Post by Administrator on Oct 13, 2005 11:53:57 GMT -5
Last week, we gave you our picks for Scoop Top Ten: Best U.S. Sci Fi TV Shows. This week the Scoop Top Ten opens the crypt door to take a peak at the Best U.S. Horror TV Shows. There were two surprises waiting for us in this category. First, a lot of our nominees overlapped with our Science Fiction list. Second, there were a lot less entries overall than we would have guessed.
We're counting on you to let us know what other shows should have been on the list, but we'd also like to hear your thoughts on why science fiction is so plentiful and horror is relatively scarce. Let us know.
1. Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Although we could have just as easily listed The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits as our representative series appearing on both our lists thus far, we went with the sentimental favorite. Why? Maybe it's because we're hoping the new version of The Night Stalker isn't as bad as it looks to be.
2. Dark Shadows
The original horror soap opera ran 1,225 episodes on ABC between 1966 and 1971, and its never been far from the minds of its many die-hard fans. The vampire Barnabas Collins and the good (and not-so-good) people of Collinwood still attract attention. A short-lived new take on the series aired in 1991.
3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Taking many of Dark Shadows soap opera sensibilities but giving them a teen/young adult twist, Buffy The Vampire Slayer first debuted as a movie but then came on far stronger as a TV series. It introduced not only Buffy and spin-off Angel, but also brought creator Joss Whedon to the attention of many.
4. Tales from the Crypt
The Crypt-Keeper's dialogue was too corny to just die, so it became this anthology TV series featuring writing, directing and acting appearances by some of Hollywood's top talent. Not on the caliber of The Twilight Zone, but Rod Serling wasn't writing for cable.
5. Friday the 13th - The Series
It had nothing to do with the movies, but it developed its own following and lasted three seasons. Antique dealer Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil to sell cursed objects to people, but he broke the pact, and it cost him his soul. His niece, Micki, and her cousin, Ryan, inherited the store, and with it, the curse. There object was to get all the cursed objects back.
6. American Gothic
Whether one calls it horror, drama, or a thriller, American Gothic was a gripping series for those that watched it. They learned that almost nothing was as it seemed in the South Carolina town of Trinity. Even though it lasted just a short while, many fans have discovered it in re-runs.
7. Twin Peaks
Even odder and more description-defying than American Gothic, Twin Peaks make very well take the prize for the most disparate elements ever fashioned into one series. One of the show's fan sites describes it as "Part murder mystery, part soap opera spoof, part comedy, part supernatural drama, and part homage to classic movies and other cultural icons..." The show was created and produced by David Lynch (Blue Velvet) and Mark Frost (Hill Street Blues), and inspired the prequel film, Fire Walk With Me.
8. Wolf Lake
A small Seattle suburb is overrun by werewolves. Lou Diamond Phillips starred in this show, a great concept that didn't get very far on CBS or sister network UPN... but this is one that would still be fantastic in the proper venue.
9. Freddy's Nightmares
There were 44 episodes made (1988-1990) of this anthology series hosted by dream-bound serial killer Freddy Krueger. Despite the slasher nature of the Nightmare on Elm Street films that inspired the TV show, it really had some very suspenseful moments.
10. Tales from the Darkside
George A. Romero, the writer-director behind Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and most recently Land of the Dead, followed up his film 1982 film Creepshow with this 1984-1988 anthology series. It included the work of writer Stephen King and directing by Jodie Foster among its many credits.
We're counting on you to let us know what other shows should have been on the list, but we'd also like to hear your thoughts on why science fiction is so plentiful and horror is relatively scarce. Let us know.
1. Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Although we could have just as easily listed The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits as our representative series appearing on both our lists thus far, we went with the sentimental favorite. Why? Maybe it's because we're hoping the new version of The Night Stalker isn't as bad as it looks to be.
2. Dark Shadows
The original horror soap opera ran 1,225 episodes on ABC between 1966 and 1971, and its never been far from the minds of its many die-hard fans. The vampire Barnabas Collins and the good (and not-so-good) people of Collinwood still attract attention. A short-lived new take on the series aired in 1991.
3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Taking many of Dark Shadows soap opera sensibilities but giving them a teen/young adult twist, Buffy The Vampire Slayer first debuted as a movie but then came on far stronger as a TV series. It introduced not only Buffy and spin-off Angel, but also brought creator Joss Whedon to the attention of many.
4. Tales from the Crypt
The Crypt-Keeper's dialogue was too corny to just die, so it became this anthology TV series featuring writing, directing and acting appearances by some of Hollywood's top talent. Not on the caliber of The Twilight Zone, but Rod Serling wasn't writing for cable.
5. Friday the 13th - The Series
It had nothing to do with the movies, but it developed its own following and lasted three seasons. Antique dealer Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil to sell cursed objects to people, but he broke the pact, and it cost him his soul. His niece, Micki, and her cousin, Ryan, inherited the store, and with it, the curse. There object was to get all the cursed objects back.
6. American Gothic
Whether one calls it horror, drama, or a thriller, American Gothic was a gripping series for those that watched it. They learned that almost nothing was as it seemed in the South Carolina town of Trinity. Even though it lasted just a short while, many fans have discovered it in re-runs.
7. Twin Peaks
Even odder and more description-defying than American Gothic, Twin Peaks make very well take the prize for the most disparate elements ever fashioned into one series. One of the show's fan sites describes it as "Part murder mystery, part soap opera spoof, part comedy, part supernatural drama, and part homage to classic movies and other cultural icons..." The show was created and produced by David Lynch (Blue Velvet) and Mark Frost (Hill Street Blues), and inspired the prequel film, Fire Walk With Me.
8. Wolf Lake
A small Seattle suburb is overrun by werewolves. Lou Diamond Phillips starred in this show, a great concept that didn't get very far on CBS or sister network UPN... but this is one that would still be fantastic in the proper venue.
9. Freddy's Nightmares
There were 44 episodes made (1988-1990) of this anthology series hosted by dream-bound serial killer Freddy Krueger. Despite the slasher nature of the Nightmare on Elm Street films that inspired the TV show, it really had some very suspenseful moments.
10. Tales from the Darkside
George A. Romero, the writer-director behind Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and most recently Land of the Dead, followed up his film 1982 film Creepshow with this 1984-1988 anthology series. It included the work of writer Stephen King and directing by Jodie Foster among its many credits.