DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements Archive => Calendar Events / Announcements '24 I => Calendar Events / Announcements '04 I => Topic started by: CyrusL on March 29, 2004, 09:52:19 PM
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Okay DS fans, being Mr. Curious here. What's are some of your other favorite supernatural TV shows?
Are you a modern vampyre fan of Buffy or Angel? Do you still love the anthology shows like Thriller or Twilght Zone? Did you cruise the streets with Nick Nite or Mulder and Scully? Are you the ONLY person you know who's ever actually seen "Strange Paradise"? (I've net met anyone who's seen one) Or do you just surf to the Munster's themesong? What's your choice for the next TV box sets? Spill your spooky faves.
I'm going to start this off with 2 of my favorites...
1.) Smallville . I'm hooked. The first year had a lot of X Files overtones, but now the characters have kept me coiming back. Great cast, great scripts. Clark Kent is a man with a secret held by only a few. A great reinvention of the Superman saga without a cape in sight.
2.) Twin Peaks. It had a great group of oddball characters, but there was a nice thick underbelly of mystery and the supernatural that was fascinating if you stuck with it. Unfortunately, it will forever be a cliff hanger.
Your turn...MJ
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HBO's "Carnivale" is my newest favorite "supernatural" show......my Dad collected every word Ray Bradbury ever wrote, so I'm pre-disposed to be spooked by carnivals. That and the Great Depression era settings call my name.
But in my opinion, the all-time, hands down, everybody-else-get-in-line best series in this genre is "Twilight Zone". Scripts that literate and intelligent have all but disappeared from television and films today...and I hold out no hope of them every returning.
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I used to like to watch "One Step Beyond". It was an anthology series which dramatized supposedly true stories of the paranormal. It's an old show which I saw in reruns in syndication years ago. I think it predates "Twilight Zone".
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Well, I love Strange Paradise, and I've seen nearly every episode, and so has a friend of mine. So--we're out here!
The only post Seventies supernatural series I have enjoyed was Poltergeist: the Legacy. Helen Shaver played a very intense psychologist with a sense of style and elan that I found worthy of Grayson Hall. Derek de Lint had a sense of presence and nonverbal intensity reminiscent of Jonathan Frid, and Martin Cummins was a brooding Briscoe-licious hunk. Robbi Chong was in it as well and was excellent, and so was Patrick Fitzgerald as a troubled priest. After the second season it really slithered downhill fast, but the actors kept it fun to watch.
I like Boris Karloff's Thriller but it hasn't surfaced in over a decade. I also liked Rod Serling's Night Gallery. Fascinating scripts and beautiful casting. Another one that was uneven but sometimes really quite good was the Sixth Sense, starring Gary Collins as a parapsychologist. Both the series and the star seem to have vanished into a black hole. It aired in the late Sixties and early Seventies.
G.
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Of what's already mentioned, I like "Twilight Zone", "X Files", "Twin Peaks", "One Step Beyond" and "The Munsters".
I liked the original "Outer Limits" series. Comedy wise, "Bewitched" was always a top favorite along with "The Addams Family".
Does "Xena: Warrior Princess" count in these categories? How about "Lost In Space", "Land of the Giants", "Time Tunnel", "The Invaders", "Sliders" "Dark Skies" and "Roswell"- or too sci/fi to fit in?
I loved "Beauty and the Beast" and still watch eps I taped back then. I wasn't fond of the 3rd season after Linda Hamilton left, so I don't often re-watch the show after season two.
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Oh yeah, I also love Forever Knight, especially the first two years--that one also went downhill drastically in year 3.
G.
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"Beauty and the Beast" was a true original, in my opinion.....the whole concept of the "other" world under the city fascinated me. I think more than a few subsequent series can trace their conceptual roots back to that show.
