Monsters (TV series)
| Monsters | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Horror |
| Created by | Richard P. Rubinstein |
| Theme music composer | Donald Rubinstein |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 72 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Richard P. Rubinstein |
| Producer(s) | Erica Fox, Michael Gornick |
| Location(s) | New York, California |
| Camera setup | Arriflex 16SRII (New York), Multicamera setup |
| Running time | 22 min. |
| Distributor |
Laurel Productions Tribune Entertainment Company |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndicated |
| Picture format | 16 mm |
| Original release | October 1, 1988 – April 1, 1991 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Tales from the Darkside |
Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel (now known as Syfy) during the 1990s. As of 2011, Monsters airs on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller in sporadic weekday marathons.
Monsters shares a producer (Richard P. Rubinstein) with Tales from the Darkside, and in some ways succeeded the show (which ended the same year Monsters began). It differed in some respects nonetheless. While Tales sometimes dabbles in stories of science fiction and fantasy, this series is more strictly horror. As the name implies, each episode of Monsters (with very few exceptions) features a different monster which the story concerned, from the animatronic puppet of a fictional children's television program to mutated, weapon-wielding lab rats.
The program has featured cameos from celebrities including: Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, Laura Branigan, Troy Donahue, Linda Blair, Deborah Harry, Kaye Ballard, Imogene Coca, Farley Granger, Pam Grier, Wil Wheaton, and Meat Loaf.
Synopsis
The introduction of the show begins with an aerial view of a middle class suburban neighborhood, drawing closer to what seems to be a typical Cape Cod style home. The camera enters this innocent setting as a father and daughter sit before an old television. The mother enters, revealing herself to be a horned cyclops, pushing a trolley and remarking, "Honey, it's family hour, there must be something on." The daughter rushes to the trolley, also a horned cyclops with green, molting hands, exclaims as she uncovers the dish, "Oh wow, Candied Critters!" As the mother and daughter make themselves comfortable, the father, a potato-like humanoid with one hand mostly root-shaped and molting green (a literal "couch potato"), makes a noise of surprise as the mother exclaims, "It's "Monsters", our favorite show!" The daughter quietly replies, "Shh, it's starting." As the camera zooms in on the face of the father, his low chuckle morphs into a high pitched giggle as the title fills the screen.
Each episode is a stand alone tale, none of the episodes connect with each other, and feature a variety of monsters from vicious man eating plants to friendly aliens from outer space.
The show was well known for its guest stars, many of whom went on to become famous. These included Lili Taylor (in "Habitat"), David Spade (in "Small Blessings"), Tony Shalhoub (in "Leavings"), Steve Buscemi (in "Bed and Boar"), Gina Gershon (in "Jar"), Matt LeBlanc (in "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites"), Tori Spelling (in "The Match Game") and Chris Noth (in "Satan in the Suburbs") .
Adaptations
Short stories such as The Moving Finger from well-known authors like Stephen King were also adapted into episodes of the series.
List of episodes
There were 72 episodes of Monsters produced over three seasons. There were 24 episodes per season.
DVD release
On February 25, 2014, eOne Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.[1]
See also
References
External links
- Monsters at the Internet Movie Database
- Monsters at TV.com
- Monsters at epguides.com
- Overview of Tales from the Darkside - Discusses the production of both TV series.
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