| Special Features |
Horror on Television
By D.W. Jones
Horror on television has always been a iffy thing. Very few shows
make it past the first couple of episodes, never mind past the first
season. Even fewer shows make it to be successful in the long run.
Shows like The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer have been a few of the successful ones. Some have been
cancelled before getting a decent chance, like Moonlight, Invasion and
Threshold to name a few recent examples. Let me now share with you
some of the offerings today and see which ones will last and which will
crumble.
Supernatural
Airdate: September 13, 2005,
Station: CW Network Thursdays at 9pm
Stars: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles
This is probably the one of the best shows
on TV and definitely the best horror show on
commercial TV today. It is about two brothers, Sam (Padalecki) and Dean who
hunt for demons, spirits, vampires, werewolves and all types of scary stuff
around. The present season, which is the 5th season, has the brothers just
starting the apocalypse and releasing the devil onto earth. Now they must find a
way to fix everything with the help of Castiel, an angel on their side and one of the
few. And let’s not forget the third main character, the car, a 1967 Chevrolet
Impala.
What makes this show great is the chemistry between Sam and Dean and
how they interact with each in the mist of what they are fighting. Not everything
ends well and in a nice pretty bow, people die, angels aren’t always good and
brothers fight. Some of the best shows are the ones that doesn’t take itself
seriously, they have a little fun. Each season has one or two shows of this type
that break up the dark and serious tones of the show.
There is a rumor that this might be the last season. While I hope it doesn’t go
away, I would rather it go out on top than push a season that is subpar. Right
now, you can catch the first four seasons 1-4 on DVD and reurns on TNT. It is
definitely a must watch for all horror fans.
The Vampire Diaries
Airdate: September 10, 2009,
Station: CW Network, Thursdays at 8:00pm
Stars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian
Sommenhalder
Smallville was moved to make room for the start of this show as a lead in to
Supernatural. It is based on a series of books, though changed somewhat. The
show is about Stefan, who moves to his hometown and falls for Elena, who’s
parents recently died and still in mourning. The thing is that Stefan is a vampire
with a conscious. Before Stefan can get settle, his brother Damon follows and
that’s where the trouble really starts because Damon is wild and does whatever
pleases him. Which usually ends in dead bodies.
At first this show looked like a vampire series meets 90210 but it is
surprisingly more darker than that. Which is a good thing for horror fans. What
really makes this show is Damon played by Ian Sommenhalder. Unlike his
character Boone on Lost who was pretty wimpy, Damon is a loose cannon that
plays well off the goody goody of Stefan. Elena is okay but sometimes too
depressing but plays well as the heroine in distress.
This is its rookie season and I believe it will be around for at least another
season. If you can get past the high school teenage angst stuff, which there isn’t
much of, it is a good watch.
Ghost Whisperer
Airdate: September 23, 2005,
Station: CBS, Fridays at 8:00pm
Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Conrad,
Jaime Kennedy, Camryn Manheim
This show is in it’s 5th season and despite some cast changes, the show has
continued to carry its own. It follows the life of Melinda Gordon, a woman who can
see and hear ghost and attempts to guide them to go to the other side. With the
help of her husband Jim and friends Delia and Eli, they investigate the reason for
ghost hauntings and find out their story to make it easier to cross over.
The shows usually starts off really scary and it starts to mellow out as the
truth of the ghost comes out. By the end of the episode, the ghost is on its way
and Melinda is crying with happiness. Season 5 is delving into Melinda’s new life
as mother and adjusting to her son having the same powers as her and maybe
even more. Also to add to the scare factor is the Book of Secrets that rewrites
itself and the shadows that reminds you of the shadow beast in Ghost.
There were cast changes that were pretty drastic over the years. The first
with losing Aisha Tyler, who played Andrea Marino, Melinda’s best friend who was
killed over at the beginning of Season 2. Then Jay Mohr, who played professor
Rick Payne for two seasons left for another job. But with the addition of Camryn
Manheim and Jaime Kennedy, the show continues to succeed and will be around
for a long time. Catch it if you can but check out back episodes on Syfy and WE
channels and also Seasons 1- 4 on DVD.
