Jun '15
Anthology TV shows aren't anything new, they've been around for a while. They're great for the networks because of their non-serial format; they can air whatever episodes whenever they want really. They're also great for viewers because they don't require a lot of investment. A lot of time we might just stumble upon them channel surfing and decide: "Hey, I guess I'll watch this." We don't have to worry about what we missed previously or what will happen next, everything is contained to a 30 or 60 minute timeframe.
Back in the 1959 we got The Twilight Zone, an amazing anthology series that was really ahead of its time and groundbreaking. Every episode as you know had a different story, plot, cast of characters, and a well crafted twist at the end. It was all held together by host & narrator, Rod Serling. Although the series was mainly fantasty and sci-fi, it did have horror elements here and there. Serling's later series, Night Gallery was a lot more horror heavy and stuck to the anthology format. Alfred Hitchcock also had an anthology series that aired back in the 50's/60's, but sadly I'm unfamilar with it.
Then the 80's rolled around and we started seeing more anthology TV shows. The Hitchhiker is one of the more obscure ones that aired on HBO and later USA. I've only seen a few low quality episodes on youtube, but liked what I saw. If only they'd give the entire series a proper DVD release. They also did an updated version of The Twilight Zone, which I haven't seen, unfortunately. Couldn't have been any worse than the 2002 revival of the series. Tales from the Darkside, an anthology series created by the genius himself George A. Romero began airing in the mid 80's. It had some poor and forgettable episodes, but a good handful of great and unsetteling episodes as well. That intro intro and opening narration too...so creepy and set the mood perfectly. The best kind of show to watch at night IMO. The end of the decade saw the debut of Tales from the Crypt on HBO, and fuck was it an awesome anthology series! Sure it wanned in quality towards the end, especially that last season, but it had plenty of awesome episodes and showcased the talent of many great actors and directors. And who can forget the Cryptkeeper as our host!?
As far as the 90's go, there were some anthology shows here and there, some were kid friendly like Goosebumps. Anybody love those books as much as I did as kid? There was also a revival of The Outer Limits, which originally aired back in the 60's. I never watched more than a few episodes, so I don't have much to say about it.
In the 2000's, there was Masters of Horror as you know with well known and respected horror directors each directing an episode. Good concept for a series, although thoughts have been mixed on it. I've mostly enjoyed what I've seen and never quite finished season 2, unfortunately. Know they did a spinoff on network TV, but I never watched it.
This current decade is where things have really gotten interesting with the format. 2011 saw the debut of American Horror Story, a depraved and mostly brilliant series that took a diffrent approach to the format by having each season be a self contained mini-series (now they're all connected says Ryan Murphy, the fuck!?). True Detective, a stellar crime series that debuted last year on HBO is doing the same technique. Fargo, which had it's first season set in the same universe as the film is doing the same thing too. So far, season two is shaping up to be just as great as the first. Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan? Groovy! Muprhy is doing another anthology series with FX that debuts this fall as well, American Crime Story. I hope it turns out well.
What anthology shows are your favorites? Any shows I missed that you'd like to mention?
Anthology TV shows aren't anything new, they've been around for a while. They're great for the networks because of their non-serial format; they can air whatever episodes whenever they want really. They're also great for viewers because they don't require a lot of investment. A lot of time we might just stumble upon them channel surfing and decide: "Hey, I guess I'll watch this." We don't have to worry about what we missed previously or what will happen next, everything is contained to a 30 or 60 minute timeframe.
Back in the 1959 we got The Twilight Zone, an amazing anthology series that was really ahead of its time and groundbreaking. Every episode as you know had a different story, plot, cast of characters, and a well crafted twist at the end. It was all held together by host & narrator, Rod Serling. Although the series was mainly fantasty and sci-fi, it did have horror elements here and there. Serling's later series, Night Gallery was a lot more horror heavy and stuck to the anthology format. Alfred Hitchcock also had an anthology series that aired back in the 50's/60's, but sadly I'm unfamilar with it.
Then the 80's rolled around and we started seeing more anthology TV shows. The Hitchhiker is one of the more obscure ones that aired on HBO and later USA. I've only seen a few low quality episodes on youtube, but liked what I saw. If only they'd give the entire series a proper DVD release. They also did an updated version of The Twilight Zone, which I haven't seen, unfortunately. Couldn't have been any worse than the 2002 revival of the series. Tales from the Darkside, an anthology series created by the genius himself George A. Romero began airing in the mid 80's. It had some poor and forgettable episodes, but a good handful of great and unsetteling episodes as well. That intro intro and opening narration too...so creepy and set the mood perfectly. The best kind of show to watch at night IMO. The end of the decade saw the debut of Tales from the Crypt on HBO, and fuck was it an awesome anthology series! Sure it wanned in quality towards the end, especially that last season, but it had plenty of awesome episodes and showcased the talent of many great actors and directors. And who can forget the Cryptkeeper as our host!?
As far as the 90's go, there were some anthology shows here and there, some were kid friendly like Goosebumps. Anybody love those books as much as I did as kid? There was also a revival of The Outer Limits, which originally aired back in the 60's. I never watched more than a few episodes, so I don't have much to say about it.
In the 2000's, there was Masters of Horror as you know with well known and respected horror directors each directing an episode. Good concept for a series, although thoughts have been mixed on it. I've mostly enjoyed what I've seen and never quite finished season 2, unfortunately. Know they did a spinoff on network TV, but I never watched it.
This current decade is where things have really gotten interesting with the format. 2011 saw the debut of American Horror Story, a depraved and mostly brilliant series that took a diffrent approach to the format by having each season be a self contained mini-series (now they're all connected says Ryan Murphy, the fuck!?). True Detective, a stellar crime series that debuted last year on HBO is doing the same technique. Fargo, which had it's first season set in the same universe as the film is doing the same thing too. So far, season two is shaping up to be just as great as the first. Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan? Groovy! Muprhy is doing another anthology series with FX that debuts this fall as well, American Crime Story. I hope it turns out well.
What anthology shows are your favorites? Any shows I missed that you'd like to mention?
Tales from the Crypt was an awesome, and each episode would have you looking forward to which guest star would appear in the episode. They had some legit Hollywood actors on this show, like Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig, and Kirk Douglas. Yet, they also have the B-actors, like Larry Drake, Brion James, Miguel Ferrer, and Lance Henriksen. But if there wasn't already that to look forward to, there was also guest directors, including my favorite... Arnold Schwarzenegger. The show was produced by big-time Hollywood bad-asses like Walter Hill, Richard Donner, Joel Silver, and Robert Zemeckis, along with some guy I never heard of, David Glier. I loved this fucking show.
I've never seen Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, etc... but I have seen some Goosebumps when I was a kid. Are you Afraid of the Dark? But I don't remember those. And of course, Freddy's Nightmares. I seriously need to watch more of that shit, as well as the Friday the 13th series, which is a sort of anthology in a sense. I haven't seen a single episode of Masters of Horror that I actually liked in any way, which is strangely unfortunate.
I may remember some more in a bit, but I have to head out...