Dark Shadows Commentary
@darkshadowscomment.bsky.social
This account is to promote my blog about 1960s vampire soap opera Dark Shadows. Main is acilius.bsky.social.
In which Henry Kaplan does not know where to point the camera: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/21/e...
Episode 890: They will be strangers, but you will know them
Like many episodes of Dark Shadows, this one ran long and ended with credits only for the cast and for Dan Curtis Productions. The entry on the Dark Shadows wiki says that the director was Lela Swi…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:25 PM
In which Henry Kaplan does not know where to point the camera: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/21/e...
In which we have questions about Dr Reeves: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/20/e...
Episode 889: Remember the night
The Departures At the end of 1968 and beginning of 1969, two supernatural menaces were growing in tandem. The malign ghost of Quentin Collins was becoming steadily more powerful until it made the e…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
In which we have questions about Dr Reeves: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/20/e...
Reposted by Dark Shadows Commentary
Oh, yes, Satan's credited as "Diabolos" in the credits to avoid too many complaints about what they're showing on daytime TV.
November 19, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Oh, yes, Satan's credited as "Diabolos" in the credits to avoid too many complaints about what they're showing on daytime TV.
In which many who have disappeared are reappearing, though not where you might have expected them to do so: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/19/e...
Episode 888: The place that he disappeared
The Prowler Yesterday, we spent a lot of time watching an unidentifiable man wandering around the estate of Collinwood. We only saw him from the back; he was wearing a dark coat and hat, and had si…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:37 PM
In which many who have disappeared are reappearing, though not where you might have expected them to do so: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/19/e...
In which we return to 1969, where a man in a hat is wandering around looking at things: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/18/e...
Episode 887: The man in the medium-sized black hat
One evening in 1796, time traveler Barnabas Collins has stumbled into a clearing in the woods where he finds a cairn and two hooded figures. He finds himself unable to resist the figures while they…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:21 PM
In which we return to 1969, where a man in a hat is wandering around looking at things: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/18/e...
In which we have been promised that we are about to see "one of the most terrifying tales ever told," and I try to find clues in the episode as to what that might be. The result is my longest post yet. darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/17/e...
Episode 886: One of the most terrifying tales ever told
In #701, broadcast at the beginning of March 1969, recovering vampire-turned-bumbling protagonist Barnabas Collins was trying to solve some problems his distant cousins were having, and inadvertent…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:26 PM
In which we have been promised that we are about to see "one of the most terrifying tales ever told," and I try to find clues in the episode as to what that might be. The result is my longest post yet. darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/17/e...
Reposted by Dark Shadows Commentary
Images of noir: The Woman in the Window (1944) #Noirvember
November 17, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Images of noir: The Woman in the Window (1944) #Noirvember
In which Barnabas and Josette find themselves back in 1796, on the night when she originally killed herself: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/14/e...
Episode 885: The girl in the portrait
We open with a reprise of yesterday’s closing scene. It is November 1897, and time traveler/ recovering vampire Barnabas Collins is about to be reunited with his lost love, Josette DuPrés, wh…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:06 PM
In which Barnabas and Josette find themselves back in 1796, on the night when she originally killed herself: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/14/e...
In which the show comes to the end of the segment set in the year 1897: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/13/e...
Episode 884: Departure date
It is November 1897, and time traveler/ recovering vampire Barnabas Collins is searching through the burned remains of a cottage recently occupied by famed artist/ criminal lowlife Charles Delaware…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM
In which the show comes to the end of the segment set in the year 1897: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/13/e...
In which Barnabas is delighted to wake up and find someone else doing his work for him: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/12/e...
Episode 883: The stone of justice
In the parts of Dark Shadows set in 1966 and 1967, the home of artist Sam Evans and his daughter Maggie, The Nicest Girl in Town, was a frequent set. Sam and Maggie were important characters in sev…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
In which Barnabas is delighted to wake up and find someone else doing his work for him: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/12/e...
In which Pansy Faye completes the physics, metaphysics, and every other science of the universe in which she lives: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/11/e...
Episode 882: The show must go on. That’s the one and only rule there is.
Many fantastic tales dwell on a sense that dreams have a great power in the world, and so their characters are often afraid of falling asleep. Dark Shadows has several times referenced Edgar Allan …
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:05 PM
In which Pansy Faye completes the physics, metaphysics, and every other science of the universe in which she lives: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/11/e...
In which Petofi doesn't care who falls victim to Garth Blackwood, and Quentin and Pansy share a sweet moment: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/10/e...
Episode 881: Voracious for the future
The dramatic date is November 1897. We open in an abandoned mill on the old North Road in Collinsport, Maine. The late Garth Blackwood, once the keeper of Britain’s Dartmoor Prison, is about …
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:20 PM
In which Petofi doesn't care who falls victim to Garth Blackwood, and Quentin and Pansy share a sweet moment: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/10/e...
In which the mass slaughter that has become the show's customary way of ending a chapter kicks into high gear: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/07/e...
Episode 880: I like all of my stories to have endings
Collinwood: Judith, Trask, Beth, Quentin In November 1897, wronged woman Judith Collins Trask has had her husband, the odious Gregory Trask, bricked up in her brother Quentin’s bedroom. While…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:09 PM
In which the mass slaughter that has become the show's customary way of ending a chapter kicks into high gear: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/07/e...
