TV Horror?

[Fenril]

Not sure if this belongs here or in the TV section, so feel free to comment on that...

So, what were / are your favorite horror-themed tv series and why? What made them special (or not) for you?

Just a couple rules: distinguish between series with a recurrent storyline and anthology series (both are okay, just be sure to point out which one it is); also, you may include series that aren't horror per se but can be horrific (this usually goes for mystery and police series), again just be sure to point out what they are.

That's just because I'd like to use this thread to get recomendations for everyone.

Okay, then, my picks:

RECURRENT STORYLINE

- Kolchak, the night stalker. Hard-boiled reporter investigating all sort of paranormal occurences. This was one of the earliest monster-of-the-week tv shows, and IMHO it still remains one of the very best, and it definitely influenced several sci-fi/fantasy shows such as Supernatural and The X-files. Plus Darren MacGavin was simply superb as the sardonic title character. Very 70's mood (which is a good thing) and some pretty good special effects (for the time) also help. Avoid the woeful remake like the plague, check out the two telefilms instead (The night stalker / The night strangler).

- Supernatural. Two siblings hunt all sorts of supernatural (and the ocassional non-supernatural) threats. I got into this show expecting it to be corny and glossy (it being a Warner show, after all) and was surprised by how good it is. Above average acting, good computer effects (and I usually hate CGI!) but mostly very fine writing. My favorite part of the show is that the writers really show some knowledge of each monster-of-the-week, thus avoiding or twisting most clichés of the genre. But what mostly sold me on the series was that they kickstarted the series with two non-american monsters, our own La Llorona (that's the "Lady in white" of the pilot episode) and the canadian Wendigo. Gotta love that...

- Dante's cove. A gay beach resort is haunted by vampires, witche's covens and other supernatural occurences. Okay, this is definitely not for everyone and the acting isn't going to win any awards. Nevertheless, this has a cheesy charm all its own. A genuine guilty indulgence.

- Surface. Three separate people (a marine biologist, a lawyer and a high-school kids) each come in contact with what appears to be a new marine species. But is it friend or foe? Rather underrated sea-monsters show that got prematurely axed. Pretty intriguing subplots, some nifty twists and realistic (but not necesarily pleasant, mind) character interactions. I also love the fact that the three maind threads never converge until the very last minute.


ANTHOLOGIES

First, two mexican ones, not sure if they are available internationally (yet):

- La hora marcada. One of my favorite TV shows ever. Roughly a Mexican "Twilight zone"; instead of Rod Serling this one uses "The woman in black" (i. e. La Catrina... or Death), who is played by a different actress each episode (because we each have our own death) often in very clever ways --she may be a character in the story, she may be symbolic (appearing in the background a la Michael Myers) and she may even substitute other characters (in one episode she even replaces Santa Claus, here presented as a rotund lady with a black and white Santa costume). The topics included everything: Ogres, Fallen angels, Vampires, Ghosts, Living Shadows, Supernatural curses, Witches... Plus, this is the series that launched Guillermo Del Toro!

- Lo que la gente cuenta. Recreates popular folk tales, most of them concerning revenges beyond the grave. Almost painfully Mexican in tone and atmosphere (i. e. grim, yet oddly funny).

- The twilight zone. THE classic, 'nuff said.

- Night gallery. Another classic series from Rod Serling, this one had more of a fantasy edge (where Twilight Zone was more sci-fi), and several episodes were and are still quite chilling, IMHO. There were several classic episodes such as "The house" (a woman buys a summer house she's seen in dreams for years), "Professor Peabody's last lecture" (you don't want to invoke Cthulhu in a classroom) and many, many more. Loved the movie, too.

CROSS-GENRE

- Twin Peaks. (Drama / Mystery) Nobody does "small town creepy" like David Lynch (well, except maybe Stephen King), and his horror scenes remain scary simply because they are anything but conventional. BOB still haunts several nightmares across the world, I'm willing to bet.

