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Tales From The Darkside
- (1983 - 1988) SYN |
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| Production Companies: |
Laurel Entertainment
/ Tribune Entertainment |
| Executive Producers: |
George A. Romero, Richard P. Rubinstein |
| Producer: |
Jerry Golub |
| Associate Producer: |
Erica Fox |
| Original Broadcast: |
10/29/83 - 7/23/88 |
| Number of Seasons: |
4 |
| Number of Episodes: |
90 |
| Running Time: |
30 mins |
| Narrator: |
Paul Sparer |
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| Overview: |
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Tales From the Darkside was an anthology series, similar
to TV shows such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. It
produced a wide variety of stories ranging from science fiction,
fantasy to horror. The series was made for syndication, and shot
on an average budget. George Romero, of Night of the Living Dead
fame, was one of the show's executive producers and his style
and imagination was a big influence on the series. The Pilot
Episode which aired just before Halloween in 1983, was made as a
one time shot, and due to the success, a weekly series was
produced which aired for 4 seasons in first run syndication.
Tales from the Darkside was still a very strong and prominent
series when it was taken off the air. The production company
replaced Tales from the Darkside with another made for
syndication series entitled "Monsters". This series was a little
more restrictive in its stories, as each episode had to have
some type of monster involved.
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Sitting alone late at night after
all the television networks have concluded their broadcast and
the stampede of paid programming has dominated the airwaves. You
find yourself half awake listening to Tony Robbins pitching his
latest self improvement book, when then Robbins is replaced by
images of trees, and a country side landscape. All seems normal
yet, the music is dark and unsettling. A voice warns you of a
place unseen by most and leads you into the nightmarish world
that is the Darkside.
Tales from the darkside was one of the best horror series
produced in the 80's. Its creepy and sometimes bizarre plot
lines, made this one of the most disturbing series on TV. The
darkside made a lasting impression on many children of the 80's
with memories of noise eating vacuum cleaners, aliens, Satan,
vampires and other creatures of the night. Watching an episode,
you never knew what to expect. Some were corny, strange and some
were very creepy. |
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| After its initial
run on WGN, Tales from the Darkside moved to the
Sci-Fi Channel
in the early 90's, where it aired for a good part of the decade.
In 2001, WGN re-aired the series and even promoted it with a
short claymation segment "Turn to our tales of scary fun, after
all, theirs a little monster in everyone. Tales from the
Darkside, Saturdays @ 11 on WGN". Of course the series does pop
up from time to time on local channels, usually in the early
morning hours. Unfortunately, the Darkside has not been aired in
recent years, but as we all know, the darkside is always there..
waiting! |
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| Official Releases: |
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Notes: |
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The "Thrillervideo" volumes, were made for TV movies
released in the early 80's. Unfortunately, everything listed
above is out of print except for "Tales From The Darkside: The
Movie". The good news is, you shouldn't have a problem finding a
new or used copy of some of the videos mentioned above on the
internet. I've found the Thrillervideo volumes to be much more
expensive then the others, price ranges usually between $30 -
$90. The other volumes are usually sold between $10 - $20. Aside
from the videos, i've also found several laserdiscs for sale,
these include alot of the same episodes that are on the other
compilations, plus more. Here are some pictures |
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| Legal Information |