In which Judith and Tim arrange for Gregory to have some privacy: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/06/e...
Episode 879: A room of one’s own
The odious Gregory Trask is plotting to murder his fabulously wealthy wife, the former Judith Collins, before she can change her will. He has made an arrangement with Aristide, a sadist who is flee…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:02 PM
In which Judith and Tim arrange for Gregory to have some privacy: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/06/e...
In which Petofi has conjured up Garth Blackwood, which may not turn out to have been such a bright idea: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/05/e...
Episode 878: The moors are my domain
Episode 174 of Dark Shadows, broadcast and set in February 1967, included a scene set in a police station and morgue in Phoenix, Arizona, where we met Lieutenant Costa of the Arizona State Police. …
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:07 PM
In which Petofi has conjured up Garth Blackwood, which may not turn out to have been such a bright idea: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/05/e...
In which Petofi has had it with Aristide's bungling: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/04/e...
Episode 877: Put down that sword
Throughout October 1897, which at 4 PM on participating stations of the ABC television network coincided with October 1969, 150 year old sorcerer Count Petofi occupied the body of handsome young Qu…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:22 PM
In which Petofi has had it with Aristide's bungling: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/04/e...
In which Beth and Quentin act out the version of Josette's death that Barnabas told Vicki and Carolyn in #233: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/03/e...
Episode 876: The gift again
In #425, broadcast in February 1968 and set in February 1796, the gracious Josette was near the cliff on the top of Widow’s Hill when she saw her lost love, Barnabas Collins. Wicked witch Ang…
darkshadowscommentary.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:11 PM
In which Beth and Quentin act out the version of Josette's death that Barnabas told Vicki and Carolyn in #233: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/11/03/e...
In which Beth looks for someone she can trust. She turns to Tim Shaw, of all people: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/31/e...
Episode 875: Barnabas, Quentin, and the difficulty of being oneself
This is the first episode credited to Peter Miner as line producer. Dark Shadows was being taped way out of sequence at this period, so Robert Costello’s name will appear in the credits sever…
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:07 PM
In which Beth looks for someone she can trust. She turns to Tim Shaw, of all people: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/31/e...
In which Kitty knows what Josette knew, and Quentin can do what Petofi could do: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/30/e...
Episode 874: Makes a girl feel creepy
Ever since its first time-travel storyline, when it spent November 1967 through March 1969 visiting the 1790s, Dark Shadows has been committed to treating its cast as a repertory theater company. N…
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:20 PM
In which Kitty knows what Josette knew, and Quentin can do what Petofi could do: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/30/e...
In which Nancy Barrett and David Selby have a big song and dance number: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/29/e...
Episode 873: Charming and exquisitely dangerous
In October 1897, sorcerer Count Petofi has used his magical powers to swap bodies with Quentin Collins. I refer to the villainous Petofi who looks like Quentin as Q-Petofi, and to the forlorn Quent…
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:14 PM
In which Nancy Barrett and David Selby have a big song and dance number: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/29/e...
In which Q-Petofi visits the drawing room of Collinwood in 1969: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/28/e...
Episode 872: Favors for enemies
At the beginning of March 1969, recovering vampire Barnabas Collins meditated on some I Ching wands and found himself transported back in time to 1897. Ever since, Dark Shadows has been a costume d…
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:29 PM
In which Q-Petofi visits the drawing room of Collinwood in 1969: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/28/e...
In which the good news is that Angelique is still around, and the bad news is that Charles Delaware Tate is still around: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/27/e...
Episode 871: The twin of life
In October 1897, sorcerer Count Petofi has hijacked the body of Quentin Collins and banished Quentin to his own aging form. I call the villainous Petofi played by David Selby Q-Petofi, and the forl…
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
In which the good news is that Angelique is still around, and the bad news is that Charles Delaware Tate is still around: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/27/e...
In which Edward realizes that Kitty is in the middle of a psychotic episode, and responds by proposing marriage: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/24/e...
Episode 870: Your Josette, always
In October 1897, the estate of Collinwood and all of the other assets of the Collins family are the property of Judith Collins Trask. Judith has just returned from a stay of more than thirteen week…
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 25, 2025 at 5:15 PM
In which Edward realizes that Kitty is in the middle of a psychotic episode, and responds by proposing marriage: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/24/e...
In which Gregory Trask can enjoy several good fits of righteous indignation: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/23/e...
Episode 869: The man who walks in the day
In October 1897, the hypocritical Rev’d Mr Gregory Trask is married to the vastly wealthy Judith Collins, owner of the estate of Collinwood and of the Collins family businesses. For more than…
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:53 PM
In which Gregory Trask can enjoy several good fits of righteous indignation: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/23/e...
In which Barnabas tells a story so ridiculous even characters on Dark Shadows have trouble believing it: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/22/e...
Episode 868: The man we thought he was
In October 1897, sorcerer Count Petofi has used his powers to steal the body of handsome young Quentin Collins and to trap Quentin in his own aging form. I refer to the villainous Petofi who looks …
darkshadowscommentary.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:07 PM
In which Barnabas tells a story so ridiculous even characters on Dark Shadows have trouble believing it: darkshadowscommentary.com/2025/10/22/e...