Dark Shadows & Barnabas Collins Celebrate 50 Years

It was 50 years ago - June 27, 1966 - that "Dark Shadows" premiered on ABC-TV. It ran for 1, 245 episodes until it folded on April 2, 1971.

I used to come home from school every afternoon and watch this show...which eventually became centered around it's vampire lead character, Barnabas Collins.

Even though the movie with Johnny Depp as Barnabas came out in 2012, it couldn't re-capture the simpleness of the original. The TV show was live...that means lines were flubbed or forgotten, crewmen could be seen sitting in the background, cameras couldn't move out of the way fast enough and more great bloopers. It was so much fun to watch, not only for these mistakes, but for the plotlines as well.

It's difficult to refer to this show as a 'soap opera' but it kinda was, only with that horror element...and we loved it.

And now, there's a 50th anniversary celebratory 6-DVD set that features the best of the show and some special features to boot. I already have mine! So for all you fans of the show, you now have something you can treat yourself to.