Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Dark Shadows, The Movie - I Can Hardly Wait!!

Most of the movies I've enjoyed have been happy accidents that someone else has wanted to see. My favorite move is Cold Comfort Farm, and my friend Judy had to convince me not to leave the theatre during the first five minutes, which were very dark and scary. Most recently there was Mirror, Mirror which John picked, with the greatest Evil Stepmother Spa Scene, which is reason enough for every woman to own that movie. But I can't remember the last time I was excited for a movie to come out. Might have been Clive Cussler's book, Raise The Titanic, which must have been so much harder to make into that terrible movie, than it would have been to make it a good one. The Avengers would have qualified, but no one could have taken Ulma Thurman seriously as Mrs. Peel, so I knew ahead of time that it would be pretty bad. Well, I am jazzed for this one! The charms of Johnny Depp are not lost on me. The fact that someone decided to cast him in the movie version of that blast from my past "Dark Shadows" has me almost dancing. I'm serious - it's like I'm watching my oldest brother perfect his dance moves to American Band Stand all over again. In those days, I wouldn't consider missing even one episode of Dark Shadows. What was Barnabas going to do next? This preoccupation with a TV show was a surprise to me. Most of my life, I've been a book geek, (with the exception of British TV - The Avengers, in particular), until having kids, when TV gave my family a chance to bond with a group entertainment experience. (Remember those days before Reality TV took over the airwaves; remember those days when you could count on TV to be entertaining?) So, I plan on enjoying the novelty of anticipation until Dark Shadows comes out. If you hear anything bad about it - don't tell me. Just this once.

9 comments:

  1. I was very devoted to Dark Shadows myself as a teen!

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  2. Oh, another Dark Shadows affectionado!! I used to adore that program. I haven't been addicted to anything on TV since, except for Law and Order in the early days and Hill Street Blues in the 1980s. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'll be sure to see it! TV today is HORRIBLE; don't watch anything except the news and special programs on public tv. I like British comedies as well, esp. To the Manor Born.

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  3. Terri - Yes, devotion is a perfect word to describe my relationship to the show. I enjoyed the Buffy series with my kids, thinking their enjoyment of it was akin to mine of Dark Shadows.

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  4. Oh yes, Sanda, early Law and Order and Hill Street Blues were great entertainment. Things my husbnad enjoyed with me. There are still some things on TV that I enjoy, but all this "Reality" programing leaves me cold. And there is so much of it!
    I agree about how much fun it is to watch British Comedies like To The Manor Born. And Keeping Up Appearances. And Vicar Of Dibley. Etc!

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  5. Oh, Beryl, this is so spooky! (no pun at all). I just clocked that Dick Clark died aged 82, like a few hours ago or something and was remembering your post about Davy Jones, thinking I've moved into another section of life when all my heroes and idols are dropping. I, too, loved Dark Shadows. I was glued to that TV every day at 3pm and the goings on at Collingwood Mansion were the topic of conversation with all my girlfriends. I never could explain the attractions of Barnabus to my mom... I just looked up Jonathan Frid...he just died last Saturday! How weird is that? Can't say Depp does anything for me, but I expect I'll get around to watching the Dark Shadows movie!

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  6. I agree about how odd it is - especially since I haven't even thought of Dick Clark in years, until his American Band Stand show just popped into my head a few days ago. That happens to me quite frequently.
    I loved Collingswood Manor! So dark and wonderful. And big.

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  7. I am a huge fan of the original Dark Shadows. I came home from elementary school every day in time to see what Barnabas and Angelique were doing.

    From what I've seen in the new movie previews, they are playing Barnabas comically. I'm not sure I'm happy with that portrayal.

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  8. Hi Cindy! Angelique was so wonderful. I can't imagine making her funny. I hope Dep can make Barnabas unintentionally funny, which I think would work OK for me. Keep him a little edgy, like Spike in the Buffy series. (Sorry for referencing Buffy, but I have kids; I couldn't avoid learning about Buffy.)

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  9. Remember Angelique's beautiful eyes - even in black and white, they were amazing.

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