"Amazing Stories" (1985) TV series 1985-1987

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

29 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

In the extraordinary worlds of Amazing Stories!

Plot:

Television series created, produced, and twice directed by Steven Spielberg. Truly amazing, and sometimes odd stories are narrated...

Plot Keywords:

Anthology

Awards:

Won 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 10 nominations

Cast

Douglas Seale	...	Mike Malloy / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Royal Dano	...	Elmer / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Gary Riley	...	Jimmy / ... (2 episodes, 1985)
Larry Spinak	...	Arnold Skamp / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Jonathan Luria	...	Cameraman / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Ben Kronen	...	Bald Man / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Pamela Guest	...	Assistant Director / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Paul Bartel	...	Detective Watts / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Charles Durning	...	Assistant to the Boss / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Louis Giambalvo	...	Dr. Templeton / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Joshua Rudoy	...	Billy / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Sharon Spelman	...	Mom / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Jeff Cohen	...	Eddie / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
J.J. Cohen	...	Bert / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Tracey Walter	...	Blaze / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Dana Gladstone	...	George Gershwin / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Rick Andosca	...	Haller / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Michael Horse	...	Indian / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Taliesin Jaffe	...	Mark / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Arnold Johnson	...	Johnny / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Brad Bird	...	Scientist #2 (2 episodes, 1985-1987)
Fredric Cook	...	Dr. Wittenberg / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Jed Mills	...	Marshall / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
Lynn Kuratomi	...	Nurse #2 / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Billy Beck	...	Caretaker / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Conrad Dunn	...	Gas Station Attendant / ... (2 episodes, 1986)
JoAnn Willette	...	Angela / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
John McCook	...	Jerry Lane / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Eve Smith	...	Old Woman (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
Wade Mayer	...	Airline Representative #2 / ... (2 episodes, 1986-1987)
Gregory Wagrowski	...	Ben Oltman / ... (2 episodes, 1986)

Also Known As:

Steven Spielberg Presents Amazing Stories (Australia)
Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

30 min (45 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (1986-1987) | Stereo (1985-1986)

Certification:

Iceland:12 (tapes 1-3 and 5) | UK:12 (one episode) | UK:15 (some episodes) | UK:PG (some episodes) | UK:U (some episodes) | USA:PG-13 (video compilation) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M (some episodes) | Iceland:16 (tape 6) | Iceland:L (tapes 4, 7 and 8) | Finland:K-12 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Pico House - 410 N. Main Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

The title is taken from a bi-monthly, Sci-fi journal famous in the 1940s and '50s and edited by TV and film writer Howard Browne.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Monster House (2006)

OK series, but not that Amazing

This anthology series wasn't really all that great, but on the flip side, it doesn't totally suck either. Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" tries to be a cross b/w "The Twilight Zone", early Disney films, and some magical pulp adventures from the 1930s. But a lot of the episodes are flat out boring. There was a certain ambiance that surrounded "Amazing Stories" and it's marketing back in 1985 that made you think it was an important event series that couldn't be missed. This was a especially true if you were a child a the time. Was it a movie being broadcast on network TV? Was it a made for TV movie that Spielberg dreamed up for NBC? Was George Lucas somehow involved? Or was it just a TV show? The lines of what "Amazing Stories" was often felt blurred, it was not really a sci-fi series, but more creepy tales from the netherworld. It was hard to tell at the time, but I bought it. Hook line and sinker, I was there for every episode. It also had Steven "Jaws/Indiana Jones/E.T." Spielberg's name attached to it, which automatically made people in the mid 80s think it would be awesome. The opening credits with the cavemen sitting around a fire tries to reinforce this notion that the series is telling ancient, wondrous stories but it's simply not that good. To be fair there is some magic to this show and there were a couple of stand out episodes (The Mission was one of my favorites), but I never thought it was the kind of magic that was promised in the credits.

A problem I had was that the episodes often build up to what seems like an amazing climax (pun intended), but level off with corny, tacked on endings that felt written at the last minute. Many of the stories are VERY PREDICTABLE. If the series is award winning, I'm certain it's because of technical achievements. The early CGI TRON styled credits were excellent for their time. In fact I believe "Amazing Stories" was the first TV series to use computer generated special effects.

The show isn't bad at all, it's just not the classic classic that some believe it is. I mean it's entertaining enough, but don't expect Rod Serling kinda story telling. Even as a kid I thought the series was mediocre. I was about in the 5th grade when this show came on, young enough to still be taken in by the premise because the show appeared to promise "Star Wars/Indiana Jones/E.T." kinda magic, but I was an old enough elementary school kid to figure out a dumb or boring story.

Personally I wouldn't get the DVD, this show is best seen as something you would catch on the Sci-Fi channel during a rainy day. I think it's entertaining enough to watch on TV, but not to own. It is great series for mid 80s (1985/'86) nostalgia, it'll likely make you cringe at the gaudy mid 80s styles.

I would grade the series as a B-.