***** Dark Shadow The Beginning

Volume 1 & 2

MPI Home Video, 840 min (Vol 1) & 690 min (Vol 2), NR

DVD $59.99

Before vampire Barnabas Collins showed up and Dark Shadows shot to cult status, there was a nifty gothic romance soap opera about governess Victoria Winters and her employers, the Collins family. These two volume present the first 70 episodes of the show. We meet the Collins Family of Collinsport, Maine. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Joan Bennett), who hasn't left her family's great estate, Collinwood, in 18 years for unknown reasons; her brother, Roger Collins (Louis Edmonds), who is a vain snob and, like his sister, hiding a huge secret; Elizabeth's daughter, Carolyn Stoddard Nancy Barrett), who is a typical 60s teen - full of rebellion and angst; and Roger's son David Collins ( David Henesey), who is really really troubled. Into this comes Governess Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke Isles), a young woman who grew up in a New York orphanage and was mysteriously offered her post as governess with the Collins family.

Each volume contains 35 episodes. Dark Shadows the Beginning is a planned six volume set that will cover all the episodes before Barnabas showed up around episode 200. These are a greatly desired release for those of us who watched Dark Shadows pre-Barnabas and a wonderful introduction to the show for those whose viewing either started with Barnabas or those who have only seen the show on video release. I look forward to the rest of the “Beginnings.” Recommended - Stephanie L Bannon