My Halloween-TV

[Uncle POE]

I own my own TV station ... well, I own lots of TV series and movies on DVD, and I have a TiVo. So, for the month of October, in celebration of Halloween, this is my target, ideal TV and Movie viewing (Note: Friday the 13th the Series fills-in for series with limited episodes):

WEEKDAYS

8:00 – American Gothic
Welcome to the small town of Trinity, South Carolina, where everything is not as it seems and the towns folk look to town sheriff Lucas Buck for help and guidance, often making a devil's bargain with disastrous results. (CBS, 1995-96, 22 episodes)

9:00 – Tru Calling
What would you do if you could relive a day? If you're Tru Davies (Eliza Dushku), you'd save lives. Tru is a smart and sexy recent college graduate who - when her high-powered medical internship falls through - finds herself working the midnight shift at the city morgue. One night, Tru questions reality when she thinks she hears a murder victim asking for her help. But the next morning, our heroine wakes up to find that she is back at the beginning of that very same day - twelve hours before a death that only she knows about is set to take place. (Fox, 2003-2005, 26 episodes)

10:00 – The Crow: Stairway to Heaven
Exactly one year after his death, rock musician Eric Draven returns to earth in a symbolic and literal leap from the bridge that joins the Land of the Dead and the land of the living. Possessing the mystic powers of The Crow, he is neither living nor dead, searching for a way to right what has been wronged. Stairway to Heaven continues the legacy of Eric Draven and expands on the mythology of the successful feature film franchise. (Syndicated, 1998-99, 22 episodes)

11:00 – Witchblade
New York detective Sara "Pez" Pezzini’s search for justice brings her into contact with the Witchblade, an ancient, intelligent, living weapon so powerful it can battle Earth's darkest evil forces. "Pez" employs her skills as a police detective to fight crime, but finds she must employ the Witchblade to combat a much greater and frighteningly organized conspiracy of evil that threatens the very soul of humanity. As Sara tries to keep the secret of the Witchblade, do her job and have a personal life, she finds that her most formidable adversary may be the Witchblade itself. (TNT, 2001-02, 23 episodes)
[Begins October 1]

12:00 – The Twilight Zone
"A journey into a wondrous land, whose boundaries are that of the imagination." A collection of tales ranging from the tragic to the comedic, scary to thought-provoking, and with memorable endings and often moral lessons. Rod Serling, creator and host of the series, won two Emmys for outstanding writing (1960 & '61), and the Golden Globe in 1962 for best TV director/producer. The name alone has become part of the American lexicon, and almost synonymous with the concepts of fantasy and science fiction. (CBS, 1959-64, 156 episodes)

12:30 – The Twilight Zone

1:00 – THE HAUNTED BIJOU

3:00 – The Addams Family
Gomez and Morticia welcome you to a satirical inversion of the ideal American family: an eccentric, wealthy family who delight in the macabre and are unaware that people find them bizarre or frightening. Created by American cartoonist Charles Addams (and originally in collaboration with Ray Bradbury), the Addams Family originally appeared as a series of popular, single panel cartoons in The New Yorker magazine beginning in the 1930s. (ABC, 1964-66, 66 episodes)

3:30 – The Munsters
Welcome to 1313 Mockingbird Lane, home to a traditional, blue-collar American family … of monsters: patriarch Herman (Frankenstein), wife Lily (his vampire bride), Grandpa (Lily’s father, Dracula), Eddie (the werewolf son) and “ugly-duckling” Marilyn (the All-American girl); and don’t forget their pet Spot, a fire-breathing dragon roaming inside the staircase. (CBS, 1964-66, 70 episodes)

4:00 – Dark Shadows
In 1966, the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows premiered on ABC and ran for 5 years, making exactly 1,225 episodes. Today, it is known as one of the most popular cult classics of all time. In 1991, Dan Curtis remade the show as a weekly prime-time drama. NBC bought the series and aired it mid-season 1991. The series wasn't up to NBC's standards in ratings, so the network cancelled the show after only twelve one-hour episodes. Dark Shadows: The Revival Series remade most of the beginning storylines and the episodes that transported Victoria Winters back to 1790 (in the original series, Victoria went back to 1795). (NBC, 1991, 12 episodes)

4:00 – Friday the 13th: The Series
This series revolved initially around the adventures of two cousins, Ryan Dallion and Micki Foster, who inherited an antique shop, "Curious Goods," from their Uncle Vendredi. We find out in the first episode that Vendredi made a pact with the Devil, to sell cursed antiques. He recanted at the last minute and tried to recover the antiques, but was claimed by Hell. The cousins, aided by Vendredi's partner Jack Marshak, used the store's manifest to track down the cursed antiques, each of which fell into the hands of someone who inevitably used them for evil. (Syndicated, 1987-1990, 72 episodes)

