The Trouble With Webmasters

[Andrew]

Well, the newest part of the site is open.  B-grade television shows.  The first entry is "The Trouble With Tribbles" from classic "Star Trek."

The Trouble With Tribbles

I am not planning on devoting too much time to television shows, but one every now and then is sort of neat to do.  Also, I just started on the "Manos, the Hands of Fate" review.  Boy, that one is overdue.

[Goon]

I was wondering what the "new section" was going to be.  There are those shows out there that end up following most of the patterns of b-movies.  (some more than others) *deep breath*

Special unit 2
the chronical
star trek (any brand)
space: 1999
farscape
lexx
Xena
Hercules
X-files

I don't know how long the list is, but I'm gonna let everybody else finish it.  What makes the best substitute when the real thing is unavailable?
The horta from "devil in the dark" resembles (I aint gonna say it...)

----ooo-'U'-ooo-----Kilroy was here.

[Foywonder]

Hey, leave Hercules, Xena, X-Files, and Farscape alone. If you're going to deal with more appropriate subject matter then you should deal with shows like:

Automan
Misfits of Science
Once A Hero
Street Hawk
Baywatch Nights (especially the X-Files wannabe 2nd season)
The Master
Superboy: The Series
the Mr. T Saturday morning cartoon

Far more fitting fare, IMO.

[JohnL]

Kolchak, The Night Stalker
Monsters
Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Crypt
Friday the 13th: The Series
The others
Freakylinks
The Lone Gunmen

[Ash]

Please guys....

Nothing is more BORING than reading a rattled off list of shows or films.

Please come up with another way of entertaining us without being so DULL!!

Descriptions!!!  ETC!!!

[Gerry]

How about "Manimal"?  That would be a good one to lampoon.

And wasn't there one that had a "cursor" that would draw cars and motorcycles and boats and stuff.

There's a lot of bad TV out there.  Andrew should have no shortage to choose from.

[Funk, E.]

Oh come on... I love Xena but it's a Hong Kong meets Sword & Sandles wannabe B-movie series if I've ever seen one. It belongs here. :-)

[Fearless Freep]

And wasn't there one that had a "cursor" that would draw cars and motorcycles and boats and stuff.


"Automan", another short lived series.

I miss "Wizards & Warriors"

[Flangepart]

I love this eph.
But, yeah...there is soooooo much to choke down of that T.V. Velveeta, its so hard to pick just one slice.
Space: 1999. Even with experianced leads,  it leaves its self wide open. Am i the only one who thinks the puppets in Gerry Andersons shows (Thunderbirds, Capt. Scarlet, Stingray, ect), showed more emotion and life then the "live" action shows?
Heh. At an S:1999 convention once, heard a good parody filk, set to "Suddenly"
"Suddenly...theres a monster looming over me!...i'm not half the man i used to be....oh, i am in, Security."
Oh, yeah. Guys, Andrew could use our help. maby we should offer some fried T.V. cheese for this new, wonderful annex?

[Gerry]

Fearless Freep wrote:
>
> "Automan", another short lived series.

That's it, thanks.  I actually liked that series when it was on, then forgot about it for years.

[Fearless Freep]

That's it, thanks. I actually liked that series when it was on, then forgot about it for years.

Same here :)  I think they wrote themselves into a corner with the 'only shows up at night because of stress on the power grid' or whatever

[Neon Noodle]

For used up shows, there's a plentiful list on www.jumptheshark.com, but my personal favorite is a toss-up betwen WHIZ KIDS, THE FLASH, and the ever popular M.A.N.T.I.S.. I mean c'mon, the idea  of a "handicapped superhero" wasn't done well enough with daredevil?

Bring on the cheese, those shows rock!!! Well, maybe not....

[JohnL]

>Nothing is more BORING than reading a rattled off list of shows or films.
>
>Please come up with another way of entertaining us without being so DULL!!
>
>Descriptions!!! ETC!!!

Kolchak, The Night Stalker - Carl Kolchak investigates strange and supernatural occurances such as vampires, aliens, zombies etc. Darren McGavin stars as Carl Kolchak, a reporter working for a small newspaper who always seems to get himself involved in the most unusual stories. Of course nobody believes him, so he often ends up fighting the menace himself and even being opposed by the police who would rather cover things up than admit the truth. The series was inspired by two TV movies, The Night Stalker, which was about a vampire and The Night Strangler, which was about Jack the RIpper, both starred McGavin as Kolchak. Both stories were also re-used in shortened form for episodes of the TV series. There were 20 episodes of the series that aired from Sept. 1974 to Mar. 1975. There were also two compilation movies made from episodes of the show which each used two different episodes spliced together to make it seem as if he was investigating both stories at the same time.

Tales from the Darkside - A syndicated anthology show focusing on horror and science fiction themed episodes. Strangely, the pilot aired in Oct. of 1983, but the series itself didn't start until Sept. of the following year when it ran until July 1988, producing 90, 30 minute episodes. Also, as far as I know, the pilot was never repeated, although it is available on video as well as a few select episodes from the series. This show is also notable for the fact that George Romero was one of the executive producers. In 1990 a feature film was produced, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, which includes three stories framed by another story.

