I didn't even see Dark Shadows on TV until it began running as reruns back in 1976. Even though these episodes were ten years old at the time, I was instantly hooked. I had never seen anything like it - a Gothic soap opera with a vampire as both heartthrob and sympathetic villain. The 1976 reruns did the same thing the initial DVD collection did. It ignored the fact that the first 210 episodes ever existed and started with the appearance of Barnabus Collins in Collinsport, Maine, and the simultaneous disappearance of Willie Loomis, the Collins' handyman. I've never seen the first 210 episodes, but I've read their descriptions. Apparently they revolved around a series of love triangles and mysteries that just weren't that interesting to viewers, and so the storyline was radically changed and TV history was made as a result.
Jonathan Frid was really born to play the part of Barnabus. He is not a good looking guy in the classical sense, but he's got style, dignity, and class and was extremely magnetic in the role. Barnabus is a vampire in the mold of Lugosi's Dracula. However, rather than looking to expand an ever-growing harem as Dracula did, Barnabus is a romantic, intent on reclaiming only one lost love. That is the initial emphasis. Even with the magnetic Barnabus, you'll notice the show moves at a snail's pace compared to later episodes. However, what you are seeing is pretty much the way most soap operas progressed up through the early 1970's. The formula for most soap operas in those days was that there was one dynastic and wealthy family, and lots of middle class families with ordinary problems. Problems generally had to do with affairs of the heart with the occasional crime mystery thrown in, and resolution was very slow. Not until 1975 or so did you see everyone in town being CEO of their own company with fashion models as the cast. So have patience, because the pace is definitely worth the overall storyline and the atmosphere.
