…AND HOW’S IT BAYOU?

On Saturday, March 28th, the 2-hr Lifetime TV Movie “MIDNIGHT BAYOU” premieres on the network and, based on the TV spots I’ve seen, should be of interest to fans of “NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS” and the “Dark Shadows” TV series itself, as it shares similar preoccupations.

Not having read Nora Roberts’ 2001 novel, upon which this is based, I don’t know how events play out, and most likely the fantasy/haunting element is downplayed, but what we have is Jerry O’Connell playing a man who inherits an old plantation manor with a troubled past, and begins to experience visions of events a century or more in the past. The charming Lauren Stamile, mostly known for “Grey’s Anatomy” plays the love interest, who tries to help O’Connell work out what happened in the past, to try to right some unknown wrong of yesteryear. As this goes on, they both find themselves having visions and acting out the roles and actions of long-dead relatives… With Faye Dunaway as Stamile’s mother, I have a strong sense that she’ll be the Carlotta from Night of DS character, who knows the history and secretly works to help the past spirits find peace. My gut instincts tell me that the ending is something a little more slushy and romance oriented than the horror oriented Night of DS, but so far, not that there's anything wrong with that, and it appears to be a combination of that film, Dan Curtis’s excellent TV Movie “The Love Letter” (based on the Richard Matheson story), while carrying over the interest in reincarnation that was the thematic core of the original “Dark Shadows” series.

What’s particularly interesting, for those who like trivia, is that the female lead in this is Lauren Stamile…who played Kate Jackson in 2004’s trashy delight “Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Charlie's Angels'.” Her flawless mimicry of Kate Jackson’s mannerisms and voice was quite impressive, and I’ve always had her as my fall-back choice to finish Kate Jackson’s re-looping work for the “NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS” restoration, should Ms. Jackson be unable to come back into the studio. I’ll be interested to see how she comes off, while exploring the same kind of material Saturday night…or whenever the heck I get around to watching the thing on my DVR…