Dark Shadows (1991)

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Dan Curtis, series creator of the original Dark Shadows, pitched the idea for production of a mid-season program to NBC in 1991. Usually referred to as the revival series, this version of Dark Shadows maintained the same gothic allure that made the original series so popular. Rather than running it as a daily half-hour soap opera like the original, NBC aired the series as a high-budget one-hour weekly program. The story structure of the program mirrored many of the key plot lines from the 1967-1968 seasons of Dark Shadows, including a character who travels back in time to the 18th century and the accelerated ageing of another character. Unfortunately, the series was frequently pre-empted by news broadcasts due to the outbreak of the first Gulf War, causing constant re-scheduling. This appeared to have resulted in confusion to viewers (who in some midwest markets saw the show after midnight) and low ratings, which soon resulted in the series' cancellation after only 12 episodes (including the pilot).

Unlike the original series, Victoria Winters, the ingenue governess, is the main love interest for Barnabas Collins, a two-hundred-year-old vampire. He originally loved a look-alike woman (to Victoria) named Josette DuPres in 1795. In the 1960s series, it was Maggie Evans, not Victoria, who resembled Josette; however Victoria was shown to be emotionally and psychically close to Josette, on several occasions being selected as Josette's medium.

The short-lived comic book publishing house, Innovation Comics produced three separate limited series in 1992-1993 set in the 1991 world of Dark Shadows.