Wandering through the Shelves is ending the spooky month with TV Horror and, let’s face it there is a lot of horror on tv from all the fish lips on the Housewives of who cares to the T & A of the Bachelor crap. Oh...not that type of horror...ok, well, there are quite a few series out there but I have not seen them. I am finding many of these seem to be so negative and without much hope which I just don’t like, never mind if it has a lot of gore. Well, I was able to choose 3 and here they are...
1. THE HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN-1971
I grew up watching this with the zany Billy Van playing many roles including the star which was Dracula who loved pizza more than blood. There was Igor and the Wolfman who played some great songs often dancing to some psychedelic background. You had a vet talking about pets and a Mad scientist who was an actual professor who studied under Albert Einstein. The biggest coup for this humble Hamilton, Ontario station was getting Vincent Price to introduce the show because he loved kids and thought it was unique. Apparently, Price was a true gentleman who bought beer for the cast and crew and got pictures done with everyone involved and wrote a special message for each person.
2. FOREVER KNIGHT-1992-1996
This is another Canadian TV Show about a vampire from the 12th century who decides to change his bloody ways and becomes a cop, befriending the morgue doctor who provides him with animal blood plus tries to change him back to a human. She is the only one who knows who he is and also has feelings for him as he does her. The cop also has a female vampire friend who runs a Local nightclub and a frenemy who tries to bring him back to the dark side of his nature. The current case he is working on, with his goofy partner, brings back memories of years or centuries earlier and the philosophical similarities it has with him today. It is well done and more intelligent than regular vampire shows.
3. THE DEAD ZONE-2002-2007
Ha! Thought I was going the vampire route but nope, I went the Canadian route because this is a U.S show but it was filmed in Vancouver and the last season was done in Montreal. This is based on a Stephen King novel and earlier film( done in Niagara On The Lake) about a man who was in a car crash and was in a coma for 5 years. When he awakes, life has certainly changed. His mom has died, his fiancée has married and he finds out he has a son. He also can see what will happen when he touches a person and warns them about what he sees. His caretaker is one who knows about his gift and often helps him. Anthony Michael Hall( the nerdy kid from the 80s John Hughes films). Is really quite good in the lead role and David Ogden Stiers brings panache as a somewhat diabolical character that was his mom’s new husband. I have not yet seen all the episodes but I am getting through them.
Which 3 would you choose? Oh and a Bugs Bunny Bonus.
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteYessum, the impression I consistently got of Vincent Price over the years is that he was a generous gentleman, not the screen meany we typically saw. On the clip you posted, the guy states that the name of the show Price narrated was The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, not Frankenstein, and therefore you might want to correct the title as you have it written. What a cool guy Vincent was to take a pay cut to appear on the show, and what a pro he was to crank out 400+ segments of material in a 4 day span. That is how you enhance and secure your legacy. Too many selfish, shortsighted actors fail to realize this today. I love Price's maniacal laugh.
The Frightenstein program is new to me, and so is the Canadian series Forever Knight. I remember David Ogden Stier from Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, but I didn't watch Dead Zone. It was fun watching the unflappable Bugs Bunny get the better of a vampire.
I highly recommend the American Horror Story anthology, the new "spin-off" anthology series American Horror Stories (plural) and What We Do in the Shadows, a hilarious horror-comedy series about a vampire household in Staten Island, NY.
Hope you are continuing to "slumber" (as those vampires say) and feel better, dear friend BB. Enjoy the rest of your week!
You are right! I changed it so it has been corrected. Funny, my hubby and I always called it Frankenstein even when I was a kid. I think you would like Forever Knight and I know I would love your choice. The Shadows one looks so funny. I want to see the movie too.
DeleteWell, I am a fan of Bugs, despite my dislike of rabbits, lol. I have never heard of the shows you mentioned. I do watch Murdock Mysteries on the CBC and they always do a Halloween show. This year it had a killer 'zombie'. Well, her death was faked and then she came back for revenge. Beyond that I really can't think of any horror shows I watched in the past unless you count the old soap opera Dark Shadows which my mother watched back when I was still living at home.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
My best friend loves Murdoch Mysteries! It s a good show and I almost went with Dark Shadows but I’ll do that next time
DeleteI haven't watched any of those. Except Bugs Bunny!
ReplyDeleteI'm going with What We Do in the Shadows, of course!
How can you not love Bugs!? What We Do In The Shadows is on my must see list.
DeleteCan hardly go wrong with Bugs Bunny. I still laugh when I see the one where Bugs visits a mad scientist based on Peter Lorre.
DeleteBIRGIT ~
ReplyDeleteI hope your health and your husband's health is improving day by day.
I haven't seen ANY of your three cherces, but that's not surprising since Horror has never been a favorite genre of mine. I can only think of 6 Horror movies I've ever seen that I thought were really good and worth owning on DVD.
For TV, my cherces are even fewer.
Although many of the episodes -- even a majority -- were not really "Horror", there was enough of it for me to feel justified in putting...
