To Color or Not to Color…that is the question…

So, I am thoroughly enamored of the color episodes of Dark Shadows. They are soft. almost pastel, and a little blurry. It’s fun to see the great 1960s styles and fabrics in all their splendor. But I am a bit saddened by the changes in the discs I am receiving…

The beginning of the early discs included the voiceover and the clapboard. I waited each time for something silly to happen. Being in the theatre, I know the behind-the-scene craziness that takes place and how it bonds a cast together. You can tell outsiders about it, but they really don’t understand it. Seeing a glimpse of the cast from Dark Shadows stepping away from their characters was fun to watch. Also if there was a problem with the episode (in other words, it was lost), I used to be informed that I was watching a kinescope (see July 30 post).

Now, however, I get dumped right into an episode. Boom. And some of them are in color while others are black and white. Why? The black and white ones may be kinescope copies, but I am not certain. Perhaps it’s just because I am getting used to color that the jump from one style to another is difficult. The black and white ones seem scarier when I watch them, so that the switch to color on the next episode makes it seem cartoon-like. I hope they pick one format and stick with it soon.

On to the storyline: Barnabas is terribly afraid that David knows his secret. He believes that the ghost of his dead sister, Sarah, has told David. David goes searching for Sarah in the cemetery, hears Barnabas coming and hides in the secret room in the mausoleum where Barnabas was trapped for years. When Barnabas begins to enter the secret room, David hides inside Barnabas’ coffin. David remains undiscovered, but he cannot figure out how to get out of the secret room once Barnabas leaves. Sarah finally appears to him and tells him where to find the lever that opens the door. Barnabas returns just as David is leaving the mausoleum and insists that he return to the old homestead. His plan is to question David and kill him if he feels David knows too much. David is refusing when Burke arrives and scurries him home to Collinwood.

Meanwhile, Maggie explains that Dr. Hoffman really isn’t helping her try to regain her memory and her family doctor removes Maggie from Hoffman’s care. Dr. Hoffman is also in trouble with Barnabas who has repeatedly threatened to kill her if anything goes wrong with their plan.

This plotline appears to be coming to a pinnacle, and color or no color, I can’t wait for the next disc.