One notable absence from the new Dark Shadows is Frid. Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire) has taken his place as the central vampire. Also in the cast: Joanna Going (Another World) as governess Victoria Winters; horror-movie queen Barbara Steele (The Pit and the Pendulum) as Dr. Julia Hoffman, who is trying to cure Barnabas of vampirism; Jean Simmons (The Thorn Birds) as Barnabas' cousin Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, and Roy Thinnes (The Invaders) as Elizabeth's brother, Roger Collins. ''People like my wife, who was totally addicted to the old show, can't wait to see the updated version,'' says Perry Simon, NBC's executive vice president of prime-time programming. ''And the spooky genre will appeal to teens.''
Vampires have drawn big audiences (as well as blood) ever since Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel, Dracula; the count from Transylvania seems to have outlasted even such horror stalwarts as Frankenstein's monster. Films like Nosferatu, Love at First Bite, The Lost Boys, Dracula, Vampire's Kiss, and The Hunger have all come up with new ways of portraying stories of romantic bloodlust. And Hollywood's fascination with fangs shows no signs of fading: Sequels to First Bite and The Lost Boys are being planned; Paramount is reportedly developing a modern vampire movie called Nightland; Warner Bros. is considering one called Red Sleep, set in Las Vegas; and the Fox network is working on its own vampire series, called Blood Ties.
The book world is hardly immune to the vampire's bite, either. Anne Rice's novels — Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and The Queen of the Damned — are about misunderstood misfits whose powers are as threatening to themselves as to others. The books have sold millions of copies since 1976, and Geffen Films is working on a movie version of Interview. NBC executives sound confident that the updated Dark Shadows will capitalize on this continuing appeal.
Fans of the original should have no trouble following the cryptic plot twists of the new show; many stories are drawn from earlier episodes. ''The basic story parameters are the same,'' Curtis says. ''But a lot of the incidents are new. So much of the stuff we did on the old show is laughable now.'' Cameos by scuttling prop men, shadows from sound equipment, swaying scenery, and flubbed lines, for example. ''It's apples and oranges,'' he says. ''You're talking about a show that cost a buck and a half to make on a dinky soundstage back in the '60s versus a great, lavish production.''
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