Darkroom
Closed Circuit
Closed Circuit
A TV anchor is replaced by a computer simulations, shades of Videodrome two years later. Of course, we can do this on our phones now.
"We can keep you looking in your late 40s forever"
Showing posts with label TV Horror Anthology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV Horror Anthology. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
TV Horror Anthology: Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected
Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected
8 Episodes
1977 CBS
8 Episodes
1977 CBS
Slow paced drudgery with recycled plots, such as this episode, a remake of the Invaders pilot.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
TV Horror Anthology - Darkroom
Darkroom
Your host: James Coburn
7 episodes and 1 movie
ABC 1981-2
Short lived series with some nice moments, slightly hampered by the 70s Made-For-TV vibe. "Closed Circuit" has a Videodrome thing going. Robert Bloch's "The Bogeyman Will Get You" from his 1946 Weird Tales story is familiar from every 50s horror comic that copied it. The series probably suffered in popularity due to it's depressing and downbeat nature, like Tales From the Crypt without the humor.
Your host: James Coburn
7 episodes and 1 movie
ABC 1981-2
Short lived series with some nice moments, slightly hampered by the 70s Made-For-TV vibe. "Closed Circuit" has a Videodrome thing going. Robert Bloch's "The Bogeyman Will Get You" from his 1946 Weird Tales story is familiar from every 50s horror comic that copied it. The series probably suffered in popularity due to it's depressing and downbeat nature, like Tales From the Crypt without the humor.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
TV Horror Anthology - Lights Out
Lights Out
160 Episodes
NBC 1946,1949-52
Based on the far superior radio series, Lights Out suffered from the limitations of the medium. Much like Suspense, it didn't make a good transition to television. I do like Mr. Floating Head as the host.
Below is an interesting one. Story by Henry Kuttner, starring Burgess Meredith, and with a story that predates the similar They Live, which evidently had its origins in an unused Invaders script by Philip K. Dick.
160 Episodes
NBC 1946,1949-52
Based on the far superior radio series, Lights Out suffered from the limitations of the medium. Much like Suspense, it didn't make a good transition to television. I do like Mr. Floating Head as the host.
Below is an interesting one. Story by Henry Kuttner, starring Burgess Meredith, and with a story that predates the similar They Live, which evidently had its origins in an unused Invaders script by Philip K. Dick.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
TV Horror Anthology - Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror
2005-7, Showtime
26 Episodes
Much like Dream On or Mr. Show, at the time Masters of Horror was most notable for having gore, cussing, and nudity on a TV format, back when that was a big deal. Well, twenty years after it would have been a big deal.
Aside from that, there are some good episodes, but perhaps not as good as it good be considering the names here. For directors we have John Landis, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Stuart Gordon, Dario Argento, Larry Cohen, Takashi Miike, and Joe Dante.
Most notable, we have the best we've seen from Dario Argento in decades, since Opera or maybe Trauma. Granted, that's not saying much.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have one of the worst things to have aired on TV, and just one of the worst things in general.
Dead soldiers come back to life to vote Democrat. No matter what strong opinion one has against the various wars, Republicans, or even soldiers, people are entitled to their beliefs, and I sound like Ann Coulter complaining about smug Hollywood liberals, which pisses me of the most. He did do The Screwfly Solution later, which was one of the better ones.
Not a bad series, and expectations and misfires aside probably a pretty good one, but it fails to live up to what I would have imagined this line up to have accomplished in 1986. That and Steven Spielberg isn't here to carry them, Dante.
2005-7, Showtime
26 Episodes
Much like Dream On or Mr. Show, at the time Masters of Horror was most notable for having gore, cussing, and nudity on a TV format, back when that was a big deal. Well, twenty years after it would have been a big deal.
Aside from that, there are some good episodes, but perhaps not as good as it good be considering the names here. For directors we have John Landis, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Stuart Gordon, Dario Argento, Larry Cohen, Takashi Miike, and Joe Dante.
Most notable, we have the best we've seen from Dario Argento in decades, since Opera or maybe Trauma. Granted, that's not saying much.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have one of the worst things to have aired on TV, and just one of the worst things in general.
Dead soldiers come back to life to vote Democrat. No matter what strong opinion one has against the various wars, Republicans, or even soldiers, people are entitled to their beliefs, and I sound like Ann Coulter complaining about smug Hollywood liberals, which pisses me of the most. He did do The Screwfly Solution later, which was one of the better ones.
