Customer Reviews

Dark Shadows Bloopers [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bloopers are bloopers -- if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Be they line flubs, accidents, misadventure or the result of downright ineptitude, to watch a blooper compilation of any sort usually amounts to an invitation to extreme repetition.

Two important factors distance "Dark Shadows Bloopers" from these pitfalls: the fact that with no facility for retakes, the show had to plough ahead regardless; and the way in which they succeed in offering a rounded overview of the production atmosphere on a unique footnote in broadcast history.

The sight of armies of running stagehands, misplaced booms and wayward camera lenses manage to give a lucid insight into the working environment of the "Dark Shadows" studio, which transcends any number of interviews or printed matter. Bloopers, by nature, are a trivial commodity, but by employing them in a way that illustrates the background of the show so well, they gain a value and quality far more satisfying than the sight of a stumbling actor or error in syntax.

Complimented with a selection of unbroadcast outtakes, complete with sarcastic stage-hands and Grayson Hall's raucous cackling, for the briefest moment, one finds oneself transported to ABC Studio 16, a cramped rabbit warren buzzing with activity. For that reason alone, "Dark Shadows Bloopers" is a tape I rarely tire of revisiting.

IN THIS VIDEO YOU CAN SEE THE BLOOPERS OF A GREAT DAYTIME ABC SHOW. IN ITS RUN(1966-1971) DARK SHADOWS LIKE OTHER SHOWS OF ITS TIME THEY DIDN'T HAVE VIDEO EDITING, SO THEY REHEARSED THE SHOW 5-6 TIMES, BLOCKED IT, AND THEN VIDEO TAPED IT. MOST OF THE BLOOPERS WERE ON THE AIR. IT'S FUNNY TO WATCH AND LAUGH AT THEM. YOU CAN SEE GRIPS(STAGE HANDS) RUN BY, COME INTO THE CAMERAS VIEW, AND EVEN SEE THEM STRAIGHTEN THEIR PANTS. YOU CAN SEE SETS FALL DOWN, SHAKE, AND SCRIPTS LET ON TABLES AND BEDS. ALSO YOU CAN HEAR STAGE HANDS BUILDING SETS AND MAKING A LOT OF NOISE. YOU CAN SEE FLYS, ACTORS TRIP, AND STUMBLE, DOORS OPEN, AND CLOSE BY THEM SELVES, AND THE ACTORS FORGET THEIR LINES. ONE TIME THERE WAS A LADY WITH THREE LINES, SHE FORGOT THEM, SO SOMEONE BEHIND THE CAMERAS YELLED THEM TO HER. AT THE END OF THE TAPE, YOU CAN SEE OUT-TAKES. IN THIS YOU CAN SEE THE SLATE THEY HAD TO DO BEFORE EACH SCENE, AND SEE JON FRID WHINNING IN HIS COFFIN. I LOVE THIS VIDEO, I CAN RECIT IT BY HEART, AND YOU'LL LOVE IT TOO.

This is definitely a must-have for DARK SHADOWS fans. My all-time favorite flub is the pompous Roger Collins stating that "some of my incestors are buried here." I'm concerned, however, that this video may be viewed by those who've never watched the show, and will end up thinking everyone involved with it was a bumbling idiot. So if you've never watch DARK SHADOWS, please do so before you watch this video.

If you are a fan of the Dark Shadows show then you will love this tape!!! Real bad bloopers here folks make you wonder if they ever studied their lines!! A must have for your collection!

An affectionate tribute to one of daytime's most unusual serials. A must if you're a "Dark Shadows" fan!

It seems that most of the main cast has made a blooper during their time on the live soap opera "Dark Shadows" (1966-1971). As the videobox says, "Dark Shadows was videotaped virtually live without stopping the camera". "Modern videotape editing was not yet commonly available". See the entire cast in their most embarassing moments and under pressure of live videotaping, Lara Parker, Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Joan Bennett, Nancy Barrett, Louis Edmonds, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, David Selby, Kate Jackson, Jim Storm, Roger Davis, Christopher Pennock, David Henesy and others. Bloopers you will see are the crew in the way, actors flubbing lines, forgetting lines, doors that close by themselves, actors that hit their heads in the doorway, television cameras in the way, boomers in the scene, "Hollywood" instead of Collinwood, actor's trip on something, the fly that insists to be in scenes and bother the actors, good ad-libbing, bad ad-libbing, problems with props, candles that re-light and blow out mysteriously, trees that wobble, earrings that fall off, noises off camera (the crew not being quiet), terrible camera shots and moving sets and sets that fall apart. This tape is only 40 minutes long. My favorite bloopers: Lara Parker when she says "Hollywood. I never imagined that I'd see it", and the orange bottle that shattered by touching it before the actor could use it to pretend to hit the actor in a fight.

DARK SHADOWS will be released May 11, 2012. It will be based upon the original DARK SHADOWS soap opera (1966-71).

This is an incredibly funny video and a must for any DS fan, but the problem is....:

The box talks about bloopers and out takes, but there are so many bloopers and not enough outtakes. I love to see when actors have to stop and break character.

Alas, that is why this video has 3 stars and not five.

Very disappointing...would of been better if maybe Jonathan Frid or another cast member had narratored the mishaps for us. Some of the bloopers are not apparent and have to be pointed out with a little white arrow (boring) and we are just subjected to one scene after another. The outtakes are also disappointing - most of them are of the actors or a stage hand holding the number slate.

Don't get me wrong; I am a huge fan. That's why I bought the video. But it was mostly a bore and disappointment. Big deal if the actors stumble over some lines or if some candles go out. The outakes were interesting but they seem to only represent maybe 10% of the video.