HELENE GALEK
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HELENE 
IN
words

Dark Shadows 50th ANNIVERSARY Tribute of Love (and the jumpstart of my upcoming book)

12/30/2016

10 Comments

 
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​DARK SHADOWS:
A 50th Anniversary Tribute of Love


Who would have believed that I have gotten to the age where I am commemorating the 50th anniversary of anything?! Part of the baby boomers’ legacy is being the “eternal teenager.” (And, as a typical Pisces, I am publishing this anniversary tribute just under the wire!)
 

Thanks to fervent and loyal fans, as well as technology, Dark Shadows has not only lived on to thrive and bloom but has influenced so many of the modern television shows dealing with the supernatural. The influence of Dark Shadows can be observed in shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight Saga, True Blood, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Outlander. Indeed, Outlander showed a clip of a character watching Dark Shadows during one of the episodes that jumps "ahead" to 1968. And in the non-horror world, General Hospital had a vampire show up in Port Charles and one of the characters on Mad Men announced she had an audition for Dark Shadows!
 
I was a super enthusiastic fan who was thoroughly wrapped up in the show during those  young teenage years and I had an entire crowd who were just as enamored of Dark Shadows as I was. There had been nothing like this on television before and all the passion, drama and supernatural powers were intoxicating to 13-year old girls who were too old for dolls but too young to date.

In the days before DVRs and cable, we did, indeed, need to run home after school every day to watch it and had to depend on our memories to re-tell the story if someone missed an episode. Each day required a plan of action as I had thirty minutes from the final school bell to my front door. I could always count on the additional five minute window of the opening teaser, crashing waves and first commercial break. I would tap my foot impatiently as I waited for the set to “warm up”. My friend Rose and I got dropped off early at school by our parents on their way to work and we began each morning with a re-cap of the episode the day before. The fact that the park across the street from our school featured a majestic Victorian mansion ignited our imaginations. Rose and I prided ourselves on being able to paraphrase an entire episode. I paid homage to the show in so many ways during those years; choosing the class ring in black onyx, hair done up in ringlets for my cousin’s bar mitzvah, adorning my walls with posters of Barnabas and company and even weaving heartfelt references about Dark Shadows into yearbook inscriptions. Already performing in plays and dreaming of an acting career in New York, I also harbored the fantasy of being one of the actors on the show and came up with a character as well as a complete backstory!
 
As an adult, I echoed that popular sentiment, “I loved that show!!!”  but always kept the real depth of my feelings to myself.  I never mentioned the Dark Shadows actors I met at the stage door after a Broadway show or the unbelievable stroke of luck meeting Jonathan Frid walking up West End Ave during those first years in New York City. I was never comfortable with being an adult fan… it seemed to be something that belonged to my adolescent years. And as an actor, I never wanted to have a “Nurse Betty” moment if I ever shared a stage or film set with any of the cast! So I would secretly order some of the books and catch the re-runs but that’s where it stopped.

During the late 90’s, I was grateful to have the good fortune to study acting with George DiCenzo, who was one of Dan Curtis’ associate producers. George was a master teacher with a loving and charismatic spirit who became a big influence in my life and career. I will always treasure this experience and marvel that the man who meant so much to me was part of the show that meant so much to me.
 
Since then, I had not thought about Dark Shadows at all. And then, a year ago, I stumbled upon all the YouTube wealth while looking up another 60’s memory. (Clearly, YouTube could tell what I liked.) I couldn't believe the explosion of videos that popped up! Everything from convention and interview tapings to tribute videos to the actual episodes themselves. I had not thought about the show for so long and now, all these presentations lay before me! I watched a few clips of recent interviews and felt like I was catching up with old friends.
I wondered what it would be like to revisit the show itself. Would it withstand time? I was almost afraid to see if age and experience would weaken and stain the memory.

Since it was almost midnight, I decided to pick one episode from the 1795 storyline which, as all fans know, was created when the audience wanted to know how Barnabas became a vampire.  In a kindly, benevolent attitude, I thought, “Okay, this was always my favorite storyline, let’s see what it's like to watch it now" ….  The next time I looked up at the clock, it was almost 3:00 am!!!  I stared at the clock for a long moment, quite stunned as my mind tried to grasp that practically three hours had passed in what had seemed like a few minutes. What. Just. Happened?
 
