Narrator

Every episode of Dark Shadows begins with a voice-over introduction, or opening narration, read by a member of the cast. The narration may provide a brief synopsis of the story thus far, or, as in many of the early episodes, simply set a mood, without giving any specifics about the ongoing story. The cast member reading the introduction, the narrator, is in most cases someone who appears in that episode. Accompanying the narration is composer Robert Cobert's incidental music piece, "Cue 76: Show Sub-Theme". (Entitled "Collinwood" on some soundtrack albums.)
In the first 270 episodes (1-274) the narrator is always Alexandra Moltke, who reads the narration in character as Victoria Winters, beginning every episode with the statement, "My name is Victoria Winters." In these first 270 episodes she is even the narrator in episodes in which she does not appear.
This changes beginning with episode 275, in which Nancy Barrett is the narrator. At this point in the series, the vampire Barnabas Collins, who was originally supposed to appear in a 13 week storyline which would end with his destruction, presumably by a wooden stake driven through his heart, has, thanks to his unexpected popularity, become a permanent part of the show and has replaced Victoria Winters as the main character. Since Dark Shadows is no longer the story of Victoria Winters, it is no longer necessary for Alexandra Moltke's character to introduce every episode. From now on, when Moltke does not appear in an episode, someone else will be the narrator. Moltke is also absent from 276, which is narrated by Kathryn Leigh Scott. The next two episodes without Moltke, 291 and 296, are narrated by Grayson Hall. Then Kathryn Leigh Scott narrates her second episode, 297, and Grayson Hall narrates 305, etc.
Also beginning with 275, the opening narrations are not in character, but are in the third person. Barrett, for example, does not introduce the show as Carolyn Stoddard. This includes Moltke's narrations. When Moltke returns as narrator in 277, she does not begin by saying, "My name is Victoria Winters," but is a third person narrator.
The next change occurs in 332. Although Moltke appears in this episode, she is not the narrator, Grayson Hall is. From now on, Moltke is no longer the show's main narrator, but simply shares rotating narrator duties with other cast members. From 332 through her final episode, 627, Moltke narrates 73 episodes, which is still more than any of her fellow cast members.
The total number of episodes narrated by Moltke is 381 (270 as Victoria Winters and 111 in the third person), which is more than any other cast member. Grayson Hall ranks second with 159, followed by Nancy Barrett with 118, Kathryn Leigh Scott with 80, Joan Bennett with 76, and Lara Parker with 69. (Everyone else has fewer than 50.)
For a time the narrator is always a woman. (This results in Vala Clifton, an actress who appears in only three Dark Shadows episodes, having to narrate two of these episodes because she is the only woman in them.) 459 is the first episode narrated by a man, Thayer David. In this episode, the only woman is Rebecca Shaw, who only appears in this one episode, as an unnamed barmaid. Rather than let a "day player" narrate the episode, the task is given to one the the male actors. The second episode with a male narrator, also Thayer David, is 527. Alexandra Moltke is also in this episode, so this time the role of narrator is not given to a man out of necessity. Although from now on men will also take turns as narrator, the majority of episodes will still be narrated by women. Only 264 of the 705 episodes from 527 through 1245 have male narrators. The man who narrates the most episodes is David Selby, with 47 (putting him in 7th place after Alexandra Moltke, Grayson Hall, Nancy Barrett, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Joan Bennett and Lara Parker), closely followed by Thayer David with 46, then Louis Edmonds with 33, and John Karlen with 25. (Every other man has no more than 20.)
1219 is one of two episodes with two different narrators. The videotape of 1219 has been lost, and no kinescope copy exists, so the episode had to be reconstructed from a fan's audio recording and from stills from other episodes. New footage was added of Lara Parker, who hosts the episode. In an introduction she explains the reconstruction process and, because of the audio recording's poor quality, provides a running synopsis throughout the episode. The fan's audio recording begins in the middle of actor Keith Prentice's opening narration. Because the original narration is incomplete, it is unheard in the reconstruction. Instead, Lara Parker reads the opening narration. (The script for the episode has also survived.)
The final episode, 1245, also has two narrators. The show begins with Grayson Hall reading the opening narration and concludes with Thayer David reading a closing narration. 1245 is the only episode with a closing narration.
The episode with the longest opening narration is 461. In every episode the narration is heard during the "teaser" sequence which precedes the opening title. 461 is the only episode in which the narration briefly resumes after the opening title.
Narration is also used in the 1991 revival series, the unaired 2004 WB pilot, the 2012 Tim Burton film, and the Big Finish audio dramas.
Following is a list of cast members who have served as narrator in the original series. It is in chronological order, according to the first episode narrated by the cast member.
