Maybe the best TV show ever -- Dark Shadows

Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins

Barnabas Collins, the middle-aged vampire star of the gothic soap opera  Dark Shadows, was my adolescent crush in the late 60s. I was captivated, nay obsessed, by this series, a half-hour TV show that ran from 1966 through 1971. Since this was long before DVR (or even VHS) to record shows, I seldom got to watch the 3 p.m. soap, since school didn't let out till 3:30. But this didn't keep me from following the adventures of the Collinwood gang, even buying cheesy books about their world.

In reality, the daily soap opera was plagued by extremely low production values that often resulted in shaking sets, muffed lines and mike shadows. However, none of this could mar the high drama of the Collins family's uncountable time changes, assortment of supernatural beings or the high romance of the story. I wanted to be Angelique, the beautiful witch doomed to love, but not be loved, by the erstwhile Barnabas.

Tim Burton

So I was overjoyed when I discovered that Tim Burton, director of such classic movies as Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice, was making a 2012 version of Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas.

Depp apparently wanted to become Barnabas when he was growing up, although he hardly seems old enough. The previews I've seen for the movie place it in the realm of high camp, exactly where it belongs. The special effects of 1966 are woefully inadequate today, but the premise of a dysfunctional family, an old house, and various vampires witches and ghosts is timeless.

I can hardly wait till May 11 when the movie is due to hit the big screen. You can be sure that I will be there -- popcorn and soda in hand -- ready to be 13 again!