Dark Shadows

A different take on the legendary story, this time more modern and less gothic. I was prepared to not like it ahead of time, but at its roots, it's still the same great story, just presented differently. The story is streamlined quite a lot, compared to other versions. Characters and events appear or happen much sooner than in other versions. It would have been interesting to see where it all would have lead.

Alec Newman as Barnabas Collins is quite alright, but he's no Jonathan Frid or Ben Cross. He might have grown into the role over time, but we'll never know. Jessica Chastain as Carolyn Stoddard is dream casting, she was not yet famous then. Ivana Milicevic as Angelique is such a tease, we see so little of her, but this character is so vital to the story later. The cast would have all gelled in time, I'm sure.

I have seen far worse on The WB and The CW than this, not sure why it was not picked up. They totally missed the boat on this one, Twilight would start a vampire craze in a few short years after this, and the number one show on the network for years was The Vampire Diaries. At least the material was treated properly and not as goofy as the Tim Burton movie.