Monsters - An uneven anthology series with episodes that ranged from good to silly. Most episodes dealt with the supernatural, science fiction, horror and fantasy. This show very closely resembled Tales from the Darkside in both style and subject matter, which isn't surprising when you consider that  Richard P. Rubinstein was executive producer of both shows. In fact if you removed the titles from the episodes, most people would probably have a hard time telling the two series apart. The show aired in syndication and had 72, 30 minute episodes between Oct. 1988 and Apr. 1992. Both this show and Tales from The Darkside managed to have several well known and respected actors as guest stars.

Tales from the Crypt - Another 30 minute anthology show, but this one focusing almost exclusively on horror and the supernatural. This HBO series aired from July 1989 to July 1996 and produced 93 episodes, often with well known actors as guest stars. Each episode was hosted by the Cryptkeeper, an animatronic creation in the form of a rotting corpse who would make many bad puns as he introduced each story and commented on it after its conclusion. Being on a pay channel rather than network TV, the show was free to include gratuitous blood and gore, which it did frequently. The episodes were based on stories which appeared in various horror comics. At least one of the episodes was also taken from the original Tales from the Crypt movie made in 1972. A sequel named Vault of Horror was made in 1973. Both movies were anthologies with several short stories contained inside of a framing device of people recounting things that had happened to them. In 1995 a feature film, Demon Knight was produced, which had a single long story done in the style of an episode of the TV show. Another movie was made in 1996, Bordello of Blood, but it had a much weaker vampire story. Both featured an appearance by the Cryptkeeper.

Friday the 13th: The Series - A syndicated, semi-anthology series that aired from Oct. 1987 to May 1990 and had 72 episodes. It followed the adventures of a group of people who jointly inherited an antique shop that had previously been used to sell cursed antiques and each episode showcased their efforts to retrieve a different object. The choice of "Friday the 13th" in the title is puzzling, since the series has nothing in common with the slasher films of the same name. The show ended after three seasons, even though by all accounts, the ratings were respectable. It's rumored that pressure from church groups who didn't like the idea of a series based on cursed objects, contributed to the show's cancellation. It should also be noted that almost every time one of the cast members fell in love with someone, that person would either end up dead by the end of the episode, or be revealed to be evil/not human.
 
The others - This NBC show about a group of people with various psychic powers lasted only 13 episodes from Feb. to June 2000. Each episode had the group either being menaced by some supernatural force or helping someone through the use of their various gifts. It was obvious from the start that NBC had no faith in the series as the episodes were shown out of order and often pre-empted for weeks at a time. The season/series finale, which was aired before all the prior episodes had been shown, ended with a cliffhanger showing most or all of the main cast being killed. I believe this show was nothing more than filler used to pad the schedule and was probably never meant to go past the initial 13 episodes.

Freakylinks - Another 13 episode show, this time from Fox, which aired from Oct 2000 to June 2001. This show, from the producers of The Blair Witch Project, concerned a group of people who ran a paranormal website called Freakylinks. People would contact them to report strange or supernatural happenings, which they would then investigate. The series also had a running story about the search for the star's brother who turned up on security camera footage after his supposed death. Like most shows about people investigating the supernatural, they were often met with ridicule and denial from the authorities, leaving them to deal with the menace themselves. The previews for this show made it look much like The Blair Witch Project, with strange images and shaky camera work. While the show did contain its share of video camera views, thankfully, they were mostly kept to a minimum.

The Lone Gunmen - This spin-off from Fox's The X-Files, featured three occasional guest stars from that show. Unfortunately, this show was also cancelled after a single 13 episode season which aired from Mar. to June 2001. The name comes from a conspiracy newspaper that the main characters published and is a reference to the lone gunman theory for the assasination of John F. Kennedy, a popular topic for conspiracy enthusiasts. Of course the title is also something of a joke as "lone" indicates single, but "gunmen" indicates pural. Being as this was a spinoff from The X-Files, Mitch Pileggi and David Duchovny both made guest appearances, as did Michael McKean who guest starred in 4 X-Files episodes. The show ended with a cliffhanger showing the main cast being caught breaking into a top secret facility. The cast later appeared in an X-Files episode although no explanation was offered for how they got out of their predicament. This episode would be the last appearance of The Lone Gunmen, not only because The X-Files came to an end, but also because their characters were killed off by having them sacrifice themselves, needlessly in my opinion, to save others. As with The Others, Fox aired the season/series finale before they had aired all of the prior episodes. In a bit of tragic irony, the pilot episode of this show concerned a plot to override the onboard computer of an airliner and cause it to crash into the World Trade Center. I'd be willing to bet that if the show ever turns up on the Sci-Fi channel, that's one episode you won't be seeing any time soon.

[Haze]

Lets not foget the Tremors TV series coming in April I think.

[JohnL]

>Lets not foget the Tremors TV series coming in April I think.

 Tremors, The Series - A show based on the three Tremors movies about large underground creatures. Actually, the first movie was exclusively about the underground creatures, but in part two they mutated into smaller walking creatures and in part 3 they developed the ability to fly. The underground creatures were nicknamed "graboids", the walking creatures "shriekers" and the flying ones "ass blasters" after their method of propulsion. The only character to appear in all three movies and the series is Bert Gummer played by Michael Gross. Bert is a survivalist and gun fanatic, but also a good guy to have around when fighting monsters. Fred Ward starred as Earl in the first two movies, but dropped out before the third one. Also, Ariana Richards appeared in both the first and third movies as Mindy. The series will be aired on the Sci-Fi channel and will no doubt have a much lower budget than the movies.