== Alexandra Moltke (381 episodes) ==
* as Victoria Winters (270 episodes)
1-108, 111-130, 132-224, 225/226, 227-274
* as 3rd person narrator (111 episodes)
277-290, 292-295, 298-304, 306, 307, 309, 311, 312, 313, 315, 316, 320, 324-327, 334, 336, 338, 343-347, 349, 352, 353, 354, 364, 365, 371, 373, 379, 389, 398-401, 404, 408, 412, 416, 421, 427, 433, 436, 437, 452-456, 458, 460, 462, 465, 470, 471, 473, 474, 476, 478, 479, 482, 487, 490, 504, 509, 517, 519, 523, 525, 526, 531, 539, 547, 550, 552, 565, 567, 575, 576, 579, 583, 585, 603, 620, 622, 624, 626
== Grayson Hall (159 episodes) ==
291, 296, 305, 308, 314, 317, 318, 328, 329, 330, 332, 333, 340, 341, 350, 351, 358, 363, 375, 386, 393, 422, 423, 425, 443, 464, 466, 469, 472, 484, 494, 496, 500, 503, 507, 511, 512, 515, 521, 522, 544, 554, 557, 558, 561, 568, 569, 580, 582, 595, 597, 604, 606, 613, 618, 619, 627, 628, 633/634, 637, 638, 639, 649, 651, 654, 661, 672-675, 677, 698, 702, 706, 708, 713, 715, 718, 733, 745, 746, 748, 752, 757, 759, 763, 765, 778, 783, 784, 787, 788, 810, 815, 819, 835, 839, 847, 849, 856, 885, 896, 898, 900, 903, 905, 907, 909, 912, 922, 923, 930, 931, 933, 934, 937, 943, 951, 952, 957, 963, 969, 977, 982, 984, 985, 1007, 1015, 1019, 1024, 1025, 1026, 1031, 1034, 1038, 1041, 1045, 1052, 1078, 1087, 1089, 1107, 1114, 1148, 1168, 1172, 1176, 1187, 1191, 1203, 1223, 1224, 1229, 1234, 1238, 1242, 1243, 1244, 1245 (opening narration)
== Nancy Barrett (118 episodes) ==
275, 310, 356, 357, 359, 361, 362, 377, 403, 415, 419, 420, 428, 447, 449, 450, 451, 457, 461, 463, 468, 477, 499, 501, 502, 505, 534, 536, 542, 545, 549, 551, 553, 555, 577, 581, 586, 588, 589, 591, 592, 601, 609, 635, 640, 642, 659, 667, 668, 671, 681, 684, 687, 693, 727, 738, 742, 753, 756, 767, 773, 781, 786, 799, 804, 805, 808, 818, 829, 833, 845, 855, 860, 866, 869, 872, 873, 874, 881, 886-890, 897, 899, 919/920/921, 929, 948, 949, 953, 959, 962, 972, 975, 989, 1011, 1017, 1035, 1042, 1046, 1048, 1062, 1064, 1068, 1074, 1080, 1081, 1097, 1101, 1105, 1130, 1174/1175, 1189, 1190, 1214, 1215, 1241
== Kathryn Leigh Scott (80 episodes) ==
276, 297, 319, 321, 322, 323, 342, 360, 370, 374, 378, 383, 384, 388, 392, 406, 410, 417, 418, 430, 483, 488, 497, 518, 524, 529, 541, 559, 563, 572, 573, 584, 587, 593, 598, 599, 608, 611, 616, 630, 632, 652/653, 656, 670, 679, 688, 689, 695, 699, 707, 709, 714, 717, 722, 732, 751, 852, 854, 870, 892, 908, 924, 927, 939, 941, 955, 965, 973, 981, 1037, 1051, 1054, 1056, 1060, 1073, 1077, 1090, 1093, 1100, 1108
== Joan Bennett (76 episodes) ==
331, 335, 337, 339, 348, 366, 367, 368/369, 376, 382, 395, 397, 402, 407, 409, 413, 414, 424, 426, 432, 434, 438, 441, 444, 445, 446, 448, 467, 491, 495, 506, 513, 514, 520, 610, 614, 617, 629, 641, 644, 645, 646, 655, 685, 686, 694, 703, 704, 705, 716, 719, 723, 739, 744, 758, 764, 766, 768, 771, 774, 785, 861, 862, 878, 879, 884, 894/895, 911, 913/914, 936, 945, 966, 968, 1088, 1126, 1179/1180
== Lara Parker (69 episodes) ==
372, 380, 381, 387, 390/391, 396, 405, 411, 435, 475, 480, 481, 485, 498, 508, 510, 516, 528, 530, 532/533, 535, 537, 538, 543, 556, 560, 574, 605, 607, 615, 711, 721, 779, 792, 795, 828, 831, 836, 838, 842, 858, 864, 867, 871, 882, 940, 944, 947, 954, 996, 1008, 1012, 1013, 1023, 1029, 1036, 1049, 1129, 1143, 1144, 1169, 1173, 1177, 1195, 1199, 1210, 1219 (reconstruction), 1236, 1240