Not a bad series, and expectations and misfires aside probably a pretty good one, but it fails to live up to what I would have imagined this line up to have accomplished in 1986. That and Steven Spielberg isn't here to carry them, Dante.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
TV Horror Anthology - Freddy's Nightmares
First off, this show is horrible. Just bad. Cheap, poorly written, and poorly acted. If you like Freddy, he's not in it enough. If you hate Freddy for single-handedly destroying the horror film for over a decade, seeing him as a Cryptkeeper knock off won't improve your opinion of him.
Having said that, there is a certain charm to it. It has the same sleazy vibe as other syndicated horror series of the late 80s, like Friday the 13th and War of the Worlds. Strangely, while in the theater Freddy's yucking it up, here he's explicitly a child molester in addition to a child killer, something the R rated movies avoided.
Freddy isn't in most of the stories, and when he does appear it's a badly done double. I think Englund only showed up for the promos.
Instead of Freddy, we get two Tales from the Crypt/Darkside/whatever type stories to stretch it out to an hour's length. Unusually, and possibly uniquely, the two stories are related. Sometimes they just segue with a minor character bridging them, in others the two stories intertwine for several minutes.
I didn't look super hard, but about the only place you can watch this is on the channel Chiller. No YouTube, no Netflix, no Amazon.
Having said that, there is a certain charm to it. It has the same sleazy vibe as other syndicated horror series of the late 80s, like Friday the 13th and War of the Worlds. Strangely, while in the theater Freddy's yucking it up, here he's explicitly a child molester in addition to a child killer, something the R rated movies avoided.
Freddy isn't in most of the stories, and when he does appear it's a badly done double. I think Englund only showed up for the promos.
Instead of Freddy, we get two Tales from the Crypt/Darkside/whatever type stories to stretch it out to an hour's length. Unusually, and possibly uniquely, the two stories are related. Sometimes they just segue with a minor character bridging them, in others the two stories intertwine for several minutes.
I didn't look super hard, but about the only place you can watch this is on the channel Chiller. No YouTube, no Netflix, no Amazon.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
TV Horror Anthology - Fear Itself
Fear Itself
2008 NBC
13 episodes (8 aired)
NBC's copy of Masters of Horror, canceled after eight episodes. There are a few names here: Ronnie Yu, John Landis, Stuart Gordon. The only thing memorable is Peggy from Mad Men as a goth Sheriff's deputy and, sadly, the godawful theme song.
2008 NBC
13 episodes (8 aired)
NBC's copy of Masters of Horror, canceled after eight episodes. There are a few names here: Ronnie Yu, John Landis, Stuart Gordon. The only thing memorable is Peggy from Mad Men as a goth Sheriff's deputy and, sadly, the godawful theme song.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
TV Horror Anthology - The Twilight Zone (1985)
The Twilight Zone
1985-7 CBS, 1988-9 Syndication
65 Episodes
Some scary stories have a timeless quality, some are a product of their times, and some depend more on the age of the viewer. On reviewing, I'm sad to say the 1985 revival of the Twilight Zone likely falls in the last category. Episodes like "Shadow Man", "A Little Peace and Quiet", and "Nightcrawlers" gave kids PTSD in the 80s, but don't have the same impact today.
The quality level doesn't dip too badly through the seasons, but the creepiness does subside rather quickly.
1985-7 CBS, 1988-9 Syndication
65 Episodes
Some scary stories have a timeless quality, some are a product of their times, and some depend more on the age of the viewer. On reviewing, I'm sad to say the 1985 revival of the Twilight Zone likely falls in the last category. Episodes like "Shadow Man", "A Little Peace and Quiet", and "Nightcrawlers" gave kids PTSD in the 80s, but don't have the same impact today.
The quality level doesn't dip too badly through the seasons, but the creepiness does subside rather quickly.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
TV Horror Anthology - Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1985-6 NBC, 1987-9 USA Network
76 episodes
This remake of the classic series featured some new stories, some remakes of originals, and colorized host footage of Alfred Hitchcock. The series started out strong with the movie length pilot, and the first season featured names like Tim Burton, Ned Beatty, Martin Sheen, Yaphet Kotto, Jeff Fahey, and a young Joaquin Phoenix.