I kept staring uncomprehendingly at the clock as if expecting a different answer. I felt like one of the characters on the show who “came to” after being in a trance with the only evidence coming from the hands of that imposing grandfather clock in the Collinwood foyer. How did this happen??!

Well, obviously, I just kept hitting the next episode and then the next, and the next… talk about unconscious binge watching! I’m not sure if one can feel embarrassed when one is alone but I found this whole experience quite unnerving!  How is it that these episodes still kept me captivated even though I had seen them all before?  How is it that I was still mesmerized by the story line and my favorite characters? Was it because I was in my bedroom in the house I grew up in? Was it because I found it a comforting escape during the caregiving visits? It was so fascinating to watch these episodes on an iPhone Plus, and be just as taken in as I was as a young teen. I amused myself by thinking, “I’ve been caught in a YouTube Dream Curse!”, which fans know was a continuing horror dream sequence created by Angelique, the witch.
 
I was astounded when I discovered that watching these episodes now, with an actor’s eye, made me respect the show even more! I clearly heard all the complex dialogue that had to be learned during that era of live television. I  was impressed by the passion and commitment as well as the character nuances that I might have missed or not have appreciated before.  I so admired the utter commitment of the actors to their characters as well as the importance of chemistry in the casting.  And knowing that for several actors, this was their first big professional gig, I was in awe of the enormity of that idea.  My mind easily filtered out the so-called bloopers. Even back then, I empathized deeply with these actors for whom every day was opening night.
 
And so, I began from the beginning to watch all the Dark Shadows episodes in order which included some storylines that I had missed the first time around.  Admittedly, I was no longer running home from school to catch the show every day during those last two years.  My days had filled up with theater, dating, social activism and planning my future; simply put, my own life became more interesting. However, if I found myself home on a rare afternoon, I would loyally turn on the show.

As befits the instant gratification age, I loved that I could now binge watch with no commercial breaks.
I was so riveted by the 1840 storyline that I needed to chide myself to get back to work! Once again, Dark Shadows had me under its spell!


Unbelievable….I was hooked again!!! I still don’t get it. What was it about this show that still had the power to engage me and hook me right back in as it did almost 50 years ago??
 
So after racking my brain for an answer to this puzzling question, I realized I was over-thinking the whole thing. It was simply an incredibly captivating story that was told with the utmost passion and commitment. We were drawn into a world that was never before seen on daytime television. We passionately fell in love with or loved to hate all the people who inhabited Collinwood. And, like the crashing waves in the opening montage, we were swept up by the story that evoked such powerful emotions within us. And isn’t that the job of anyone who creates? To make the story compelling, provocative and to create characters that audiences will believe in, root for and have a stake in? ( no pun intended!)
 
To Dan Curtis and the entire cast and crew,
You have done all that……..beautifully.
You have created a legacy that will go on forever.
 
I salute you.
I congratulate you.
I thank you.
 
Happy 50th Anniversary, Dark Shadows! 
10 Comments
Laura Dowling Shea link
12/31/2016 02:12:36 pm

This is awesome Helene Galek! You are a wonderful writer. I enjoyed your blog so much. Will subscribe for sure. And I was right there with you rushing home from school to watch this "incredibly captivating story that was told with the utmost passion and commitment." Isn't that what we are all about. Well done. And thank you. I remember summer vacation at the beach with my beloved cousin Kathy jumping the "crashing waves" and calling out to each other "Victoria!!!" *sigh*

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Michele Ann DeBrocky-Copeland
12/31/2016 10:28:04 pm

Helene!
I just love this!
You captured it all.
I felt my heart beating as I remembered I was running up the back porch steps to get to the TV!
It was my show. No one else in my family would be home to watch it, except for me!
Thank you for sharing this incredible story with us.
You have become everything you envisioned for yourself back in the days of Milne ..... and then some!
So very proud of you!
Love,
Michele Ann

Reply
Annette Guarrasi
1/4/2017 07:55:14 pm

Helene,

Thank you for sharing your passionate memories of what the show meant to you then & means to you now.

