Amazing Stories (TV series)

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Amazing Stories
Genre Anthology
Created by Steven Spielberg
Directed by Various
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 45
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run September 29, 1985 – April 10, 1987
Chronology
Related shows Family Dog
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Amazing Stories is a television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987. Each episode featured an independent story, similar to programs as The Twilight Zone. Unlike that program, however, it did not have a regular host.

Although nominated for 12 Emmy Awards (resulting in five wins), it was not a hit and the network did not renew it after the two-year contract expired.

One of the first-season installments, "The Amazing Falsworth", brought writer Mick Garris an Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series.

The show was named after Amazing Stories, a groundbreaking science fiction magazine that Spielberg read as a child.

Contents

[edit] Home video/reruns

A selection of the original series episodes were released in the VHS format in 1993; these were titled "Book One" through "Book Five". A 3-tape VHS (PAL) set was released in the UK.

The Complete First Season (DVD) was released on July 18, 2006.

As of 2006, the Sci Fi Channel in the United States shows episodes on an irregular schedule. The MoviePlex channel also shows episodes of the series, but a collection of "movies" which are an hour and a half long blocks featuring three episodes strung together.

[edit] Episodes

The series list below is annotated with the Book numbers as they appeared in the US release on VHS; the UK VHS (Pal) releases are indicated with UK tape numbers:

[edit] Season One (1985-1986)

# Title Director Airdate VHS
1x01 "Ghost Train" Steven Spielberg September 29, 1985
1x02 "The Main Attraction" Matthew Robbins October 6, 1985
1x03 "Alamo Jobe" Michael D. Moore October 20, 1985
1x04 "Mummy Daddy" William Dear October 27, 1985
1x05 "The Mission" Steven Spielberg November 3, 1985
1x06 "The Amazing Falsworth" Peter Hyams November 3, 1985 Book Three
1x07 "Fine Tuning" Bob Balaban November 10, 1985 Book Five
1x08 "Mr. Magic" Donald Petrie November 17, 1985 Book Four
1x09 "Guilt Trip" Burt Reynolds December 1, 1985
1x10 "Remote Control Man" Bob Clark December 8, 1985
1x11 "Santa '85" Phil Joanou December 15, 1985
1x12 "Vanessa in the Garden" Clint Eastwood December 29, 1985
1x13 "The Sitter" Joan Darling January 5, 1986
1x14 "No Day at the Beach" Lesli Linka Glatter January 12, 1986 Book Three
1x15 "One For the Road" Thomas Carter January 19, 1986
1x16 "Gather Ye Acorns" Norman Reynolds February 2, 1986 Book Two
1x17 "Boo!" Joe Dante February 16, 1986
1x18 "Dorothy and Ben" Thomas Carter March 2, 1986
1x19 "Mirror, Mirror" Martin Scorsese March 9, 1986 Book Four
1x20 "Secret Cinema" Paul Bartel April 6, 1986
1x21 "Hell Toupee" Irvin Kershner April 13, 1986
1x22 "The Doll" Phil Joanou May 4, 1986
1x23 "One For the Books" Lesli Linka Glatter May 11, 1986
1x24 "Grandpa's Ghost" Timothy Hutton May 25, 1986

[edit] Season Two (1986-1987)

# Title Director Airdate VHS
2x01 "The Wedding Ring" Danny DeVito September 22, 1986 Book One
2x02 "Miscalculations" Tom Holland September 29, 1986
2x03 "Magic Saturday" Robert Markowitz October 6, 1986
2x04 "Welcome to My Nightmare" Todd Holland October 13, 1986
2x05 "You Gotta Believe Me" Kevin Reynolds October 20, 1986
2x06 "The Greibble" Joe Dante November 3, 1986
2x07 "Life on Death Row" Mick Garris November 10, 1986 Book Three
2x08 "Go to the Head of the Class" Robert Zemeckis November 21, 1986 Book Two
2x09 "Thanksgiving" Todd Holland November 24, 1986
2x10 "The Pumpkin Competition" Norman Reynolds December 1, 1986 Book Five
2x11 "What If...?" Joan Darling December 8, 1986
2x12 "The Eternal Mind" J. Michael Riva December 29, 1986
2x13 "Lane Change " Ken Kwapis January 12, 1987
2x14 "Blue Man Down" Paul Michael Glaser January 19, 1987 Book Four
2x15 "The 21 Inch Sun" Nick Castle February 2, 1987
2x16 "The Family Dog" Brad Bird February 16, 1987 Book Two
2x17 "Gershwin's Trunk" Paul Bartel March 13, 1987
2x18 "Such Interesting Neighbors" Graham Baker March 20, 1987
2x19 "Without Diana" Lesli Linka Glatter March 27, 1987 Book Five
2x20 "Moving Day" Robert Stevens April 3, 1987
2x21 "Miss Stardust" Tobe Hooper April 10, 1987

[edit] Spin-off

One episode of the show, "The Family Dog", was spun off into its own series. Six years after Amazing Stories finished its run, Family Dog ran on CBS for two episodes before being pulled off the schedule.

[edit] External links