I've seen all kinds of movie tie-in products in my life but this one is to die for. Inspired by the new movie Dark Shadows, it's the Crimson Amulet Make-up Collection by NYX Cosmetics

LIMITED EDITION! Captivate and mesmerize with your beauty using the Crimson Amulet collection. This palette inspired by the film “Dark Shadows” comprises of 24 matte and shimmery lush eye shadows, 5 intoxicating blushers, 1 luminous highlighter, 4 succulent lip colors, 1 HD Studio eye shadow base for a more intense eye shadow hue, and 1 extreme black liquid eye liner. Recreate the enticing female characters’ in Dark Shadows using the collection!

To complete the look, Orly has a collection of nail polishes with names like "Buried Alive" and "Decades of Dysfunction."

Gotta love the sense of humor. You can buy the set online or at a local beauty supply store.

Once you're all made up, pose for a portrait and become part of the Collins family gallery. You can also check out the Collins Family Tree and if you're really in a mood, use Angelique's Curse Generator to put a whammy on that guy who done you wrong.

Finally, to help you get into the mood, you can preview Danny Elfman's mischievous score at AOL Music.

Dark Shadows opens in theaters on May 11.

When I was a child, I dreamed about living at Collinwood. Sure, the place was over run with vampires, ghosts, werewolves and nasty human beings, but it wasn't the stuff of nightmares for me. I loved everything about Dark Shadows. I wanted to explore The Old House with Willie Loomis. Smell the salt air at Widow's Peak with Josette. I wanted to have a drink with Joe Haskell at the Blue Whale and have dinner with Elizabeth and Carolyn at the main house.

A half hour a day of Dark Shadows wasn't enough for me. So I honed my writing skills penning my own fan fiction while listening to the soundtrack album, surrounded by photos torn from Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine.

My family wasn't surprised by my obsession. For many years, my bedroom was decorated in Universal Monsters' style. I had a full collection of Aurora monster models (built by me), monster movie posters on the walls and a bookshelf full of spooky tales. One shelf was nothing but gold spines -- Dark Shadows tie-in novels which I bought at the Berlin Auction as soon as they came out.

I suppose the big question is why? Why was I, and so many others, crazy about Dark Shadows? Maybe because it was unlike anything else on TV at the time. It was spooky and cool and romantic in its own quirky way. Victoria and Maggie were girls I could relate to. They were normal girls who wandered into an extraordinary situation and I wanted to trade places with them in spite of the danger.

And while most people were fascinated with Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), I had a soft spot for Willie Loomis (John Karlen). Oh, I know. He was a whiny, conniving, ne'er do well who got what he deserved when he tried to rob a Collins' coffin, but I still adored him. And I continued to adore him as he changed characters and personalities through the run of the show and the later movies.

There are more than 1,000 episodes of Dark Shadows. Many of the cast members were there throughout much of the run, often playing different characters in different eras and alternate worlds. We've lost quite a few of them, most recently Jonathan Frid, but also Grayson Hall, the regal Joan Bennett, Louis Edmunds and Dennis Patrick. But still carrying the torch on behalf of the show we have Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, and my dear John Karlen just to name a few.

We also have MPI, they've done an amazing job keeping the lights burning at Collinwood. They just released the entire series in one incredible collection. 131 discs in a coffin-shaped case. When lined up, the discs form an image of Barnabas in his coffin, which right at the moment, is a little too disturbing for me, given Mr. Frid's recent passing.

If the full set is a little rich for your blood, pick up one of their greatest hits collections.

Dark Shadows: The Best of Barnabas includes 9 episodes spanning from 1967 to 1970. Each episode has a new introduction by Lara Parker. You'll see the first time Barnabas meets Maggie Evans, a romantic encounter with Josette, a suspicious moment with Quentin and an alternate universe episode with Willie the writer wanting to interview Barnabas for his book.

Dark Shadows: Fan Favorites also features 9 episodes with new introductions. You'll see Angelique put her spell on Barnabas, see his return to Collinwood after being released from his coffin, watch him hunt a werewolf with Julia and save Maggie from a fate worse than death.

If you've read this far, you probably know that Johnny Depp is starring as Barnabas Collins in a big budget movie remake of Dark Shadows. It's a Tim Burton film so it's quirky and funnier than most people had imagined when it was announced. I've no doubt that it will be entertaining, a fun homage to the series. But there will never be anything like the original Dark Shadows. Pick up one of the "Best of" DVDs and experience it for the first time, or the first time in a long time. It's a show everyone should see at least once.

Paging Dr. House. Paging Dr. House. You're wanted on Facebook, STAT!

NBC Universal has just released a brand-new Facebook game based on the TV series House. The game is called House, M.D.: Critical Cases. The object of the game is properly diagnose your patients and treat them so they don't die. As you work, you'll have plenty of input from the staff at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and but you'll also have to endure constant badgering from House himself.

The game begins with your first patient. He falls ill, then an ambulance brings him to the hospital. At that point it's your job to begin the examination and start tossing around possibly answers with your colleagues.

