WB ORDERS FILMING OF NEW DS PILOT

[tragic bat]

Wow!  I never expected to actually see this, it is very interesting.  The atmosphere is very effective; the psychedelic lighting is highly stylized and certainly feels like a reference to the original series dream sequences.  I don't see this as so unfinished/unusable as people claimed at the time, a little bit of cleanup and it could have aired.   

That dream that David had about his mother was thrilling--though sadly it was ultimately about Angelique and not Laura.  Despite the script containing references to a relationship between Roger and Willie's sister, Angeliques dialogue and Roger's visceral reaction made me think they were setting up a 'Cassandra' plot.  Alec Newman's cheekbones rival Grayson Hall's, and I thought it was an interesting touch that when in the rabid vampire state, his smooth cheeks were covered in thick scruff. The transformation of Willie is great, it seems that this Barnabas kills his victims or turns them into vampires, nothing in-between.  But if the series continued, I hope there would be more in store for Carolyn then a redo of 1991 Daphne/HODS Carolyn, though I certainly wasn't thrilled by this version of Joe Haskall.

Most of the youtube comments are characteristically negative, but I liked this.

[The Doctor and K9]

I don't see this as so unfinished/unusable as people claimed at the time, a little bit of cleanup and it could have aired.   

It was cleaned up. In the original version, there were sequences showing the mansion that had cards announcing the insertion of SFX sequences. I'm not sure, but I think the editing was more rough as well. I don't recall for sure.

[Patti Feinberg]

So, if I went to YouTube, and wanted to watch the '04 rendering....what would I type in?

also:

DS-B&T DVD

....what does this mean?

Thanks

Patti

[edited]

[The Doctor and K9]

I posted earlier about my theory that the 04 pilot would be released soon. At the Festival this summer there were a bunch of video items that were subtitled "Dark Shadows Lost and Found." They did something similar with the programming from a previous release. The content on Dark Shadows-Bloopers and Treasures was previewed at a Fest with that title preceding each program. The '04 pilot was marked as "Dark Shadows Lost and Found" surprise. I also think it's even more likely because work was done to improve the pilot. Why would they add CGI to an unfinished work that was never intended to see the light of day? I heard that the Lost and Found released date had been pushed back. I hope it comes out soon, and I also hope that "The House" is on it. It also had thae "Lost and Found" labeling on it.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I thought it was an interesting touch that when in the rabid vampire state, his smooth cheeks were covered in thick scruff.

I like your explanation that it's Barn's vampire state that presents the scruff rather than what the truth of the matter is, which is the scene in which Barnabas nearly attacks Vicki is the first scene Alec Newman shot and they were thinking of having him sport to scruff all the time. However, when the dailies came back they decided against that look and had Barn clean shaven in everything else they shot.

They planned to reshoot the near attack scene without the scruff, but they ran out of time...

The transformation of Willie is great

I think that, too. Some have said they don't like how Willie is a bit silly in the beginning. But that's so that we see the change in him once he's with Barn.

if the series continued, I hope there would be more in store for Carolyn then a redo of 1991 Daphne/HODS Carolyn

I don't know what the plan for Carolyn was to be, but the character who would take on the 1991 Daphne/HODS Carolyn aspect was to be Willie's girlfriend Kelly. According to Mark Verheiden, the writer of the pilot script and the intended head writer for the series, Kelly would return as a vampire - but unlike with Daphne/Carolyn, she wasn't going to be quickly dispatched with because she was slated to cause all sorts of trouble for Barn and Willie. But alas...

[The Doctor and K9]

DS-B&T DVD

....what does this mean?

Oh that was Bloopers and Treasures DVD

[Gothick]

I still remember you-know-who commenting at the 2005 Festival before the screening, a propos of the pilot, "It shoulda been a slam dunk."  I do not think you-know-who was at liberty to discuss the full circumstances of why WB rejected the series.

It was an odd turn of phrase to hear at a DS fan event and it has stuck with me over the years.

Wasn't there talk last year of another DS disc release which was going to have some new material on it including a new documentary?  Of course, the only thing I am really interested in is Grayson's Playtex commercial... yes, as a card carrying member of HALLOHOLICS ANON, I would buy it for that...

G.

[The Doctor and K9]

Wasn't there talk last year of another DS disc release which was going to have some new material on it including a new documentary?

Yes, I heard it was delayed.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Curiouser and curiouser.

Well, you know what's really curious? I was definitely wrong when I posted the other day:

Apparently someone edited the original version. Though apart from the missing placement cards and shorter end, I don't believe anything else is different.

While I was doing captures today for the pilot background, it stuck me today as I watched the part of Vicki and Willie at the train depot and Vicki in Willie's truck that something seemed to be missing, so I just went and checked my sources for the pilot script vs. the actual pilot. I discovered that there are three lines of dialogue missing: after Willie says that Vicki is wet, he apologizes to her for being late and says it's because the trains usually run late, then he makes a comment about all her luggage, and then once they're riding in the truck, Willie warns Vicki to hold on because things are going to get bumpy on the road, and it isn't until a few seconds after that that Vicki spots the Old House and asks if they've passed the house. But what is even curiouser: what's been removed has been replaced with material that wasn't in the pilot when I saw it in '05, namely Willie singing along with the radio and keeping beat on the steering wheel!! And that's only what I've checked so far - who knows what other small things may be different?!

So, who knows what the hell is going on with the YouTube upload!! But now it's obvious that someone has not only removed bits from the pilot, but they've also added at least one bit of new material. And that has to mean that somehow had access to footage that was originally left on the cutting room floor...

[Uncle Roger]

Wow!!! This gets weirder and weirder by the moment.  Could this simply be an alternate cut or has someone actually gone back and reedited a 13 year old project?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Who knows?! I suspect it's anyone's guess at this point!! And you know what else I just discovered? In the version I saw at the Fest, after Willie and Kelly make plans to go to the mausoleum, Vicki meets Carolyn - but in the version on YouTube, instead of meeting Carolyn, Vicki gets pranked by David. So, scenes have even been rearranged...

[Gothick]

When I started watching the pilot the other day, the thought crossed my mind that this was something that had been prepared for the new DVD which another fan says has now been delayed.

If it was something that sanctioned work was done on, that would explain the differences, which, as you say, can only be accounted for if the person had access to materials never before seen by the public.

Looking forward to any other thoughts you have about this or differences revealed from your notes.

G.

[The Doctor and K9]

The version I saw at the '06 Festival ran 40 min 25 sec or so. The YouTube version is 39 min 29 sec.

[Gothick]

I was wondering if the time differential might be accounted for by closing credits.  Thanks for posting that, Doctor and K9 (I have been watching some Tom Baker Who stories again so your handle makes me smile).

G.

[The Doctor and K9]

It's a very bad audio recording but it doesn't sound like there was theme music at the end. This weekend, if I can, I'm going to listen to them side by side and see how they differ.

Yeah, I'm a big Doctor Who fan, although I'm a DS fan first, Gothick.