Audi-O-Rama #3: Dark Shadows: The Christmas Presence

By Justin Partridge

Starring: David Selby, John Karlen, Andrew Collins, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, and Toby Longworth

Written by: Scott Handcock

Directed by: Gary Russell

Sloat in This SPOILERS AHEAD World (III)

“Surely you have something more…substantial for me to feast upon? It is Chris-TT-Mass, after all.”

Our first double dip reveals an unexpected strength and deepened appreciation for Dark Shadows: The Christmas Presence! My third time at-bat overall for Audi-O-Rama; an exploration and analysis of Dark Shadows (and others!) at Big Finish Productions. 

In the interest of full disclosure, o readers, despite my excitement in the opening of this column, I was slightly worried about “re-covering” some of these for the CHS. Thoughts like “will people want to hear about them again?” and “Should I just move into the House by the Sea and become a crab-man?” rattled through my head. 

But much of that noise was blasted away once I finally sat down again with The Christmas Presence. As I found it a wholly delightful, well in-character single serial that is only improved with my as-chronological-as-possible listening order. 

Christmas Eve is approaching and Quentin Collins is keeping true to his word to regather his family. He has a canny plan for it too. First, he will send out a sort of “psychic signal” into the world, inviting them back to Collinwood. Once back, he will ply them with a sumptuous Christmas lunch. One he’s invited the whole town to as well, with the help of Willie Loomis and Maggie Evans. And even Anqelique and Barnabas are put to the task, as Quentin recruits our favorite witch and vampire combination to help don Collinwood’s most gay apparel. Hopefully transforming the once imposing and empty mansion into the inviting pillar of the community Quentin wants it to be. 

But someone…or someTHING else has other holiday plans. A ravenous creature that has been stealing children across Collinsport. Seemingly with the face of “whatever they want it to be”. For its latest victim it’s Santa Claus. But for Quentin, it’s the face of a family friend and only “person” to take him up on the invitation. Professor Timothy Eliot Stokes! Played with a hammy, but charming power by Big Finish veteran Toby Longworth. Drawing Collinwood once more into a tried and true supernatural scandal that is draped heavily in small-town tragedy, trauma, and torment.

What better way to spend a Christmas, right?

Oh, and also, a Christmas turkey bound for the oven comes to life and tries to kill Maggie. 

Gosh I just think Dark Shadows is really neat.

My big Marge Simpson energy aside, The Christmas Presence really is a tremendous third installment for this fledgling range. One that continues to make good on the intention to “reestablish” Dark Shadows as a whole. 

For one thing, they really start mixing up the character pairings, relying heavily on one of Dark Shadows’ most enduring and powerful elements; its cast. While David Selby’s more reserved and heartfelt take on Quentin Collins is still the de-facto “lead” of the serial, everyone down the line gets substantial time in the spotlight. Better still, they usually are paired off with someone else we love while doing so. Our beloved John Karlen gets some weighty scenes both with Kathryn Leigh Scott and Lara Parker. Andrew Collins’ regenerated Barnabas too is allowed ample room for charged, but largely courtly banter with Scott as well, tempered further with his hissed and powerful asides with Parker. 

This is the first one so far that felt as if everyone had plenty to do and talk about and I appreciate Handcock and company realizing that’s where the real strength of Dark Shadows lies. In its ensemble and character interactions. 

Better still, The Christmas Presence comes to the table with our first bonafide banger of a plot. The idea of Quentin imploring psychically for his family to come to Christmas lunch and then having to deal with how it pisses off the rest of the assembled cast to carry out said lunch could have been enough. But also further the inclusion of the “Nightmare Creature” that’s not only using Stokes’ face, but Stokes HIMSELF as a bridge into the waking world where he can feast on more nightmares. It’s just total candy, and right at home within Dark Shadows’ already established world of conceptual, but grounded monsters

The Christmas Presence ALSO comes with a great deal of expanded scope and attention being paid to its own internal continuity as my beloved Big Finishverse is starting to take shape. Folks wondering about Willie’s vampire bite from The House of Despair will be as disappointed as I was not to see that being followed up on just yet, but thankfully Handcock and Russell provide plenty more in its place. 

Chiefly, more exploration of Quentin’s “Graveyard of Memories” as well as the opening gambits of The Second Barnabas’ own memory gaps from the end of the TV show. Along with his possible “overwriting” of the soul whose body he now inhabits. All being brought to a head as the cast faces off against the Stokes creature, who offers them the chance to make all their “dreams” (read: nightmares) come true.

It’s a lot of really heady stuff, but I really applaud the creative team’s willingness to go this big and this weird THIS early on in the range. All while achieving the nearly impossible task of keeping everyone sounding and acting in character supported by a meaty premise.

I was slightly worried about diving back into The Christmas Presence. I know this is one some fans don’t really enjoy and it has a slightly spotty reputation thanks to the “undead, killer Christmas turkey” of it all. 

But truly, I was very impressed with it this second time around. It’s got all the major hallmarks one could want of “proper” Dark Shadows while also attempting to grow the franchise into new, interesting places. Using both known iconography, strong plots (finally) and the wonderfully spirited performances of the character actors we all have come to adore.

The Dark One bless us! Everyone!