Sometimes it will help if you visit the patient's place of residence so you can look for clues.

Back at the hospital, you begin to treat the patient, but if you make a mistake, look out! My patient went into cardiac arrest. I called for a crash card, charged the defib machine and managed to pull him through but it was close! From there, you can order other tests (each is its own skill game) and continue treating the patient. But as you can imagine, all of this work costs money so you have to keep performing tests in order to increase the budget.

In addition to saving patients, you can also manage your own hospital and hire your friends to work for you. If you really get stuck you can always call on Dr. House for help. . . but don't count on getting any.

If you love playing doctor, check out House, M.D.: Critical Cases on Facebook. If you're going to spend your spare time on games, you might as well learn something!

Here are a few new digital goodies to make your TV obsession complete:

RuPaul's Drag Race Ringtone

To celebrate the RuPaul's Drag Race Reunion Special, RuPaul is offering her famous "You've Got Shemail" announcement as a free ringtone.

To get it, all you have to do is "like" the Drag Race Facebook page, then fill in your contact info. The ringtone will be emailed to you on April 30th, in time for the special which airs at 9:00 pm on Logo.

 I Love Lucy Game at Retro World

Retro World combines modern gaming with classic TV. The game looks like an old TV set and in this case, you're prompted to walk-through the I Love Lucy episode where the guys and the gals switch roles in life. The pay-off to this episode is the famous scene where Lucy and Ethel try to keep up with the candies that come down the conveyor belt. On TV it's funny. On Facebook it's annoying.

The game is made up of 100's of slides that make it look as if the characters are moving, flip-book style. They're telling the whole story so you have to click-through screen after screen of each character's dialogue before getting to the game portions. Help Ricky make breakfast by locating the items in the kitchen. Answer the phone when it rings. Then go to work as Lucy in the candy factory.

After playing for several minutes, I started to get a headache from the animation style. I also got very bored with the long lengths of dialogue. Maybe if I didn't know the episode so well, I would have been amused, but I wasn't.

Also, as you can see from the screen shot, the game doesn't fit properly on my screen. It's a cute idea, but the time spent on each section needs to be cut down. As it stands, I won't be playing again.

For more digital goodies, read my Digital TV Weekly column at Tecca. This week it's all about Titanic, Mad Men and the Breakout Kings.

Think you can solve crimes as well as the detectives of Law & Order? Here's your chance to find out. It's the newly released Law & Order: Legacies from Telltale Inc.

Law & Order: Legacies

Price: $2.99

Imagine working shoulder to shoulder with Olivia Benson, Jack McCoy or Lennie Briscoe. Each story allows you to play first as a detective then as a lawyer as you head off to court to make those charges stick.

Law & Order: Legacies even has multiple endings depending on the choices you make in the court room. Be careful how you plead, because a man's life is at stake!

When you buy the game, you get the first episode titled "Revenge."

A maid at a five-star hotel is found murdered. Benson and Curtis investigate, uncovering a conspiracy involving hackers and powerful media magnates.

If you want more episodes, you'll have to pay an additional $2.99 for each one. There are two currently available (as of December 23) and more coming in 2012.

Review:

Law & Order: Legacies opens with the show's familiar theme song, so right away, you feel like you've sat down to watch an episode. From there, it's off to the crime scene with Benson and Curtis. Of all the characters I've encountered so far, these two are the closest to their live-action counter parts. They look like who they're supposed to be and the voice acting is a close approximation of the actors who play them on TV.

Later in the story, Lennie Briscoe pops up, but I wouldn't have known it was him if they hadn't called him by name. Lt. Van Buren also shows up, but she's more of a caricature, not the strong, well-rounded character you see on TV.

The point of the game is to solve the crime. You do this by discovering clues and interviewing witnesses. At each stage, you earn stars for good work and if you make too many missteps, you have to start the interview over.

The guided game play here is a little too elementary for my taste. You're offered a list of subjects to discuss with each witness, but since you have to go through the full list, the order you ask doesn't really matter. Not sure why they give you the option. At various points, you're asked to decide if a person is lying and why you think so. Usually, this is based on information you learned previously. This can be tricky if you don't play the game on a regular basis.

In addition to interviews, you also search for evidence. I had a hard time navigating around the room. When you find an item, you circle it to get a better a look.

When I first started playing, it was fun but overall it was too simple for me. I didn't feel like I solved the crime using my own skills, I was just led to the correct conclusion by the game. I say the game needs to trust that the players are smart enough to find the killer without being handed everything as you go. And if they get it wrong, then they lose the case in court. That's kind of the whole point of Law & Order, isn't it?

Download Law & Order: Legacies from Telltale Inc on iTunes.

NBC just picked up a second season of their smash hit new series SMASH. The series follows a group of  people who are involved in creating a new Broadway musical. The musical is about the life of Marilyn Monroe but putting on the production is no less complicated than the woman herself.

Haven't been watching? Here are 5 Reasons to Love SMASH

1. It's about Broadway. The Great White Way. The place where dreams come true and every night is grand spectacle. There's no beating that.