5:00 – Miracles
Paul Callan (Skeet Ulrich, Scream) is an investigator of modern miracles. While consistently disappointing hopeful believers by finding simple explanations for "miraculous phenomena", Paul finds his own faith sorely tested. Then something happens. (ABC, 2003, 13 episodes)

5:00 – Friday the 13th: The Series

6:00 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer: TOP 20 EPISODES
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Buffy Summers, The Chosen One, the one girl in all the world with the strength and skill to fight the vampires. With the help of her close friends, Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and her Watcher Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), she balances slaying, family, friendships, and relationships. (WB/UPN, 1997-2003, 144 episodes)

7:00 – The X-Files: TOP 20 EPISODES
The exploits of FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (and later, John Doggett and Monica Reyes) and their investigations into the paranormal – from genetic mutants and killer insects to a global conspiracy concerning the colonization of Earth by an alien species. (Fox, 1993-2002, 202 episodes)

8:00 – SHOCK THEATRE

10:00 – Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak was originally two made-for-TV movies that aired in the early 70's, and featured the adventures of Carl Kolchak, a down-on-the heels reporter who ran afoul of a vampire in Las Vegas and an alchemist in Seattle. These movies proved popular enough that they were spun off into a series, which placed Kolchak in Chicago with the Independent News Service. Each week for 20 weeks he investigated various supernatural and supranatural creatures, ranging from aliens to vampires to Aztec sacrificial cults. (ABC, 1974-75, 20 episodes)

10:00 – Friday the 13th: The Series

11:00 – Tales from the Crypt
Based on the legendary and gruesome EC Comics from publisher William M. Gaines, this horror anthology featured stories of murder, the supernatural, greed, gore and humor and usually had a twist ending of sorts. Some of Hollywood's biggest names like Demi Moore, Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Whoopi Goldberg and Michael J. Fox were featured, either in front or behind the camera. Hosting duties fell to everyone's favorite decaying corpse, the Crypt Keeper. The episodes were based on several comic books by Gaines, which were The Vault of Horror, The Haunt of Fear, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, and Tales from the Crypt to name a few. (HBO, 1989-96, 96 episodes)

11:30 – Tales from the Darkside
This 30-minute horror/fantasy anthology series follows in the vein of The Twilight Zone. Each week presents another standalone story of horror fantasy, and/or science fiction. Some episodes are gruesome, a few are of a lighter comedic style. Like many such shows, Tales... adapted the work of famous genre authors of the period such as Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, and Clive Barker. Many episodes also featured veteran actors of the 40's and 50's that saw very little work in their later years. (Syndicated, 1983-88, 90 episodes)

12:00 / 2:00 – THE MIDNIGHT MOVIE DOUBLE FEATURE



WEEKENDS

12:00 – The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
"Another lovely day begins, for ghosts and ghouls with greenish skin, So close your eyes and you will find, that you’ve arrived in Frightenstein … Perhaps the Count will find a way, to make his monster work today. If he can solve this monster-mania, he can return to Transylvania. So welcome where the sun won’t shine, to the Castle of Count Frightentein!" – Vincent Price, from the opening.

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein was a Canadian children's show that combined campy horror with humour and educational segments. The show was filmed at CHCH-TV, Hamilton, Ontario in 1971. The main characters were all played by super talented acted Billy Van: Bwana Clyde Batty, The Gorilla, Grizelda, The Ghastly Gourmet, The Librarian, The Maharishi, The Oracle, Dr. Pet Vet, The Singing Soldier and the best character in the show, The Wolfman. Other actors in the series were Fishka Rais, who played the loveable Igor. Julius Sumner Miller who played a zany Professor who liked to teach the kids about science. Guy Big played the Midget Count. The show also featured horror master Vincent Price, who played, who else, himself. (CHCH-TV Canada, 1971)

1:00 – THE VAULT OF HORROR

2:30 – CREATURE FEATURE

4:00 – HALLOWEEN WEEKEND MOVIE

6:00 – The Hammer House of Horror
This old British series is the television stage in the long and curious career of Hammer Films. Each episode of the series stands alone and has its own cast. All live up to Hammer's high standards of psychological tension, in the best traditions of British horror. (ITV, 1980, 13 episodes)

