WB to cast new DARK SHADOWS

[darthzirock]

WB to cast new DARK SHADOWS

Variety confirms that, as has been rumored elsewhere, the WB is planning to bring Dan Curtis’ vampire soap opera back to TV, for what would be its third incarnation (after the ABC original and the short-lived 1991 NBC resurrection). Curtis and TV veteran John (ER) Wells are teaming on the new series, with Mark (TIMECOP) Verheiden signed to write the pilot script. The show will air in prime time during the 2004-2005 season; story details haven’t been released yet, as all involved are still finalizing their deals.

Man, I loved the ABC-TV daytime soap as a kid. The 1991 revival was actually pretty decent, but became a ratings casualty of the news coverage of the Persian Gulf War! There had been rumors the last couple of years that creator Dan Curtis was working on a Dark Shadows musical, of all things, in addition to a new DS feature film. (If you've never seen 1970's House of Dark Shadows, think Hammer Studios meets Jonathan Frid.)

Now, maybe Curtis can also get his revival of Kolchak: The Night Stalker off the ground.

[JediTricks]

WB? So they can cancel it 7 episodes in like most of the stuff they produce these days a la Birds of Prey and Tarzan? Too bad it's not syndicated or a REAL network.

[sith_killer_99]

WB has a simple philosophy...for every 10 piece of junk shows they are bound to hit on 1 or 2 big hits.

The real problem with them is that they find one good thing and try to spin 10 clones like it. Sure Angel worked as a spin off, but that was a rare occurance. They hit it big with Charmed and then they start in with the clones. They hit it big with Smallville and then they start in with the clones...

Dawson's Creek...One Tree Hill

It goes back even futher, Beverly Hills 90210...Melrose Place...Catwalk whatever...and on and on and on.

It really does make me ill sometimes.

I will watch this new Dark Shadows, but I really wish they had never killed "Kindred" it had a lot of potential...like Buffy. But I guess they were under a lot of pressure with that other bomb sitting next to it on the time slot, what was that one called? The one with Mr. Ooooh look at me I'm scarry, I sleep in a box...whatever.

[darthzirock]

I will watch this new Dark Shadows, but I really wish they had never killed "Kindred" it had a lot of potential...like Buffy. But I guess they were under a lot of pressure with that other bomb sitting next to it on the time slot, what was that one called? The one with Mr. Ooooh look at me I'm scarry, I sleep in a box...whatever.

Um, Kindred: The Embraced wasn't a WB show. That was Fox.

[sith_killer_99]

Um, you are correct.

I tend to get the two confused from time to time. Didn't they both own Charmed at one time or another...?

Didn't WB do that Married-with-Children-sorta-but-not-really-clone. AKA Unhappily Ever After with mega hottie Nikki Cox and a puppet. I guess they figures that if a dumb blond could make it for more than 8 years a smart red head could last forever.

[JediTricks]

Originally, Unhappily Ever After was not a clone of Married, though it was created by much of the creative team behind Married. The plot was that the dad was divorced from the wife and was living in his own place and was so lonely that his demensia saw the idiot son's stuffed rabbit, Mr Floppy (voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait), come to life. However, the premise of the dad living in a different apartment soon became boring so he moved back in with the family but Mr Floppy continued to be a part of his life. At this point, the show was remarkably similar to Married except the son was the moron and the daughter was smart and chaste (even though she dressed trampier than Kelly Bundy ). Sadly, Nikki Cox eventually got engaged to Bobcat Goldthwait.... yuck!

Oh, and Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place are Fox.

[James Boba Fettfield]

I never saw the appeal of the original Dark Shadows. I tried to enjoy it, and I did not see anything to like about it. The show was just too weird for me. I don't know, maybe I was expecting more out of it, but Barnabus just didn't do it for me.

[rabidewok]

Oh brother. Why won't they leave it alone. The remake in `91 didn't last long, what makes them think it'll do any better? 'Cause it's on the WB? *snickers* They better leave Dallas alone!

I liked the old 70s Dark Shadows. It was a cool nighttime soap opera! My mom and I used to watch reruns.

[darthzirock]

I liked the old 70s Dark Shadows. It was a cool nighttime soap opera! My mom and I used to watch reruns.

Actually, it was a daytime soap opera. Each daily episode was only half an hour long. The show ran from 1966 to 1971. It's available on both VHS and DVD now, from MPI. MGM has the two films on video, too (not sure if they're on DVD yet or not).

The nighttime soap was the 1991 revival, which had excellent ratings until the Persian Gulf War broke out just a few days after its debut in January '91. Had this been on the Fall '90 schedule as NBC president Brandon Tartikoff had promised Dan Curtis, it might have had a chance. But, once CNN started its war coverage, NBC and the other networks started pulling primetime programming in favor of war coverage. Dark Shadows got pushed back to 10PM several times, and people were changing the channel over to CNN for more war coverage, anyway! By the time the war started winding down, NBC had switched DS to the Friday 10PM spot--a.k.a. The Death Timeslot. Tartikoff then left NBC to head up Paramount Pictures, so no one was there anymore to champion the already-failing series.

If The WB leaves Dan Curtis and John Wells alone, they might just be able to pull off this latest revival of the show.

Oh, and Charmed has always been strictly a WB series, but TNT does rebroadcast new episodes on Tuesdays at 10PM after they have their Sunday 8PM debut on WB.

[JediTricks]

TNT is owned by Warner Brothers.