I'm also old enough to remember "One Step Beyond".... mostly I remember being scared silly by more than one episode..... :D
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The Twilight Zone was my favorite show from the time I was a small child. I always anticipated Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July so that I could watch the annual marathons. Other supernatural shows that I've enjoyed watching include:
The X-Files: Episodes could be dark or comedic, atmospheric or gross. The neverending alien conspiracy became increasingly convoluted, but more often than not, I looked forward to each week's new episode. However, I stopped watching after Duchovny left.
Unsolved Mysteries: I can remember lying awake at night after seeing the reportedly true stories of the unexplained on Unsolved Mysteries, worrying that I would be spontaneously combust or be abducted by aliens.
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction: The stories can be silly and stale at times, but it's still fun trying to identify which of the stories are true.
Quantum Leap: This may technically fall into the realm of science fiction, but several episodes did deal directly with the supernatural--ghosts, vampires, living mummies, even a visit from the devil.
ProfStokes
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......my Dad collected every word Ray Bradbury ever wrote, so I'm pre-disposed to be spooked by carnivals.
Rainey....ME TOO!!!
But in my opinion, the all-time, hands down, everybody-else-get-in-line best series in this genre is "Twilight Zone". Scripts that literate and intelligent have all but disappeared from television and films today...and I hold out no hope of them every returning.
Would I be too repetitive if I again said, ME TOO?? :-*
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Alright....as long as this is here....I've had a question for a loooooong time.
When I was very little, I remember seeing what I believe to be an ongoing show; all I can remember, there was a girl and two boys, who...somehow?? got I believe time and or space 'pushed' to 'somewhere' else??
Anybody have a clue??
Thanks
Patti
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Boris Karloff's Thriller. It lasted, I believe, only one season and was one of the creepiest, most atmospheric anthologies ever aired. It would alternate with one episode dealing with suspense, the other with the supernatural. The Sci-Fi Channel use to broadcast the show (reruns, of course) but has not done so for years.
Gerard
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I love obvious choices like Twilight Zone(my second fave show of all time after DS), Night Gallery,
Boris Karloff Presents Thriller, Bewitched. And I love Smallville!
I also love Passions & Port Charles.
Passions combines DS & Bewitched and is zany fun!
Port Charles, now on Soapnet in reruns, put DS styled stories in the
"real world" and had wonderful moments!
ATTN: Thriller fans:
Something Weird Video is now offering on VHS & DVD, the complete short run series The Veil. Only ten episodes were produced in the late 1950s. Almost identical to Thriller, including host Karloff!
Gothick: I have the first 25 eps of Strange Paradise. Possible to get more from you?
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In order (I think!) starting with most favorite: X Files, Kolchak:The Night Stalker, Forever Knight, Port Charles, Ghost Story/Circle of Fear (remember the one about the family who moved into the apartment and there was a man upstairs who was really a ghost and had murdered his wife and wanted to do the same thing to Susan Dey? Or the one where Jodie Foster communicated telepathically with her grandfather who made her set her house on fire by getting her to start a fire in her identical doll house? Very creepy and cool!), Werewolf (does anybody else remember that show on FOX?), and Twilight Zone. Hope I'm not forgetting any!
Great topic!
Mary
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Another one that was uneven but sometimes really quite good was the Sixth Sense, starring Gary Collins as a parapsychologist. Both the series and the star seem to have vanished into a black hole. It aired in the late Sixties and early Seventies.
I liked this one too Gothick! I use to watch it all the time and then it suddenly just disappeared like you said.
Another favorite of mine is the Twilght Zone. I use to think that I saw every single one of them but then all of a sudden one will come along that I haven't seen, which makes it even better!
Cassandra
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Boris Karloff's Thriller. It lasted, I believe, only one season and was one of the creepiest, most atmospheric anthologies ever aired. It would alternate with one episode dealing with suspense, the other with the supernatural. The Sci-Fi Channel use to broadcast the show (reruns, of course) but has not done so for years.