Medium
Airdate: January 3, 2005,
Station: CBS Fridays at 9:00pm
Stars: Patricia Arquette, Jake Weber,
Miguel Sandoval, David Cubitt
Though this shows has suffered from changing time slots, days and finally
change of stations, the show has survived and is going into its sixth season. This
show now follows Ghost Whisperer which is a very similar show, but Medium is a
lot more darker tone over all.
The show follows Allison DuBois, a wife and mother of three (who share her
ability) who is a medium, which can see and communicate with dead people along
with seeing past and future events. She eventually starts working with the DA’s
office and uses her gift to help solve and sometimes stops crimes from
happening. Allison does all this while holding her family and sometimes her sanity
together
Season 6 begins with Allison coming out of a coma after brain surgery and
deals with the consequences of the surgery as she tries to get back to normal. I
think that its found a good home now and should be stable and pick up its
audience again. Catch 1-5 on DVD or watch reruns on Lifetime. Give it a shot.
Dexter
Airdate: October 2006,
Station: Showtime Sundays at 9:00
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter,
Julie Benz, Lauren Velez, David Zayas
Next to and probably better than Supernatural, Dexter is the best thing that
happened to horror since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just think, a series based on
a serial killer who wants to be normal but just can’t help himself. He is a blood
splatter analyst for the Miami Police Dept. And now he has a wife, her two kids
and one of his own. What can be better than horror in plain sight?
The background to the show is that you find out that Dexter has always been
like this, possibly due to a horrific event in early childhood. Adopted by a cop who
found him, his adopted father see the signs in Dexter and deciding not to put him
away, he teaches Dexter to harness his dark passenger and kill only those who
“deserve to die” which is determined by the code.
Michael C. Hall is perfect as Dexter who tries to be normal but succeeds like a
clumsy child but has the perfect touch to take out his next victim. His intesity that
he puts into his character make you can’t wait for the next thing Dexter does.
Season 4 ended with some major changes to key character. That’s all I say
because saying anything will give it away. Season 5 will be starting in
September. It is a must watch. If you don’t have Showtime, catch up with it on
DVD.
True Blood
Airdate: September 6, 2008,
Station: HBO Sundays at 9:00pm
Stars: Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin,
Sam Trammell, Nelsan Ellis, Rutina Wesley
This show is not for the faint of heart because of the gratuitious sex, violence
and homosexual themes. With that said, it is a great show that takes vampires
into another direction. True Blood is the the name of the synthetic blood drink
invented for vampires to stop them from feeding on humans and live like
everyone else. But now that vampires have come out, there is a sort of racism
against them and it is a main part of the show.
It follow the vampire Bill Comton (Moyer), who just arriving in Bon Temps, is
attacked by junkies who uses vampire blood as the new drug of choice. He is
resuced by Sookie Stackhouse (Paquin), a waitress at the bar/restaurant
Merlottes, who hears people’s thoughts and is facinated by Bill who she can’t
read. Surrounding her is Sam Merlotte, bar owner and has crush on Sookie,
Jason, Sookie’s brother who is the town whore a goof ball, Tara, her best friend,
Lafayette, Tara’s cousin and gay cook of Merlotte’s and Eric, who is Bill’s maker
and who is very interested in Sookie.
The last two seasons have covered everything from drug use, discrimination,
racism, religion and betrayl in additions to blood sucking, sex, shape shifting,
heart eating and the usual vampire stuff. What makes this show good is that it
keeps things in the horror range while very subtly addressing everyday
concerns. It don’t hurt all the sex and naked bodies floating around. Season 3
begins in June 2010 and there will be a fourth season. You can catch the first
seasons DVD. The second season on DVD will be coming out in May 2010.
Usually before the new season starts, HBO will replay episodes. Definitely worth
checking out.
Criminal Minds
Airdate: September 22, 2005,
Station: CBS Wednesdays 9:00pm
Stars: Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore,
Matthew Gubler, Paget Brewster, AJ Cook
Now I know what people will say that this is not a series that deals with horror,
but I must disagree. I’ll be the first to admit that it didn’t start that way, but the
show really got darker and darker as the years went on. The content deals with
mostly serial killers that are really disturbing and is often ripped from the
headlines.