Audi-O-Grams

• My original review! Part of a pair of “Very Special Christmas Episode” reviews I did for our beloved CHS.
• There is also a weird bit of discrepancy as to when this actually was released. The Big Finish website says “September 2006”, but the Dark Shadows Fandom Wiki (a resource I’ve found myself using more and more throughout this column) cites it as “January 2007”. Even in my OWN FIRST REVIEW, I say it’s 2006. One more thing to ask Scott Handcock and Gary Russell should I ever meet them.
• The Second Barnabas has the sword cane too and I’m just as giddy rediscovering that fact as I was first discovering that fact. 
• Sheriff Haggerty shoutout! It’s awesome seeing this range already dropping hints and teases for the incoming serialization elements and miniseries. (Haggerty makes a debut proper in Kingdom of the Dead). 
• Composer Joseph Fox continues to excel with the new scoring of this era of DS, but the wholesale (largely unchanged) use of “Josette’s Theme” during this serial really nailed me in the ribs. Tremendous stuff all around, score and sound design wise. 
• Speaking again of Scott Handcock, I’m mostly finished with Doctor Who: The Mind of Hodiac; the Russell T. Davies  “Lost Story” for the Sixth Doctor and Mel that he helped bring to life this past month. Expect a full review eventually over at my other gig Dis/Member, but a slight teaser, it’s tremendous (and oh, so, 80s, innit?!)

NEXT TIME: The Rage Beneath! Big Finish’s first arc finale! One I’ve never heard before! Be seeing you, house proud town mouses. 

Dark Shadows Audi-O-Rama #2: The Book of Temptation

 

Audi-O-Rama #2: The Book of Temptation

By Justin Partridge

Dark Shadows: The Book of Temptation

Starring: David Selby, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, Daphne Ashbrook, and Andrew Collins

Written by: Scott Handcock

Directed by: Gary Russell

All Work and No SPOILERS AHEAD Make Jack a Dull Boy.

“Everybody has nightmares, Maggie. I can’t help you with that. Nobody can…”

Now That’s What I Call Dark Shadows! Volume Two!

Welcome back to Audi-O-Rama, dear readers. And you return to find some classic Dark Shadows hijinks and ensemble-based goodness! As we tackle 2006’s The Book of Temptation. Big Finish Productions’ strong follow up to their own return to Collinsport. Helmed by long-time Big Finish scribe Scott Handcock (Torchwood, The War Master, Time Lord Victorious, and the upcoming The Mind of Hodiac with Rusty T. Davies!) and the legendary in my book, Gary Russell.

The reverberations of Quentin Collins’ return to Collinsport are still being felt throughout the town. But nobody is more affected than poor ol’ Willie Loomis. Who wakes to find himself in the care of Maggie Evans at the Collinsport Inn after his…let’s say, draining reintroduction to the “new” Barnabas Collins and the resurrected Angelique last time in The House of Despair. 

Naturally, his “sickness” and reignited mania brought on by Barnabas’ bite raises Maggie’s hackles. And she aims to give the Collins family a piece of her mind about it too. But instead of telling off our reunited dark trio, she is drawn into this serial’s ghostly main plot. Centered around a haunted book, brought to life by Doctor Who’s Daphne Ashbrook, that feasts on the memories and souls of those unfortunate enough to read from its pages. Adding them to a twisted conglomerate of personalities 

As far as plots go, The Book of Temptation’s is a trifle basic. The idea of a haunted book has been done a few times before now in Dark Shadows and Scott Handcock’s version here doesn’t really reinvent the wheel. Despite a wonderfully broad and multi-layered performance by Daphne Ashbrook. A performer that stands up well amid the new and returned cast and who also adds a novel ethos to the part of Charlotte Howell. A former member of Collinwood’s staff in the 1920’s who becomes the main pillar personality trapped in the book’s warped collection of souls.

But The Book of Temptation’s real success is in its uses of the reassembled icons of Dark Shadows. If the previous serial’s goal was about bringing everyone back to the table and reintroducing audiences to Collinsport of the “now”, The Book of Temptation’s aim seems to be building them all back outward again. And it totally nails it.

While John Karlen’s Willie doesn’t get much to do this round aside from some quick lampshading in the first and last parts, everyone else gets substantial time in the spotlight. Kathryn Leigh Scott is brought fully back into the ensemble with her return to Collinwood, and both Handcock and Russell work overtime to make sure Quentin, the “regenerated” Barnabas, Maggie, AND Angelique get ample time and opportunity to interact with one another.

And it’s all totally sparkling! Scott’s Maggie is back to playing the voice of reason and compassion throughout the Collins family and Angelique’s pragmatic, slightly ruthless courses of action. One of which includes Quentin straight up imprisoning Maggie in the infamous Collinwood dungeon to keep her “safe” from the book’s influences. I wish I could deal with all my problems by simply throwing them in a dungeon, but I guess that’s just the privilege of the supernatural 1%ers.

Better still, Handcock’s script doesn’t ignore the already established dynamics between Maggie and the rest of the cast. While narratively he has to dance around slightly because of Maggie’s memory-wipe from the final TV episodes, on the whole, Maggie’s reconnection with everyone is dealt with really carefully. And with a deft touch performance wise thanks to Scott and Andrew Collins’ newly formed dynamic. That in itself is heavily informed by the courtly spark of Jonathan Frid and Scott’s famous chemistry.

All around, The Book of Temptation is a rousing success. Both as a sophomore installment of this “new” era of Dark Shadows and as a single serial experience. A lovingly produced slice of pulpy gothic-ness. One both gracefully supported by its TV past and working extra hard to reestablish bonafides for a whole new audience. Exemplifying how and why these characters and their franchise work. Without being overly bogged down in its reverence for the past television-based incarnation. Honestly, kinda the best case scenario for a follow-up episode! I would have loved this in 2006, but I surely love it now and will likely give this to normals looking for a neat entryway into Dark Shadows. 

Not too shabby for a second round, huh?

Audi-O-Grams

• We get our first “new” appearance of the Collinwood Drawing Room! And it’s still being used for hissed and tense secret asides between characters! Traditions are very important.
• We also get our first mention of an exorcism in this “new” era. It’s endlessly funny to me that both seances and exorcisms are just standard operating procedures for the Collins family.
• It’s not Dark Shadows without a parallel timeline. Yet more stuff in common with Doctor Who besides sharing cast members and creatives.
• I continue to love how Big Finish just gets out of the way of Robert Cobert’s music. They provide some wonderful supplemental music and scores of their own later on in the ranges, and even now here, thanks to Joseph Fox’s great additions. But man, Cobert’s stuff is still just unimpeachably great and they know it.