Yes! Thriller! That show aired in reruns here on a little independent station many moons ago. Many, many, many moons ago. A few years back Universal was charitable enough to release a few episodes which I had the brains to scoop up at the time. My favorite Thriller epoisode is "The Premature Burial". Very spooky. Seems to me Dan Curtis must have seen this very episode as Liz turns out to have a tomb constructed with a bell and a buzzer, believing that she would be burried alive. Hmmm...
Alfred Hitchcocl Presents is another favorite of mine that turns up from time to time on TVLand or the Hallmark Channel.
Janet
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Mine? Has to be Night Gallery, Kolchak:The Night Stalker, Twin Peaks, One Step Beyond, and Boris Karloff Thriller.
I remember watching these with my mother. She did and still does loves these supernatural shows. I guess I got it from her. >:D
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Unsolved Mysteries: I can remember lying awake at night after seeing the reportedly true stories of the unexplained on Unsolved Mysteries, worrying that I would be spontaneously combust or be abducted by aliens.
Ahhhhh! Me too!
I've always been partial to Quantum Leap, Forever Knight, X-Files, Twin Peaks and lately Buffy and Angel. I liked Friday the 13th the Series too.
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T Zone(talking Tina best episode still gives me the chills i was always nice to my daughters's dolls) Night Gallery, One step Beyond, Outer limits and there was a show when i was child with a little alien host named Febe?Also loved Night Stalker didn't Sixth Sense come off Night Gallery? Forever Knight was good
too but Buffy and angel i never really got into (sorry Midnite) believe Faith is from my home town
jennifer
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Someone earlier asked whether shows like Quantam Leap fit into the category I was asking about. Yes, I would include some SciFi/Acion shows as well. I was polling the more outre shows rather than, say, "Scarecow and Mrs. King", which although being a great showcase for Kate Jackson, isn't supernatural.
By the way, I was reviewing an episode list for "The Incredible Hulk" and although I remembered that Lara Parker had been in the pilot episode as the late wife of David Banner, I had forgotten KLS also did an episode. Anyone seen that one lately?
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Wasn't Grayson Hall on an episode of Night Gallery? It was about three sisters living together and one of them died (Agnes Moorehead I think) but her shadow was still on the wall (?). Somebody help me here>
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The Munsters and Superman (with Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane) are the only two supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy shows that to this day will stop me dead in my tracks while channel surfing.
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I always enjoyed Alfred Hitchcock presents, along with the previously mentioned classic series. I really enjoyed the local "monster movies" that usually ran on Saturdays, afternoon and evening..I am sure most cities had a host or a specific name...Having grown up in the Los Angeles area, Chiller was a big hit for me...usually a cheap B movie like "Attack of the 50 foot woman" or "The crawling eye" was on, but heck, as a pre teen, i was spellbound by them..Another one i can remember is a program called "shock theater" i think, so long ago, but thats where i was introduced to the Universal horror movies..
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Terry:
the Night Gallery episode with Grayson & Agnes Moorehead is called
"Certain Shadows on the Wall".
it's from 71 or 72 & is spooky as hell! Grayson looks like Carlotta from NODS in this.
You can get it on the Night Gallery Video Collection offered by Columbia House.
Dom: yes, must not forget The Munsters, and the early Superman episodes are probably the BEST of early TV Sci-Fi.
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Bewitched is my favorite show of all time! Just always loved it since I was a kid, and still watch it all the time. I'm a big fan of many of the others already listed: Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Thriller, Quantum Leap, Twin Peaks, Buffy, Lost In Space. A few others I love that fit into the "outre" category would be Farscape and The Prisoner. I have to track down that Night Gallery episode! I knew Grayson was in an episode, but Grayson and Agnes Moorehead both in the same episode sounds incredible!
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I somehow forgot about The Addams Family (the original mid Sixties series with Carolyn Jones and John Astin). I loved this before DS came on the scene and still love it to this day. That's one series I really wish would come out on DVD.
"Certain Shadows on the Wall" originally aired in late December 1970. The filming actually happened during the Summer, in August I think. Grayson had to tape an episode of DS the day she flew back from "the Coast" on an early a.m. redeye flight. I'm convinced the wig she wore as Carlotta in NoDS was the same one she was given for her role on Night Gallery--she was told it had belonged to Rita Hayworth.
