|9780786436934}}.</ref> The launch of ''[[Somerset (TV series)|Somerset]]'' in March 1970, a much-publicized spin-off of NBC's ''[[Another World (TV series)|Another World]]'', also hurt the series considerably. The release of the film ''[[House of Dark Shadows]]'' in September of that year is also thought to have caused TV ratings to fall, possibly due to parents, attending the film with their children, discouraging their choice of television viewing material due to the amount of blood spilled on screen.<ref>Leigh Scott, Kathyrn (ed.), The Dark Shadows Companion: 25th Anniversary Collection. Pomegranate Press, 1990. pp. 177. {{ISBN|0-938817-25-6}}.</ref> Beginning in the fall of 1970, several ABC stations across the country dropped the show due to falling viewership. Within six months, ratings dropped from 7.3 to 5.3., though the ratings improved in its final weeks.<ref>Leigh Scott, Kathyrn; Jim Pierson (ed.), Dark Shadows Almanac. Pomegranate Press, 1995. pp. 104. {{ISBN|0-938817-18-3}}.</ref> The series was canceled on April 2, 1971, and replaced the following Monday with a new version of the game show ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]]''. The last minute of the final episode included a voiceover by actor [[Thayer David]] wrapping up many of the plotlines on the show.<ref>{{Citation|last=Classic Horrors|title=Dark Shadows: Final Scene (4-2-1971)|date=2017-04-02|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMZFHOKvkME |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MMZFHOKvkME| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-01-18}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The original cast reunited in 2003 for a special reunion play recorded for [[MPI Media Group|MPI]], and in 2004 resumed production of [[Dark Shadows (audio drama)|''Dark Shadows'' audio dramas]] for [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]].<ref name=RetFan11/> These dramas have been ongoing for 10 seasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/hubs/v/dark-shadows|title=Hubs - Big Finish Audio|website=www.bigfinish.com|access-date=2018-01-18|archive-date=2018-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125215335/https://www.bigfinish.com/hubs/v/dark-shadows|url-status=live}}</ref> ===Storylines=== {{Main|Dark Shadows (televised storylines)}} ====1966/7==== : '''Victoria Winters' Parentage''', episode 1 to 92 :: [[Victoria Winters]] and her role as governess is inspired by title character in [[Charlotte Brontë]]'s [[Gothic fiction|Gothic]] novel ''[[Jane Eyre]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134">Leigh Scott, Kathryn; Jim Pierson (ed.), Dark Shadows Almanac. Pomegranate Press, 1995. pp. 134. {{ISBN|0-938817-18-3}}.</ref> : '''Burke Devlin's Revenge For His Manslaughter Conviction''', episode 1 to 201 :: Burke Devlin and his motivation for returning is reminiscent of [[Alexandre Dumas]]' novel ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo]]''.<ref>In episode 28, Burke Devlin is seen reading this novel. It similarity to events is commented upon, i.e. a man returning to his home town to wreak revenge.</ref> : '''Roger Collins' Mysterious Car Crash''', episode 13 to 32 : '''The Murder of Bill Malloy''', episode 46 to 126 : '''Laura Collins the Phoenix''', episode 123 to 192 : '''Jason McGuire Blackmails Elizabeth Collins Stoddard''', episode 193 to 275 : '''The Arrival of the Vampire Barnabas Collins''', episode 211 to 220 ::Elements of this storyline are inspired by the novel [[Dracula]]''[[Dracula]]'' by [[Bram Stoker]]. : '''The Kidnapping of Maggie Evans''', episode 221 to 261 : '''Julia Hoffman's Attempt to Cure Barnabas''', episode 265 to 351 : '''Barnabas Terrorizing Julia Hoffman''', episode 352 to 365 ====1795==== : '''Angelique Bouchard's Vampire Curse on Barnabas''', episode 366 to 426 : '''Victoria Winters's Witchcraft Trial''', episode 400 to 461 :: The witchcraft trial involving Victoria Winters is inspired by [[Arthur Miller]]'s play ''[[The Crucible]]''. Reverend Gregory Trask's fate is inspired by [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s short story "[[The Cask of Amontillado]]."<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Nathan Forbes' Manipulation of Millicent Collins''', episode 419 to 460 :: Nathan Forbes's manipulation of Millicent Collins is reminiscent of the 1938 play and the 1944 film ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]''. ====1968/9==== : '''The Mystery of Jeff Clark''', episode 461 to 665 : '''The Creation of Adam''', episode 466 to 636 :: The character of Adam is inspired by [[Mary Shelley]]'s horror novel ''[[Frankenstein]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''The Dream Curse''', episode 477 to 548 : '''Elizabeth's Fear of Being Buried Alive''', episode 513 to 672 :: This storyline is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story "[[The Premature Burial]]."