NEXT TIME: 2007’s The Christmas Presence. Our first double-dip! Yuletide vibes! Toby Longworth! Be seeing you, you crazy diamonds.

_____________________________________________________________________

Justin Partridge has always loved monsters and he thinks that explains a lot about him. When he isn’t over analyzing comics at Newsarama or ranting about Tom Clancy over at Rogues Portal, he is building Call of Cthulhu games, spreading the good word of Anti-Life, or rewatching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace for the dozenth time. He can be reached at the gasping Lovecraftian void that is Twitter @j_partridgeIII or via e-mail at [email protected] Odds are he will want to talk about Hellblazer.

Dark Shadows Audi-O-Rama #1: The House of Despair

Audi-O-Rama #1: The House of Despair

By Justin Partridge 

Dark Shadows: The House of Despair 

Starring: David Selby, Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, John Karlen, Ursula Burton, and Jamison Selby

Written by: Stuart Manning

Directed by: Gary Russell

Baby, Can Ya Dig Your SPOILERS AHEAD?

He’s a Righteous SPOILERS AHEAD.

Tell Me, Baby, Can Ya Dig Your SPOILERS AHEAD?

“I thought that if I ran fast enough I need never turn back, but now I find myself compelled to return. 

Just as I always knew I would be.” 

What’s this?! An audio review! From ME?!

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, dear readers. I have returned to the fake cobweb-encrusted shores of Collinsport. Much like Quentin Collins, I did so roam the world before my return to you now. I followed the Devil Hulk through his night-bound exploits in the desert. I followed Ol’ Shellhead, Iron Man, to the farthest reaches of space in pursuit of Korvac. And in between, I visited Gotham City (shockingly great public transit), Krakoa (shockingly great mutant coffee), and even Otherworld (shockingly awful magicks-based law enforcement).

But all the while, my heart yearned always for my beloved Collinsport. The rolling fog, the constant cosmic dread, it’s wobbly constructed interiors and exteriors. It left a real void in my heart not having all that with me every day. That longing was further stoked by my colleagues here at the CHS sending me regular correspondence and my still-active subscription to The Collinsport Star. But after a horrid layover weekend in accursed Bangor and quite a lot of impassioned persuasion (nee: tearful begging) to Upstairs, I have returned to my old desk here at the CHS! It’s even by one of the windows this time. I am very lucky.

And I fully plan on using it! The desk, not the window. It’s all terribly exciting, I’m sure. But I want it to be fun too! I have a lengthy plan on what we will be discussing here at Audi-O-Rama but I am trying to leave myself open to covering other things here too. Things that might slightly deviate from the list I have already, with approval from Upstairs, of course. 

As of now the general idea is a “Dark Shadows at Big Finish Retrospective” approach. Meaning I will be tackling every single Dark Shadows release from Big Finish Productions. Alongside some other coverage of things I’ve already started writing on. Such as the Marlyin Ross audiobooks and The Tony & Cassandra Mysteries.

Some we will be double-covering, like Bloodlust/Bloodline and the 1973 Storyline. But I think I definitely have more to say on the ones we’ve discussed before! Armed also with the broader experience tackling these (and more!) from the start. 

And speaking of the start, here we are now with a true blue blast from the early Aughts past; 2006’s The House of Despair. Big Finish Productions’ first time at-bat with Dark Shadows. And one that stands up pretty well as a functional and user-friendly reboot of the franchise. 

Spearheaded by Stuart Manning and Gary Russell, two names that should be very familiar to the Whovians amongst you, The House of Despair is a novel, if a bit basic “re-pilot” for this “new” era of Dark Shadows.

We open, as is tradition, on someone on a train. Bound for the town at the edge of the world. But this isn’t just any ol’ someone. It’s Quentin Collins, played once again by the immediately activated and charming David Selby. Forgive me a brief tangent, but I fully knew that a lot of these were going to be heavy on Selby’s Quentin, but I still got a total thrill and instant warmth hearing Selby inhabit the role. Quentin and Selby overall are both very, very important to me as a person and creative, so I think all of these audios will have a slight (and wholly unobjective) edge being so focused on him.

Better still, Selby totally comes back wholly reformed and confident in the part as well! Usually you would expect a bit of “ring rust” when it came to someone coming back to a role for the first time (2006 time, that is) since the 70s. But with Selby’s Quentin, from the first scene on the ever-implacable Collinsport Express on, he’s absolutely on. Charmingly anchoring the three-part, sixteen chapter serial and bantering beautifully with the rest of the returning cast. As if no time had passed between the final slate and now/2006.

EVEN BETTER, the whole production has allowed his own age to seep into his characterization. Manning and Russell do some dancing this serial around his immortal status in this first tale, as they are also somewhat dancing further around Collinsport’s whole deal in the wake of the final TV episode. Leaving it more nebulous in the now as to try and build it out later. But with that lack of plot, what comes shining through is Selby’s performance in concert with the rest of the returning vets. All of whom return to their roles with the same gusto and activation as Selby.

One of the great strengths of The House of Despair is how it’s not ignoring the dearth of time between the final TV episode and this “new” episode. Neither is it’s cast. Though everyone is positioned in a narratively sound starting position when we start (Maggie now owns The Inn and works there still while a new family owns the Blue Whale, Anqelique has “died” and haunts the Sea Cave, The Collins family are “missing”,and Barnabas is presumed dead) Russell, Manning, and their cast allow these icons to be actually older. Having changed and settled (for the most part) realistically in the time between those last credits and now.

