Friday, July 13, 2012

Dark Shadows Volume 9 Is Pretty Much A Dead Spot In The Series!


The Good: None that I can find
The Bad: Clunky acting, Disappointing storyline, Medium issues, Plot dies fast and horribly.
The Basics: Five episodes that pretty much go nowhere gut Dark Shadows Volume 9 on VHS!


The key to every soap opera is audience retention. Keeping people watching week after week is all that keeps soap operas on the air. In the case of Dark Shadows, a gothic horror soap opera from the mid-1960s, the series survived as long as it did because people were intrigued, mostly by the setting. And, outside the fact that the last frames of the prior week finally revealed that Barnabas Collins, a mysterious stranger in the preceding forty episodes, was a vampire, it is a complete mystery to me how Dark Shadows survived the week encapsulated on “Volume 9.”

“Volume 9” of Dark Shadows features a particularly weak week of Dark Shadows and the story has taken a decidedly soap operatic turn. The introduction of Buzz Hackett makes the show look dated and silly, especially by today's standards. This collection of episodes is less supernatural and, unfortunately, plainly stupid in far too many places.

Episode forty-one features a recap of the prior week's episodes, setting up the conflict between Maggie Evans and Barnabas Collins. This basically picks up right where “Volume 8” (reviewed here!) left off.

Episode forty-one has Maggie Evans preparing to kill Barnabas Collins in his coffin when he awakens, he is revealed to be a vampire! Maggie tries to convince Barnabas that she is Josette, but he realizes she has resisted his mind control powers. Interrupted by a visit from Victoria Winters, Barnabas prepares to kill Maggie for her betrayal, promising her pain before she dies. Desperate to save her life, Willie steps up and tries to convince Barnabas he can still be of use and not to kill the girl. Barnabas seals Maggie in a hidden room before visiting Victoria at the main house.

In the forty-second episode finds Carolyn deeply suspicious of why Elizabeth, her mother, is willing (eager even) to marry Jason McGuire. Carolyn and Elizabeth fight about the engagement and Carolyn tries to enlist Victoria and Roger to figure out what Jason has over her. Inspired by Roger's remark that everyone is free to ruin their own lives, Carolyn goes out and picks up a motorcycle biker (Buzz Hackett) who is the archetype of a bad influence.

The plight of Maggie Evans is continued in episode forty-three with Barnabas arriving with the music box he tries to enchant Maggie with. Maggie tries to manipulate Barnabas, but his cunning allows him to see through her obvious plan. But Maggie soon finds a way to get her message out, giving her ring to Willie Loomis. And David Collins once again finds his way to the old house and the lair of Barnabas. Willie throws him out to try to save his life. In the process, David inadvertantly thwarts Maggie's attempt to get the ring out to her father,

In episode forty-four, Collinwood is once again split by Carolyn over her mother's plan to marry Jason. Jason McGuire shows back up and threatens Willie, insisting Willie cut him in for a piece of the action. Carolyn goes out with Buzz again and runs into Jason at the Blue Whale and has a verbal altercation with him. And, seeing no other way to get back at her mother, when Jason announces the wedding date, Carolyn declares she and Buzz will be married the same day!

Episode forty-five has Maggie Evans still trapped in the secret room in the Old House by Barnabas, who is struggling with Maggie's resistance. Sam Evans, drinking heavily, heads to the Old House to deliver his portrait of Barnabas, which he has completed. While Willie works to keep Maggie alive, the three are shocked when Sam arrives and Barnabas torments Maggie by keeping her nearby forcing her to listen to Sam lament. Joe arrives and lets them know that a body has been found which police suspect might be Maggie's and Barnabas returns Maggie to her subterranean prison.

The plots in these five episodes are distinctly the type of story that is common in soap operas. There is the captured damsel in distress and another plotline involving both a blackmail situation and a rebellious teenager. Even in the 1960s, there were hundreds of this type story already on the air. Today, these episodes look even more silly.

This peaks with the introduction of Buzz Hackett, a walking 50s and 60s anachronism of a biker who is laughable for his beatspeak and loose body language. His part is particularly silly and drags the flow of these already dubious episodes down even more.

Sadly, even Jonathan Frid is not given a very good role in these episodes as Barnabas is barely featured. The result is a black and white soap opera that feels both old and ridiculous and is pretty much impossible to watch. On VHS, there are no bonus features or incentives to buy this outside the programming. Considering how the tape medium is becoming more brittle, it is impossible to recommend “Volume 9” even to the fans of Dark Shadows. In truth, they can skip these five episodes and be no worse for it. Everything vital in them is repeated in subsequent episodes.

[For a much better value, check out Dark Shadows Volume 2 on DVD, reviewed here, as it has these five plus an additional thirty-five episodes cleaned up for the digital presentation!]

0/10

For other television reviews, be sure to check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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