Unforgiveably, Grayson and Agnes have NO SCENES AT ALL together in this episode. I do think that when the casting had been completed, Serling could have given them even a short scene together. Grayson does have several scenes with Rachel Roberts, an actress who was married to Rex Harrison and had a superb role in Peter Weir's cult classic, Picnic at Hanging Rock.
I'm sure that's far more than you wanted to know about Grayson's appearance on Night Gallery...
a certified Halloholic,
Gothick
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Regarding "Forever Knight," I just wanted to mention that -- besides savoring this on its original late night run on CBS -- I discovered a couple of weeks ago that the first year has been released on DVD. It's very pricey, but I shopped around and was able to buy it for $24.
Whether the second and third years are released on DVD depends on sales of the first set.
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but I shopped around and was able to buy it for $24.
$24?! How awesome!! Congratulations! Where did you find it for such a great price? Are there any extras on it? I haven't seen any listed on the outside of the package.
Mary
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I have actually seen "Strange Paradise," which I did enjoy, but wouldn't count as an all-time favorite show.
"Twin Peaks" was possibly some of the most TV I have ever seen--the first season anyhow--so I'll rank that as a favorite.
I'm a major Buffy fan from day one. Tried to get into "Angel," but after the first season, it became less than enthralling for me.
And although it's not really gothic or anything, in the fantasy realm, I'd have to say that I thought "The Prisoner" was amazing.
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$24?! How awesome!! Congratulations! Where did you find it for such a great price? Are there any extras on it? I haven't seen any listed on the outside of the package.
Mary, try putting Critics Choice Video into a google search. I don't know if we're supposed to promote specific businesses here, but this price won't come up in a bizrate comparison. I've had excellent service from this company for years.
No, there are no extras on the DVD. It would have been nice to have had some cast interviews.
Do not go by amazon customer's reviews who say the picture and sound quality are terrible, especially on the first disk.
To the contrary, I found the picture quality excellent and the sound superior to most of my movie DVDs.
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Critics Choice Video -- aha! Thanks so much for your help and all the info, Vlad! Yes, it would have been nice to have some cast interviews. You'd think for as much as most stores are charging for it, they could have put something extra on it! Glad to hear the picture and sound quality are so good, though!
Mary
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The all-time most intelligent and riveting show in this category is certainly the original Twilight Zone. The acting and scripts are top notch, and I agree that few shows today can even approach TZ in quality. A few years ago I also discovered Outer Limits, which is also very good although perhaps less cerebral and philosophical than TZ.
Of more recent shows, I used to love the X Files until Duchovny left (that is probably true for many of us!) and even watched Buffy a few times although I never really became hooked.
There are a few shows that I've seen little of but enjoyed and that is Quantum Leap and Kolchak, which I hope will be out on DVD one day. (Will have to check Netflix!)
On occasion I do get drawn in by the childlike charm of the Munsters, but often wonder if they'll ever air reruns of the Adams Family. It is a childhood favorite of mine.
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Other tv shows i enjoy/enjoyed are:
"Werewolf" starring Chuck Connors
"the Night Stalker"...especialy the earlier episodes & also "the trevi collection" starring Lara Parker
"Spencer for hire" with Robert Urich
"Rockford Files" with James Garner
"8 Simple Rules" starring John Ritter
"Bewitched" with Elizabeth Montgomery"
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"Werewolf" starring Chuck Connors
lololol coteriemc...that reminds me of the movie, "The Tourist Trap"....lololol
Patti
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Twilight Zone seems to be an all time favorite of everyone. I also was a big X-files fan for some time as well as Buffy.
As a child, anything that had the word ghost in it attracted me. I love the series "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" as well as the movie.
I must also confess to having a crush on Vincent Price when I was little and wanted ever so badly for him to read me Poe at bedtime. He had the most wonderful voice. I recently got digital cable and watched the Haunted Palace three times this weekend.
