Could the T.V. series Dark Shadows make a good Masterpiece Theatre type T.V. series like Downton Abbey?
There was the original Gothic Soap Opera “Dark Shadows”—then two subsequent movies that were steeped in Gothic atmosphere, bon par with, or superior to, the Peter Cushing / Hammer Films.
Then, there was a mini series in about 1990.
I was disappointed with the Tim Burton rendition.
It seems the subject matter covered a broad rendition of Gothic horror—Vampires, Ghosts, Werewolves, Witches, the Taming of the Shrew, Frankenstein, etc etc. in one series over about four years.
It seems to me that the subjects related to the four seasons of T.V. and the movies would make an excellent, high-quality T.V. series, maybe four or five half-seasons like what Masterpiece Theatre did with Downton Abbey.
I have recently marathoned the entire T.V. series, 1970s movies, and 1990 mini-series. It seems to me that this series covers a lot of Gothic elements in one series, each subject or could cover one season, and maybe span four or five seasons.
Anyone like to comment? I’m considering making a proposal to Masterpiece Theatre, not for profit but because I think it would make a good series.
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Would be very much interested in MT doing Dark Shadows.
I was a fan of the soap back in the 60s- -there was a cult following among my college peers. The problem as I see it is with the absurd difference in genres. It is impossible for me to imagine production values approaching the allure of interwar elimination of the British landed gentry applied to vampires and werewolves. It is perhaps a peculiar thing, but judging from my wife and her girlfriends, there’s absolutely no crossover in interest between the sumptuous BBC dramas and the contemporary gothic spooky revival. Have you reviewed the old black & white episodes of Upstairs Downstairs? For me the fascination with Britain and the class turmoil accompanying the decline of the British Empire and subsequent decline of English aristocracy makes for fascinating tv. But for me nothing in the genre thus far produced can approach the exquisite Brideshead Revisited.
I said, the Taming of the Shrew but I meant the Turning of the Screw. I had actually been drinking when I wrote the question. The series covered virtual every theme in Gothic horror.
Anyhow, @stanleybmanly, the two 1971 movies and the NBC Mini Series in 1991 dealt with fascinating Gothic vistas, architecture, and customs. The original Gothic themes are born out of those decline of the British Empire and aristocracy.
I’d like to see it made into a tasteful Gothic T.V. series, something with ambiance and atmosphere, sweeping the themes of Gothic British literature.
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