TV Horror and Sci-Fi shows

[42nd Street Freak]

What Television based shows have caught your attention?

What shows do you miss?

What shows did you hate?

What do you watch regularly?

What made for TV one offs, or short serials have you seen?

New or old, TV has given us some classic Sci-Fi shows, but less really good Horror shows ("Buffy" and "Angel" and "Tales from the Crypt" are probably the best known)...but there have been some good stabs (very good in the case of "Kolchak:The Night Stalker").

I watch "Angel", tuned out of "Buffy", watched all the "Star Treks" except "Enterprise" and "Deep Space Nine", liked the ill fated "Brimstone" and the early "Millenium".
Loved "The X Files" but tuned out of that as it dragged on.

Had no time for "Monsters", or the new "Dead Zone" 9but I adore the film).

Does anyone remeber a very creepy serial called "The Nightmare Man" on UK TV years ago about 'something' roming the countryside on an island?

The BBC adaption of "Dracula" (despite the budget pitfalls that results in Transylvania looking like an English common and Hyde Park!) is till one of the best adaptions of the story....the baby being thrown to Dracula's Brides to be fed on (cut on it's U.S showing) is still pretty powerful stuff.

So...what about you guys?

[JohnShaft]

I was just saying recently how while we have a surfeit of sci-fi on TV, Horror seems to always get the shit end of the stick.

For every Brimstone (which gets cancelled anyway) there's half a dozen Andromeda's (that go on foreverrrrr). And the Sci-Fi series almost always plain outright suck.

Here's mine:
I agree with you that Brimstone was a pretty good series. I thought it would eventually fall victim to predictable formulisation though, as each and every week some soul who escaped from hell at the beginning is sent back by the end.
The Others, another "cancelled after 13 episodes" job. I thought this one showed a LOT of promise. They had a good ensemble cast, varied and interesting characters and episodes. Why this one was cancelled, barring the vagaries of American scheduling, I don't know.
Buffy and Angel, natch. Both excellent. Very good casts and characters. Excellent writing. It really is close to the pinacle of TV, let alone Horror on TV.
I also agree Millennium had promise. I liked it in the beginning until it became a serial killer series. Then began to like it even more at the end of the 2nd series when it began to go Apocalyptic. It's greatest sin to me was not being supernatural enough. Frank Black was also too dark a character for many (mainstream) viewers to enjoy watching. The 3rd series was a supreme letdown after the great ending to series 2, so I left this one behind.
American Gothic. You can say a lot about this. What I would say is that it dared to be different, and ultimately ended because of it. How many series have a thorougly evil/demonic character as the lead? Gary Cole did an excellent job. This one supposedly didn't get recomissioned for a second series because the Bible belt put up huge protests due to AG being about a demon, and his battle for the control and destiny of his offspring. Superb stuff. And the way the first series ended the 2nd would have been even more imaginitive. I hear very little about this one. Thoroughly under appreciated, and not seen for the daring step forward it truly was.

Sci-Fi
Total Recall. Which was Bladerunner in all but name. But it had that great paranoia "humans against artificial lifeforms" theme going for it. It also got suprisingly complex and political for T.V. A real shame they didn't commision a second series. Similar depth and complexity to DS9, something very rare in todays "bite size chunks" of TV.
All the Star Treks. Though I must say I thought DS9 was better than Voyager, and at least NG was responsible for the rebirth of the franchise. Enterprise I *truly* don't like. In fact I will go so far as to say I am starting to hate it. The characters are utterly mundane and carboard. None of the actors stand out like some did in other ST series, not even Bakula. But possibly the worst sin (to rival the characters) are the amazingly unimaginative story lines. Really this one I only watch to see if it will improve before I finally give up on it. I'm betting it doesn't.

Which brings me to the two classics.
The original Star Trek, for all the obvious reasons.
And of courseThe Twilight Zone. I've already started to extol the virtues of this elsewhere but it really is ground breaking for the early 60's. And to be fair the old Outer Limits where utterly under appreciated too.
Way too many episodes of TZ to mention. It benefited hugely from the scripts written by great writers (Matheson being my favourite).
Both of these series I still find eminently more watchable than almost all of what we get today in the name of entertainment.

I don't recall either the BBC's Dracula adaption OR The Nightmare Man though Looch. When were these on?