THE TWILIGHT ZONE
...at #1.
This past year, I've been re-watching all of the episodes of Serling's other show, THE NIGHT GALLERY. I thought it was really good when I was a teenager, but watching again now, it's "Eh" at best. But there were maybe half a dozen very good episodes. So I guess I'd put that at #2.
And because there are so few options available to me, for my 3rd choice, I'll go with THERE'S A BAT IN MY HOUSE, which wasn't even a real TV show. It's a fictional sitcom about a vampire which is mentioned and briefly shown in the extremely funny movie 'Hollywood Shuffle'.
I guess that's all I've got.
Let's do Westerns again!
You could break it up into Western subcategories like Drama, Comedy, Spaghetti Westerns, Favorite TV Westerns, Favorite non-Wayne & non-Eastwood Westerns, etc.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Twilight Zone is a good one especially the one with Billy Mumy as that nasty kid who sends bad people to the cornfield. I haven’t seen Night Gallery since I was a kid and need to revisit this. I love Westerns and just rewatched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and For a Few Dollars More. The music is just excellent.
DeleteI think the reality shows qualify as horror...
ReplyDeleteI adored Forever Knight. Recently it was on a horror channel, and I rewatched. Alas, they weren't as good as I recalled. The actress that played the coroner was more recently on The Good Witch (as the town's mayor). She looks so different today.
I liked The Dead Zone, too. Anthony Michael Hall has had some health issues of late, which I think is why the show kind of ended when it did. He's had some interesting guest roles on many shows lately.
Many shows may not age well but I like this show. Yes, the actress got very heavy and you can imagine she was this sexy coroner. You’re right about Hall, I can’t recall what was wrong, if it was cancer or not.
DeleteI remember The Dead Zone! I never watched it, but I recall its existence at least. lol
ReplyDeleteYou should watch the movie. The town is 20 min. Away from where I live. Siskel & Ebert thought the town was ludicrously fake...little did they know.
DeleteNever heard of your first two picks and only saw film versions of The Dead Zone. Actually I can't recall many horror shows I've watched in recent decades, but from my childhood I recall shows like Thriller, One Step Beyond, and Twilight Zone which all dealt with horror themes in certain episodes.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I love the ones you chose and am watching One Step Beyond episodes on YouTube.
DeleteI loved the info on House of FrightenStein. You always have fascinating tidbits:)
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a good day.
It’s a fun show and I caught my hubby watching it one morning. It was on at 5 am, repeats obviously.
DeleteHi Birgit,
ReplyDeleteHope you are coming along well!
You foxed me this week, though I think I saw the odd episode of The Dead Zone. Love the name of the first show.
I'm glad this month of horror themes is over, it's just not my bag so it's been a challenge-and not in a good way-to come up with things that worked. This time out I went all anthologies since those are the ones I'm more likely to give a look than a continuing series.
Hammer House of Horror (1980)-British anthology series created by Hammer Films consisting of thirteen hour-long episodes featuring various kinds of horror-witches, werewolves, ghosts, devil-worship, voodoo etc. The stories were populated with some of the leading performers in England at the time-Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Diana Dors-as well as future stars like Pierce Brosnan who were just starting out.
Circle of Fear aka Ghost Story (1972-73)-Similar in construction to House of Horror but produced in America offered tales of the supernatural horror with an astonishing list of talent-Jodie Foster, Gena Rowlands, Jason Robards, Patty Duke, Patricia Neal, Tyne Daly, Helen Hayes etc. every week.
Thriller (1960-62)-Anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff originally was conceived more in the mystery/thriller vein of Alfred Hitchcock Presents but moved more towards Gothic horror shortly after its debut. Again, the cast list is packed with future stars-Mary Tyler Moore, Elizabeth Montgomery, William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen and Cloris Leachman to name only a few.
Holy Smokes! I can’t believe I outfoxed you. I think you would like my first pick and hope you can watch an episode. I want to see the ones you have picked. The first 2 I really want to see as I love Hammer. I believe I have seen Thriller but when I was little and don’t remember much of it so I just will say it is new for me too. How I love the gentle Boris Karloff.
DeleteI haven't heard of the first two, but I watched the Dead Zone religiously every week. In reading what others have mentioned, I wish Murdock Murders was on American TV again, but it now seems to be on Brit Box and other pay channels I don't have. Loved reading your synopses, though. I enjoyed the theme, at least.
ReplyDeleteHope both you and your husband are feeling much better and you are resting and relaxing.
Murdoch Mysteries is a fun show but I haven’t seen many episodes as my hubby is not one for it and I tale so many already. It’s my best friend’s favourite show. I’m glad you and I like The Dead Zone and I hope you get to see the original movie.
DeleteRead my new post
ReplyDeleteThe Dead Zone was a fantastic book and I liked the Christopher Walken treatment (book was, as they mostly are, better). I haven't seen the newish interpretation, but it may be worth a shot.
ReplyDeleteDead Zone is the only one I've seen but just a few episodes here and there.
ReplyDelete