7:00 – The Twilight Zone
This show is based on Rod Serling's classic TV anthology show, The Twilight Zone. Redoing some episodes and doing new ones 20 years later after the originals, these are made in color and in one-hour episodes. Most of the episodes contained two or three stories, and were broken up in half hour episodes for syndication. CBS cancelled the show in its second season, but it was picked up by a Canadian producer and aired in syndication in a half-hour format. Some of the show's writers are well known: Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Sidney Sheldon and J. Michael Straczynski. The opening and closing music was done by The Grateful Dead. (CBS/Syndication, 1985-89, 65 episodes, 110 stories)

8:00 – HORROR THEATRE

10:00 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer

11:00 – Rod Serling’s Night Gallery
Night Gallery was creator-host Rod Serling's follow-up to The Twilight Zone. Set in a shadowy museum of the outre, Serling weekly unveiled disturbing portraiture as preface to a highly diverse anthology of tales in the fantasy-horror vein. Bolstering Serling's thoughtful original dramas were adaptations of classic genre material--short stories by such luminaries as H. P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, A.E. van Vogt, Algernon Blackwood, Conrad Aiken, Richard Matheson, August Derleth, and Christianna Brand. Variety of material brought with it a variety of tone, from the deadly serious to the tongue-in-cheek, stretching the television anthology concept to its very limits. (NBC, 1970-73, 99 stories)

12:00 – SATURDAY NIGHT DEAD

12:00 – THE SUNDAY MIDNIGHT MOVIE DOUBLE FEATURE

[hippieluvn]

Impressive as always, Nonc P

[Uncle POE]

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1
8:00 American Gothic, “Pilot”
9:00 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, “The Soul Can’t Rest”
9:45 Witchblade (TV-Movie)
11:15 Witchblade, “Parallax”
12:00 The Twilight Zone, “Where is Everybody?”
12:30 The Twilight Zone, “One for the Angels”
1:00 The Haunted Bijou Double Feature, “The Black Cat” (1934, 65 mins.) and “The Raven” (1935, 61 mins.)
3:00 The Addams Family, “The Addams Family Goes to School”
3:30 The Munsters, “Munster Masquerade”
4:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “The Inheritance”
5:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “The Poison Pen”
6:00 The Batman, “Batman vs. Dracula”
7:00 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Buffy vs. Dracula”
8:00 Shock Theatre, “Dracula” (1979)
10:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Cupid’s Quiver”
11:00 Tales from the Crypt, “The Man Who Was Death”
11:30 Tales from the Darkside, “Strange Love”
12:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “Ghost Story”
2:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “The Amityville Horror” (1979)

NOTE: I actually got things rolling last night at work and then at home working on a project:
Night Gallery (TV-movie/Pilot)
Twilight Zone: The Movie (new to DVD)
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

Also watched "Escape from Witch Mountain" with the appropriate aged audience on Sunday, and much later "Young Frankenstein" with a different, appropriate aged audience (though by today's standards, Mel Brooks' classic seems just as docile as the Disney fare).

[Uncle POE]

Hey group

Want to enjoy an hour-plus of unique Halloween fun? Watch The Batman vs. Dracula !!

I bought this on the cheap early last summer, holding off until now to watch it, and worth the wait.

It will move to October 31 for me next year. Should be a must for October viewing.

[Uncle POE]

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2
8:00 American Gothic, “A Tree Grows in Trinity”
9:00 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, “Souled Out”
10:00 Witchblade, “Conundrum”
11:00 Witchblade, “Diplopia”
12:00 The Twilight Zone, “Mr. Denton on Doomsday”
12:30 The Twilight Zone, “The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine”
1:00 The Haunted Bijou, “The Thing from Another Planet”
2:30* Bewitched
3:00 The Addams Family, "Morticia and the Psychiatrist"
3:30 The Munsters, "My Fair Munster"
4:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “A Cup of Time”
5:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Hellowe’en”
6:00 Miracles, “The Ferguson Syndrome” [Special Preview]
7:00 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, – “The Prom” [SMG’s Favorite Episode]
8:00 Shock Theatre, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
10:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “The Great Montarro”
11:00 Tales from the Crypt, “And All Through the House”
11:30 Tales from the Darkside, “The Satanic Piano”
12:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “The Crow”
2:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “Spawn”

[Uncle POE]

