Nightmare/Friday: The TV Series

To add more discussion on the Friday The 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street Franchise. Let's move over to the TV Series.

First you have the Friday the 13th TV series (1987-1990). At first, I was a bit thrown off since it had the same namesake of the movie series but didn't have Jason. I know, I was one of those people but I was a kid at the time. It wasn't until years later, that  I gave it a watch or two, and I was surprised at how good it was and it's much more similar to the show The X-Files.

Even the female lead is a redhead

 

And I'm thinking this was it's inspiration of that show. It was also the most-watched and more critically-acclaimed than the movie series. So it's highly recommended.

 

And then there's Freddy's Nightmares (1988-1990). While the Friday The 13th Series was serious in tone, Freddy's Nightmares was unfortunately not. I heard a lot of buzz from this and so I watched a couple of episodes. There was one episode I remembered, That starred Lar Park Lincoln (Friday The 13th Part 7), Nancy Mcloughlin (Friday The 13th Part 6) and a pre-Hedwig And The Angry Inch John Cameron Mitchell. When I first saw this episode, it was like I was in an acid trip. I mean I see what they were doing, having this experimental feel that other television shows didn't do at around those years. But at the same time, it was too much going on for me to understand the basis of that episode. It was too confusing and it was sort of like the movie Inception but not in a good way.

I do give it points for aspiring shows like Tales From The Crypt as Freddy has the same appeal as the Crypt Keeper.

 

On the down side though, It has a very campy vibe and it was hard for me to take it seriously because of how cheap the production values are. The only reason the show was popular in the first place because of the many guest stars on the show like Brad Pitt, Mariska Hargitay, Lori Petty,etc. And this is the period where Freddy was selling himself short with the one liners and gimmicks which was done to death.

So the final verdict is: Friday The 13th The TV series of course! It has better production values, a better story, and an interesting cast of characters. Most of the story is coherent and it keeps us engaged.

Where as Freddy's Nightmares was only interesting for it's late night shock value.

So there you have it. Two shows who gained cult status from two successful film franchises until some asshole protested against it because of the violence, having it abruptly canceled in 1990, the same year shows like Twin Peaks were on air.

Although the shows didn't last long, They will always be remembered. For good or for bad....