"Tales from the Darkside" (1984) TV series 1984-1988

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Directors:

Bruce Dolin
Bob Balaban

Writers:

Franco Amurri (writer) (episode)
Scott D. Jackson (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

30 September 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Each episode of this TV series depicts a short, strange tale...with a twist! With eerie stories vaguely...

Plot Keywords:

Cult Horror | Cult Favorite | Anthology | Dark Humor

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Paul Sparer

...

Narrator / ... (22 episodes, 1985-1988)

Runtime:

30 min (92 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (some episodes) | USA:TV-14 | Iceland:16 | UK:PG (some episodes)

Company:

Laurel Entertainment Inc.

Trivia:

Episode 4.19, with its characters named Ruthie, a drum-playing Micky, and "Little Micky," is a thinly-disguised parody of "I Love Lucy" (1951).

Quotes:

[closing narration]
Narrator: The Darkside is always there waiting for us to enter; waiting to enter us. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Operation Double 007 (#6.8)" (1993)

"The Twilight Zone" for the 1980s

"Tales From the Darkside" is an interesting anthology series which has been syndicated for as long as I can remember. Every now and then you can catch the episodes on WGN out of Chicago or on the Sci-Fi Channel. The series is a poor man's "Twilight Zone". I believe that all of the episodes were made in the mid-1980s and dealt with subjects very similar to those dealt with in Rod Serling's series. The special effects were usually sophomoric and so were the performances, but the suspense and sense of the "unworldly" usually kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing and direction of most of the episodes are clever and intelligent. However, there are several duds in the series. For the most part "Tales From Darkside" is an interesting supernatural series that has been overlooked, but is usually just as potent as "The Twilight Zone" or "The X-Files". The series was popular enough to spawn a theatrical movie in 1990, but the movie falls far short of the original television episodes. Overall I give the series 4 out of 5 stars.