Teresa
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I love that odd genre of supernatural sitcom that the 1960s produced - "Bewitched", "The Addams Family" and "The Munsters" are big favourites.
I guess by today's standards they're all a bit innocent and naive (I don't think you couldn't do any of them nowadays as new shows, for instance), but they're still endearing and watchable, which isn't bad going, especially 30 plus years on...
My fave fantasy drama, other than "Doctor Who" and "Dark Shadows", is probably "Sapphire and Steel" - it's a British curio starring David McCallum and Joanna Lumley. Although superficially sci-fi, the tone was more mystery and ghost story - lots of wandering through dark corridors with whispers and foreboding. Very arresting and scary, and highly recommended.
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Stuart, "Sapphire and Steel" sounds interesting. Is it available to rent or buy? Was it a TV movie or released in theaters?
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"Sapphire and Steel" was a half-hour serial - multi-part stories (usually six episodes) in a series... kinda like "Doctor Who". It's not available in the US, but it's out on DVD in the UK and Australia:
http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=R2&title=104224&p=57&c=&g=72
I recommend it - it was a pretty amazing show :)
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Stuart,
It's of course not SciFi, but the "Black Books" that inspired your personal messages (and avatars) looks darn funny.
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Yeah, gotta love "Black Books". I don't know if it plays in the States, but everyone should check it out if they can...
"You're just a beard with an idiot hanging off it..."
:D
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Two programs I still miss are "Millennium" and "Brimstone"....
They re-ran the suspense/supernatural MM on the FX channel during the time before my cable company picked it up, and it hasn't been on anywhere since, far as I know--- maybe someday I will be motivated enough to look for the DVDs.
The first two seasons, it was pretty darned good, and inspired a lot of the viewers to research some of the topics they covered, including the current fascination with Mary Magdalene.
The third season, though, went haywire; the two writers of season 2 left; the 2 lead actresses left (one was married to one of the departed writers), and the producer, Chris Carter, came back to it after the year of making the X-Files movie. He hired several new actors who never really caught on, changed the story arc, and, in the opinion of many fans, screwed everything up.
Though the quality of the performances themselves never wavered, and some of the episodes were done well enough IMO (though perhaps more X-Filey than Millennial, not that I didn't like X-Files too), the program ended many months before the REAL millennium.
"Brimstone" at least, I managed to tape all the existing episodes when it re-ran on Sci-Fi a couple of years ago, but will always regret that this really different series didn't even get to last out even one whole season !!
L.
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Holy cats, how could I have forgotten "Millennium?!" Ack! Yep, that show was very cool (not that I understood what was going on half the time, though! Ha!). And then when the woman who played Frank Black's wife left (Meghan Gallagher, I think? Don't know if I spelled it right!), that kinda destroyed things. I did like the ''X Files" episode that kinda tied things up for Frank Black, though. Those zombies were cool!! LOL!
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Besides DS these are my favorites:
One Life to Live
All My Children
Days of our Lives
Kingdom Hospital
American Dreams (occassionally)
NYPD Blue (occassionally)
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Two programs I still miss are "Millennium" and "Brimstone"....
i love Brimstone(with Peter Horton?}
Sci Fi pulls it out every so enough but i've taped it!
jennifer
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How about American Gothic? I know it didn't last long and I don't remember if I even got to see all of it, but I remember liking it. I've seen the kid from the show, Lucas Black, in several movies and always thought he was a really good young actor.
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"American Gothic" was a GREAT show. Another that never got the chance it needed to find it's audience. Lucas Black was excellent and Gary Cole was wonderfully malevolent.
And when the dog is pawing to be let in at the back door, one of us will still turn to the other and drawl... "Someone's at the door". [lghy]
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Yes, I also watched American Gothic reruns on Sci-Fi! The first episode had to be one of the most suspenseful that I've ever seen. I enjoyed the first season, but my interest in the second season waned as I found the protagonists becoming less likable. I suspect that I need to track down this show and watch it again; maybe my appreciation will have grown with the passing years.
