Search - Dark Shadows: DVD Collection 13 on DVD

Back Into The Past

Lyndon D. Crackel | Riverside, Ca | 06/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Barnabus finds the I-Ching Wands which he uses to go back into the past where he manages to get out of the coffin which imprisoned him the first time. He then uses Magda and her husband as slaves, and changes history so the Quentin does not get killed. Count Petoffi enters the picture and is indirectly responsible for making Quentin Immortal. Dirk gets used as a scape goat and turned into a vampire. Eventually Julia will also come into the past after Angelique also comes into the past. This section of the past is filled with new action and many events that keep the person interested. Oh yes, remember to keep an eye out for The second reverend Trask who is a hypocrite that discovers Barnabus' secret and kills himself in the end. Josette Dupris also comes back in a recarnation. Any one who liked Dark Shadows will certainly enjoy this chain of events and the one that will be released in September"

Excellent, except the last few episodes

Bud Bundy | MN USA | 07/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After the extremely disappointing set 12, which centered almost completely around the two intolerable children, set 13 is a real breath of fresh air. For the most part, it reinvigorates my love for the show. It takes a few episodes, but by about the middle of the first disk Barnabas uses the I-Ching wands to travel back in time to 1897. The scene where Professor Stokes performs the dark ritual to enable Barnabas to do this is fabulous - this is the kind of stuff I watch the show for. Pure Gothic suspense.

Once in the past, all the actors play different parts. Barnabas first meets Sandor the gypsy (formerly Professor Stokes), and another gypsy named Magda (formerly Juliet Hoffman). They live at the old house. The reason they're there is the matriarch of the Collins family employs Magda to tell the future. This matriarch is now on her death bed, and the Collins family members are all anxious to see how the will is split up. Besides Edward and Judith (formerly Roger and Elizabeth Collins), there's also Quentin - we saw a lot of him in DVD set 12, but now we finally get to hear him speak in his New England accent. Quentin is a real good-for-nothing, returned from England just in time to try to ingratiate himself with grand-mama before she dies, and he's incredibly full of himself. However, Selby's marvelous acting leaves the character rather sympathetic and not all together unlikable.

Once the will is sorted out, the plot lines start coming fast and furious. Governess Rachel Drummond (formerly Maggie Evans) notices lights on in the tower room and investigates. We eventually discover the secret - good stuff! Quentin along with the family lawyer Evan Hanley (formerly Nicolas Blair) conduct a black magic ritual and summon Angelique to help them in their fight against Barnabas. To say this doesn't turn out the way they intended is a bit of an understatement. Edward's wife Laura shows up, but Quentin is sure that he saw her die. There's something very odd about her. I'm only touching on the high points, there are all sorts of other happenings taking place. Barnabas is a vampire again, Quentin is turned into a zombie, an insane woman runs loose in the house, Angelique starts blackmailing Barnabas like she always does, it goes on and on.

Eventually the children are taken away to Reverend Trask's school, where Rachel ends up as well. This is unfortunately where it gets bad, as "The Shrieker" is back: Denise Nickerson, the child actor who plays Nora Collins, and who apparently never saw a line of dialogue that she didn't think could be improved by adding three exclamation points to the end of it. I'd compare the experience of listening to her to going out to dinner and being seated next to a couple with an infant who won't quit screaming. It is painful, to say the least. Young Jamison Collins does his best to annoy as well. With so many wonderfully intriguing plot lines going on at once, I really can't fathom the thought process that went into putting these two brats at center stage once again. Our ears have only recently stopped ringing after enduring their squealing barrage in DVD set 12, and now they're doing it again.

Fortunately this doesn't happen until the midpoint of disk four; We can only hope it will be short lived. Other than that, the rest of the episodes are absolutely fantastic - exactly the sort of stuff that keeps me buying these DVD sets one after another."

A Real Blast From the Past

Jay Farmer, Jr. | FPO, AP United States | 09/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love Dark Shadows! I have fond memories from when I was a little boy and my brother and sister and I would rush home from school to a friends house to watch Dark Shadows. Because my folks thought it was too disturbing for us to watch, we couldn't watch at our house! Collection 13 picks right up in the sequence and doesn't miss a beat. With gothic intrigue, beautiful sets and a cast of characters who are simply captivating, Dark Shadows 13 doesn't disappoint. The plotline keeps me on the edge of my seat, and I find that I have to pace myself to keep from watching all in a single seating, which could easily be done. I must admit to getting goose bumps while watching some of the episodes. I now have to watch them when my kids go to sleep, because it is too disturbing for them!"

A great jumping in point for people looking to start the ser

Abe Sapien | 02/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I started buying the sets at this disc since it marks the beginning of the tremendous 1897 storyline. This set alone contains vamparism, mind control, zombies, I-Ching, Time Travel, teleportation, gypsies, soul transference, spiritual possesion, ghosts, hauntings, murder, insanity, resurection, immortals, witch hunts, exorcism, demon summoning, voodoo and too many other things to remember.

This allows non fans to jump in at the switch of major storylines, getting to know the history of the family first hand, which transitions well back into the main time line.

A great set full of cool occult victoriana from start to finish."