Dark Shadows, the 131-disc DVD set

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by 23skidoo, Mar 27, 2012.

  1. 23skidoo

    23skidoo Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2002
    Location:
    Fifth Circle of Hell
    As Bart Simpson would say, Ay Carumba!

    MPI is releasing a 131-disc DVD set of the complete original Dark Shadows TV series. That's 1,225 episodes.

    If that's not a record, I don't know what is.

    Here's the original press release:

    http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Dark-Shadows-The-Complete-Original-Series/16643

    Originally scheduled for release on May 8, TV Shows on DVD reports today that the release date has been pushed back to July 10. No reason is given, though I bet it probably has to do with the logistics of doing quality control on 1,225 episodes!

    As one who actually considered buying the complete Law & Order set, and who might invest one day in a complete Simpsons set, and who would jump at buying a complete Doctor Who if that were ever possible, I can't fault Dark Shadows fans wanting all 1,225 episodes. But man ... that's a lot of TV!

    Alex
     
  2. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2001
    Location:
    America, Fuck Yeah!!!
    Averages out to almost ten episodes per disc if there's no special features. They are going to compress the shit out of the episodes.
     
  3. C_Miller

    C_Miller Captain Captain

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Location:
    Geneseo, NY
    Hopefully this will get it to Netflix. I'd be really interested in watching the show.
     
  4. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    FYI: The new issue of Horrorhound magazine (with Barnabas on the cover) has a nice retrospective on the original series, complete with fun photos of most of the original merchandise: games, puzzles, plastic models, Gold Key comics, novels, digests, even the Viewmaster set! (Most of which I remember from my childhood.)
     
  5. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2001
    Location:
    Mr. Adventure
    I don't think they have 1200 episodes but they do have Dark Shadows on demand. I've been watching them here and there, and being only a half hour (did it get longer later?) they go by pretty quick.
     
  6. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    Nope, it was always a half-hour soap opera.

    Every weekday at 4 pm, as I recall.
     
  7. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2005
    Probably, but weren't the shot on video in the first place? If so, it won't be that bad (especially since their 30-minutes minus commercials each).
     
  8. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2005
    Location:
    Confederation of Earth
    Yep.

    And I don't think there'll be much compression. 10 half-hour episodes, less commercials, equals < 5 hours of material per disc. The L&O discs all have four or five (1 hour each, less ads) eps per disc, working out to about the same amount of time, and they look fine.
     
  9. Saga

    Saga Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2008
    Location:
    VA
    i doubt compression will be a problem. the old dvd sets had forty episodes spread over four of five discs. each episode is anywhere from 18-23 minutes long and yes, it was shot on video. the quality isn't all that great to begin with.
     
  10. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2004
    Location:
    Rishi's Sad Madhouse
    Fascinating. I've never heard of this show before - probably because it was never shown in the UK. I'll probably try to catch the Burton/Depp film. I don't think I'd relish the idea of watching 1,225 episodes even if I did have nostalgic memories of it, which I don't.
     
  11. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 10, 2005
    Location:
    Confederation of Earth
    ^ AFAIK, the original series has at least a whole season go by before Barnabas even shows up.
     
  12. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2001
    Location:
    Mr. Adventure
    Netflix starts with the arrival of Barnabas and I think it's in the 200s.
     
  13. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 26, 2002
    Isn't this that horror drama that use to air on Scifi?
     
  14. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2011
    Location:
    Sacramento, CA
    Vampire/Supernatural Soap Opera aired in the late 60s-1970s, I believe, and yes, they did air it on SciFi Channel for awhile
     
  15. timothy

    timothy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2010
    Location:
    The Draco tavern
    I am so excited by this news I am so getting it. Dark shadows has everything vampires, witches,ghosts and if corouse time travel. Also looking forward to the movie even though they turned it into a period comedy. I just can't pass on tim burton & Johnny Depp.
     
  16. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    Believe it or not, it was a huge hit back in the day, inspiring tons of magazine covers, merchandise, etc.

    There were even two feature films back in the seventies: House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows.
     
  17. Davros

    Davros Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Location:
    Kaled bunker, Skaro
    I had 2 different Dark Shadows board games.
     
  18. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2004
    Location:
    Lancaster, PA
    Me, too, including the one where you had to build your own skeleton.

    And I made both of the plastic model kits.
     
  19. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    Yeah, this was a factoid to me. I was at an FYE and they had several sets of the DS show for sale and one or two sets contained the phrasing of such "Before Barnabas Arrives" on the packaging.

    That set in the OP is massive. A fan would likely buy this to have vs really sitting down over time to rewatch 1,200 episodes. I mean crap, you'd need a flowchart to try and find episodes of interest or main focus.
     
  20. Davros

    Davros Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    Location:
    Kaled bunker, Skaro
    I still have the coffin from that one.