The series moved to the USA Network in season 2, joining that channel's memorable Saturday Nightmares lineup, but the show started a lengthy decline. At least we get to see two acting powerhouses, Mark Hammil and Michael Ironside, working together.
I keep waiting for Billy Dee Williams to swoop up and catch him.
By season 3 it's pure Canadian community theater all the way down. Halfway through this season the plots turn to "I double crossed you", "No, I'm the one that did the double crossing" pretzels, two in a row involving the butler doing or not doing it. I haven't gotten to season 4 yet, and I'm not looking forward to it. Start at the beginning with the knowledge that it doesn't get any better.
Here's my favorite, directed by Burt Reynolds of all people, and the unlikely casting combination of Martin Sheen, Marilu Henner, Robby Benson, and Parker Stevenson.
1985-6 NBC, 1987-9 USA Network
76 episodes
This remake of the classic series featured some new stories, some remakes of originals, and colorized host footage of Alfred Hitchcock. The series started out strong with the movie length pilot, and the first season featured names like Tim Burton, Ned Beatty, Martin Sheen, Yaphet Kotto, Jeff Fahey, and a young Joaquin Phoenix.
The series moved to the USA Network in season 2, joining that channel's memorable Saturday Nightmares lineup, but the show started a lengthy decline. At least we get to see two acting powerhouses, Mark Hammil and Michael Ironside, working together.
I keep waiting for Billy Dee Williams to swoop up and catch him.
By season 3 it's pure Canadian community theater all the way down. Halfway through this season the plots turn to "I double crossed you", "No, I'm the one that did the double crossing" pretzels, two in a row involving the butler doing or not doing it. I haven't gotten to season 4 yet, and I'm not looking forward to it. Start at the beginning with the knowledge that it doesn't get any better.
Here's my favorite, directed by Burt Reynolds of all people, and the unlikely casting combination of Martin Sheen, Marilu Henner, Robby Benson, and Parker Stevenson.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
TV Horror Anthology - Tales From the Darkside
Tales From the Darkside
Syndicated 1983-8
90 episodes, 1 movie
Produced by George Romero, this series is effectively spun off from the movie Creepshow, though it failed to maintain the EC comics tone from the film.
All of the stories involve the supernatural or fantastic, and despite the name, way too many are light hearted attempts at comedy. A lot more quirk than creep.
The title sequence is by far the most menacing part of the show. Most of the episodes suffer from poor production, although there are a few well written pieces, many of them by Michael MacDowell.
The series effectively morphed into Monsters in 1988.
This is my favorite so far, if only for the gore and sleaziness.
Syndicated 1983-8
90 episodes, 1 movie
Produced by George Romero, this series is effectively spun off from the movie Creepshow, though it failed to maintain the EC comics tone from the film.
All of the stories involve the supernatural or fantastic, and despite the name, way too many are light hearted attempts at comedy. A lot more quirk than creep.
The title sequence is by far the most menacing part of the show. Most of the episodes suffer from poor production, although there are a few well written pieces, many of them by Michael MacDowell.
The series effectively morphed into Monsters in 1988.
This is my favorite so far, if only for the gore and sleaziness.
Monday, November 25, 2013
TV Horror Anthology - Evil Touch
Evil Touch
Nine Network 1973-4
25 episodes
An Australian production with American leads and Aussie supporting actors. This is perhaps the most amateurish of all the horror anthologies, with many episodes resembling regional horror movies of the same era.
This could be a good thing, but the unimaginative scripts make most of the episodes worthless. Several have tame twist endings consisting of "you murdered me and I now I'm a ghost and am going to haunt you. Boo." There are rare moments that show bizarre creativity, if only because they were aiming for a cliche and missed so badly they ended up somewhere interesting.
I had high hopes for the series after my first episode, but alas it appears I got lucky and got the best, and weirdest, first:
Nine Network 1973-4
25 episodes
An Australian production with American leads and Aussie supporting actors. This is perhaps the most amateurish of all the horror anthologies, with many episodes resembling regional horror movies of the same era.
This could be a good thing, but the unimaginative scripts make most of the episodes worthless. Several have tame twist endings consisting of "you murdered me and I now I'm a ghost and am going to haunt you. Boo." There are rare moments that show bizarre creativity, if only because they were aiming for a cliche and missed so badly they ended up somewhere interesting.