Today begins a Top 20 countdown for two classics of Horror TV - Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files. The idea was inspired by the goal of watching all of the original Kolchak: The Night Stalker episodes, which there are 20. The Kolchak/Top 20 days are weekdays from October 3 to October 30. I'm going to add a little episode description for the countdown.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
8:00 American Gothic, “Eye of the Beholder”
9:00 Tru Calling, “Pilot”
10:00 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, “Get a Life”
11:00 Witchblade, “Sacrifice”
12:00 The Twilight Zone, “Walking Distance”
12:30 The Twilight Zone, “Escape Clause”
1:00 The Haunted Bijou, “Werewolf of London”
3:00 The Addams Family, “Fester's Punctured Romance”
3:30 The Munsters, “A Walk on the Mild Side”
4:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Doctor Jack”
5:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Shadow Boxer”

6:00 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, No. 20 – “Help”
Season 7-Episode 4 (Episode 126) – October 15, 2002
Buffy is settling in to her job as the newest counselor at Sunnydale High helping troubled teens and sorting out problems. But when a student named Cassie calmly states that she has only a week to live, Buffy is at a loss. Buffy investigates, and soon comes to believe that Cassie is psychic rather than suicidal.

7:00 The X-Files, No. 20 – “Travelers”
Season 5-Episode 15 (Episode 112) – March 29, 1998
In 1990 Agent Fox Mulder visits an aging FBI Agent Arthur Dales and listens to a story of the agents assigned to a would-be X-File in the Cold War era of the 1950's and how Mulder's father was connected to a series of strange deaths.
Note: Perhaps not one of the series' best episodes, but no matter --- stars Darren McGavin.

8:00 Shock Theatre, “The Night Stalker” and “The Night Strangler” (148 mins.)
10:00 Kolchak: The Night Stalker, “The Ripper”
11:00 Tales from the Crypt, “Dig that Cat … He’s Real Gone”
11:30 Tales from the Darkside, “Hush”
12:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “Underworld”
2:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “Underworld: Evolution”

[Uncle POE]

Friday the 13th: The Series, Season 1, was just released on DVD (Sept.23 I think). I remember the series when it was first broadcast via syndication in the late '80s. It was during my college years, so I saw many episodes but not all, and remember liking it in general.

I bought it and figured since many of the series I wanted to view during October were short-lived, limited episode series (like Dark Shadows Revival and Miracles), I would simply watch F13 as filler.

I regret that decision.

As most everyone knows, The Series has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Jason Voorhees Saga of the Silver Screen. It involves a trio of family members trying to reclaim cursed antiques once sold by Uncle Lewis, who had a deal with the Devil, etc.

The title was and is unfortunate, because this really is a neat series. I've all ready watched eight episodes, and thoroughly enjoy how --- get this --- original the series was.

The DVD set was about $35 on sale, but I've noticed at some point in the very near future, the SciFi Channel will be featuring F13 during a daytime marathon.

WATCH IT!

[Ghost]

Hey group

Want to enjoy an hour-plus of unique Halloween fun? Watch The Batman vs. Dracula !!

I bought this on the cheap early last summer, holding off until now to watch it, and worth the wait.

It will move to October 31 for me next year. Should be a must for October viewing.

Hey Uncle POE,

Gotta say, you put my horror list to shame!! (If you can call it horror)


And by the way, I saw Batman vs. Dracula before, and I thought it was great too. Although, I think it would look even better in live action, but what are you gonna do?
Keep up the good work!

[hippieluvn]

On my second season DVD of the Super Friends, there is an episode of Batman & Robin fighting Dracula.

[Ghost]

Interesting. I watch Superfriends too. It's a classic. I don't remember that one though.

[Uncle POE]

I watched The Batman vs. Dracula again today with some friends before kickoff, really is fun to watch.

FYI - I had never seen The Hammer House of Horror series before, and now have watched two episodes as of posting this, and both have been thoroughly entertaining.

I have a homemade Dr. Syn disc, but the real thing is being released next month.

I liked The Dresden Files, and this is my favorite episode, so had to sneak it in.

P.S. --- There is also a fun episode of Spider-man and His Amazing Friends, "The Bride of Dracula aka The Transylvanian Connection".

