Tim Burton doing Dark Shadows in 2012...

[ButteMT61]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1077368/
Don't know how many here remember this or watched it, but I loved this show as a kid. I've got a number of seasons on DVD too.
I'm pretty excited - especially since at least today, it looks like some of the original cast may appear!
Anyone else interested in this throwback?

 

[Gregg Axley]

We have the entire series on DVD.
Unfortunately my wife and I only made it through 600 episodes before we got busy (a year ago) and haven't gotten back to it yet.
I've read up a bit on this we're really looking forward to it.

 

[rue]

Anything Tim Burton does is golden with me. I look forward to this

 

[lolly_loisides]

Yes I liked the series, but for the love of God, do we really need another vampire movie?

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Yes I liked the series, but for the love of God, do we really need another vampire movie?

it's either that or a zombie movie. [huh]

 

[ButteMT61]

Sorry, but I definitely don't consider it anywhere near the latest "vampire" crap put out. This should be awesome. I also hope they use the original music, or a derivation of it. I have it on my iPod and it's still creepy as he!!

 

[Bluebird Marsha]

I was very young when I watched this, so I remember very little about it. Except.... We had a round ottoman that I kept handy while I watched the show. When I got too scared, I would roll the thing in front of me, so I wouldn't see anything. I couldn't wait for it to come on- I just had to wait until the stupid soap operas were over! I hope this is good. Burton could pull it off.

 

[Effingham]

Burton should be able to pull this off.

And I agree -- if they use anything OTHER than Cobert's music, it'll be a travesty. That music MADE "Dark Shadows" what it was. Without that music, even if they have the same characters and plots, it's not DS.

 

[Gray Ghost]

I guess this will be the third incarnation of this series. They did a remake of the orginal during the late 80s or early 90s.

=GG=

 

[Gregg Axley]

I saw that advertised, but I'm not sure the remake did well.
We have the music on a double CD set.
Some of it sounds similar, but I agree it did make the series.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

Oh yes, please! I watched it faithfully as a child and again when it was re-run. I think Tim Burton is one of the few out there with enough horror-fantasy cachet to be able to pull it off. And yes, I hope he keeps the music as well.

I think it must be said that Dark Shadows wasn't just a "vampire" thing, there was witchcraft, re-incarnation, psychic activity and all sorts of other stuff going on. And one thing D.S. was rich with, it was atmosphere.

 

[Effingham]

Yes, and it was actually pretty good. It was killed off by the first Gulf War, news of which occupied the evening slot and necessitated in moving around or actually canceling other TV shows.

 

[ButteMT61]

I grew up in State College, PA. In the summer time, Jonathan Frid was there doing theater and we'd sometimes see him downtown. That was dang cool for me!
I listened to the Cobert CDs on the way home last Friday. Still creepy and perfect. I made some ringtones out of a few of them for my iPhone. Josette's Theme is my daughter's tone

 

[Rats Riley]

I seem to remember MTV played the reruns for a while in the 80's. Supposedly the first soap opera?

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I see that Jonathan Frid and Lara Parker are featuring in some capacity in the remake. She, along with Joan Bennett, was one of my favourites in the cast - truly one of the most stunning ladies ever (with one of the most insane and frightening laughs, too). I would have loved to see her in films more.

I can't imagine Helena Bonham Carter, though, as Dr. Hoffmann - she seems a bit too young and classically attractive for the part.

 

[Gregg Axley]

We drove to Nashville earlier this year to see Kathryn Lee Scott at the Comic Con.
We saw her, Joyce Dewitt and Pamela Barnes from Threes Company (not sure what their comic connection was...although I think Pamela was in a few horror flicks). We also bought a few books about DS we hadn't seen, one about Dan Curtis and his productions.
Here's the pic with my wife cropped out at her request...

[/IMG]

 

[ButteMT61]

Excellent. She looks great!

 

[Doctor Strange]

I am DREADING this.

Am I the only one who thinks that Tim Burton should use some other actors already? (My favorite Burton film of the last decade was notably without Johnny Depp - Big Fish.) And he should really stop doing remakes that add nothing worthwhile! (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland)

I'm one of the folks who watched Dark Shadows daily during much of its original run. It was great fun - in a silly, cardboard set, no-budget, absurdly overwrought soap opera way. It was great for kids as a crazy afterschool spook opera, and it fit in well with the ongoing weirdness of the sixties.

But virtually NOTHING of what originally made it interesting will survive in the film. Jonathan Frid was a great lead BECAUSE he was an ugly guy and a huge ham who didn't have a subtle bone in his body. The show's kitchen sink approach - vampires, witches, werewolves, zombies, time travel to multiple timeframes and "parallel time", etc. - and crazy plotlines required TIME (that is, months of daily viewing) to work... time that it won't have in a two-hour movie.

I honestly don't know why they're doing this. (Sure, Tim and Johnny WANT to do it - but that's not a good reason.) The original fans - like me - are too old to be interested, and will be disappointed by all the changes made to modernize it. Today's kids have NO IDEA what the original was all about - and most wouldn't like it if they tried to watch it. Two attempts at reviving the series have already failed... I predict another flop rather than the start of a successful franchise.

 

[Lady Day]

Ive been saying that for years now, Doctor. I actually think Depp is crippling Burton with their collaborations. Depp works outside their partnership a lot, but Burton does not and its becoming nearly a joke now.

Aside from Franenwinie, and the given of Ed Wood, Edward Scisorhands is by far my favorite Burton experience. He crafted a modern day fairy tale with awe and excitement.

I loathe his remakes. They all have the same feel about them, and are just tired. His original work was what made people love Burton's style in the first place. Oh, it's exhausting.

LD

 

[Feraud]

Am I the only one who thinks that Tim Burton should use some other actors already? (My favorite Burton film of the last decade was notably without Johnny Depp - Big Fish.) And he should really stop doing remakes that add nothing worthwhile! (Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland)

Agreed on the casting and Big Fish. It's a wonderful film. Burton definitely needs to branch out his casting choices. If I have to see Helena Bonham Carter in another Burton film...eesh:eusa_doh:

Ive been saying that for years now, Doctor. I actually think Depp is crippling Burton with their collaborations. Depp works outside their partnership a lot, but Burton does not and its becoming nearly a joke now.

Very well said LD.