Dark Shadows Reboot

Feb 14, 2009 | No Comments | @andrewmarcec

dark-shadows

“Gentlemen we can rebuild him, we have the technology; we have the capability to create the first bionic television show.”

Okay so that isn’t the exact quote from The Six Million Dollar Man, but I think it certainly applies to the state of entertainment today. With the next big thing being classic television reboots, shows like Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, and now V, have gained a much larger fan base than people would have ever imagined.

I attribute this mostly to the evolution of special effects, and also the writers taking these more science fiction based shows and incorporating the trials of real life into the storyline. Little things like having the Adama’s (Battlestar Galactica) being more of an estranged family, or having Jamie Summer’s (Bionic Woman) bionics not only be forced upon her to save her life, but also having her lifespan become severely shortened due to said bionics. With these advances and wonderful dystopian outlooks, I ask you…where is my Dark Shadows reboot?

What makes Dark Shadows worthy of a reboot? This show could be just as groundbreaking as it was back then. When shows like General Hospital and As The World Turns, dabbled in subjects like evil twin siblings and unthinkable surgeries, Dark Shadows tapped a more primal topic, fear. It is set in Collinsport, a small seafaring town on the east coast. It is owned by and inhabited by the Collins family, who have a rich history running back several hundred years, and live in the mansion that their ancestors built.

As the show progresses we are introduced to the livelihood of this family and town, and all of the odd things that happen to them. Things like hauntings, possessions, werewolves, and the arrival of one of the most famous vampires, Barnabas Collins. Barnabas appears out of the pages of the Collin’s family history, and into our hearts as their long lost relative. Barnabas takes all that we love about vampires, lust, control, immortality and puts a very human perspective on it, showing us not only the joys of being a vampire, but also the despair and loneliness.

The franchise spawned two feature length films, a 1980’s reboot (much like Battlestar Galactica), and also a board game (complete with removable vampire teeth for whomever was Barnabas). If this series isn’t deserving of a reboot I don’t know what is.

With the evolution of special effects, and the more realistic based writing style of television now, I think it is the perfect time for us to have a show that will really make us think twice before sleeping with the closet door open.

barnabas

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