What I really long for on the small screen is more quality horror series, the darker the better. I would absolutely love a Lovecraftian series, something I think which would work really well. The film of computer game 'Alone in the Dark' might make this one possible in the future.
Kingdom Hospital (involving Stephen King) sounds promising. I watched one episode of the Danish series The Kingdom created by Lars Von Trier, upon which it is based. Absolutely, stunningly bizarre. Unfortunately it's not been on since...

I'm really a big fan of TV. I think you can tell long, involved stories with it. Unfortunately this rarely seems to happen. When I like a series it gets cancelled half way through. When I hate it it goes on for an eternity. I really am that good a barometer of success or failure.
TV for me is a case of I love the medium, but all too often hate the message...

[Hern]

I love all all Star Trek, I know that the new Enterprise has it's critic's, but it's only 1.5 seasons old! LOL.

And, am I the only Star Trek fan who loves that theme music? I've got all the Buffy and Angel DVD's.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What Television based shows have caught your attention?

Taken - Taped the pilot, yet to watch it though.

What shows do you miss? - The A Team. The X-Files, I've only seen up to Season 5, and yep, have all the DVD's.

What shows did you hate? - Farscape, Roswell,

What do you watch regularly? Nothing that's not already listed.

What made for TV one offs, or short serials have you seen? My Dad has recently bought that Dracula DVD done on the Beeb. One of many films I must see!

[JohnShaft]

I love all Star Trek, I know that the new Enterprise has it's critic's, but it's only 1.5 seasons old! LOL.
True Hern but every other series had shown a great deal by that point. They had all established interesting multi-dimensional characters. DS9 and Voyager had laid the ground work for their entire futures. Enterprise to me seems to have done very little, apart from a few oblique and throwaway mentions to the Temporal War (the only bit I've found remotely interesting).

And, am I the only Star Trek fan who loves that theme music?
YES! :lol:
Heh, seriously I quite like Russell Watson. But I think the song (hell ANY song) is utterly out of place as a Star Trek theme. But then I also think that both the DS9 and Voyager themes were utterly bland.
Enough about Star Trek though, everyone will get the impression we're utter nerds! :erm:

Taken. I enjoyed the pilot. It was better than I expected.

I'm with you on the A-Team, I *loved* this when I was about 12.
X-Files I used to like. But then I eventually (by about series 5) got sick of the endless dragging up of aliens when they had ran out of story ideas. The writing became utterly unimaginative. But it's greatest crime to me became Duchovny's acting. The guy sleep walked through the last few series with all the enthusiasm of a sloth. Hell half the time he mumbles so bad you can't make out what he's saying.

Farscape I never latched on to either, despite it's cult following.
But then Sci-Fi series I've watched and gave up on when I realised they really weren't my thing are legion.
Earth: Final Conflict, Dark Skies, Andromeda, First Wave, Earth 2, ad infinitum...

[skuppy]

Over the last few years I've been watching less and less TV, now I'm at the point where I almost never turn the thing on. I'll still watch the occasional Star Trek or Simpsons episode when I'm in the mood. I'm also a cartoon addict but it's hard to find a station that still airs Looney Tunes.

The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Darkside both had a big influence on me as a kid. I have fond memories of my parents letting me stay up till midnight in the summer to try and catch TWZ on TV. Sometimes I fell asleep before the show came on, sometimes I got scared and ran back to my room, but more often than not I was able to see some truly wonderful story telling that has not been equaled to this day.

[Scott W. Davis]

A show I really miss is MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, even though the episodes shown on Sci-fi Channel were nothing compared to the brilliance shown on Comedy Channel and Comedy Central. In fact, that show nutured my love of exploitation cinema like any other and was a vital part in how I turned out. Whether, that's for better or worse, who knows? :shifty:

I also miss NEWSRADIO but even though the final episode was crap, it's good that it ended when I did. Jon Lovitz is no substitute for Phil Hartman.

Not to sound like a snob, but I hate most TV. I was a junior couch potato growing up but looking at it now, it's just horrible. The sitcoms are as lifeless as ever. The dramas are ridiculous. And the worst trend is the latest batch of reality shows. Not only do I hate the premise of these shows, but they depress the hell out of me. Everything on the shows relies on being cruel and manipulative and I see enough of that in my daily life. There is a lot of negative energy circulating. I really just watch a few shows and the rest of my TV time is spent watching films of my own choosing.

