Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Some Dark Shadows comparisons...

In my last blog post, I went over some of my feelings and thoughts about Dark Shadows, and its various incarnations.  All of them have strengths and weaknesses.  Most fans tend to view the original tv series as "canon," but I would like to offer some comments...

With the various "casts," I do adore the original cast.  Here they are from 1966, or '67...

 photo 1966_cast_zpsb0782bcb.jpg

In all earnestness, though, pound or pound, I'd have to endorse the 1991 revival series as the strongest incarnation of the Dark Shadows mythology, save for one casting...

I could never warm up to Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins.

 photo 1991-cast_zps8354fdb1.jpg

He never quite transcended from being a complete villain, which Barnabas was, when first introduced to the show, but became "sympathetic" when Frid's version literally saved the show.  Cross came across(no pun) as too arrogant.  And the gaunt features with the blow dried hair just didn't seem like Barnabas.

I did like what Johnny Depp did with the character.  For all intents and purposes, he was channeling Jonathan Frid.  He is a fan of the show.  You can tell by this pic from the movie that, while still in character, he was in "fanboy heaven" when four of the original series actors made their cameo appearances, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Lara Parker, David Selby, and Jonathan Frid.

 photo ds2012castcameo02_zps08022df1.jpg

So for my design of "Barnabas Collins" for a "Dark Shadows-the Animated Series," I gave a wink to both--mostly Jonathan Frid, but with touches of Johnny Depp.

 photo DSTAS_rgb_zps5a8716ad.jpg

Yeah, this image is in the previous post.  But I wanted to give my thoughts with it.  I'll be posting other comparisons and designs in the future.

Tootles!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Well now I practically have to watch the series now, since I've been meaning to because you talked to me about it while working on this. I think my library has the series, so I'll check it out and let you know what I think. It might feel weird for me to go back and watch the older series since the movie was my first exposure to the series.