Galactica 2003 vs Dark Shadows.

[kingfish]

I have read many things about how great the new show will be. heck even a seires. The old show will be forgotten. Well I have news for you and it is a doosey. I remember the Dark Shadows remake I even watched it with Ben Cross as Barnabas. I liked it. It had a sexual overtone but nothing to graphic. I also hadn't seen the original Dark Shadows with Jonathan Frid which was criticized as campy with cheap effects. The "New" Dark Shadows which was expected to be so great and replace the "old" show floped and was cancelled midway through. TOS Dark Shadows is still run on sci-fi channel. Maybe it had something to do with GREAT acting on the part of Frid and the old cast.

[LordStarFyre]

There is a HUGE Difference.

BTW, if you want to see what ol Lord StarFyre LOOKS like, watch the 1790's Trial Sequence in DS1991, and look next to the Evil Aunt during the Trial. Also, when Victoria Winters is being escorted to the Gallows, the Duffus escorting her, holding the Rifle, is your truly... hehehehe

(A Friend works for the Casting Co, and I volunteered to work that one, in any capacity)

The Differences are Dan Curtis, the Producer/Creator of the Dark Shadow TOS, was also the Producer/Director/Creator of the Remake. The Halls, the original Writers from the Original were also the Writers on the Remake. ALL of the Original Actors Endorsed the Remake. Many of the Scripts from the Original were used as "blueprints" for the Remake (as it was, a single episode in the remake series was a conglomeration of about 30 episodes of the Original).

Dan Curtis made certain that his Remake Honored his original creation, right down to some of the smallest details.

Asside from using the Greystone Manor as Collinwood (Which is the SPOOKIEST PLACE I CAN DESCRIBE. The night they shot Barnabas's first night as a Vampire was enough to give you goosebumps) Curtis was very particular that people working on various parts were familiar with what had come before.

If Moore and Co had approached Galactica with the same attention to detail and the same Honor for the Original, I would have probably backed him.

If he had cast Joanna Going as Athena or Sheba, I would have supported him without reservation... God, she's Beautiful...

[AlphaNova]

Everything LordStarFyre said is true, about the involvement of Dan Curtis to sticking close to the original series. Where I think they went wrong with the new Dark Shadows was that they essentially used only old stories. Anyone familiar with the original Dark Shadows knew beat for beat what was going to happen next. Because the plots were the same.
I don't think that fans of Dark Shadows would have minded if started out the same but then went into new directions with new stories. But the suspense of what was going to happen next was gone. But then again, I don't think the fans would have minded if they did a continuation of the series using a combination of old faces and new ones.

On a side note, not that long ago Dan Curtis was talking about doing a theatrical Dark Shadows movie featuring an all new cast. Curtis even mentioned Johnny Depp being interested in playing the part of Barnabas Collins. A lot of the fans of the original series were decidely against the idea.

[LordStarFyre]

Had Gulf War One not gotten in the way, I think fans would have been thrilled to see what Curtis had in mind for the 2nd season.

Many of the characters from the Original (new actors, old characters) were set to be introduced, including Adam, and Quentin Collins. Curtis had also planned on doing a large segment detailing the past of Quentin, including the flashback into the 1800s, where instead of Victoria returning to the present, she would have traveled only forward in time to Quentin's Period.

I think NBC kinda blew it when they chose "Night Callers" over "Dark Shadows" because they ended up cancelling Night Callers after only one additional season.

I know Dan Curtis was bummed over the cancellation because some of the stuff he accomplished on DS 1991 really broke some new ground for him.

Some bits of Trivia, regarding DS 1991. The Old House, and Collinwood were both the same building, Greystone Manor, in Beverly Hills, CA. The "backdoor" area served as the front entrance to the Old House, and the Coach Entrance served as the front entrance to Collinwood. The "secret" entrance to Barnabas' Lair was actually a closet, while the actual "coffin room" was an underground Bowling Alley on the Greystone property. As for the Collin's Family Crypt, that was a Set, built on the Upper Parking lot for Greystone Visitors.

The "Gallows" where Victoria Winters was to hang was actually a sunken patio area,

Also, if you look very closely, Barnabas' "Living room" and the Court Room were actually the same room.

[kingfish]

They also ran the show against Dallas and than Falcon's Crest which was a bad idea. Like I said before I loved the show and was sorry to see it go.