Of the shows I do watch however. I admit it, I'm a huge fan of both BUFFY and ANGEL. It took me a while, and I actually once wanted to hate the show, mainly because I went on appearances. And on first appearances, BUFFY looks like a brainless show for teenage girls, like CHARMED only worse. I ridiculed my brother's fiance for demanding the TV for "Buffy Night." Then, I found myself getting into the stories and quickly started watching it when she wasn't around. It's now ritual. BUFFY and it's spin-off, ANGEL (which just gets better and better - complete with some absolute bloodbaths of late) are can't-miss television.

Otherwise, I catch WEST WING, CSI and ALIAS when I can. The acting on WEST WING keeps it going strong, just like the fascinating characters on Sorkin's cancelled show, SPORTS NIGHT. CSI is just well thought-out - I also chuckle every time someone questions violence in movies since the average CSI ep is gorier and more hardcore than about 98% of my horror collection. ALIAS, well, it aint brilliant but I do admit it keeps me entertained so if it's on, I watch it. Despite my better judgement, I also find myself catching reruns of THAT 70'S SHOW. :blush:

I don't watch many TV movies or such but every now and then a mini-series will grab my attention. Once you get past the pointless first part of ROSE RED, the rest was decent and I thought Sci-fi Channel did good by their DUNE mini-series. And of course, I loved the two V mini-series when I grew up.

[JohnShaft]

Yeah I too echo your thoughts on "reality TV". If that's reality you can keep it. Hell we gave the world Big Brother, and a lot of it's spinoffs, which I truly detest. TV has just gotten far too dumbed down of late. You really cannot move for Big Brother, Pop Idol and all that shit here. F***ing disgusting television.

I'm also a fan of CSI. Caught onto it in the middle of the first series and was suprised how good it was, even at that stage. The gore for mainstream TV is suprising. I'm really looking forward to it starting up again soon here in partnership with CSI Miami, which looks interesting with Caruso.

I've meant to get round to watching the Sopranos for ages and never really managed too. Alias I never really managed to latch on to either, didn't give it much chance though.
But I think I will have to own up to watching Charmed I'm afraid lol. The stories are embarrasingly bad. The ancient Book of Shadows looks like the creation of some High School Student in Art Class. But I do think that the main three sisters save it somewhat in the acting stakes. Not that it's Shakespearean, but there is a nice bit of interplay between the three of them. I'm not so sure now Shannen Doherty has left. Of course the fact that Alyssa Milano is in it has nothing to do with why I watch it. ;)
Yes, definitely a show I watch despite being embarrased by it. :blush:

TV is just SO bad here though that you have to watch things that you normally wouldn't. I envy the TV you get there (the quality of British TV and the BBC is utterly overated) but thankfully we get most all of it here now on Cable, just a little bit late.

And nice signature pic Scott. :D

[ampleparking]

lets see hmmm i watched brimstone that was a good show, i watched brisco county junior which i doubt anyone else did, umm i like the munsters and addams family on tv land, i dont like star trek, i thought american gothic was good. i used to watch alot of cartoons when i was a kid like ghostbusters gi joe transformers thundercats teenage mutant ninja turtles and i like that good shows like the old mst 3ks new radio the simpsons the critic family guy and futurama
yeah im not tha old nor do i watch tv much now did i mention the tick???
i loved the cartoon hated the live action show and the old batman cartoons rocked
i love the joker

[Monkeysmasher]

Millenium- dark storylines, quite a lot of murder/bloodshed for a tv show. I like it and am actually watching an ep right now.
Farscape- didnt like at first, but it grew on me. Its cancelled now, and thats a shame.
ST-voyager- i'm no star trek fan, but i caught this in the 5th season/series and got hooked. 'one','shattered', "the Void','scientific methods' and 'waking moments' are my favorite eps. Even had to buy ST Elite forces video game.
Enterprise- was anxious to see it premiere, but i now dislike it immensly.
Friday the 13th, the Series- Good horror show. Shame it got cancelled. Lot of people with some very bad hair-doo's in it.

ACD's The Lost World- its ok enough, i wouldn't go out of my way to see it. Its the only thing on beside 'giligan's Island' and info mercials at 4am.

Stargate- not a fan.
buffy,angel - nope.
Xena, Herculese, sinbad,conan,beastmaster, all them UPN shows, not a fan.

x-files- didnt like at first, but liked 'chinga' and 'agua mal' episodes. Last season sucked a bit.
MST3k- lot of funny riffs, but some are quite boring and repetative. I liked the new Crow best.

