Starring: Alec Newman, Stephanie Ellyne, Georgina Strawson, David Selby, Susan Sullivan, Alexandra Donnachie, Lachele Carl, Walles Hamonde, Scott Haran, Michael Shon, Jamison Selby, Marie Wallace, Andrew Collins, Kelly Burke, Tom Michael Blyth, Jake Wardle, Nico Diodoro, Adam Hall, Sarah Pitard, Daniel Collard, Roy Gill and Julie Newmar

Written by: Rob Morris

Directed by: Ursula Burton, David Darlington and Joseph Lidster

In which British newcomer Vivian Bell (Strawson) makes quite the entrance at Collinwood, charming the menfolk and alienating the ladies; Barnabas (Collins) and Julia (Newmar) set up shop in the Old House’s cellar; and Amy (Ellyne) starts hearing voices…

The most surprising thing about episode 1’s cliffhanger – that Vivian (“Call me Viv!”) is the long-estranged mother of Amy’s stepson Harry Cunningham – is that it’s revealed so early on in the mini-series. That said, the revelation makes for great listening, as Harry lights into his long-absent mother, and Vivian’s mask of aggrieved civility slips long enough for both Julia and Lela (Sullivan) to distrust her. It’s a scene of raw intimacy, awkwardly played out in front of champagne-sipping strangers; in other words, it’s a deliciously guilty pleasure to listen to every caustic word.

And that’s not the only commotion at Collinwood that evening; Quentin (Selby) is none-too-pleased when he finally discovers what top secret project his wife Lela has been working on. Her fierce response to Quentin’s protests reminded me of my original appreciation of Lela in Roy Gill’s Panic as an outspoken woman who doesn’t take any crap from men; in other words, she’s basically Quentin’s equivalent of Julia Hoffman.

Speaking of Julia, she and Barnabas play a larger part in this episode as they realise Collinwood’s now too populated for their purposes; a currently-unoccupied property on the Collins estate, which brims with memories, will suit their needs much better. During their scenes together, between Rob Morris’ exquisite writing and Newmar’s and Collins’ acting, the Julia-Barnabas dynamic is captured so accurately that, at times, I swore I was listening to Grayson Hall and Jonathan Frid.

But Dark Shadows wouldn’t really be Dark Shadows without supernatural menaces, as Amy discovers near the episode’s end when a previously-encountered presence makes itself known to her, and promises to sow even more discord into an already fraught situation…

Verdict: Drawing room squabbles accompanied by alcohol! Barnabas and Julia conducting clandestine experiments! It’s four in the afternoon in 1968 all over again! 8/10

John S. Hall