Dark Shadows: A 50th Anniversary Appreciation

My journey to Collinsport…

By ROY GILL

I discovered Dark Shadows about ten years ago. It’s not hugely well known in the UK, but a friend with an encyclopedic knowledge of vintage TV recommended it to me, and I imported some DVDs out of curiosity. I soon became drawn into this epic and twisted family saga of magic and monsters, told in a heightened, theatrical style by great actors performing as live in a tiny New York studio.

At the time I first watched those episodes, I was studying for a Creative Writing Masters, working on a fantasy novel for smart kids (of all ages) about a loner boy and his strange grandmother, his ambiguous werewolf friend, and a spell to bring back his father from the dead. I often felt a little out of step with those running the M.A., who didn’t necessarily understand why anyone would aspire to write such a thing. Dark Shadows became one of the worlds I regularly escaped into, where the weird felt both normal and desirable…

Fast-forward a few years, and I’d watched the entire Dark Shadows run, looping round to catch the very first episodes last. I was delighted to discover the earliest appearance of Laura the Phoenix. I knew the character already, thanks to the time-twisting DVD release order, but I had assumed her introduction - and that of the full-blooded supernatural aspect of the show, often thought to begin with Barnabas - would be gradual and subtle. Not a bit of it - there she is, brought brilliantly to life by Diana Millay: mad and magical, tragic and powerful, right from the start…

By then my first novel, Daemon Parallel, had gone through many, many drafts, got me an agent, and finally been published. I’d also started writing for radio drama producers Big Finish, thanks to Scott Handcock and his modern-gothic series The Confessions of Dorian Gray. Joe Lidster soon brought me on board the Dark Shadows range (which he co-produces with David Darlington).

Joe was used to having to explain Dark Shadows to his new writers, I think, but as a fan of several years I was able to hit the ground running! It was more than a little surreal for me, to be asked to write for the current incarnation of the show. The first play I wrote was to star David Selby: another delight, as his charming but dangerous Quentin is one of my personal highlights of the series. I was given the task of creating a new sparring partner for Quentin, and so Lela Quick (do you see what we did there?) was brought to ferocious, sparky life by Susan Sullivan.

Panic seemed to go down well, and it’s soon to be joined by my second Dark Shadows adventure: the 50th anniversary special Blood and Fire. This is a two disc, two-and-half hour extravaganza featuring many Dark Shadows actors, drawn not only from the original series but also from the 1991 revival (the fabulous Joanna Going) and the Big Finish adventures.

It would be a lie to say the prospect of writing such a play was not intimidating: there are so many different arcs and eras of Dark Shadows I knew it would be impossible to pay tribute to them all. But I’ve tried to stay true – to offer a new historical flashback to 1767, a time referenced by the show but never actually seen. I’ve tried to capture some of the mad energy and epic feel of my favourite storylines – while offering something fast-paced, exciting and accessible for new Dark Shadows fans too…

I hope you’ll enjoy it. It’s been an absolute privilege for me, to unleash Angelique from the very depths of hell, to uncover more of the secret history of the Collins, and to introduce friends and enemies old and new (sometimes with new faces). It’s been a complete thrill these past months as each new edit has appeared in my inbox. I’ve frequently been blown away by the performances of this talented cast. And I know that a fair bit of blood, sweat (and maybe even fire) has gone into the behind-the-scenes production, pulling it all together in time for the 50th Anniversary...

And soon now, so very soon - the phoenix lives…

Here’s to the next fifty years of Dark Shadows!  

Roy Gill is an author and scriptwriter. His work includes the novels Daemon Parallel and Werewolf Parallel, and for Big Finish Dark Shadows: Blood & Fire and Panic, plus four episodes of The Confessions of Dorian Gray. You can find out more at www.roygill.com or say hello on twitter @roy_gill