Monsters (American TV series)

Monsters is an American syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s.[1]

Monsters
GenreHorror
Comedy drama
Science fiction
Fantasy
Created byRichard P. Rubinstein, Mitchell Galin
Theme music composerDonald Rubinstein
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes72 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerRichard P. Rubinstein
ProducersErica Fox, Michael Gornick
Production locationsNew York, California
Camera setupArriflex 16SRII (New York), Multicamera setup
Running time22 min.
Production companiesLaurel Entertainment
Tribune Entertainment Company
Release
Original networkSyndicated
Original releaseOctober 22, 1988 (1988-10-22) –
April 1, 1991 (1991-04-01)
Related
Tales from the Darkside

The series grew out of Tales from the Darkside, the previous project by producer Richard P. Rubinstein and his company Laurel Entertainment.[2][3] Unlike Tales, which sometimes featured stories of science fiction and fantasy, Monsters was more strictly horror. As the name implies, each episode (with very few exceptions) features a different monster with which the story was concerned,[4][5] from the animatronic puppet of a fictional children's television program to mutated, weapon-wielding lab rats.

Synopsis

In the show's self-referencing title sequence, a suburban family of monsters look for something to watch on television before finally settling on Monsters, their favorite show.[5] Each episode is a standalone tale, and feature a variety of monsters from vicious man-eating plants to friendly aliens from outer space.

Monsters is generally considered a horror anthology, but the show was about monsters, whether in a horror context or not. Producer/creator Richard P. Rubinstein said he wanted the show to be "a mixture of fun and scare", and for the monsters to be creatures of fantasy and fairy tales rather than more realistic menaces such as serial killers.[3]

Production

Richard P. Rubinstein had grown frustrated that while his company Laurel Productions' show Tales from the Darkside got good reviews, praise tended to focus on the stories and acting, with almost no mention of the makeup and special effects.[3] Laurel decided to put together a demo reel of all the makeup effects they had done. They took the reel to Tribune Entertainment Company, one of their collaborators on Tales from the Darkside, and together they decided to create Monsters.[3]

The start of production was delayed several months by the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike.[3] Monsters went into production August 8, 1988 (the day after the strike ended), and began airing October 22.[3]

Renowned makeup artist Dick Smith was hired as a special makeup effects consultant.[3] The show was produced at a budget of roughly $200,000 per episode, much lower than what was typical for network television shows.[3]

The show's stable of directors included Bette Gordon, Ernest D. Farino, Gerald Cotts (directing as "Jerry Smith") and Jeffrey Wolf. The writing staff included Edithe Swensen, Peg Haller and Bob Schneider, Michael Reaves, and Benjamin Carr (writing as "Neal Marshall Stevens").

Each episode's credits has a dedication to the show's creative consultant, Tom Allen, who died during production.

Episodes
Main article: List of Monsters episodes

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

Home media

eOne Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in February 2014.[6]

References
  1. Muir, John Kenneth (October 31, 2014). "Monsters (1988 - 1991): An Introduction". John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  2. Kane, Joe (2010). Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the Most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever. Citadel Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8065-3331-5.
  3. Hanauer, Joan (April 8, 1989). "'Monsters' of the Week". UPI. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  4. Burns, William (May 18, 2014). "Monsters: The Complete Series Review". Horror News Network. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  5. Sinnott, John (March 29, 2014). "Monsters: Complete Series". DVD Talk. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  6. A Press Release for 'The Complete Series' Comes Out of Entertainment One's Closet Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
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