Customer Reviews

Dark Shadows: DVD Collection 13

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I started buying the sets at this disc since it marks the beginning of the tremendous 1897 storyline. This set alone contains vamparism, mind control, zombies, I-Ching, Time Travel, teleportation, gypsies, soul transference, spiritual possesion, ghosts, hauntings, murder, insanity, resurection, immortals, witch hunts, exorcism, demon summoning, voodoo and too many other things to remember.

This allows non fans to jump in at the switch of major storylines, getting to know the history of the family first hand, which transitions well back into the main time line.

A great set full of cool occult victoriana from start to finish.

Barnabus finds the I-Ching Wands which he uses to go back into the past where he manages to get out of the coffin which imprisoned him the first time. He then uses Magda and her husband as slaves, and changes history so the Quentin does not get killed. Count Petoffi enters the picture and is indirectly responsible for making Quentin Immortal. Dirk gets used as a scape goat and turned into a vampire. Eventually Julia will also come into the past after Angelique also comes into the past. This section of the past is filled with new action and many events that keep the person interested. Oh yes, remember to keep an eye out for The second reverend Trask who is a hypocrite that discovers Barnabus' secret and kills himself in the end. Josette Dupris also comes back in a recarnation. Any one who liked Dark Shadows will certainly enjoy this chain of events and the one that will be released in September

After the extremely disappointing set 12, which centered almost completely around the two intolerable children, set 13 is a real breath of fresh air. For the most part, it reinvigorates my love for the show. It takes a few episodes, but by about the middle of the first disk Barnabas uses the I-Ching wands to travel back in time to 1897. The scene where Professor Stokes performs the dark ritual to enable Barnabas to do this is fabulous - this is the kind of stuff I watch the show for. Pure Gothic suspense.

Once in the past, all the actors play different parts. Barnabas first meets Sandor the gypsy (formerly Professor Stokes), and another gypsy named Magda (formerly Juliet Hoffman). They live at the old house. The reason they're there is the matriarch of the Collins family employs Magda to tell the future. This matriarch is now on her death bed, and the Collins family members are all anxious to see how the will is split up. Besides Edward and Judith (formerly Roger and Elizabeth Collins), there's also Quentin - we saw a lot of him in DVD set 12, but now we finally get to hear him speak in his New England accent. Quentin is a real good-for-nothing, returned from England just in time to try to ingratiate himself with grand-mama before she dies, and he's incredibly full of himself. However, Selby's marvelous acting leaves the character rather sympathetic and not all together unlikable.

Once the will is sorted out, the plot lines start coming fast and furious. Governess Rachel Drummond (formerly Maggie Evans) notices lights on in the tower room and investigates. We eventually discover the secret - good stuff! Quentin along with the family lawyer Evan Hanley (formerly Nicolas Blair) conduct a black magic ritual and summon Angelique to help them in their fight against Barnabas. To say this doesn't turn out the way they intended is a bit of an understatement. Edward's wife Laura shows up, but Quentin is sure that he saw her die. There's something very odd about her. I'm only touching on the high points, there are all sorts of other happenings taking place. Barnabas is a vampire again, Quentin is turned into a zombie, an insane woman runs loose in the house, Angelique starts blackmailing Barnabas like she always does, it goes on and on.

Eventually the children are taken away to Reverend Trask's school, where Rachel ends up as well. This is unfortunately where it gets bad, as "The Shrieker" is back: Denise Nickerson, the child actor who plays Nora Collins, and who apparently never saw a line of dialogue that she didn't think could be improved by adding three exclamation points to the end of it. I'd compare the experience of listening to her to going out to dinner and being seated next to a couple with an infant who won't quit screaming. It is painful, to say the least. Young Jamison Collins does his best to annoy as well. With so many wonderfully intriguing plot lines going on at once, I really can't fathom the thought process that went into putting these two brats at center stage once again. Our ears have only recently stopped ringing after enduring their squealing barrage in DVD set 12, and now they're doing it again.

