Monsters (TV series)

Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel (now known as Syfy) during the 1990s. As of 2011, Monsters airs on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller in sporadic weekday marathons.

Monsters shares a producer (Richard P. Rubinstein) with Tales from the Darkside, and in some ways succeeded the show (which ended the same year Monsters began). It differed in some respects nonetheless. While Tales sometimes dabbles in stories of science fiction and fantasy, this series is more strictly horror. As the name implies, each episode of Monsters (with very few exceptions) features a different monster which the story concerned, from the animatronic puppet of a fictional children's television program to mutated, weapon-wielding lab rats.

The program has featured cameos from celebrities including Laura Branigan and Deborah Harry.

Synopsis

The introduction of the show is a perverse take on a sitcom intro which begins with an aerial view of a middle class suburban neighborhood, drawing closer to what seems to be a typical Cape Cod style home. The camera enters this seemingly innocuous setting as the family inside is discussing what to watch on television. They are revealed to be hideous humanoid creatures with an abnormal number of eyes and elongated, deformed faces who snack on candied lizards, yet they are all dressed in very human clothing and live with typical affluent suburban surroundings. The mother mentions that it is "family hour" and bemoans the lack of family entertainment. Then she notices what is on the television, and exclaims "It's Monsters, our favorite show!", to which the daughter remarks, "Shh, it's starting...." The camera zooms in on the face of the father, whose sinister, dark laugh ends the segment.

The show was well known for its guest stars, many of whom went on to become famous. These included Lili Taylor (in "Habitat"), David Spade (in "Small Blessings"), Tony Shalhoub (in "Leavings"), Steve Buscemi (in "Bed and Boar"), and Gina Gershon (in "Jar").

Adaptations

Short stories such as The Moving Finger from well-known authors like Stephen King were also adapted into episodes of the series.

List of episodes

There were 72 episodes of Monsters produced over three seasons. There were 24 episodes per season.

DVD release

On February 25, 2014, eOne Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.^[1]

See also

• Tales from the Darkside

References

1. ↑ A Press Release for 'The Complete Series' Comes Out of Entertainment One's Closet

External links

• Monsters at the Internet Movie Database
• Monsters at TV.com
• Monsters at epguides.com
• Overview of Tales from the Darkside - Discusses the production of both TV series.