A Bloody Good Time 4.24.08: Television Terror, Part 5

Posted by Joseph Lee on 04.24.2008

A Bloody Good Time's television terror series reaches it's finale!

Welcome to A Bloody Good Time. This is the final part of my look at horror on television and I wrap up with a fairly large column. Yes, that's exactly what I said last week. This time I mean it. We have several horror dramas left to look at in our Television Terror Finale. Since there are so many, I'll spare you the grand introductions and get right to it!



The guys at 411 sure love this show, as can be seen via their weekly reviews. I've never really watched anything Buffy-related, except for the 1992 film. I do know this: it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as a girl who kills vampires. It was initially created in 1997 by Joss Whedon (he of Firefly fame) and aired for seven seasons until 2003. That's a good length for any show, especially one that switched networks to UPN, of all places, after it's fifth season.

The series featured popular characters such as Alyson Hannigan as Willow, James Marsters as Spike the vampire and of course, David Boreanaz as Angel (more on him later). This show didn't just feature vampires, but elements of witchcraft, werewolves, and other supernatural beings.

Buffy had a very popular run. The show was loved right until the end, and all of the episodes can now be purchased on DVD. The show had many spinoffs (and some undeveloped spinoffs), including comics, novels, video games, and of course the next entry in this series.



Angel proved to be such a popular character in his relationship with Buffy that he was given his very own show in 1999. It lasted for five seasons, even staying on the air briefly after Buffy had ended. Angel ended up battling other vampires, demons or demon-possessed humans. He also had to battle his own demonic soul that resided within him. Creator Joss Whedon set out to make this show a lot darker than Buffy had been.

Angel ended up being cancelled, thanks to, of all things, a vampire. An intended remake of Dark Shadows was going to air in Angel's spot, but never saw the light of day. Fans were outraged, and rightfully so (it does seem really stupid to cancel a show for another one that you're never going to air). However, Whedon has been continuing both Buffy and Angel through the form of comic books.

Angel still had 4.2 million viewers during it's fifth season when it was cancelled. Due to it's built-in audience thanks to it's predecessor, it didn't have a problem being popular. All of the seasons are available on DVD.



This is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. I feel that King's name warrants it's inclusion, even if the concept of a psychic man isn't what anyone would call horror. This is only loosely based on the novel and previous film, but the concept remains the same. Johnny Smith can see visions of what is to happen and tries to prevent disasters.

The series starred Anthony Michael Hall as Smith, and was created by Lions Gate Entertainment. It premiered in 2002 and ran for six seasons, finally being abruptly cancelled in 2007 (along with other popular sci-fi show, The 4400). The show was very popular in it's run, enjoying a healthy life on USA. Five seasons are on DVD already, and the sixth and final season will be released in June.



So we go from one type of psychic to another. Jennifer Love Hewitt stars in this CBS series about a woman who can speak to ghosts. The ghosts decide to take advantage of this and use her to complete tasks they couldn't do while they were alive, possibly because they were too lazy to do so. It's just like the dead to take advantage of the living like that. If Melinda (the character's name) is able to help them, they can move on to the afterlife. She sometimes encounters evil forces, or as in later seasons, a competing Ghost Whisperer.

The show was created in 2005 and so far is still being broadcast. As with a lot of current shows, it's third season was cut shorter thanks to the Writer's Strike, but CBS has confirmed it will be back for a fourth season. The first two seasons are already on DVD.



Now we're talking. This show is based on the series of books by Jeff Lindsay, mainly Darkly Dreaming Dexter and was created for Showtime in 2006. The show features Michael C. Hall (from another popular show, Six Feet Under) as Dexter Morgan, who is a blood splatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. I know what you're thinking. "If you include Dexter, why not just include CSI? This doesn't sound very horrific to me!" Well, imaginary complainer, Dexter isn't just any normal forensic investigator. He likes to moonlight as a serial killer.

Yes, a serial killer who uses his job to hunt other killers as his victims. It's certainly a unique show and that could be why it has worked thus far. The show has had two seasons so far, which were critically acclaimed (and Hall has earned two Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal) and successful for Showtime. The first season is currently on DVD. There is even a video game in production.

And here is a huge list with brief recaps of other horror shows.

Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal: This was thought to be a documentary by some, but in fact it was scripted drama. Hosted by Dan Aykroyd, this show featured a team that explored paranormal events. It ran for four seasons and currently has no DVD release.

FreakyLinks: This short-lived show, which only ran for thirteen episodes, was like an X-Files-lite. A group of people who run a website called FreakyLinks.com encounter supernatural events on a weekly basis.

Carnivàle: A young man with healing powers encounters a strange carnival and becomes embroiled in the battle of good and evil. This show was critically praised, winning various awards, but only ran for two seasons.

Swamp Thing: A television series based on the comic book. This depicted a horrific looking mutated man who decided to use his appearance and powers for good, rather than evil. He battled other monsters and criminals. It did manage to last for three seasons; twenty-two of these are on DVD.

Surface: A short-lived series on NBC about a research team that discovers a sea creature. It only ran for one season before being cancelled.

Supernatural: Another show that is similar to X-Files, this show features two brothers that investigate supernatural events. They encounter many creatures such as vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Even Jason Voorhees appeared on an episode, although he was not labeled as such. It's still on the air, in it's third season.

Tru Calling: A show that is similar to Ghost Whisperer (although it predates it), this featured Eliza Dushku as someone who could talk to the dead. It ran for two seasons before ratings forced it to be cancelled by FOX.

Poltergeist: The Legacy: This is a spinoff of sorts from the movie Poltergeist, although mostly in name only. It featured a secret society called The Legacy, which protected mankind from occult danger. It ran for four seasons before it's cancellation. Only the first season is on DVD.

Medium: A show that is similar to Ghost Whisperer, this featured Patricia Arquette as someone who could talk to the dead. It is still running on NBC.

Kindred: The Embraced: Aaron Spelling wanted to create a vampire soap opera, but he didn't want to remake Dark Shadows. It didn't catch on, as it only had eight episodes.

Forever Knight: This starred a vampire detective who wants to be human again. After living for 800 years, that'd probably be my goal as well. The show ran for three seasons, and even though it wasn't a commercial success, it has a devoted fanbase. It can be found on DVD.

Brimstone: A show on FOX that only ran for thirteen episodes. It featured a man (who is dead) assigned by the Devil to capture 113 souls and return them to Hell.

Haunted: A show that is similar to Ghost Whisperer, this featured Matthew Fox as someone who could talk communicate with the dead. It only lasted for thirteen episodes, six of which never aired in the US.

The Dresden Files: Based on the series of books by Jim Butcher, this featured a man who is a wizard and solves supernatural crimes. It's certainly unique. It only lasted for one season before being cancelled. However, it can be found on DVD.

Blade: The Series: This one just seems like a no-brainer. The movies weren't working anymore (as evidenced by the terrible, terrible third film, Blade: Trinity) so taking the character and placing him on a weekly drama series is the obvious next step to milk the name. Fans didn't really care to see Blade anymore, and so after twelve episodes, it was cancelled. The entire series is on DVD.

American Gothic: This show is about a town under the control of an evil sheriff who may or may not be The Devil. It was created by Shaun Cassidy and ran for 22 episodes. Gary Cole was the evil Lucas Buck.

I think I've learned one thing about horror shows. In order to make it onto television, your show has to mostly deal with vampires or ghosts, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions are also bound to have a vampire show up eventually.

Next week, I'm going to turn some heads and cause some debate. Top Ten Over-rated Horror Films. Be there.