Cartoons i like- simpsons,futurama,the tick, batman beyond, batman tas, batman gothic nights, spiderman, dungeons and dragons, the brak show, spaceghost coast to coast, Invader ZIM,
ones i REALLY LIKE- family guy,harvey birdman, sea lab 2021,

One thing that i hate is when a show gets cancelled mid-season or doesent have a finale ending.

[JohnShaft]

Friday the 13th the TV series. Thought I was the only one who was guilty of actually liking that. Man it was pretty fucking poor, but compelling for some strange reason. You're right about the hair though. It was like they used the hair stylist from some cheesy 80's metal band. Check out the barnet on the red haired bint.

As Ample mentioned The Munsters was another one I loved too. Thought it beat the shit out of The Addams Family. Herman Munster was the MAN. (Where's a Frankenstein smilie when I need one)

[Monkeysmasher]

http://epguides.com/Fridaythe13ththeSeries/

I find it hard to believe that red headed girl(Louise Robey) was a model. Her biography is pretty interesting. Now that i've re-watched a few episodes, it does seem a lot cheesier than i remembered.

[JohnShaft]

Yeah. She wasn't that bad looking mind!
I wouldn't have kicked her out of bed.

Hell, I'd have been all over her like a rash despite the 80's Glam Rock hair. :devil:

But it was sure a chunky piece of cheese. Episodes like the one where a grass mulcher (or whatever the fuck it was) spewed out money when you fed people into it was a prime example of it's bad stories. I'd watch it again though probably, even if just for nostalgia factor.

Another similar series I saw at the time War of the Worlds wasn't bad either. It actually got fairly interesting towards the end before it finished, when the whole world went to shit.

[Monkeysmasher]

In my area those are called 'wood chippers', or an 'i dont know were my wife went'. I use one when i clear land.

Not that that robey girl isnt pretty, she's ok enough, given the opportunity to play noogie-doctor with her i would quite happily agree (though she's rather scrawney and i might break her*) i just thought her severe mental problems were interesting. Seemed normal enough on that show, i guess. As normal as someone who chases after cursed goodwill objects and battles the forces of evil can be while still maintaining such a large hairstyle.

Havent seen War of the Worlds series.

Just watching my favorite episode of Tales From the Crypt called 'Terror Vision' with morton downey,sr as Horton Rivers. Its a haunted house episode, with a sort of blair witch style. Great ending. Old women, especially with chainsaws, scare me.














*not that i dig fat chicks.

[Scott W. Davis]

We used to riff on Robey and her eighties hair back when I was capping at the MST3K Caption This! website a couple years back (as TravisBickle). People had more fun with it than I did. Personally, I was always a softy for capping KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER. And of course, the Don Lapre infomercial. Hey, entertainment is subjective. :unsure:

[jim]

What about the old Max Headroom TV series - the Edison Carter show? That was waaaaaaaay ahead of it's time and as a kid i loved it!

I too miss MST3K to the point where i've started getting hold of copies burnt onto DVDR by some guy stateside. Apparently it's all perfectly legal as long as you don't sell copies of anything released by Rhino Video :rolleyes:

I watched MST3K vs Godzilla vs Megalon the other day after my girly had passed out - i'm looking forward to MST3K vs It came from another world soon, when i get time :wacko:

[Scott W. Davis]

Regarding MST3K's take on IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, got an interesting story for you...

I was in college where I went through a notorious period of self-loathing where I didn't get much accomplished. I did still watch a lot of MST3K though. I had just finished watching CONQUERED for the millionth time (I had also seen it non-MST several times). I got to my class, British Literature After 1700. Sat next to one of my classmates. Here's the conversation with the net-appropriate use of emoticons.

"So, did you finish the report?"
"Babba wha?" :huh:
"Did you finish the report?"
"We had an essay?" :blink:
"No no, just a two page hand-written write-up. Your critique of MOLL FLANDERS remember?"
"Oh.... shit!" :wacko:

Now, MOLL FLANDERS is one chore of a book. Not long, but definitely a book I would never read if it were not assigned... and that's coming from someone who reads a lot.

I now had five minutes before class started. I frantically set pen to paper:

"Blah blah... MOLL FLANDERS... fall from grace... greed... blah blah..." I only had half a page done when my mind hit a blank. Then, I remembered IT CONQUERED THE WORLD. Peter Graves delivers an end monologue that is repeated three times in the MST3K version. I thought about it for a beat and then started writing,

"Moll Flanders forgot too late that man is a feeling creature, and because of it the greatest in the universe..."

