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Post by Zagreus on Aug 27, 2016 1:36:37 GMT
For as much as Dark Shadows adapts literary classics while sprinkling in all manner of Hammer Horror tropes, they haven't really done space aliens at all, have they?
Would be interesting to see how they'd handle such a thing.
I'm imagining a sort of adaption of Invasion of the Body Snatchers after a meteorite falls near Collinsport...
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Post by joehart1962 on Aug 27, 2016 4:11:45 GMT
Marilyn Ross tackled that exact plotline in the 1970 novel "Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers." The aliens were from the planet Velva! It was a hoot. darkshadows.wikia.com/wiki/Barnabas,_Quentin_and_the_Body_Snatchers From the summary: "In an alien spaceship hidden in a swamp near Collinwood, Roger Collins and his friend, space scientist Murdoch Gray, lie bound and gagged -- yet no one even knows they are missing! For their captors are able to change shapes at will, and two of them have "become" Roger and Murdoch. Although Elizabeth and Carolyn sense a difference, they can't guess that they are at the mercy of beings who will stop at nothing to prevent the next U.S. space flight under Murdoch's direction. "Then, as the dark shadow of death draws closer to Collinwood, a bat soars over the hidden spaceship, flies close enough to see inside... and suddenly Barnabas and Quentin Collins find themselves joined in a desperate attempt to save Collinwood from the strangest menace it has ever known!"
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 27, 2016 5:54:49 GMT
OMG
This might be where I start collecting the Marilyn Ross novels >__>
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Post by Trace on Aug 27, 2016 7:14:46 GMT
OMG This might be where I start collecting the Marilyn Ross novels >__> Do you see why I was saying I think it's about time that I begin a complete re-read? Haha! The Ross novels are so fun and create their own parallel time! Plus, the length and ease of reading make them perfect as very quick reads!
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Post by Rob Morris on Aug 27, 2016 9:09:13 GMT
Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers is mind bogglingly ridiculous. I love it.
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Post by omega on Aug 27, 2016 9:12:55 GMT
It'd be a fascinating idea for Big Finish to either adapt one or two of these books or do new stories in the style. Dark Shadows in a Funny Vein.
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 27, 2016 15:43:53 GMT
I mean, shit, they're doing the Avengers comic strips, and have talked about doing something similar for Doctor Who, it'd be pretty sweet if we got Paperback Library adaptions. Not sure if I'd want them adjusted to fit in with existing continuity or not. Leaning towards not, though. That way they'd be free to recast all the parts they'd need (ie: most of them) and wouldn't have to worry about continuity issues.
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 27, 2016 15:46:56 GMT
Also just from an aesthetics standpoint, The Body Snatchers fits in really well with Dark Shadows' atmosphere. I can totally see it as a television arc in my head. In traditional Dark Shadows fashion I'd imagine it combined with some literary classic or something.
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Post by Zagreus on Aug 31, 2016 17:58:18 GMT
Now, if someone over at BF Towers were to feel like bringing the bodysnatchers plot over to Dark Shadows, I can already think of several ways for them to retroactively seed it. What if, for instance, there's a reason that most of those townsfolk showed up with anomalies in their blood tests in Bloodlust? Eh?
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Post by Trace on Sept 1, 2016 0:19:52 GMT
If I remember right, B. Q. & the Body Snatchers is the only Ross novel (aside from the HODS novelization) to change points of view. They would make a great parallel time series. And the earlier romantic ones particularly would attract more young women back to the show. They're not bodice rippers exactly, and just mystery enough for everybody but with a female bent. Like "female friendly" horror. You are correct about the point of view change! All the books are written in third person narrative, but all except for that one are written from the point of view of a female lead...Vicki, Maggie, Carolyn, and others. This one is told in what I believe is termed "third-person omniscient".
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cschell
Big Finish Creative Team
Likes: 135
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Post by cschell on Sept 6, 2016 0:01:44 GMT
Marilyn Ross tackled that exact plotline in the 1970 novel "Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers." The aliens were from the planet Velva! It was a hoot. The first draft of one of my Dark Shadows scripts had a reference to Jim James and the planet Velva, but it was rightfully removed for being shoe-horned into the dialog. Very rightfully so, but it makes me a bit sad in a way. I'd love to do a follow up to BQ&tBS.