The show follows the FBI BAU Unit from Quantico VA as they take different
case to solve. They are profilers who look at recent crime, developed the profile
of the deranged psychopath and then track him down. Many of the crimes
scenes are full of blood, gore, sick backgrounds and like real life, does not end
well. All of the members of the BAU add something, from Hotchner(Gibson)
leader of the unit, Dr. Reid (Gubler) the genius boy-man and even special
mention of Penelope (played by Kirsten Vangsness), the strange and eccentric
computer whiz
Like I said, not your typical horror show but it has more than your fair share
of scary moments.
Fringe
Airdate: September 9, 2008,
Station: Fox, Thursdays at 9:00pm
Stars: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson,
John Noble
What makes this show great is not the thrills or content of each show. Even
thoughthe thrills in the show are some of the strangest stuff on TV. But the
characters in the show are what drive it every week.
The show follows Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) who gets drafted
into a special section of the FBI who investigate a series of bizarre happenings
(that are a result of fringe science; mutations, teleportation, rare disease) that are
part of the Pattern. To get help with that, she ends up blackmailing Peter Bishop
to retrieve his father Dr. Walter Bishop a scientist locked up in a mental institute
and who used to work on very similiar experiments years ago. Together the three
of them investigate who is behind the happenings and who is behind the Pattern.
While the thrills and horror of the fringe science make it a great watch but the
best part of the show is Watler Bishop. He is the perfect mix of crazy but brillant
scientist and confused little boy as a result of too much time in the loony bin. Also
his relationship with his son Peter, the reluctant guardian is pricless. Season 2
started with Agent Dunham returning from the alternate universe trying to stop an
unnamed foe for colliding the two universes while stopping the usual craziness.
Definitely a must watch and don’t forget to watch season one on DVD.
By D.W. Jones
Horror on television has always been a iffy thing. Very few shows
make it past the first couple of episodes, never mind past the first
season. Even fewer shows make it to be successful in the long run.
Shows like The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer have been a few of the successful ones. Some have been
cancelled before getting a decent chance, like Moonlight, Invasion and
Threshold to name a few recent examples. Let me now share with you
some of the offerings today and see which ones will last and which will
crumble.
Supernatural
Airdate: September 13, 2005,
Station: CW Network Thursdays at 9pm
Stars: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles
This is probably the one of the best shows
on TV and definitely the best horror show on
commercial TV today. It is about two brothers, Sam (Padalecki) and Dean who
hunt for demons, spirits, vampires, werewolves and all types of scary stuff
around. The present season, which is the 5th season, has the brothers just
starting the apocalypse and releasing the devil onto earth. Now they must find a
way to fix everything with the help of Castiel, an angel on their side and one of the
few. And let’s not forget the third main character, the car, a 1967 Chevrolet
Impala.
What makes this show great is the chemistry between Sam and Dean and
how they interact with each in the mist of what they are fighting. Not everything
ends well and in a nice pretty bow, people die, angels aren’t always good and
brothers fight. Some of the best shows are the ones that doesn’t take itself
seriously, they have a little fun. Each season has one or two shows of this type
that break up the dark and serious tones of the show.
There is a rumor that this might be the last season. While I hope it doesn’t go
away, I would rather it go out on top than push a season that is subpar. Right
now, you can catch the first four seasons 1-4 on DVD and reurns on TNT. It is
definitely a must watch for all horror fans.
The Vampire Diaries
Airdate: September 10, 2009,
Station: CW Network, Thursdays at 8:00pm
Stars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian
Sommenhalder
Smallville was moved to make room for the start of this show as a lead in to
Supernatural. It is based on a series of books, though changed somewhat. The
show is about Stefan, who moves to his hometown and falls for Elena, who’s
parents recently died and still in mourning. The thing is that Stefan is a vampire
with a conscious. Before Stefan can get settle, his brother Damon follows and
that’s where the trouble really starts because Damon is wild and does whatever
pleases him. Which usually ends in dead bodies.