On and on I went, writing Peter Graves' closing monologue to IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, word for word. I finished it the second the professor walked in. I thought, "I must have failed this one. But if I can even get away with not being expelled for plagarism, I've scored a minor victory here." :devil:

Well, the next class period, she hands back the papers. She has held mine back. "So long, guys," I thought. "Sorry about getting kicked out of school, mom and dad. Maybe I'll have a lucrative pizza delivery career." Instead, the professor, who has a PhD in British Literature holds it up and starts going on about how great Scott Davis' take on MOLL FLANDERS was! Everyone in class is looking at me, as if to say, "You mean that guy that constantly smokes and watches movies, without ever leaving his dormroom? He's the new genius?"

She hands it back to me, marked "A+" with the added note, "You show amazing knowledge of the material and a strong insight into the characters' emotional well-being. You should teach this class someday."

I was astounded. I truthfully felt a bit guilty. I was trying to save my ass, not mess with anyone. But, knowing when to keep my mouth shut, I simply smiles and graciously thanked the professor and I would indeed think about taking over class someday. And I owe it all to Peter Graves and some wise-cracking robots. :lol:

As a post-script, I didn't BS may way through college. I got my act together after finally getting some help. I graduated in 1999, somewhat redeemed. o:)

[jim]

Ha ha! That's brilliant :lol:

And that's a coincidence too you mentioning Peter Graves.

go here - www.refriedflicks.com - the film's called DON'T ASK DON'T TELL

Those boys took 'Killers from Space' and reworked it. I saw the flick at sci-fi-london convention. I'm not a sci-fi junkie like half the troupe there (man, was i freaked out by some of the trekkies) but i laughed my ass of all the way through it. as it goes, none of the sci-fi hardcorers were there, just a bunch of drunkees like me. it was by far the best thing at the whole convention, which in fact was quite lacklustre this year. I even mailed the director and producer about it and the possibility of getting sued by Peter Graves - they were happy to tell me all about it...

I even wrote a review and sent it in to webmaster - John is it? - but haven't heard back. Since it's not horror i guess it's it's not really suitable.

Download and watch the trailer from the link above - you'll love it...

I'm looking forward to it conquered the world now! :devil:

[chuk hell]

Millennium- What a great show...well the first 2 seasons. Sure as hell DID NOT have mainstream appeal though and Fox tried to save it in the 3rd season by making it a clone of the X-files, going so far as to have Frank Black back in the FBI with a female partner.....jezzz....that's taking a piss.

The first 2 seasons were the tits though...especially the second when they got into all the secret society and occult conspiracy stuff...hard to believe this was on prime time TV.

There were so many cool things on this show...the parody of Scientology episode...surprised they didn't get sued. The "Devils" episode, where these 4 devils are hanging out in a doughnut shop talking shop. Then there was Lucy Butler...what a creepy villian...was she a devil? THE devil? Then there was the scene where Laura Means is freaking out, having all those demonic visions after her initiation into "the group", all the while Patti Smith's HORSES ( Land) is playing and they play THE WHOLE SONG! That has to be the single coolest scene I have EVER seen on a TV show. Then there was the X-Files crossover episode about a year after Millennium was cancelled.

I would give one finger to have the first 2 seasons on DVD!

[JohnShaft]

Absolutely agree Chuck. Couldn't agree more.

The first two series were excellent. While the straight serial killer episodes were well done it wasn't them that made it great.
It was the Apocalyptic/Demonic/Supernatural episodes that set Millenium apart. No other TV series has come even half way as close to envisioning a nightmarish world doomed to end.

I was fucking flabbergasted (love that word) with Series 3. What the fuck did they do to the supernatural stories, his wife, and Frank Fucking Black for that matter. Frank Black doesn't smile or joke, he's just a miserable fucker. And with nightmarish visions wouldn't you be?
I heard Henriksen say before series 3 that in the new series Black was going to lighten up a little. I just thought "Wah?" :huh:

I had so much hope for the third series after the 2nd ended with Frank's wife catching a fatal virus that threatened to wipe out mankind. THE Millenium was here.

Millenium was not an easy series for the mainstream viewer to watch. It was far too dark and depressing. But it was just so damn original and powerful.

Damn the dumbed down generation.

[voorheesx]

the simpsons is a great show :afro:

[Supercool]

Originally posted by Scott W. Davis@Mar 23 2003, 02:01 AM
<snip>
oh my god! I haven't laughed out loud to an internet post for a while! Brilliant story!