Dark Shadows - Fan Favorites

It's both a time of sadness and a time of joy for fans of Dark Shadows, ABC's camp classic daytime serial that ran for five years in the late sixties to great cult acclaim. Joy because they can soon bask in the garish glow of king-of-kook director Tim Burton's gloriously ott re-imagining in just a few short weeks, and sadness because actor Jonathan Frid - the original Barnabus Collins - passed away just last week in an Ontario hospital at the age of eighty-seven.

Frid lived long enough, however, to know that the world would soon know his name - or, at the very least, his work. Speaking with TheWrap shortly after his death was announced, Frid's co-star Kathryn Leigh Scott claimed the late actor's proudest moment came during a meeting with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp when they traveled to England to shoot cameos for the upcoming feature, during which Depp told the actor: "We wouldn't be here without you."

Well they would not, as Frid's enigmatic, cursed anti-hero, a vampire awoken to live a life of comedic confusion in the modern day, gradually shifted over time from an odd curiosity on the fringes of the story to the show's principle protagonist. At the time it was unheard of for a daytime network serial, that never marketed itself as anything other than another daytime soap opera, to suddenly just drop wholesale supernatural elements - vampires, ghosts, werewolves - into the mix and then just carry on as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

It was an audacious movie, and one that could have easily backfired, but the audiences willingness to climb on board and just go with it paved the way for shows the likes of Twin Peaks to follow suit decades later and, while it is certainly a cult property, its influence is hard to overstate. Without Dark Shadows there would be no Passions, that's for sure.

For the truly devoted fan out there the entire Dark Shadows collection - all 1225 episodes, spanning almost five years - is available for a not inconsiderable RRP of $599.99. Those who perhaps find that a little cost prohibitive can dip their toe in the water with these Fan Favorite Collections, offering nine-episodes a piece. Seminal, silly, and soon to be another Burton/Depp box office smash, there is no better time to clamber into the coffin and have a rummage around.

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CelebSelect

Danielle Panabaker's Top Pop Picks
- Favorite Band: The Avett Brothers
  
  "I'm really into the Avett Brothers as of late."
- Favorite Book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  
  "My girlfriends are I - we are very nerdy. We started a book club and the first book we read was Gone Girl."
- Favorite New Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
  
  "I thought it was a great film and I thought Jennifer Lawrence was incredible, you know those angry tears, I've certainly experienced that."
Paul Van Dyk: Current Favorites
- School of the Seven Bells
  
  The New York-based band unites Benjamin Curtis of "Secret Machines" and Alejandra Deheza. Formed in 2007, the duo is named after a mythical South American pickpocket training academy of the same name.
- Linkin Park
  
  The Californian rock veterans have come a long way since 'Hybrid Theory.' Back now with their fifth studio album in over a decade, 'Living Things' is one of Paul Van Dyck's favorite albums this year.
- Jupiter Jones
  
  The German punk rock band formed in 2002, but has already released several LPs, including an eponymously-named album in 2011.
- Depeche Mode
  
  The legendary Essex electronic band from the 80s remains a classic for Van Dyk. It was also recently among 'Q' magazine's "50 Bands That Changed The World!".
Cody Simpson
- Favorite Movie
  I'm still really into the Ocean's series. I got into them recently. I was always too young to watch them.
- Favorite Book
  This book called Contest by Matthew Reilly, he's an Australian author.
- Favorite Album
  Drake's Take Care — big fan of that
- Favorite TV Show
  The Mentalist
Styx's Lawrence Gowan
- Bossypants by Tina Fey
  
  "That’s got me laughing hysterically on airplanes."
- Making Mirrors by Goyte
  
  "I thought that was a tremendous record."
- The Artist
  
  "It really impressed me."
- Keane
  
  "They’re really strong."
90210's Michael Steger: My Favorite Stuff
- Favorite TV Show: Rome
  
  HBO's series starring Cirian Hinds
- Favorite Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
  
  "Either that or The Gypsy Kings."
- Favorite Book: The Fountainhead
  
  "Probably my favorite book of all time."
- Favorite New Movie: Attack The Block
  
  “It reminded me of The Goonies.”