At first this show looked like a vampire series meets 90210 but it is
surprisingly more darker than that. Which is a good thing for horror fans. What
really makes this show is Damon played by Ian Sommenhalder. Unlike his
character Boone on Lost who was pretty wimpy, Damon is a loose cannon that
plays well off the goody goody of Stefan. Elena is okay but sometimes too
depressing but plays well as the heroine in distress.
This is its rookie season and I believe it will be around for at least another
season. If you can get past the high school teenage angst stuff, which there isn’t
much of, it is a good watch.
Ghost Whisperer
Airdate: September 23, 2005,
Station: CBS, Fridays at 8:00pm
Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Conrad,
Jaime Kennedy, Camryn Manheim
This show is in it’s 5th season and despite some cast changes, the show has
continued to carry its own. It follows the life of Melinda Gordon, a woman who can
see and hear ghost and attempts to guide them to go to the other side. With the
help of her husband Jim and friends Delia and Eli, they investigate the reason for
ghost hauntings and find out their story to make it easier to cross over.
The shows usually starts off really scary and it starts to mellow out as the
truth of the ghost comes out. By the end of the episode, the ghost is on its way
and Melinda is crying with happiness. Season 5 is delving into Melinda’s new life
as mother and adjusting to her son having the same powers as her and maybe
even more. Also to add to the scare factor is the Book of Secrets that rewrites
itself and the shadows that reminds you of the shadow beast in Ghost.
There were cast changes that were pretty drastic over the years. The first
with losing Aisha Tyler, who played Andrea Marino, Melinda’s best friend who was
killed over at the beginning of Season 2. Then Jay Mohr, who played professor
Rick Payne for two seasons left for another job. But with the addition of Camryn
Manheim and Jaime Kennedy, the show continues to succeed and will be around
for a long time. Catch it if you can but check out back episodes on Syfy and WE
channels and also Seasons 1- 4 on DVD.
Medium
Airdate: January 3, 2005,
Station: CBS Fridays at 9:00pm
Stars: Patricia Arquette, Jake Weber,
Miguel Sandoval, David Cubitt
Though this shows has suffered from changing time slots, days and finally
change of stations, the show has survived and is going into its sixth season. This
show now follows Ghost Whisperer which is a very similar show, but Medium is a
lot more darker tone over all.
The show follows Allison DuBois, a wife and mother of three (who share her
ability) who is a medium, which can see and communicate with dead people along
with seeing past and future events. She eventually starts working with the DA’s
office and uses her gift to help solve and sometimes stops crimes from
happening. Allison does all this while holding her family and sometimes her sanity
together
Season 6 begins with Allison coming out of a coma after brain surgery and
deals with the consequences of the surgery as she tries to get back to normal. I
think that its found a good home now and should be stable and pick up its
audience again. Catch 1-5 on DVD or watch reruns on Lifetime. Give it a shot.
Dexter
Airdate: October 2006,
Station: Showtime Sundays at 9:00
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter,
Julie Benz, Lauren Velez, David Zayas
Next to and probably better than Supernatural, Dexter is the best thing that
happened to horror since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just think, a series based on
a serial killer who wants to be normal but just can’t help himself. He is a blood
splatter analyst for the Miami Police Dept. And now he has a wife, her two kids
and one of his own. What can be better than horror in plain sight?
The background to the show is that you find out that Dexter has always been
like this, possibly due to a horrific event in early childhood. Adopted by a cop who
found him, his adopted father see the signs in Dexter and deciding not to put him
away, he teaches Dexter to harness his dark passenger and kill only those who
“deserve to die” which is determined by the code.
Michael C. Hall is perfect as Dexter who tries to be normal but succeeds like a
clumsy child but has the perfect touch to take out his next victim. His intesity that
he puts into his character make you can’t wait for the next thing Dexter does.
Season 4 ended with some major changes to key character. That’s all I say
because saying anything will give it away. Season 5 will be starting in
September. It is a must watch. If you don’t have Showtime, catch up with it on
DVD.