2. It's a modernized version of the classic 42nd Street story. Small town girl (Katharine McPhee) with the drive and a dream takes on chorus girl pro (Megan Hilty) determined to snag a lead for once. It's naive and untrained against jaded and experienced. They each represent Marilyn at a different stage in her life, but who has what it takes to make the show a smash? That is the big question.

3. Anjelica Huston! Anjelica's character Eileen has spent most of her life as part of a team. But when a divorce breaks up the team, she's determined to make it on her own as a producer. Not so easy when he gets the money and the connections but Eileen is a tough cookie and she's not afraid of hard work. She brilliantly forges forward, never giving up her convictions, even it it means stooping to levels she's never seen before. A true inspiration to any woman who ever found herself stuck in the shadow of a man.

4. People do things that make you uncomfortable. This may seem counter intuitive but it's those squirmy moments that make SMASH something really special. Like when an assistant decides to play both sides for his own gain. A writer who finds her inspiration in a man who isn't her husband and is it bad to sleep with the director if you actually have feelings for him? Face it, bad decisions make good drama and you'll see plenty of them every week on SMASH.

5. It's a musical. A musical in a musical, even. Not only do they sing their feelings when they're alone, but they also perform staged musical numbers with dancers and everything. On stage or off, it works because SMASH has some incredible singers and songwriters working on the show. Yes, they do reinterpret famous pop songs like that other musical show, but they also deliver exciting, original numbers that you'll  have in your head for the rest of the week. "The Twentieth Century Fox Mambo," "Let Me Be Your Star," "History is Made at Night.," you'll believe these songs were written for the next big Broadway hit. And of course, they're all available for download on iTunes after each episode.

Here's what I mean:

Want more SMASH?

Official Website: http://www.nbc.com/smash/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/nbcsmash/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NBCSmash

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/NBCSmash #Smash

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced Sherlock Holmes to the world in 1887 and the iconic, deductive detective hasn't been out of the spotlight since. He was the leading character in hundreds of movies and TV shows and he made guest appearances in hundreds more. If you add in the times the character was parodied and copied the references would fill. . . at least 320 pages.

Sherlock Holmes on Screen is a detailed reference book by former Doctor Who magazine editor Alan Barnes. The book was originally published in 2002, but Barnes has since gone back and updated it to include the new Robert Downey films and some more obscure references that he's uncovered since.

This new edition, published by Titan, was released on January 31, 2012 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for review.

Each film and TV series in the book begins with a cast list and a plot synopsis broken down into The Mystery, The Investigation and The Solution. After that, Barnes spends from a few paragraphs to a page giving you his personal thoughts on this particular incarnation. That's what makes this book more than a reference volume. It's actually readable. Barnes writes with a strange mix of pop culture references, $10 words and phrasing that fits the Holmesian era. I found myself intrigued by his knowledge and often amused by his turn of a phrase.

One thing I found particularly interesting was Barnes' nearly total disdain for a large number of projects. Here he is on the 1988 adaption of The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Jeremy Brett.

"The dead hand of corporate constraints often extolled by zero-budget filmmakers as a spur to creativity and imaginative corner cutting, seems to have had the opposite effect here: the whole project is a dreary, enervated, spiritless - in fact, more or less dead."

Here's Barnes' take on the same film produced as a 1972 movie of the week. The film was a pilot meant to go along with pilots featuring two other literary detectives, Nick Carter and Hildegard Withers. If a hit, the producers would alternate movies with each of the three characters on a weekly basis. I remember and adored Robert Conrad in The Adventures of Nick Carter. Barnes' opinion of the Holmes pilot isn't so gracious.

"If the Carter and Withers films were even a fraction as insulting to the memory of their literary progenitors as this Holmes, it's deeply unsurprising that the mooted tripartite film sequence never happened."

Don't hold back, Barnes, tell us how you really feel.

He does give credit where it's due, heaping praise on the 2010 updated Sherlock series from the BBC for example. As for Robert Downey Jr.'s take on Holmes, Barnes says, "Only a fool would argue with the facts." Facts that include awards, a fast-tracked sequel and a box office bonanza.

The only problem I had with the book was the choice to list the projects alphabetically, rather than chronologically. Alphabetically allowed Barnes to group all of the Hound of the Baskervilles incarnations under the same heading, but I would have preferred to see the progression from silent movies to Universal classics, to Hammer Horror and on to TV. There is a chronology in the back of the book but there are no page numbers referenced, so it's not easy to find each listing if you wanted to read the entries in production order.

But that, right there, is nitpicking. Sherlock Holmes on Screen is an enjoyable read that is sure to stir up the emotions of any Sherlock Holmes fan. Who was the best Holmes? Rathbone, Brett, or maybe Roger Moore? How do you feel about the Holmes comedies such as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother or the cartoon version on BraveStarr (with Lost in Space star Jonathan Harris)? Is there anything new to say about this old soul, or will Sherlock Holmes go on forever?

I'd love to hear your Sherlock Holmes thoughts and memories. Please share them in the comment section below.

Sherlock Holmes on Screen is now available on Amazon.com.