Remember all the buzz about this show when it first launched? It was supposed to be the best thing since Rod Serling. Nobody seems to remember it now, but the initial reaction from viewers was pretty cool. There was a reason for that.
I won't belabor the silly, ham-bone nature of the puppet that provides the intros. I won't even comment on the grossly over-estimated contributions of "horror icons" occasionally signed on to direct an episode or two. Let's just talk about the stories.
In the old days, shows like "Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" gave anthology lovers interesting stories about real (as in identifiable) people in striking situations...all the ingredients for a good ride.
"Tales From the Crypt" was, however, a contrived camp-fest which tried too hard to be outrageous. Its scripts overstepped themselves routinely, with cartoon-like characters and situations lacking the simple ring of truth. Many entries were mind-numbing gab-fests, in which the producers took a 5-minute concept and padded it to fill the show's run time. The "big twist" in many instances tended to be so disappointing viewers kicked themselves for having endured the entire episode hoping for a payoff that just wasn't worth it.
Supposedly this show is coming back to syndication, to disappoint a whole new generation. I can hardly wait to ignore it.
I won't belabor the silly, ham-bone nature of the puppet that provides the intros. I won't even comment on the grossly over-estimated contributions of "horror icons" occasionally signed on to direct an episode or two. Let's just talk about the stories.
In the old days, shows like "Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" gave anthology lovers interesting stories about real (as in identifiable) people in striking situations...all the ingredients for a good ride.
"Tales From the Crypt" was, however, a contrived camp-fest which tried too hard to be outrageous. Its scripts overstepped themselves routinely, with cartoon-like characters and situations lacking the simple ring of truth. Many entries were mind-numbing gab-fests, in which the producers took a 5-minute concept and padded it to fill the show's run time. The "big twist" in many instances tended to be so disappointing viewers kicked themselves for having endured the entire episode hoping for a payoff that just wasn't worth it.
Supposedly this show is coming back to syndication, to disappoint a whole new generation. I can hardly wait to ignore it.