The Collinsport Historical Society Podcast is back!

By WALLACE McBRIDE

Hey, nobody's more surprised than I am that you're reading this. The Collinsport Historical Society podcast began its slide into oblivion the day my son was born in 2014. My plans that day involved sitting on a convention panel with Sharon Lentz and (I think?) Butch Patrick for a discussion about classic television. Instead, I spent the day at a hospital trying to deal with the possibility that that my wife and child were going to die. (While also messaging one of the original cast members of Dark Shadows to let her know I was going to miss the convention, because my life is fucking weird.)



If you're a follower of this website, you already know things worked out just fine for all involved. As of today, about 67% of the members of my household have their own podcast, and it's probably just a matter of time before that number climbs to 100% (my son has opinions about Mister Rogers he'd like to share with you). It's been a struggle getting from there to here. But I'm back, and I have a mission.

I've been running this website for seven years, often haunted by a singular regret: Dark Shadows has an incredibly diverse audience, but that audience hasn't always been represented here. The Collinsport Historical Society has usually been, if you'll excuse the expression, a sausage fest. Ball soup. Cock salad. Lots of straight white men doing what straight white men do best, which is hijack a dialogue to suit our own needs. We mean well, don't get me wrong. This website is woke as hell, but being woke is generally a luxury few can afford. For everybody else, being "woke" is just "life." With this first episode I'm taking a step toward trying to widen our narrow perspective.

And this is one of the reasons why the first episode of The Collinsport Historical Society is such a beast. It runs almost two and a half hours ... longer than any of the Dark Shadows feature films ... which seems excessive, right? But there's a method to my madness! Here's the pitch:

Newspaper and magazine design works to expose you to news ideas. Turn to any given page and you'll likely find stories with varied subjects, a device that exposes you to ideas you might not otherwise have sought out. Facebook has pruned those ideas to the bone, not only giving you fewer stories in a day than you once might have seen, but also allowing you to amputate entire perspectives from your personal experience. It would be more practical (and result in more traffic) for me to release all seven segments in this podcast individually ... but I want you to listen to them all, not just the contributors you're most comfortable with. Sure, you can still skip ahead in the podcast if you want. But you're going to have to make an effort to do so.

And holy hell, the line-up I've got for you in this episode. Dana Gould has generously lent his time and talent to the CHS, a selfless gesture that will almost certainly do irreparable harm to his career. I've been a fan of Dana's since seeing him on Paul Provenza's Comics Only on Ha! (Google it) so it's exciting to have him involved in this. Thank you, Dana.

The reason this podcast exists at all, though, is because of Ella Minnope. Back in February she sent me a pitch for a podcast. Before I could tell her that I was mostly out of the podcast game, she began sending improvised recordings to illustrate what her idea might sound like. It was great, and I thought everybody should hear it ... but it was a little short to be published as an independent feature. Invites were sent, content was discussed and POOF! the podcast returned from the grave. If you like this podcast, make sure to thank Ella on Twitter.

The theme of the first episode is "Runs in the Family," an idea that sprang from a song by Amanda Palmer that has always reminded me of the multi-generational dysfunction of Dark Shadows. You'll find the theme of "family" running throughout all of the segments in this episode, from the comfort that Alice Collins' found in the familiar dysfunction of the series, to a reunion of Jonathan Frid's professional family at Clunes Associates on the anniversary of his death.

What's new? If you're already subscribing to the podcast, you don't have to do anything. Your still signed up to get it. For the time being, episodes of the Bodice Tipplers podcast are still in our archives (we're working on getting them their own dedicated podcast server) but everthing else has been tossed into the vaults for the time being.

You can download the new episode directly HERE, subscribe to it on iTunes, and listen to it on Spotify, Overcast and pretty much anyplace that hosts podcasts.

Here's what you can expect in this episode:



00:00 Introduction

2:12 Evolving in the Shadows with Ella Minnope
Ella Minnope talks about how the romantic aesthetic of the deep South compares to the dysfunctional Collins family.

6:30 Night Rally with Dana Gould
Dana Gould discusses the Kennedys, the real-life family that could give the Collinses runs for their money in The Suffering Olympics.

14:02 The Dark Shadows Daybook with Patrick McCray
Patrick McCray and Justin Partridge have a drink at The Blue Whale and talk about Master of Dark Shadows, how the show speaks to the lonely and why the 1897 storyline is like an episode of "Fantasy Island" for Barnabas Collins.

49:23 The House by the Sea with Jessica Dwyer
Jessica Dwyer explains why the sins of Collinsport's royal family aren't always that sinful.

101:04 The Clunes Reunion
On the seventh anniversary of Jonathan Frid's death, his production staff and creative collaborators reunite in New York City.

131:44 My Drawing Room with Alice Collins
Alice Collins talks about discovering "Dark Shadows" on The Sci-Fi Channel while home sick from school at age 11, and seeing something familiar in the show's themes and characters.

138:18 Big Finish's Welcome to Collinsport 
The producers of Big Finish's line of "Dark Shadows" audio dramas talk about why extending the show's storyline has always been about extending the Collins family.

The Dark Shadows theme is performed by Valentine Wolfe.

THIS EPISODE'S CONTRIBUTORS:

The Collinsport Historical Society @CousinBarnabas
Just a small-town television vampire trying to make it in the big city. 

Alice Collins @VampAly
I'm weird, I write about horror, sex and movies. I make music. Staff Writer: @ifonlineuk Columnist: @BDisgusting Contributor: @filmandfishnets (She/Her)

David Darlington @deejsaint
The best of men is only a man at best, and a hare, as everyone knows, is only a hare.

Robert Dick @RobertDick
Interviewer for hire. Can be paid/enticed to do other things too. Myth Makers. Reeltime. 10th Planet. Audible at times. Curries. Beer. Gin. Telly.

Jessica Dwyer @JessicaDwyer
Writer and all around geek. I love video games, movies, comics, TV, and reading. Laughter is also good.

Dana Gould @danagould
Comedian, writer, The Dana Gould Hour podcast, album Mr. Funny Man avail on KillRockStars, Stan Against Evil now on HULU.

Dark Shadows at Big Finish @darkshadowsbfp
Twitter account for the official Dark Shadows audio dramas.

Nancy Kersey @nckersey
Playwright, geek and techie living the good life.

Joe Lidster @joelidster
I write stuff. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2779744/

Patrick McCray @TheRealMcCray
2018 Rondo winner for Best Writer! 1225 episodes of Dark Shadows/45 days. 90000 words of Collins History/2 months. 300+ Dark Shadows Daybooks since 2016.

Will McKinley @willmckinley
Freelance copywriter/social media for Sony Pictures TV. Video/live events producer. Classic film/TV lover. "The original #OldMovieWeirdo" — Rupert Pupkin Speaks

Ella Minnope @PluckyChicken
The base of the pillar. Gives moisture to the dead. Also maybe I'm laying in cat pee?

Justin Partridge @j_partridgeIII
writer of words @Newsarama, @dismemberonline, @roguesportal (again), the COLLINSPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 1/2 of Victoria Winters’ Windows. will run your TTRPG.

Valentine Wolfe @Valentine_Wolfe
Female composed gothic chamber metal featuring ethereal soprano and solo double bass-no guitars in our music.