Dark Shadows Will Be Hitting The Big Screen!

Dark Shadows is a Gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis, who tells of a dream he had in which a girl takes a long train ride to visit a large mansion. The story "bible," which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was considered daring (and unprecedented in daytime television) when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when, a year into its run, vampire Barnabas Collins, played by Jonathan Frid, appeared. In addition to vampires, Dark Shadows featured werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, both into the past and into the future, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles and, as actors came and went, some characters were played by several actors. Major writers in addition to Art Wallace included Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.

Dark Shadows was distinguished by its vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable story lines and an unusually adventurous music score. Now regarded as somewhat of a camp classic, it continues to enjoy intense cult status among its followers. Director Tim Burton and pop icon Madonna have both gone on record as fans of the series. As a child Johnny Depp was so obsessed with Barnabas Collins that he wanted to be him.

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Barnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC soap opera serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a self-loathing, yet sympathetic, 175-year-old vampire, who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love. The character of Barnabas Collins was introduced to the serial in a last-effort attempt to resurrect the flagging ratings. The role of Barnabas Collins was originally intended to be a brief one, to run but a mere thirteen weeks, but the popularity of Frid's vampire character and the quick spike in ratings resulted in him continuing on and becoming virtually the star of the cult show.

In the 1991 NBC revival series of Dark Shadows, British actor Ben Cross played the role of Barnabas Collins.

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Victoria Winters was a fictional character played by Alexandra Moltke, on the cult television ABC-TV Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows from 1966-1968. After Moltke left to raise a family in 1968, actresses Betsy Durkin and Carolyn Groves briefly replaced her, before Victoria was written out completely.

Victoria was the prominent character on Dark Shadows for its first year of existence. For that year, each episode's opening narration began with, "My name is Victoria Winters..."

Victoria had been left at a foundling home in New York City, and thus, never knew her true parents -- although monthly sums of money began to arrive mysteriously when she turned two. She received her surname from the season in which she arrived in New York.

Evidently, Victoria attended some college before accepting the offer of a governess position in Collinsport, Maine. Upon her arrival in Collinsport, she met the brooding Burke Devlin (first played by Mitchell Ryan, later briefly portrayed by Anthony George), with whom she would eventually become romantically involved.

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Maggie Evans was a waitress who lived in a seaside cottage with her widowed father Sam Evans (Mark Allen, later played by David Ford), an artist. Her mother had died when Maggie was a little girl. Maggie was initially acerbic, greeting newcomer Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) with, "You're a jerk". Maggie was irritated that Victoria was working for the Collins family, but quickly showed herself to be a good, decent person. Maggie's father was a constant source of worry to her, as he had a drinking problem and had never gotten over his feud with the Collins family.

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With its alluring tales of Gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue, Dark Shadows became one of the most popular daytime series of all time. Since first airing on ABC-TV from 1966-71, Dark Shadows has earned the reputation as being one of the most unusual and enduring programs in television history. The character of Barnabas Collins, a guilt-ridden 175 year-old vampire, brought the show tremendous success.