<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Nicholas Blair's Scheme to Create A Master Race''', episode 549 to 633/634 : '''Chris Jennings' Werewolf Curse''', episode 627 to 700 : '''The Ghosts of Quentin Collins and Beth Chavez Haunt Collinwood''', episode 639 to 700 :: The character of [[Quentin Collins]] and his role is inspired by Peter Quint in [[Henry James]]'s Gothic novel ''[[The Turn of the Screw]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> ====1897==== : '''Barnabas’ Mission to Save David Collins''', episode 700 to 839 :: The heartbeat that tortures Quentin is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story "[[The Tell-Tale Heart]]."<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Jenny Collins, the Mad Woman in the Attic''', episode 707 to 748 :: Jenny Collins is inspired by the character of [[Bertha Mason]] from Charlotte Brontë's gothic novel ''Jane Eyre''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Laura Collins the Phoenix''', episode 728 to 761 :: Worthington Hall and Gregory Trask's running of it is inspired by [[Charles Dickens]]'s novel ''[[Nicholas Nickleby]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Magda Rakosi's Werewolf Curse on Quentin''', episode 749 to 834 :: The portrait of Quentin Collins is inspired by [[Oscar Wilde]]'s Gothic novel ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Gregory Trask's Manipulation of Judith Collins''', episode 762 to 884 :: Gregory Trask's fate is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado".<ref name="Scott-p134" /> :: Minerva Trask's murder is inspired by [[The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film)|''The Manchurian Candidate'']]. : '''The Hand of Count Petofi''', episode 778 to 814 :: The hand of Count Andreas Petofi is inspired by [[W. F. Harvey|William Fryer Harvey]]'s short story "[[The Beast with Five Fingers]]". Quentin's torture is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s short story "[[The Pit and the Pendulum]]."<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''The Creation of Amanda Harris''', episode 812 to 850 :: The theme of an artist's falling in love with his own creation who is brought to life by supernatural forces is reminiscent of the classic Greek myth of ''[[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]]''. : '''Josette's Return''', episode 844 to 885 : '''Count Petofi Body Swaps with Quentin''', episode 849 to 883 :: The character of Count Petofi is based on the real-world [[Count of St. Germain]], a Georgian-era courtier and man of science who claimed to be, and possibly was, the son of [[Francis II Rákóczi]]. In the 19th century, Theosophist legends claimed that he attained the secret of immortality.<ref name="Scott-p134" /><ref>"Saint Germain" (claimed by the Church Universal and Triumphant to have been dictated by Saint Germain to Mark Prophet) Studies in Alchemy Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA: 1974 Summit Lighthouse. See occult biographical sketch of history of Saint Germain, pages 80–90</ref> ====1969/70==== : '''Barnabas Falls Under the Control of the Leviathans''', episode 886 to 950 :: This storyline is inspired by [[H. P. Lovecraft]]’s shared universe known as "[[Cthulhu Mythos|The Cthulhu Mythos]]," and particularly by the short story "[[The Dunwich Horror]]".<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''The Mystery of Grant Douglas and Olivia Corey''', episode 888 to 934 :: This storyline is inspired by the Greek mythological tale of [[Orpheus|Orpheus and Eurydice]].<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Chris Jennings' Werewolf Curse''', episode 889 to 978 : '''The Leviathan Child''', episode 891 to 929 : '''Jeb Hawkes the Leviathan Leader''', episode 935 to 980 : '''The Ghosts of Gerard Stiles and Daphne Harridge Haunt Collinwood''', episode 1071 to 1109 :: This storyline is inspired by Henry James's Gothic novel ''The Turn of the Screw''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> ====1970 Parallel Time==== : '''The Death of Angelique Collins''', episode 969 to 1060 :: This storyline is inspired by [[Daphne du Maurier]]'s Gothic novel ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''Cyrus Longworth's Experiment''', episode 978 to 1035 :: This storyline is inspired by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s "chilling shocker" short novel ''[[Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> ====1995==== : '''The Destruction of Collinwood''', episode 1061 to 1070 ====1840==== : '''Barnabas' Infatuation with Roxanne Drew''', episode 1081 to 1150 : '''The Head of Judah Zachery''', episode 1117 to 1138 : '''Judah Zachery's Possession of Gerard Stiles''', episode 1139 to 1197 : '''Quentin Collins' Witchcraft Trial''', episode 1162 to 1197 ====1841 Parallel Time==== : '''Bramwell Collins' and Catherine Harridge's Love Affair''', episode 1186 to 1245 :: This storyline is inspired by [[Emily Brontë]]'s Gothic novel ''[[Wuthering Heights]]''.<ref name="Scott-p134" /> : '''The Cursed Room Lottery''', episode 1194 to 1245 :: This storyline is inspired by [[Shirley Jackson]]'s short story "[[The Lottery]]."<ref name="Scott-p134" />
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