Such a Simple Story

So, a thorough review of the first 143 episodes seemed like a simple task. Actually putting the story down, though, became quite formidable. Rather than make this a book-length review, here is what you need to know:

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is the matriarch of an interesting, mysterious New England family. She lives in the ancestral home with her daughter, Carolyn (a young woman more interested in dancing and older men than family matters), her brother, Roger (a charmer with a dark past including the cover-up of a drunk driving death and possibly another murder), her nephew, David (creepier than any Addams Family member) and Victoria Winters (a young woman raised in an orphanage who comes to Collinwood to teach David).

The entire Collins family and the citizens of Collinsport (Sam Evans- a drunk artist who finds himself at odds with the past; Maggie- Sam’s daughter, a waitress in love with Joe; Joe Haskell- Carolyn’s boyfriend and a worker at the Collins family business) find themselves in a state of upheaval with the arrival of Burke Devlin (the man convicted 10 years earlier in the drunk driver accident). Devlin served five years of his prison sentence and was released, working hard to find both money and success. His return means bad news for the Collins family: he wants to punish Roger, take the family business from Elizabeth, and woo Carolyn…and Victoria…and maybe even Roger’s long-lost soon-to-be ex-wife, Laura.

Ghosts and ghost stories are prevalent throughout the storylines. Paintings glow with mysterious light, books randomly open to reveal important plot points, characters are compelled to do things for reasons they don’t understand (walk by the ocean, paint creepy portraits, visit cemeteries, start fires…) all in black-and-white, sometimes poorly lit film stock with plenty of mistakes (from missed cues to unsure line readings to sounds that shouldn’t be heard like doors slamming or something being dropped!) if you are watching and listening carefully.

This should be enough to get you started on the path to enjoying Dark Shadows as much as I do.