Terror Television: American Series, 1970-1999 | 
| Author: John Kenneth Muir
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Category: Book
Buy New: $49.95
New (11) Used (3) from $24.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 914738
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 675
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 10 x 6.9 x 1.7
ISBN: 0786438843
Dewey Decimal Number: 791
EAN: 9780786438846
ASIN: 0786438843
Publication Date: April 30, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
Although horror shows on television are popular in the 1990s thanks to the success of Chris Carter's The X-Files, such has not always been the case. Creators Rod Serling, Dan Curtis, William Castle, Quinn Martin, John Newland, George Romero, Stephen King, David Lynch, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, Aaron Spelling and others have toiled to bring the horror genre to American living rooms for years. This large-scale reference book documents an entire genre, from the dawn of modern horror television with the watershed Serling anthology, Night Gallery (1970), a show lensed in color and featuring more graphic makeup and violence than ever before seen on the tube, through more than 30 programs, including those of the 19981999 season. Complete histories, critical reception, episode guides, cast, crew and guest star information, as well as series reviews are included, along with footnotes, a lengthy bibliography and an in-depth index. From Kolchak: The Night Stalker to Millennium, from The Evil Touch to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks, Terror Television is a detailed reference guide to three decades of frightening television programs, both memorable and obscure
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| Customer Reviews:
terrorific April 23, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
There are many of us who grew up with, and absolutely love, the TV shows that gave us goosebumps and nightmares in our youth. While some of the older shows (like Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits) have been exhaustively written about in both books and magazines, later fright fests have been largely ignored by scholars and historians. That's where this excellent book comes in. Starting in the year 1970, Terror Television gives in-depth coverage to all of the American horror programs that follow. Each decade is well-represented and includes the famous (Rod Serling's Night Gallery, Kolchak The Night Stalker [70's]; Tales from the Crypt, The Hitchhiker [80's]; Twin Peaks, X-Files [90's]), the not-so-famous-but-known-by-fans (Ghost Story, The Sixth Sense [70's]; Freddie's Nightmares, Monsters [80's]; Nightmare Cafe, Dark Shadows [90's]), and the downright obscure (does anyone remember the U.S. airing of Australia's Evil Touch in '73?). In all, Muir delves into twenty seven shows and icludes a section on critical reception, format, history, his own critical commentary, and (an extremely useful) episode guide for each. He's a fine writer who clearly has an extensive knowledge of (and unbridled enthusiasm for) his topic. I love this book and, if you're a fan of these kinds of shows, you should have this on your shelf at home. It's the kind of book that one returns to often.
Horror on the small screen... March 14, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
People seem to enjoy being scared out of their wits. Big-budget movies have done it with relative ease, but trying to portray terror in a 30 or 60 minute TV show, complete with commercials, is a bit more difficult. There have been some major successes ("Kolchak: The Night Stalker", "The X-Files", "Buffy" and "Angel", but there have been some real dogs ---anyone remember 'Manimal'? This author presents the definitive work on TV horror shows, starting with Rod Serling's "Night Gallery." He reviews each episode, gives complete cast/crew credits, and doesn't waste words in analyzing each show. "Boos" and "ghouls" of all ages will find this a treasure-trove of TV terror.
Horror on the small screen... March 14, 2001
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
People seem to enjoy being scared out of their wits. Big-budget movies have done it with relative ease, but trying to portray terror in a 30 or 60 minute TV show, complete with commercials, is a bit more difficult. There have been some major successes ("Kolchak: The Night Stalker", "The X-Files", "Buffy" and "Angel", but there have been some real dogs ---anyone remember 'Manimal'? This author presents the definitive work on TV horror shows, starting with Rod Serling's "Night Gallery." He reviews each episode, gives complete cast/crew credits, and doesn't waste words in analyzing each show. "Boos" and "ghouls" of all ages will find this a treasure-trove of TV terror.
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