I love your puns (stake) & especially appreciate this sentiment: "I empathized deeply with these actors for whom every day was opening night." What a troupe of.pros! Can you imagine opening night every night?! Thrilling, yet daunting.

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Joyce Panitch
1/24/2017 02:09:56 pm

I too was a huge fan. Add the fact that as a Rhode Islander I had seen the mansion in Newport where the outside shots were done, and I was ready to become part of the family!

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Daryl Wor link
2/4/2017 01:56:05 pm

Your article here must be the most vivid and heartfelt appreciation I've ever seen from a Dark Shadows fan. Maybe I'm biased but it's been very tough to find that same love for Dark Shadows I saw online prior to 2013. I'm with you on the binge watching. We were slowed down with rental disks. It certainly was good to get the back story on why Barnabas became a vampire and everything gelled into place very well with how maddened he seemed later on before that part of his tale had been revealed.

Also relating to the spooky aspects like the Victorian house across the street! This was such a treat to read about your adventures with Dark Shadows as a youth and as an adult. I have been attracted to older forms of entertainment. Often the writing, dialogue and interplay has that classic feel that always stimulates the mind and heart. I got the impression when I started that the soap opera format would make it all "disposable". Nope! I wanted to own copies of these shows. (And now? We do.) Thank you so much, take care, keep it 60's and stay spooky! ;)

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David C.
2/19/2017 04:13:56 am

Loved your reflections about the show.
I too am a life long fan of the show and had my own entire routine of running home from school, usually being chased by evil bullies everyday. I'd get home and go into action. I'd rush to close the drapes so the sun would not reflect on the TV scree, put the dog in the other room, take the phone off the hook and bury the sound under pillows. I'd beg my little brother be quiet as we watched the show together.I locked the front door to keep out neighbors that would freely come n go; all this in a matter of minutes. I had my own huge pillow set aside along with my DarkShadows' trading cards to look at during commercial breaks. I also had the show's 1969 music soundtrack which is now one of like fives albums and I'd listen to the music often with actor Jonathan Frid's poem readings in character as Barnabas...... As a much older adult now my fear is always that I've grown too old to appreciate the show and that I would not be to critical of it and notice any faults.When I do see the episodes now they still make me feel like a kid again and like you I forget about the passage of time as I find comfort in the fantasy world of Dark Shadows.

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David C.
2/19/2017 04:41:32 am

The Dark Shadows' TV show is truly timeless. It is not dated like other soap operas with things that were going on in the era from when the show was made. Dark Shadows existed in its own little world completely cut off from the harsh reality of the 60's and for a half n hour each day kids, moms and many others got to escape from all the news of social unrest, riots, protests, the Vietnam war that affected kids in school from all the deaths.
I have read hundreds of comments from fans new and old and have found that the show attracts all kinds of fans: Women romantically, horror fans, a huge fan following from Gay fans, Goth fans and a huge amount of fans that have mental or physical challenges. The show also provides therapeutic healing as the episodes have comforted and distracted so many fans in times of stress and loss and with great illness and recuperation after surgeries. The show had returned to me three times during my life and has comforted me in times of sadness and loss of family. The DS fan conventions ae made up of a huge variety of people and for many has become an extended family with some fans even naming their children after DS characters ie. Angelique, Quentin and Josette.
Dark Shadows truly is unique and timeless.

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nicole english
4/1/2017 06:18:45 pm

this is a beautifully written article about dark shadows through a fans perspective of the show . all i can say is i throughly enjoyed reading it and gives me much appreciation to the television show dark shadows, especially to the cast and crew who made this show an exciting, and original

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Rosella
1/28/2019 07:37:38 am

I very much enjoyed reading your memories ! My family a few siblings and my Mother watched the show every day,I was in the convent and when I came out my sister yrs later taped it for me to get hooked... I had seen for a brief moment it on TV and saw Quentin Collins... and was like wow... But I never did like getting into something that was not form the beginning luckily for me it was at that time near the end....,Again,I very much enjoyed you r memories... and lyour tribute !

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Susan Jacks
7/27/2020 05:04:31 pm

At last I've read your reminiscences about watching the show. No WONDER you're so interested in hearing my experience auditioning for the show. I see a Facetime in our future to share details!

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