Deadly Nightmares (1983–1991)
"The Hitchhiker" (original title)

Fictional stories are told in this television series by The Hitchhiker. Each story is usually a mysterious thriller.

Creators:

Lewis Chesler, Riff Markowitz, Richard Rothstein

Stars:

Page Fletcher, Nicholas Campbell, Vincent Grass

5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Page Fletcher	...	The Hitchhiker (84 episodes, 1983-1991)

Storyline

A series of mystery-thriller stories, linked only by the character of The Hitchhiker, who would introduce and close each episode in the style of Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock. Occasional stories involved supernatural forces, but most plot twists stemmed only from the dark side of the human spirit.

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Plot Keywords:

hitchhiker | nudity | female nudity | revenge | morality | 

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Taglines:

Hop on board with The Hitchhiker. It's a ride you'll never forget.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

France Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

El caminante

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corazon Productions, Quintina Productions, DiC Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

26 min 30 min (85 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicholas Campbell appeared as the Hitchhiker in the initial trilogy of "tryout" episodes, which originally aired in late 1983. After HBO picked the show up for a full second season, Campbell was unavailable to reprise his role, so Page Fletcher took over the role. For reruns, all of Campbell's scenes were replaced with re-shot footage of Fletcher. Even on the Canadian Season 1 DVD release, a "Fletcher" version of an original Campbell episode got released by mistake.

User Reviews

Big Time Underrated

This old 1980's show from HBO is 10 times better than the stuff the studio puts out today, like Sex in the City and Sopranos. The problem is it was well ahead of its time as proven by the success of a similar show, the X-Files.

The series was basically a set of independent shows, the only common them was the pre- and post-show dialogue from a mysterious hitchhiker who passes through each episode. Creepy and sexy, each show had its own moral as some (usually more than one) character would get their come-upance in the end. All sorts of Hollywood stars signed up for guest appearances, Gary Busey, Harry Hamlin, Kirstie Alley, Willem Dafoe, even KISS lead singer Gene Simmons, and many many more.

I've caught rebroadcasts recently on one of the gazillion HBO channels now being broadcast (HBO Zone is what I think it is called), so it is out there someplace. The last poster and I agree on one episode "The Legend of Billy B." was my favorite too. If I remember right, it starred Kirstie Alley as a reporter trying to track down an Elvis-like rock star who was supposedly dead.

Catch this show if you can.