The Hitchhiker (TV series)
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| The Hitchhiker | |
|---|---|
| Format | Science Fiction |
| Starring | Page Fletcher Nicholas Campbell |
| Country of origin |  Canada/ United States/ France |
| No. of episodes | 85 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | HBO and USA Network |
| Original run | 1983 – 1990 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Hitchhiker was a television series mystery anthology that aired from 1983 to 1987 on HBO, First Choice (The Movie Network) in Canada and 1989 to 1990 on the USA Network.
Each episode is introduced and concluded by a mysterious wanderer known only as "The Hitchhiker," and explores the foibles of humanity and its dark spirit. The title character was played by Nicholas Campbell from 1983-1984 (3 episodes), and Page Fletcher from 1984-1990 (82 episodes).
[edit] Filming History
The series was a Canada/United States/France co-production. It was filmed in Vancouver and Toronto, Ontario, Canada and France.The Show was produced by Corazon Productions (Season 1 for a total of three episodes), Quintina Productions (Seasons 2-4 for a total of thirty-six episodes), and Atlantique & Quintina Productions (Seasons 5-6 for a total of forty-seven episodes).
In 1996, The Hitchhiker entered syndication and was re-edited (to remove the violence and/or nudity/sexuality that were featured on the HBO runs), They also re-shot the first three Nicholas Campbell episodes with Page Fletcher to preserve continuity during the syndication runs. The Hitchhiker was syndicated by Rysher up until 2000.
There were a total of 85 episodes over six seasons (39 first runs on HBO & 46 first runs on USA).
The series is available on DVD, with two different versions on the market. The HBO 2 disc sets for sale in the US contain episodes that are out of sequence to the order that they appeared in. The Alliance Atlantis DVD box sets for sale in Canada show the episodes in the same order in which they were broadcast in Canada.
[edit] Cast
Like the much earlier Twilight Zone series, with which it had a lot of other commonalities, The Hitchhiker served as an important starting point for many actors, some of whom would go on to gain greater recognition elsewhere:
(in alphabetical order):
- Kirstie Alley: Angelica in Out of the Night (1985), Jane L. in The Legendary Billy L. ((1987)
- Sandra Bernhard: Rat in O.D. Feelin (1986)
- Karen Black: Kay in Hired Help (1985)
- Timothy Bottoms: Star in Joker (1987)
- Robert Carradine: Frank in Garter Belt (1989)
- Peter Coyote: Alex in Last Scene (1985)
- Willem Dafoe: Jeffrey in Ghostwriter (1985)
- Joe Dallesandro: Star in Fashion Exchange (1988)
- Michael Des Barres: The Wise Man in O.D. Feelin (1986)
- Brad Dourif: Billy B. in The Legendary Billy B. (1987)
- Louise Fletcher: Mother Birch in Offspring (1991)
- Elliott Gould: Star in A Whole New You (1990)
- Helen Hunt: Donette in Why Are You Here? (1987)
- Lauren Hutton: Tess in Riding the Nightmare (1987)
- C. Thomas Howell: Star in White Slaves (1990)
- Claude Jade: Monique in Windows (1990)
- Margot Kidder: Star in Nightshift (1986)
- Klaus Kinski: Kurt Hoffmann in Love Sounds (1985)
- Kelly Lynch: Theresa/Melissa in Joker (1987)
- Lorenzo Lamas: in Trust Me (1990)
- Michael Madsen: in The Man at the Window (1985)
- Virginia Madsen: in Perfect Order (1987)
- Darren McGavin: Old Man in Nightshift (1986)
- Ornella Muti: Sister Teresa in True Believer (1987)
- Franco Nero: Star in Murderous Feelings (1985)
- Geraldine Page: Lynette in W.G.O.D. (1985)
- Bill Paxton: Trout in Made for Each Other (1987)
- Michael Schoeffling: Lance in Dead Man's Curve (1986)
- Gene Simmons: Mr. Big in O.D. Feelin (1986)
- Tom Skerritt: Detective in True Believer (1985)
- Shannon Tweed: Barbara in Videodate (1984)
- Robert Vaughn: Star in Face to Face (1984)
- Fred Ward: Star in Dead Heat (1987)
- Alberta Watson: Jill Friedlander in Remembering Melody (1984)
[edit] External links
- Profile and photograph of Michel Rubini (composer of the TV series soundtrack score)
- The Hitchhiker at the Internet Movie Database
- The Official web site of HBO's The Hitchhiker
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