However, while the returning cast members provide The House of Despair plenty of charge for the diehard fans while selling the “feel” of Dark Shadows for newbies, it’s plot is a mite thin when compared to the aforementioned charge. I think much of this is coming from the fact that Manning and Russell have so much stuff to set up for the incoming range. 

Quentin Collins has returned to Collinsport, but the strange happenings that have plagued the town have remained. Manifesting this time around as a gaggle of soulless and memory-less townspeople called “The Lost”, controlled by the creature known as Mr. Strix. Who has taken up residence in the abandoned Collinwood. The perfect place for an interdimentional demon in control of a massive murder of crows filled with the “Lost’s” human souls. 

In order to banish Strix from his ancestral home, Quentin enlists the help of Willie Loomis and a resurrected Angelique. The former being the only real connection left to the ancient house and the town that bears its name. Loomis being left in the wake of the Collins’ family exodus. John Karlen…he was just the best, y’all.

Naturally, this leads to a sonically pleasing showdown with the demon and our now assembled “new” cast. For physical and metaphysical ownership of the ancient mansion. Which is then bolstered further in favor of our anti-heroes by the debut of the “regenerated” Barnabas Collins. Played assuredly by the darkly charming Andrew Collins, one of my absolute favorite performers in all of Big Finish Productions. Alongside Ursla Burton and Jamison Selby’s Susan and Ed Griffin, new owners of The Blue Whale. Who we know grow to full on co-stars of the range later down the line. Burton, especially, transitioning from behind the mic to behind the scenes!

If this sounds like a lot of moving parts, it totally is. But worse still, it doesn’t really seem like the properly big ideas that the range became known for. Strix, his soul-birds, and The Lost are all neat ideas and could maybe serve as a serviceable “monster of the week” in another serial separately. But trying to jam them together on top of how much work is being put into resetting the core cast and Collinsport, post TV hiatus. It just seems like too-little butter scraped over too much bread. 

Especially when the REAL GOOD bread and butter is all the setting up of our legacy characters! Using such powerfully weird iconography such as Barnabas’ ring, Quentin’s “Graveyard of Memories” liminal space, and even the very real estate of Collinsport and Collinwood, Manning and Russell really bait the hook nicely for their resurrected take on Dark Shadows. 

Where they choose to pick up with our main cast members too shows a sort of canny and basic malleability. No one, save Barnabas really, is in a wholly unexpected place. Angelique still haunts the town. Maggie has transitioned from one pillar of the community (Collinwood) to another (Collinsport Inn). And now Quentin has returned, robbed of his memories largely and eager to build a new life as the primary Collins of the old great house. It’s a neat starting position to go from.

Which Manning and Russell waste little time upending slightly! Thanks to a timely bite from the brand new Barnabas to the injured neck of Willie! Being just a highly soused human facing a literal demon, Willie is waylaid in the battle of Collinwood. Forcing Barnabas, spurred on by the gloating Angelique, to spread his vampire curse to Willie. Now WHERE have we seen THIS before? This is Dark Shadows 1301. Facing us normal ham-and-eggers against actual monsters and various cosmic horrors interspersed with some choice high drama. This is basic stuff, people!

No, not basic. That’s not the right word. It’s comfortable. Both in terms of production and execution. The House of Despair eases us back into the dreary, but weirdly engaging world of Dark Shadows. Shepherded by voices, creatives, and characters we’ve known for years who seemingly haven’t lost a single step. 

It made me so, so happy to be back. And so, so excited to hear where we get to next. 

Audi-O-Grams:

• This is going to be something I try here, akin to the old AV Club “Stray Observations” sections. Basically just a spot for all the random junk I think of that I can’t fit into the review proper and/or direct appeals to y’all, our dear readers.
• Gary Russell as a writer is someone I have a real personal connection to. It was nice seeing that he’s involved so heavily in this first stretch of audios. 
• He wrote my first proper introduction to the Fifth Doctor. Divided Loyalties from the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventures novels. Which I read and reread like a thousand times before I ever saw frame one of a Peter Davison serial. I freaking loved that book and I am STILL trying to find a copy to rebuy that won’t cost me one of my kidneys. 
• Also very happy to hear Robert Cobert’s original music pieces all over this opening serial. It’s baked into my whole idea of Dark Shadows at the DNA level, so I’m always happy to hear it. Doubly so to hear it used so well. 

Next Time: The Book of Temptation! A Maggie Evans story! Quentin/Angelique team ups! Dr. Grace Holloway from Doctor Who! Be seeing you, Spiders From Mars

______________________________________________________________________________________

Justin Partridge has always loved monsters and he thinks that explains a lot about him. When he isn’t over analyzing comics at Newsarama or ranting about Tom Clancy over at Rogues Portal, he is building Call of Cthulhu games, spreading the good word of Anti-Life, or rewatching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace for the dozenth time. He can be reached at the gasping Lovecraftian void that is Twitter @j_partridgeIII or via e-mail at [email protected] Odds are he will want to talk about Hellblazer.

Podcast: The Dark Shadows Daybook

Another day, another Dark Shadows podcast! Patrick McCray and Justin Partridge have a drink at The Blue Whale and talk about the Master of Dark Shadows documentary, how the series speaks to the lonely, and why the 1897 storyline is essentially an episode of Fantasy Island for Barnabas Collins. Pull up a seat at the bar and give it a listen!

You can download the episode HERE, stream it below or listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, YouTube where ever you find your podcasts.

Dark Shadows: The Marilyn Ross Codex #1 - Dark Shadows

By JUSTIN PARTRIDGE

I suppose I owe you lovely readers an apology first and foremost.

It has been a good while since I have graced the hallowed halls of the CHS. So long in fact that my typewriter and paltry desk lamp have been moved BACK down to the Cupboard Under the Stairs, right back next to the mop and spare encyclopedias. It really is my bad.