== David Selby (47 episodes) ==
726, 728, 729, 741, 747, 761, 780, 796, 798, 814, 816, 840, 877, 880, 916, 918, 935, 964, 990, 991, 999, 1018, 1021, 1069, 1071, 1075, 1076, 1085, 1086, 1096, 1098, 1099, 1102, 1103, 1123, 1132, 1136, 1140, 1142, 1201, 1204, 1209, 1211, 1212, 1220, 1222, 1230
== Thayer David (1st male narrator; 46 episodes) ==
459, 527, 596, 636, 660, 662-666, 682, 700, 701, 710, 724, 725, 740, 794, 800, 823/824, 825, 826, 832, 843, 844, 853, 865, 875, 876, 910, 928, 1030, 1039, 1047, 1058, 1059, 1065, 1067, 1070, 1072, 1083, 1084, 1111, 1113, 1198, 1245 (closing narration)
== Louis Edmonds (33 episodes) ==
546, 578, 623, 625, 643, 697, 730, 731, 749, 760, 770, 775, 776, 793, 834, 837, 846, 857, 859, 863, 868, 925, 958, 960, 970, 976, 979, 1040, 1050, 1053, 1118, 1145, 1231
== John Karlen (25 episodes) ==
540, 564, 566, 570, 590, 696, 956, 971, 1020, 1043, 1044, 1120, 1122, 1160, 1162, 1163, 1165, 1196, 1202, 1207/1208, 1216, 1225, 1227, 1233, 1239
== Clarice Blackburn (22 episodes) ==
355, 385, 394, 429, 431, 442, 486, 489, 492, 493, 612, 669, 676, 680, 691, 762, 772, 789, 790, 917, 1061, 1104
== Jerry Lacy (19 episodes) ==
735, 782, 809, 811, 812, 822, 830, 1000, 1001, 1004, 1124, 1133, 1138, 1139, 1149, 1152, 1167, 1171, 1197
== Kate Jackson (13 episodes) ==
1121, 1141, 1146, 1150, 1153, 1158, 1164, 1166, 1170, 1182, 1213, 1217, 1221
== Humbert Allen Astredo (12 episodes) ==
548, 562, 594, 621, 791, 801/802, 978, 1157, 1161, 1178, 1185, 1194
== Jonathan Frid (12 episodes) ==
807, 821, 827, 904, 950, 980, 1186, 1200, 1205, 1228, 1232, 1235
== Christopher Pennock (12 episodes) ==
987, 1014, 1016, 1022, 1027, 1032, 1094, 1106, 1128, 1154/1155, 1159, 1226
== Don Briscoe (11 episodes) ==
571, 657, 678, 683, 690, 692, 734, 736, 820, 974, 983
== James Storm (11 episodes) ==
1066, 1109, 1125, 1127, 1134/1135, 1137, 1151, 1181, 1184, 1192, 1193
== Virginia Vestoff (10 episodes) ==
1110, 1112, 1115, 1116, 1117, 1119, 1147, 1156, 1183, 1188
== Roger Davis (9 episodes) ==
650, 712, 737, 743, 806, 848, 850, 851, 883
== Marie Wallace (9 episodes) ==
600, 602, 720, 891, 893, 901, 915, 926, 961
== Terry Crawford (7 episodes) ==
750, 754, 769, 797, 803, 817, 841
== Lisa Richards (5 episodes) ==
995, 997, 998, 1002, 1033
== Michael Stroka (4 episodes) ==
813, 986, 992, 994
== David Henesy (3 episodes) ==
1091, 1092, 1095
== Ken McEwen (3 episodes) ==
1009, 1079, 1082
== Vala Clifton (2 episodes) ==
439, 440
== Mary Cooper (2 episodes) ==
1206, 1218
== John Harkins (2 episodes) ==
988, 1006
== Cavada Humphrey (2 episodes) ==
647, 648
== Paula Laurence (2 episodes) ==
993, 1003
== Dennis Patrick (2 episodes) ==
902, 906
== Keith Prentice (2 episodes) ==
1219 (original), 1237
== Emory Bass (1 episode) ==
932
== Christopher Bernau (1 episode) ==
967
== Ray Carlson (1 episode) ==
1028
== Don Crabtree (1 episode) ==
1063
== Betsy Durkin (1 episode) ==
631
== Elizabeth Eis (1 episode) ==
1010
== Kay Frye (1 episode) ==
777
==Colin Hamilton (1 episode) ==
1057
== Jered Holmes (1 episode) ==
1005
== Peter Lombard (1 episode) ==
938
== Diana Millay (1 episode) ==
755
== Vince O'Brien (1 episode) ==
658
== Norman Parker (1 episode) ==
1131
== Ed Riley (1 episode) ==
942
== Geoffrey Scott (1 episode) ==
946
== Brian Sturdivant (1 episode) ==
1055
Category:Narrators