12:00 The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
1:00 Movie, “Monsters Inc.”
3:00 Movie, “Dr. Syn – Alias the Scarecrow”
6:00 The Hammer House of Horror, “The Thirteenth Reunion”
7:00 The Twilight Zone II, “Wordplay”, “Dreams for Sale” and “Chameleon”
8:00 Movie, “Ghost”
10:00 The Dresden Files, “Things That Go Bump”
11:00 The Hammer House of Horror, “Rude Awakening”
12:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925)
2:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920)

[Uncle POE]

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6
8:00 American Gothic, “Damned If You Don’t”
9:00 Tru Calling, “Putting Out Fires”
10:00 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, “Like It’s 1999”
11:00 Witchblade, “Legion”
12:00 The Twilight Zone, “The Lonely”
12:30 The Twilight Zone, “Time Enough at Last”
1:00 The Haunted Bijou, “Tales from the Crypt” (1972)
3:00 The Addams Family, “Gomez the Politician”
3:30 The Munsters, “Rock-a-Bye Munster”
4:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Root of All Evil”
5:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Tales of the Undead”

6:00 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, No. 19 – “Out of Mind, Out of Sight”
Season 1-Episode 11 (Episode 11) – May 19, 1997
An invisible force is attacking the students and teachers at Sunnydale High. Buffy and the gang must find a way to stop this unseen menace, and determine why it seems to be centering its attacks on Cordelia.

7:00 The X-Files, No. 19 – “X-COPS”
Season 7-Episode 12 (Episode 151) – February 20, 2000
A Los Angeles police officer who is being filmed for the show COPS is attacked by a strange monster and Mulder and Scully are investigating the case. Scully is wary of having their faces put on national television but Mulder welcomes the publicity.

8:00 Shock Theatre, “The Craft”
10:00 Kolchak: The Night Stalker, “The Zombie”
11:00 Tales from the Crypt, “Only Sin Deep”
11:30 Tales from the Darkside, “Snip, Snip”
12:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “Demon Knight”
2:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “Bordello of Blood”

[Ghost]

Spider-man and His Amazing Friends, "The Bride of Dracula aka The Transylvanian Connection".

OMG! I love that series! (as well as anything else of Marvels) I'm soooo glad you watched. I was talking with my friends and it seems I'm the only one who watches shows before the 90's. For a minute, I thought I was weird, even by my standards
That was really entertaining on my part. One thing I look for every episode is Spidey and Iceman fighting over Firestar, and once a third guy wants her (Dracula), well, you can guess they're reaction!

Fav quotes:

(They jump off a airplane and Iceman lands)

Spidey: Muuuhahaha

Iceman: What's that?

Spidey: A Spiderman about to land on your head if you don't move! (using his webs as a parachute)

Sorry if I overdid the info but there are two things I'm crazy about in entertainment

a) Halloween
b) Anything to do with Marvel Comics

Hey POE, you have a really good list. I said it before, I'll say it again, you put my list to shame!

[Uncle POE]

Well, my 'schedule' is born from procrastination ... avoiding work on projects I'm always in to, and sleeping about four hours a night (not necessarily planned). But I do love indulging in Horror Movies and TV during this time of year. Other parts of the 'schedule' result from debates with friends about these things as well.

I enjoy seeing your schedule, it gives me ideas for the future, so please keep them coming.

Have you read the comic book series Marvel Zombies? The third installment is out now.

[Uncle POE]

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7 – The Death of Edgar Allan Poe
8:00 American Gothic, “Dead to the World”
9:00 Tru Calling, “Brother’s Keeper”
10:00 The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, “Voices”
11:00 Witchblade, “Maelstrom”
12:00 The Twilight Zone, “Perchance to Dream”
12:30 The Twilight Zone, “Judgment Night”
1:00 The Haunted Bijou, “The Raven” (1963)
3:00 The Addams Family, “The Addams Family Tree”
3:30 The Munsters, “Pike's Pique”
4:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Scarecrow”
5:00 Friday the 13th: The Series, “Faith Healer”

6:00 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, No. 18 – “Faith, Hope and Trick”
Season 3-Episode 3 (Episode 37) – October 13, 1998
A new Slayer arrives in town. Faith, who was called after Kendra died, seems like a fun-loving, wacky teenager who fits right in with the gang. Buffy worries that Faith may be taking her place in her friends hearts, and then begins to suspect that the new Slayer may be hiding something.

7:00 The X-Files, No. 18 – “Humbug”
Season 2-Episode 20 (Episode 44) – March 31, 1995
Mulder and Scully travel to Gibsonton, Florida, a town built and populated by circus and sideshow performers to investigate the death of Jerald Glazebrook, The Alligator Man. While searching for leads on the killer, the agents come across many bizarre characters including the local sheriff who was once known as Jim Jim, the Dog-Faced Boy.

8:00 Shock Theatre, “Tales of Terror”
10:00 Kolchak: The Night Stalker, “They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be … ”
11:00 Tales from the Crypt, “Lover Come Hack to Me”
11:30 Tales from the Darkside, “A Case of the Stubborns”
12:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “The Fall of the House of Usher”
2:00 The Midnight Movie Double Feature, “The Pit and the Pendulum”