Truth be told, some freelance work took me up to accursed Bangor and kept me there far, far too long. I got to talk about Swamp Thing over at Newsarama a bunch. I covered some horror film festivals AND wrote in a quite good zine (available now and with issue #2 on the way!) over at Dis/Member. I was even in a magazine! The Eisner winning PanelXPanel #25, all about the Sandman franchise, which was a trip and a half. It would have all been worth it had I not been in that festering cesspool of mediocrity that is Bangor. Schlepping down to what they pass off as a bar, filling pieces while choking down that weak freaking tea they call beer all while dodging mouth-breathing jabronis who haven't heard a goddamn Steely Dan song they didn’t love.

Anyone who tells you Bangor is a “decent enough town” is WRONG. Dead wrong. And probably selling you something.

But I’m back! And I have plenty of work ahead of me, work that will hopefully get me out of the broom closet and back into something at least resembling a workspace. Which brings us to this new column! The Marilyn Ross Codex! That’s right, after all these years, the Paperback Library’s’ Marilyn Ross books are finally receiving the audiobook treatment thanks to Oasis Audio. We here at the CHS have gotten a hold of some of these beauties and are going to be taking a listen to them. The immensely talented and far smarter than I am Alice Collins (@VampAly!) will also be joining us eventually along the way, and maybe a few other guests, if yer lucky! Welcome to The Marilyn Ross Codex!

So, I have a special relationship with the Marilyn Ross books, in that I DON’T have a relationship with them. Like my beloved Big Finishverse, I had only become aware of the cult classic tie-in novels here recently. Which is a bummer as I have heard they are quite insane. Like, fighting mummies and offering a completely separate prose universe alongside the TV canon insane. All of that sounds very much my jam. A lot of fans seem to really like these, and I have always meant to get around to them but a 32 book long series is daunting even for the most devout of fans. The closest I have come to really getting into these is listening to the fantastic Bodice Tipplers podcast episode about book #6 Barnabas Collins, by all rights, the horniest of the Marilyn Ross affairs.

Which is why I am excited to get to these reviews! I now have a pretty great in point for these and should I want to double-dip, buying both the old novels to display while keeping the audiobooks as my “reading copy” I totally can! It is nicely symmetrical for the obsessive collecting dork in me.

So how is the actual content itself, you may be asking now. And to that I say, pretty great! Though lacking the production values of the Big Finish audios and clocking in at a pretty decent chunk of time (which I will get into later), this first audio, carefully and lovingly read by Maggie Evans herself Kathryn Leigh Scott, is a fantastic entry point into this “Expanded Universe” of Dark Shadows.

Stop me if you have heard this before, but Victoria Winters has come to Collinwood. Lured by an offer to work at *checks notes* Collins House as governess to a child that lives there. Something, something beginning and the end of the world, you get it.  What follows is a pulpy, fairly loose adaptation of the first dozen or so episodes of the original TV series, stocked with all new characters and variants on the show’s opening dynamics. Characters like Ernest Collins, a seemingly famous concert violinist and suspected murderer who lives in Collins House (a canny anachronism that continues for the first few Ross books).   

As a fan of Expanded Universe, I sincerely love the idea of a semi-independent canon that stands alongside the TV canon, with it’s own cast and storylines. That said, the lack of production values is a bit of a bummer, especially when compared to the still ongoing Big Finish Dark Shadows line. Another bummer is the lack of any other cast members. Maybe the idea further down the line is to get other cast members in the booth and I DO love hearing Scott talk just in general as she has a smooth, caring tone that I find psychologically soothing. But part of the charm and drive of the Big Finishverse is hearing her play once again against other actors. I fear these might sound a bit stuffy after the full-cast efforts.

I also fear that the time commitment of this opener might be a turn off for casual fans. Clocking in at six hours, this thing really is a true blue audiobook (which, honestly, should have been something I anticipated going into this). Which means it's just bare bones reading for the whole time. Not helping matters is the fact that this first book is largely worldbuilding, setting up Vicki, Collins House, and the expanded cast of these novels. It has a pretty good hook, but anyone familiar with the TV canon won’t really be too surprised here. That said, I think die-hard Shadows people will find it a pretty great adaptation of this weird EU starter, but not having the frills of music or other cast members might be a tougher sell for me when I yell at people to get into the franchise. 

You might think that is a contradiction to what I said above, but I really, really did enjoy Dark Shadows. I think Scott continues to be really comfortable behind the microphone in any capacity and Ross’ odd, but engagingly written prose provides a spooky weekend listen for those still wondering what the hell this Dark Shadows thing is all about anyway. Those in the know too will find this fun as well as it brings the weirdness of tie-ins and the franchise overall into a wider market, hopefully snapping up more fans and devotees. To quote a great man, Joe Bob says, check it out.

NEXT TIME! Marilyn Ross #2! 1967’s Victoria Winters! To be honest, I’m just hoping we can get to the mummy fighting. Be seeing you!

Justin Partridge has always loved monsters and he thinks that explains a lot about him. When he isn’t over analyzing comics at Newsarama or ranting about Tom Clancy over at Rogues Portal, he is building Call of Cthulhu games, spreading the good word of Anti-Life, or rewatching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace for the dozenth time. He can be reached at the gasping Lovecraftian void that is Twitter @j_partridgeIII or via e-mail at [email protected] Odds are he will want to talk about Hellblazer.

Dark Shadows, The Road to Bloodline FINALE: Blood & Fire

By JUSTIN PARTRIDGE

Grok It, Reader-Bots. Spoilers for this and Dark Shadows: Bloodlust Ahead.

“Every time I come to Collins House, I get the strangest feeling. I know I belong yet, somehow, I don’t think I’m ever going to live here. Isn’t that odd?”