- Dead like me. (Dark comedy / Dark fantasy) A cynical, smart, Daria-type girl is killed by a piece of the downed MIR station and thus joins the undead work force... as a reaper, tasked with collecting the souls of people who are about to die in grisly accidents. One of Brian Fuller (Heroes, Pushing Daisies) earlier efforts, a canadian-produced series that's unpredictable in its zany n ature --one minute it's gleefuly nasty (people die in the most cruel ways here), the next it's bitersweet and poignant, another it's just plain wild and weird. Very neat dialogue, too ("Isn't stealing from the dead kind of tacky?"; "The only mold in this house is between your ears").

- Wonderfalls. (Dark comedy / Dark fantasy) A burnout young woman starts managing an antiques shop in a small town. One day, the objects in the store start talking to her and ordering her to do crazy things. But no, she's not crazy... Another quirky Brian Fuller series that's at once creepy, funny and poignant. There's a Neil Gaiman influence here for sure, as George (main girl in Dead Like Me) is an agent of death, just like Jaye (main girl here) is an agent of destiny...

- Heroes. (Fantasy) Who knew a "superhero comic book in real life" could be so wonderful (neat effects that work because of the fine acting), nasty (the show isn't afraid to get gory when it needs to), and just plain original?

- Lost. (Mystery / Fantasy (possibly Sci-fi?) Maybe a teensy bit overrated, but it's still a damn fine mystery.

[Quorthon]

I know it's kind of a cross-genre thing, but my favorite is still the classic Rod Serling-hosted, black and white, 1960's Twilight Zone. That's still my absolute favorite. When I don't have anything to do around the 4th of July or New Years, you can bet I'm glued to the TV watching the Twilight Zone marathons on Sci-Fi.

Also, I liked the classic Outer Limits series, which, I know, was more of a Science Fiction theme than horror.

I vaguely remember the Friday the 13th series. I only remember part of one episode and that's it. Something about kids getting trapped inside of a dollhouse, or a secret room of some kind where they got stuck in the walls... Damn... Where are the DVD's of these??


Mostly, these days, the only shows I'm really interested in are CSI and House.

[Fenril]

The outer limits... yeah, that was another great series. True that it was more sci-fi, but then genres overlap all the time; for me what makes this one (as well as the original Twilight Zone) count is that it was good and that it was scary.

[Fenril]

I also forgot to add two entries:

ANTHOLOGY:

- Are you afraid of the dark? Children's series can be creepy, too, if done right. And this one had more in common with the original Twilight Zone (in therms of atmosphere) than Goosebumps, for instance (used to love the books, but could never get into the show; too politically correct for my tastes). The opening credits were pretty eerie, from what I remember (a dingy rocking on the water even without any breeze or current, that freaky clown doll...).

- The grim adventures of Bill and Mandy. Likewise, cartoon can be creepy and twisted, if done right. This is probably the only American cartoon from the last three or four years that I actually enjoyed, apart from the new "Ninja Turtles" series (not counting "Fast Forward", which is when I stopped watching).

[Quorthon]

American cartoons these days are following a very cheap format built off the original popularity of stuff like the Powerpuff Girls. Even the new Transformers cartoon is going in that style, as did the Star Wars Clone Wars series.

I call this style cheap because often times animation is minimal, background detail is very minimal as is character detail. Usually, it's all stylistic with very simple, basic character designs. Grimm Adventures follows this style as did countless other series: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, El Tigre, Powerpuff Girls, Fairly Odd Parents, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and on and on and on. I don't like it, personally. I think it's lazy. They look like they were animated in Flash, which I'm almost sure some of them are.

Spongebob Squarepants, however, I have a great deal of respect for. It has fluid, classic animation and doesn't rely on turbo-charged seemingly ADD-themed episodes that whiz by at some ridiculous speed forsaking anything resembling classic storytelling, plot, or timing. As if the attention spans of kids aren't already short enough these days. As a matter of fact, I've seen things in this show that blow my mind with their creativity and atmosphere. I'd have to come back to this if I can think of some, but what I'm referring to are hallucinogenic, near-psychotic scenes and imagery carry a distinct mark of being inspired by some classic horror and Twilight Zone-like science fiction. One episode I can think of offhand had Squidward travelling time until he ended up in some wild "blank" universe. It was wild. I want to see stuff like that in modern horror.

I've only seen a couple episodes of Billy and Mandy, myself. So that one I can't rate quite so specifically. But Fairly Odd Parents annoys the hell out of me.