True Blood
Airdate: September 6, 2008,
Station: HBO Sundays at 9:00pm
Stars: Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin,
Sam Trammell, Nelsan Ellis, Rutina Wesley
This show is not for the faint of heart because of the gratuitious sex, violence
and homosexual themes. With that said, it is a great show that takes vampires
into another direction. True Blood is the the name of the synthetic blood drink
invented for vampires to stop them from feeding on humans and live like
everyone else. But now that vampires have come out, there is a sort of racism
against them and it is a main part of the show.
It follow the vampire Bill Comton (Moyer), who just arriving in Bon Temps, is
attacked by junkies who uses vampire blood as the new drug of choice. He is
resuced by Sookie Stackhouse (Paquin), a waitress at the bar/restaurant
Merlottes, who hears people’s thoughts and is facinated by Bill who she can’t
read. Surrounding her is Sam Merlotte, bar owner and has crush on Sookie,
Jason, Sookie’s brother who is the town whore a goof ball, Tara, her best friend,
Lafayette, Tara’s cousin and gay cook of Merlotte’s and Eric, who is Bill’s maker
and who is very interested in Sookie.
The last two seasons have covered everything from drug use, discrimination,
racism, religion and betrayl in additions to blood sucking, sex, shape shifting,
heart eating and the usual vampire stuff. What makes this show good is that it
keeps things in the horror range while very subtly addressing everyday
concerns. It don’t hurt all the sex and naked bodies floating around. Season 3
begins in June 2010 and there will be a fourth season. You can catch the first
seasons DVD. The second season on DVD will be coming out in May 2010.
Usually before the new season starts, HBO will replay episodes. Definitely worth
checking out.
Criminal Minds
Airdate: September 22, 2005,
Station: CBS Wednesdays 9:00pm
Stars: Thomas Gibson, Shemar Moore,
Matthew Gubler, Paget Brewster, AJ Cook
Now I know what people will say that this is not a series that deals with horror,
but I must disagree. I’ll be the first to admit that it didn’t start that way, but the
show really got darker and darker as the years went on. The content deals with
mostly serial killers that are really disturbing and is often ripped from the
headlines.
The show follows the FBI BAU Unit from Quantico VA as they take different
case to solve. They are profilers who look at recent crime, developed the profile
of the deranged psychopath and then track him down. Many of the crimes
scenes are full of blood, gore, sick backgrounds and like real life, does not end
well. All of the members of the BAU add something, from Hotchner(Gibson)
leader of the unit, Dr. Reid (Gubler) the genius boy-man and even special
mention of Penelope (played by Kirsten Vangsness), the strange and eccentric
computer whiz
Like I said, not your typical horror show but it has more than your fair share
of scary moments.
Fringe
Airdate: September 9, 2008,
Station: Fox, Thursdays at 9:00pm
Stars: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson,
John Noble
What makes this show great is not the thrills or content of each show. Even
thoughthe thrills in the show are some of the strangest stuff on TV. But the
characters in the show are what drive it every week.
The show follows Special Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) who gets drafted
into a special section of the FBI who investigate a series of bizarre happenings
(that are a result of fringe science; mutations, teleportation, rare disease) that are
part of the Pattern. To get help with that, she ends up blackmailing Peter Bishop
to retrieve his father Dr. Walter Bishop a scientist locked up in a mental institute
and who used to work on very similiar experiments years ago. Together the three
of them investigate who is behind the happenings and who is behind the Pattern.
While the thrills and horror of the fringe science make it a great watch but the
best part of the show is Watler Bishop. He is the perfect mix of crazy but brillant
scientist and confused little boy as a result of too much time in the loony bin. Also
his relationship with his son Peter, the reluctant guardian is pricless. Season 2
started with Agent Dunham returning from the alternate universe trying to stop an
unnamed foe for colliding the two universes while stopping the usual craziness.
Definitely a must watch and don’t forget to watch season one on DVD.
For pictures of 2009
Haunted Houses,
Click Here
For articles by Chris
Friend, Click Here
For articles for
Bloodfest 6, Click
Here
Haunted Houses,
Click Here
For articles by Chris
Friend, Click Here
For articles for
Bloodfest 6, Click
Here
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