And so, we reach the end of the Road to Bloodline with the massive Blood & Fire. Released in 2016 to coincide with the property’s 50th Anniversary, this four episode series is the very picture of a satisfying prequel tale. But at the same time, a tremendous set up for the incoming Bloodline as it weaves a wonderfully serialized tale, stocked with the heavy hitters from the cast, both old and new, that also manages to deliver all the high drama and supernatural hijinks of the franchise. Just like Bloodlust did, and just like Bloodline intends to do. No wonder it won friggen awards. In short, a bloody tremendous success of an audio from where I’m sitting. I couldn’t have asked for a better tale to end this column on. Enough preamble, right? Let’s get to it.

So from the jump, writer Roy Gill lays out a tremendous narrative hook. Saved from her heroic sacrifice for Collinsport at the end of Bloodlust, the witch Angelique Bouchard (Lara Parker once again swinging for the fences)  now faces her master The Dark Lord in Hell’s Waiting Room. Displeased by her latest face turn, The Dark Lord proposes a mission to grant her his good favor. If she can disrupt time and erase the Collins family from reality, she will be once again proven loyal to evil and restored to a favorable position within the darkness.

Then we are transported to the Big Finishverse’s own version of the 1800’s TV storyline, even FURTHER back. Honestly I think this story’s setting is the furthest back in time, in canon Dark Shadows has ever gone. I will check with the head office on that but quote me anyway, I gotta build street cred. The year is 1767 and Angelique must now stamp out the Collins line before it can even begin; by ruining the marriage of one Joshua Collins (Barnabas 2.0 Andrew Collins) and Laura Murdoch Stockbridge (Joana FREAKING Going!). What follows across these epic four episodes is classic Dark Shadows down to the friggen studs, y’all. Angelique charms her way into the in construction Collins House, meeting Joshua’s parents Patience (Kathryn Leigh Scott) and Caleb (Mitchell Ryan) as well as Joshua’s sister Abigail (Daisy Torme). Also visiting for the incoming wedding is Caleb’s brother Theodore (David Selby) and his wife Isobel (Nancy Barett). So we basically have a full cast of favorites all ready, but Blood & Fire just keeps on giving.

As the episodes go on, listeners will start to realize that literally every single speaking part is being played by a Dark Shadows staple. Jerry Lacy shows up as Caleb’s fantatical contractor Malachi Sands. Lisa Richards and Christopher Pennock pop up as the funny and fussy parents of Going’s Laura. John Karlen, of course, plays Alfred Loomis, the Collins’ faithful footman and carriage driver. And it isn’t just old favorites! No, no! Some new additions from the audio-verse also gets some choice stage time. Anchored by the commanding lead performance of Andrew Collins’, other Big Finish newbies like Alexandra Donnachie and Matthew Waterhouse play recurring side characters, providing a nice mixture for the audience of old and new players throughout the ensemble.

Plus there is even an extra layer of canny casting in Joana Going playing what is essentially the second female lead. Fans of the Phoenix storyline will recognize Laura’s name and fans of literally most TV from the 90s until now (plus Phantoms! And the 2001 DS reboot I still haven’t seen!) will recognize Going’s name and she just absolutely kills it. Both just as a romantic lead and as an antagonist of Lara Parker’s Angelique. Both women share the “stage” of this story beautifully and provide a legitimately talented base line for the story in terms of pure acting.

But all the cast members in the world couldn’t make this special work if the script and direction of it failed, but I am happy to report, this thing absolutely sings throughout. Roy Gill’s script delivers all the gory, ghoulish fun and heavy soapy drama of the property in spades. And along with expansive, immersive sound design and direction by David Darlington, this whole series feels properly big and epic. Just like a 50th Anniversary special too. I was also kind of struck at how “user friendly” it was. I complained last column about how ...And Red All Over was kind of insular, but I think Blood & Fire could be one of those fabled audios you could hand to someone unfamiliar with the property and say, “This is Dark Shadows” and they would get it. I mean, aside from the bit of Bloodlust and Bloodline window dressing, but that’s like a 2 minute conversation. 1, if you text it. 

So, yeah, I am absolutely head over heels for Blood & Fire and I think you all will be too (if you haven’t already heard it like a billion times by now because I am coming into these things late). Massive in scope, production values, and talent, this anniversary special delivers everything great about the franchise’s past, present, and future, wrapped in a macabre package and sealed with chillingly entertaining performances. I have said a few of these audios are “must listen” but I think Blood & Fire might be the first “must own” of my time at the CHS. I think it is that important to the overall output of Dark Shadows.

Until next time, be seeing you.   

Dark Shadows, The Road to Bloodline: ...And Red All Over

By JUSTIN PARTRIDGE

“Devlin...The name’s Devlin!”

Welcome, ghoulies, to a special Weekend Edition of the Road to Bloodline! Since the incoming serial is looming, I thought I would put in some more time here in my office/closet and bring this particularly fun column home, just in time for David and Amy’s wedding. A wedding I may have to work as a bar back at just to score an invite. It really is the hot ticket in town. Everyone here the CHS is talking about it. And they seem to have a seating assignment. I’m not bitter about it. No, sir. Not me. Let’s change the subject. Why did you even bring it up? That seems super rude, y’all. Maybe I have plans that night anyway! You don’t know.

Anyway, I’m putting in the extra hours here to talk about a pretty damn fun stop on the Road to Bloodline, ...And Red All Over! The return of Mitchell Ryan to the franchise AND the 50th Big Finishverse release! Delivered to audiences in October of 2015, this Cody Schell scripted tale finds Maggie Evans...sorry Maggie HASKELL absconded from her honeymoon and trapped in a remote cabin, in the middle of a blizzard no less. Complicating matters is the owner of the cabin, a man who looks exactly like one Burke Devlin! Oh, and there are also some weird men stalking them through the woods. Men that don’t have faces, only shifting ink blots where their faces should be; something ripped right out of Dave Gibbons’ nightmares. It is all very Silent Hill.