Fortunately this doesn't happen until the midpoint of disk four; We can only hope it will be short lived. Other than that, the rest of the episodes are absolutely fantastic - exactly the sort of stuff that keeps me buying these DVD sets one after another.

I HAVE SEEN THE ORIGINAL IN THE 60'S AND ALSO BOUGHT ALL OF THE VHS TAPES. NOW I AM UPGRADING TO DVD AND CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE AND OR QUALITY OF THIS ON DVD.

I used to try to walk home as fast as i could from school to watch this, but only got to see the ending or not at all. There were no VCR's etc back then, but wish there had been. Even though Black & White, it is still spooky and keeps the watcher's interest.

I recently ordered and watched one of the Dark Shadows DVD's. It was amazing how I got right into the story and remember the characters as if I watched this show yesterday instead of forty years ago. The visual quality is good and there are no commercials. I started with No. 13 just to see Quentin. Really fun watching a great soap from the past.

Thank you so much for such a pleasant transaction. What I have gotten a chance to watch, I have really enjoyed. It took me back in time and I highly recommend it.

The residents of Collinwood have fled in fear as the ghost of Quentin Collins takes control of the mansion and possesses the children, and young David lies at death's door. Barnabas uses the I-ching wands to travel to 1897 to solve the mystery and vanquish the ghost. The trip in time is successful, but with a minor complication - in 1897 Barnabas was a vampire chained in his coffin in the Collins mausoleum. Oops, how to get out of that pickle? As for the Collins clan of 1897? Aging matriarch Edith Collins is on her death bed with a doozy of a secret that can only be imparted to oldest son Edward (Louis Edmonds). Meanwhile, the other siblings lie in wait wondering just who will get all the money - spinster Judith Collins (Joan Bennett), nutty Carl (delightfully played by John Karlen) and newly returned prodigal son and delightfully bad Quentin (David Selby).

Quentin resorts to dabbling in black magic in an attempt to get a will in his favor, but it has unexpected consequences - albeit a delicious surprise for the viewer - the return of the witch Angelique (Lara Parker). There's also a big nod to Jane Eyre with the mysterious occupant of one of the upstairs rooms, but I'll not spoil that one for you (you'll figure most of it out pretty quick). Kathryn Leigh Scott continues as the long suffering heroine, this time governess Rachel Drummond - who has a deep dark secret connection to the evil Reverend Trask and Trask is most definitely willing to use it to force her back to his school. And if that's not enough to stir the plot pot, towards the end we also see the reappearance of Edward's long missing wife Laura, who arrives with her own hidden agenda and boy, oh boy does Quentin get the shock of his life when he see her (not telling).

This set is the best of the series so far. The action and pacing starts at the get-go and rarely lets up, the cast is wonderful (Quentin does get the best lines), and there are plenty of things that go bump in the night, black magic, a witch and a phoenix arisen from the dead. The zombie twist was a wee bit OTT (not telling you who that was), but other than that I was on the edge of my seat all weekend and hardly got anything else done, but oh that ride was worth the guilt trip and the unvacuumed floors ;)

FTC disclosure, I obtained this from my county library.

Since I was a child, this was always my favorite show. I always wanted to see this show. Finally, my husband and I found the DVD. We enjoyed it so much we purchased the whole DVD set . I'm an adult now. As a Christmas gift, my husband even gave me "Josette's" Music Box as a gift. My idol, Barnabas, I finally got to see!!! I even purchased a book that was written, a mug, and a T-Shirt!

I love Dark Shadows! I have fond memories from when I was a little boy and my brother and sister and I would rush home from school to a friends house to watch Dark Shadows. Because my folks thought it was too disturbing for us to watch, we couldn't watch at our house! Collection 13 picks right up in the sequence and doesn't miss a beat. With gothic intrigue, beautiful sets and a cast of characters who are simply captivating, Dark Shadows 13 doesn't disappoint. The plotline keeps me on the edge of my seat, and I find that I have to pace myself to keep from watching all in a single seating, which could easily be done. I must admit to getting goose bumps while watching some of the episodes. I now have to watch them when my kids go to sleep, because it is too disturbing for them!