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 6, 2016 1:55:57 GMT
Marilyn Ross tackled that exact plotline in the 1970 novel "Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers." The aliens were from the planet Velva! It was a hoot. The first draft of one of my Dark Shadows scripts had a reference to Jim James and the planet Velva, but it was rightfully removed for being shoe-horned into the dialog. Very rightfully so, but it makes me a bit sad in a way. I'd love to do a follow up to BQ&tBS. Which, of course, means you would then have an excuse to adapt "& The Bodysnatchers" to go along with the follow-up, right?
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Post by joehart1962 on Sept 8, 2016 4:33:14 GMT
The Ross novels are a lot of fun in their very own weird world. But there's no way they could fit into the Big Finish universe -- they don't even coexist into the timeline of their own universe sometimes! That being said, we get to meet the son of Dr. Jekyll, a mummy, gypsies, grave robbers, many witches and warlocks, and maybe even Quetzalcoatl, the terrible, cursed feathered serpent of Aztec legend! The final tale, "Barnabas, Quentin and the Vampire Beauty" concerned a lovely young model who went to a "weight-loss clinic" in Switzerland, only to be turned into a ...!!! My personal favorite is "The Curse of Collinwood," the last pre-Barnabas novel, which features ancestors Derek and Esther Collins emerging from the grave as zombies -- and suggests the root cause of all the Collins family's problems is the fact that they were engaged in the slave trade with Barbados and that's how they amassed their fortune. It's a page-turner and at points is actually frightening.
Is anyone else out there a fan of the series? Does anyone want to continue the conversation?
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 8, 2016 5:25:27 GMT
Oh man Curse of Collinwood sounds great. I really need to order some of these...
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Post by Trace on Sept 9, 2016 1:06:43 GMT
I love them all, and yes, The Curse of Collinwood is a favorite. It IS actually scary! I would def be interested in continuing the convo.
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Post by Rob Morris on Sept 9, 2016 9:25:51 GMT
I have to say, I do love the books. They're bonkers and so not "in Universe" but they have a certain morbid fascination as to "how it might have been".
The prose is also... interesting and holds a similar fascination. There's one book where there's a couple of sentences are given over to the heroine towelling herself down after a bath and I remember thinking that was a little... racy.
Sometimes I find myself reading about Quentin, or Barnabas, or Carolyn and thinking "who the hell are you? I don't know you at all!" but they're a fun diversion and I will not rest until we have the full set.
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 9, 2016 17:15:09 GMT
I would really love it if BF just brought in entirely new actors for an adaption of this novel range. Just full fresh cast. Just differentiate this as a different continuity than the main lines, and go for it. I think it'd be great. Do The Secret of Victoria Winters while you're at it.
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Post by Rob Morris on Sept 9, 2016 19:42:54 GMT
The word "adaption" makes me want to kill and kill again.
I think you mean "adaptation". </pedant>
*Breathes for about 20 minutes into paper bag.*
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Sept 9, 2016 20:25:39 GMT
Marilyn Ross tackled that exact plotline in the 1970 novel "Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers." The aliens were from the planet Velva! It was a hoot. darkshadows.wikia.com/wiki/Barnabas,_Quentin_and_the_Body_Snatchers From the summary: "In an alien spaceship hidden in a swamp near Collinwood, Roger Collins and his friend, space scientist Murdoch Gray, lie bound and gagged -- yet no one even knows they are missing! For their captors are able to change shapes at will, and two of them have "become" Roger and Murdoch. Although Elizabeth and Carolyn sense a difference, they can't guess that they are at the mercy of beings who will stop at nothing to prevent the next U.S. space flight under Murdoch's direction. "Then, as the dark shadow of death draws closer to Collinwood, a bat soars over the hidden spaceship, flies close enough to see inside... and suddenly Barnabas and Quentin Collins find themselves joined in a desperate attempt to save Collinwood from the strangest menace it has ever known!" OMG! I read this when I was a kid and had completely forgotten about it until reading this. For a brief moment I was 6 or 7 years old again. Thank you.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Sept 9, 2016 20:27:59 GMT
Marilyn Ross tackled that exact plotline in the 1970 novel "Barnabas, Quentin and the Body Snatchers." The aliens were from the planet Velva! It was a hoot. The first draft of one of my Dark Shadows scripts had a reference to Jim James and the planet Velva, but it was rightfully removed for being shoe-horned into the dialog. Very rightfully so, but it makes me a bit sad in a way. I'd love to do a follow up to BQ&tBS. Dark Shadows: Unbound anyone?
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