Before we get into the actual content of the episode, I think the conversation about the placement of this audio is one worth having. Here the range had been around for a bit, and had just recently wrapped up a pretty successful “event” series in Bloodlust. They had released fifty episodes! That’s not nothing to sneeze at! As a comic person I can always appreciate milestones like this. And just to double down on it, we have the added prestige of having it bloody star two MAJOR Dark Shadows staples!

I am going to do a whole separate “finale” of this current column all about the Anniversary episode that follows this audio, but I really enjoyed this one leaning into it being a “very special” episode for the Big Finishverse, centered around the return of Mitchell Ryan. Though there is a bit of a wonky fake out that the script takes around a “cousin” of Burke’s during the start of the episode, it is like Ryan never left as he settles back into the character with aplomb. Even better, pairing him exclusively with Kathryn Leigh Scott’s Maggie Haskell brings back the sparkling dynamic between the two actors, supporting the super weird and supernatural drama of the script.

And when I say this one is super weird, I gotta stress it, y’all, this one is super weird. Especially for a “50th Episode” which ideally should be pretty user friendly for the rubes that sometimes buy stuff just for the release number. Something I tooooootally haven’t done at all, no sir, not me. Why did you bring that up? It’s my business what I buy from the Collinsport flea market! Don’t you judge me! My obsessive comic buying patterns aside, Schell’s script starts odd and only gets odder, opening with a pretty much contextless fan fiction set up with Maggie being magically kidnapped from her honeymoon and trapped in a snowstorm with a dude who looks exactly like someone she used to crush on. From there, it kind of takes a few too many left turns, tying in Burke’s illicit past with money and positing that he made a deal with a sort of daemonic banking cabal called The Ink along the way. Their icon being, you guessed it, a super fancy pen. Burke just can’t ever get away from pens can he?

Exhibit A.

The Ink themselves are a really fun idea. Sweening their villainous pot is the extra creepy and atmospheric sound design David Darlington mixes into their presence in the script. I can see some listeners being slightly frustrated with the turn this story takes that mayyyybe all of the episode’s event didn’t happen, due to some sort of drugging both Maggie and Burke undergo during the tale, but to me, that added another fun layer of uncertainty to the story. Would I have loved for it to have been established fully that Maggie and Burke fought some bankers from Hell? Sure, but like Wallace tells me in the break room here at the CHS during Donut Day, “You get what you get and you don’t get upset or you are fired.” I think he made up that last part.

So, all in all, a fun story, a weird lead in to an anniversary special, and a wonderful reunion for two major Dark Shadows stars. ...And Red All Over contains multitudes! I thought it was a pretty fun weekend listen. Plus Mitchell Ryan has still got it, y’all. This one all but proves it. Sure, the uncertainty of the supernatural elements are a little frustrating, but Dark Shadows can be frustrating at times. That’s what makes it so fun.

NEXT TIME! The Final Column where we discuss the Scribe Award Winning BLOOD AND FIRE! It’s super long! I’ve gotta make more coffee! Until then, be seeing you.

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Justin Partridge has always loved monsters and he thinks that explains a lot about him. When he isn’t over analyzing comics at Newsarama or ranting about Tom Clancy over at Rogues Portal, he is building Call of Cthulhu games, spreading the good word of Anti-Life, or rewatching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace for the dozenth time. He can be reached at the gasping Lovecraftian void that is Twitter @j_partridgeIII or via e-mail at [email protected] Odds are he will want to talk about Hellblazer.

Dark Shadows, The Road to Bloodline: Tainted Love

By JUSTIN PARTRIDGE

“I became a witch, I consumed a demon, but I still can’t make you love me!”

It’s a Year in the Life in Collinsport in the supremely satisfying Tainted Love, the fifth installment in my Road to Bloodline nonsense. My obsession with branding aside, this audio truly is a thing of beauty. Centered around a hellish love triangle that develops between David Collins (a returning Alec Newman), Amy Jennings (Stephanie Ellyne), and Hallie Stokes (Kathleen Cody), who has newly returned to Collinsport, this Daniel Collard written tale delivers old school Dark Shadows operatics, emotion, and mysticism. Honestly, this one has arguably been the most “pure” Dark Shadows experience of this whole section of audios, leaning into the more soapy elements of the property with aplomb which provides a kneer edge to the trademark weirdness the show always made great use of. But enough of my yakkin’, let’s get into it.

Right off the bat, Collard’s script along with David Darlington’s masterful sound design lets on early that this is going to be an episodic experience. Picking up mere days after the event’s of Bloodlust (another fantastic narrative choice that I will get into a bit later), Collard, Darlington, and the episode’s director Joseph Lidster open on David and Amy sharing a rare quiet moment in the great house of Collinwood. But, this being Dark Shadows, their calm is interrupted by a screaming man outside on the grounds, raving about his lost wife and trying to cross into the house. Enter the returning Hallie Stokes, who quickly diagnosis the man as “possessed” and then promptly...distingegrates him, saying it was the only way to expel the demon she was chasing.

From there we are treated to a tightly constructed relationship drama, set against the backdrop of the major holidays. Each one broken into well produced little vignettes, with their own opening Victoria Winters-esque narration from each of our three leads, supported by the theme tune in the background. I really love this choice for two reasons. One, it really allows the journey these characters take throughout Tainted Love to shine and breathe as the action isn’t confined to a few days. Had it been, I feel I wouldn’t have been nearly as invested in David and Amy’s growing relationship, even with Newman and Ellyne’s wonderful chemistry. The same goes for Hallie’s descent into madness, which is also played beautifully by Cody. Both plots are pretty well entwined with one another, but stretching it out over a whole calendar year allowed it to feel more natural, thus making it that much more engaging. 