And when the dog is pawing to be let in at the back door, one of us will still turn to the other and drawl... "Someone's at the door". [lghy]
LOL, Raineypark!
ProfStokes
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I loved American Gothic, but I think it's for the best it only played for two seasons. They told the story, tied up the loose ends, and went out on a high note.
I've made it no secret that Thomas Rathburn in Dreams of the Dark was inspired to no small degree by Gary Cole as Sheriff Buck. When I was writing the character, I always heard Gary Cole speaking his every line of dialogue. The physical description was right on, too. ;)
--Mark
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Sorry everyone, but when I think of Gary Cole, I think of that tepid actor...married to an actress with a disability....
??? ??? ??? (forgive me.....the kids are home on Easter break and I actually took today & tomorrow off).
Patti
somebody...screen grab of ??Gary Cole??
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somebody...screen grab of ??Gary Cole??
You can go to tvtome.com and type the name for a site search.
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Try this...
(http://home.triad.rr.com/smrainey/cole.jpg)
--Mark
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For fans of Millennium, I just got an e-mail from TVShowsOnDVD.com saying that the first season will be in stores in July. I can't wait, but I'm really looking forward to the second season coming out. To me that was some of the best TV since my all time favorite, (other than DS of course), Twin Peaks. Nothing compares. I'm just hoping that American Gothic will be released on DVD as well as Carnivale.
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Other than Dark Shadows, I don't know if any of the genre shows, other than Buffy and the comedies, would count as favorites. Twilight Zone has been shown to death, so it's not as compelling as it used to be. Thriller, Outer Limits and Night Gallery have some good episodes but are uneven. I was never able to get into the X Files. I could never warm up to the leads.
I was absolutely hooked on Twin Peaks. Creepy, ultra weird and fascinating. But it meandered a lot in its second year and just seemed to be weird for the sake of being weird. Still, it was great while it lasted. It was also the favorite show of my best friend's Labrador Retriever.
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What a great thread- hadn't seen it before! Since a lot of time has passed since some of these posts, I may as well mention that all 3 seasons of Forever Knight have finally now been released! It took awhile to get them out there, but I managed to get ahold of all of them. Awesome series! American Gothic is also out on DVD- I think I got the complete series as a bundle. I remember when rewatching it that there is a lot of discrepancy with the episodes- they aired them out of order, I think, and it's a little difficult to figure out what order to watch them in, as there are a lot of plot inconsistencies if you watch them in the order they put them in. That was a really excellent series, though I agree with those who said it sorta got lost a bit toward the end.
I suppose I'd regard Twilight Zone as my favorite series of all time, even though because of all the airings (often edited and shortened) by the Sci/Fi/SyFy channel, I've gotten a little burned out by it. But there are just SO many classic episodes. All the similar shows- Night Gallery, One Step Beyond, the Outer Limits, even Amazing Stories or Tales From The Crypt, are all ones I love to watch. I also loved Twin Peaks when it was on, and I recently re-watched that whole series- again, it got a little goofy toward the end but wow, what a great show!
Among some horror/sci fi themed shows that have been on more recently, even though it's pretty far away from DS's genre, Battlestar Galactica was probably one of my top shows within the last decade, and I was also a fan of Firefly, Lost of course, and Heroes' first season-- even though it went downhill pretty fast, that first season still was pretty great. There was also a show called The 4400, which is probably more like what Heroes should've been like. This past year, I really enjoyed American Horror Story and look forward to season 2. I watched Grimm a few times but I think it was on at the same time as another show, and I never really got into it. Was the other show Fringe? I adore Fringe and will be sorry to see it end after this coming season. For some reason, I never got into True Blood or the Vampire Diaries- you'd think they'd be right up my alley! Edited to add- believe it or not, I've never watched a single Buffy episode. What an omission! I have season 1 on my Netflix queue, and one of these years, I hope to plow through the entire series.