I had high hopes for the series after my first episode, but alas it appears I got lucky and got the best, and weirdest, first:
Friday, November 22, 2013
TV Horror Anthology - Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
aka Fox Mystery Theater
ITV 1984
One half hour seems to be the preferred length for these types of programs, and even the Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents sometimes struggled when attempting to stretch out to a full hour. Hammer doubled down and dragged them out to almost seventy minutes, at least three times too long.
Most of the stories had a supernatural theme and an American lead. Some of the episodes were presented as features in Commander USA's Groovy Movies.
There were no standout episodes, unless you wanted to know who would win in a fight to the death between A-Team's Face and Pink Panther's Cato.
aka Fox Mystery Theater
ITV 1984
One half hour seems to be the preferred length for these types of programs, and even the Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents sometimes struggled when attempting to stretch out to a full hour. Hammer doubled down and dragged them out to almost seventy minutes, at least three times too long.
Most of the stories had a supernatural theme and an American lead. Some of the episodes were presented as features in Commander USA's Groovy Movies.
There were no standout episodes, unless you wanted to know who would win in a fight to the death between A-Team's Face and Pink Panther's Cato.
Monday, October 28, 2013
TV Horror Anthology - Thriller (1960)
Thriller
NBC 1960-62
Hour long series hosted by Boris Karloff at his most charming. His introductions are an excellent stage for him, allowing him to be manic and over the top without too much self parody.
The episodes were well made and have a certain appeal, but weren't particularly chilling. Standouts include The Incredible Doktor Markesan and an adaptation of Robert E Howard's Pigeons From Hell.
There was a comic book version that lasted into the 80s, while Thriller didn't even bother the show up for it's own finale, which was an unsold pilot for a crime drama, the Specialists.
See also A Thriller a Day.
NBC 1960-62
Hour long series hosted by Boris Karloff at his most charming. His introductions are an excellent stage for him, allowing him to be manic and over the top without too much self parody.
The episodes were well made and have a certain appeal, but weren't particularly chilling. Standouts include The Incredible Doktor Markesan and an adaptation of Robert E Howard's Pigeons From Hell.
There was a comic book version that lasted into the 80s, while Thriller didn't even bother the show up for it's own finale, which was an unsold pilot for a crime drama, the Specialists.
See also A Thriller a Day.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
TV Horror Anthology: Ghost Story aka Circle of Fear
Ghost Story
aka Circle of Fear
NBC 1972
William Castle goes back to the well with the modern gothic formula that worked so well in Rosemary's Baby and pretty much nowhere else, including here. A shame considering the names that were involved: Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Jimmy Sangster. The first thirteen episodes were hosted by Sebastian Cabot as Winston Essex, the owner of the hotel Mansfield House. Because nothing says terror like one of television's most friendly faces speaking from a pleasant sunny resort. After the rating didn't improve, Cabot was dropped and the name changed to Circle of Fear, though the stories remained in the realm of the supernatural.
The washed out VHS copies I saw didn't help, but the whole series screams 70s made for TV movie, all hair and earth tones. The only stand out was Legion of Demons, if only because it had Dr. Moustache Love himself Paul Carr as part of a corporate coven.
Other moments of interest include what may be a prenatal appearance by Sean Astin, and Tab Hunter proving that, despite his camp charm, he could barely talk, much less act.
aka Circle of Fear
NBC 1972
William Castle goes back to the well with the modern gothic formula that worked so well in Rosemary's Baby and pretty much nowhere else, including here. A shame considering the names that were involved: Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Jimmy Sangster. The first thirteen episodes were hosted by Sebastian Cabot as Winston Essex, the owner of the hotel Mansfield House. Because nothing says terror like one of television's most friendly faces speaking from a pleasant sunny resort. After the rating didn't improve, Cabot was dropped and the name changed to Circle of Fear, though the stories remained in the realm of the supernatural.
The washed out VHS copies I saw didn't help, but the whole series screams 70s made for TV movie, all hair and earth tones. The only stand out was Legion of Demons, if only because it had Dr. Moustache Love himself Paul Carr as part of a corporate coven.
Other moments of interest include what may be a prenatal appearance by Sean Astin, and Tab Hunter proving that, despite his camp charm, he could barely talk, much less act.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
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