The second reason I love this choice so much is that we finally get, or at least I FINALLY get, as this has been something I’ve been harping on for a while now, some actual, real time fallout and growth for the characters post-Bloodlust. We start mere days after the events, and instead of having more flashbacks to other stories or another side story, we get an actual movement and progression for two major players, moving us through a tremendous set up for the incoming Bloodline. I know that you are probably tired of reading about my feverish love affair with serialization but I really appreciated the forward momentum Tainted Love provided for David and Amy, supported by some choice cameos from some of my other faves from Bloodlust that I don’t really want to spoil here, but trust me, they are a lot of fun.

And I think even if you aren’t a big continuity hound like I am, you’ll get a lot out of Tainted Love. It has the novelty of starring some returning favorites, along with a fun central story, and plenty of amorous, touchy-feely entanglements to satisfy the more relationship minded Dark Shadows fans. I definitely think this is essential listening for anyone curious about the genesis of David and Amy’s relationship so that’s just one selling point on top of a whole pile of other unrelated selling points. Plus, ya know, Alec Newman.

NEXT TIME! The penultimate Road to Bloodline, ...And Red All Over!  Mitchell Ryan, you guys! Until then, be seeing you.

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Justin Partridge has always loved monsters and he thinks that explains a lot about him. When he isn’t over analyzing comics at Newsarama or ranting about Tom Clancy over at Rogues Portal, he is building Call of Cthulhu games, spreading the good word of Anti-Life, or rewatching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace for the dozenth time. He can be reached at the gasping Lovecraftian void that is Twitter @j_partridgeIII or via e-mail at [email protected] Odds are he will want to talk about Hellblazer.

Dark Shadows, The Road to Bloodline: In The Twinkling of an Eye

By JUSTIN PARTRIDGE

“I liked him.” “He was very likable.” “He wanted to kill you!” “He wanted me dead. Not the same thing.”

The Road to Bloodline starts to slow down a bit with 2015’s In The Twinkling of an Eye. Considerably less action heavy than last installment, this Penelope Faith penned tale downshifts nicely with a story of a returning Jessica Griffin (Marie Wallace) and Jackie Tate (Alexandra Donnachie) tangling with a sort of soul reaper named Nate (a icy, but cooly charming Ryan Wichert). Though the story itself is not quite as exciting as the pitch, Wallace, Donnachie, and Wichert’s performances really shine through, highlighting the range’s consistently solid roster of actors. Like, as a relative neophyte (I’m now on episode 75 of the original series, watching concurrently with my listening and soon to be reading), it is nice to know that even when I don’t love the story, the cast and the sound design of these audios will at least always be worth the listen. That may be where I’m landing with In The Twinkling of an Eye.

But please don’t let my semi-apathy toward this story dissuade you! There is plenty to love about this audio! Mainly, Marie Wallace and Alexandra Donnachie! Yes, after Jessica’s harrowing attack and recovery she is back behind the bar at the Blue Whale and Jackie is still trying to sneak drinks, and failing adorably. Both women return beautifully to the roles, giving us two women who have changed since the last time we saw them and attempting to readjust to a life post-Bloodlust. I have been kind of famously chippy in these reviews about how I haven’t felt like this arc has had any real text about how the characters have moved on after that epic serial, BUT Twinkling kind of gives me some juice in that regard! This is the first time it felt like a writer was expressly detailing how characters were moving on and while it doesn’t completely commit to it, the script at least, like Degrassi, goes there.

And the story actually isn’t half bad! Given a creeping, other worldly sound design by David Darlington, this script weaves another “Dark Shadows: What If?” tale, centered around the night Jessica was attacked. As both women get to know Nate, a new handsome, yet somewhat odd man hanging about the Blue Whale and in Jessica’s day dreams, they learn that it’s his job to escort souls to their final rest and he was suppose to escort Jessica’s soul to it’s reward that fateful night. But instead, he finds himself bonded (at least I think?) onto the soul of a cyclist who died in Jessica’s stead, due to Jackie not helping him in her rush to get to Jessica after her attack. It gets...a little squffy there for a bit, which is another ding against it, but the idea is a fun one and brings out some neat chemistry between our three leads. Couple that with the inch forward character wise for the women’s current state going into Bloodline and you have at least a passable good time.

I feel bad for sounding so down on this audio, but compared to the past ones so far, this one just seems like a filler episode, graced with some pretty good performances and half a great idea. There were plenty of filler episodes on TV and it was only a matter of time until I got to one here on the audio side of things. I still completely love Jackie Tate though. I am very glad she is still around and looking to keep causing trouble going into the next major serial. And what else can I say about Marie Wallace that hasn’t already been said around here? She’s a treasure! And we treat her as such. All in all, I think In The Twinkling of an Eye is a great “one and done” listen and nothing more. But am I wrong? Come tell me in the hottest new nightspot on Facebook, The CHS Drawing Room. Let’s pop open Roger’s GOOD sherry and talk some Big Finishverse, or whatever else Dark Shadows related you want!

NEXT TIME! Deliver us From Evil! The return of that ol’ rat fink Cyrus Longworth and murder tourist Alfie Chapman! Until then Be Seeing You!

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Justin Partridge has always loved monsters and he thinks that explains a lot about him. When he isn’t over analyzing comics at Newsarama or ranting about Tom Clancy over at Rogues Portal, he is building Call of Cthulhu games, spreading the good word of Anti-Life, or rewatching Garth Marenghi's Darkplace for the dozenth time. He can be reached at the gasping Lovecraftian void that is Twitter @j_partridgeIII or via e-mail at [email protected] Odds are he will want to talk about Hellblazer.