Freddy's Nightmares

Freddy's Nightmares
Intertitle
Genre	Horror
Created by	Wes Craven (characters)
Starring	Robert Englund
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	44 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original run	October 9, 1988 – March 11, 1990
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Freddy's Nightmares is a late-night television anthology series, which premiered in October 1988 and ran until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger (played, as in the movies, by Robert Englund). This format is essentially the same as that employed by Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Tales from the Crypt, or The Twilight Zone. The pilot episode was directed by Tobe Hooper, and begins with Freddy Krueger's acquittal of the child-murdering charges due to his officer's lack of reviewing the rights— known as the Miranda warning ("You have the right to remain silent...") —at the time of Freddy's arrest. An upset mob of parents eventually corners Freddy in a power plant (his workplace), and the officer torches him, allowing Freddy to become the burnt-faced ghoul we know him as.

Reviews of the series are generally mixed, but while many people considered the series to be both scary and entertaining, it was nevertheless cancelled after a relatively short period of time. The series' demise may have been played in part due to complaints concerning the violence in the series, which was featured in many other syndicated shows at the time such as War of the Worlds and Friday the 13th: The Series, both of which, like Freddy's Nightmares, were cancelled in 1990.

The series was produced by New Line Television, producers of the film series. It was originally distributed by Lorimar Television. However, Warner Bros. Television would assume syndication rights after acquiring Lorimar (New Line and Warner Bros. are now part of Time Warner).

In August 2007, British channel Zone Horror confirmed that Freddy's Nightmares will be part of their channel in November 2007. NBC Universal's horror-themed cable channel, Chiller, is airing Freddy's Nightmares as well.

Premise

Because of the murderous basis of the Freddy Krueger character, New Line Cinema opted to not develop a television series with a regular batch of characters to mix it up with Krueger on a continuous basi, deeming it futile, since he would inevitably kill most of them, and there'd be no one left. Instead the producers created an anthology series, employing a new crop of actors to be used for each episode.

Each week Freddy's Nightmares told a different story, or stories, of a dark rooted and/or grim nature that took place in the fictitious town of Springwood, Ohio (and in particular, Elm Street), the same setting as the A Nightmare on Elm Street films. Though the Freddy Krueger character would occasionally play a part in the plot, most of the stories did not involve him; however, in stories not involving Krueger, he would often randomly appear to make threatening non-sequiters to the camera, which had no bearing on the plot.

Krueger's primary function was to host the series. He was featured in regular bumper segments, where he would offer an ominous or slapstick reaction to the happenings of the episode, culminating in him giving a quick, and usually eerie, epilogue at the end.

One element that makes the series unique is its two-tier story approach. Most of the episodes feature two different stories. However, every second story usually built on a character who played a minor (or supporting) role in first. For instance, in one episode a woman plays in a game show hosted by the devil. In the second part she meets an old woman, who is actually her future self, who tells her she is going to kill her husband.

Cast

Due to budget restraints, the producers of the series were forced to use unknown actors, rather than some of the stars associated with the series. The only actor from the film series retained for the TV series was Robert Englund, as Freddy Krueger.

Some of the featured actors who went on to later become notable were:

DVD release

As of 2007, the series still has not been released on Region 1 DVD. Five episodes of the series were released ("No More Mr. Nice Guy", "Lucky Stiff", "It's My Party and You'll Die If I Want You To", "Dreams That Kill" and "Freddy's Tricks and Treats") on VHS through Warner Home Video in the mid-1990s. Those videos are now out of print.

In 1991, Braveworld Ltd. released The Nightmare Begins Again, a direct-to-video movie comprised of two episodes edited together. The film was used to launch Braveworld's collection of Freddy's Nightmares episodes, usually consisting of two episodes per tape. The episodes in the feature were "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (directed by horror legend Tobe Hooper) and "Killer Instinct" (directed by Masters of Horror creator Mick Garris).

In 2003, Volume 1 (the first 3 episodes) was released on Region 2 DVD in Ireland and the UK, by Warner Home Video.^[1]. Volume 2 (and presumably the rest of the series) was also planned for release later that year, however, sales were so poor, that Warner canceled the release of Volume 2^[2].

There are currently no plans to release Freddy's Nightmares on DVD in the United States.

Current Airings

In 2006, AOL teamed up with distributor Warner Bros. Television to bring Freddy's Nightmares to its new In2TV broadband service.

NBC Universal's horror-themed cable channel, Chiller, is airing Freddy's Nightmares. The series airs Tuesdays at 8PM & 11PM Eastern, Saturdays at 6PM Eastern, and Sundays at 2PM Eastern. Currently Chiller is only available on DIRECTV. Starting July 16th, 2007, Chiller will air Freddy's Nightmares weeknights at 7 p.m. (EST).

References

^ amazon.co.uk listing of Volume 1
^ amazon.co.uk listing of Volume 2. Note how, despite showing a release in 2003, it shows "Classification: To be announced"

External links

Freddy's Nightmares at the Internet Movie Database
Freddy's Nightmares at TV.com

The Nightmare on Elm Street series
Films	A Nightmare on Elm Street • A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge • A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors • A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master • A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child • Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare • Wes Craven's New Nightmare • Freddy vs. Jason
Major characters	Freddy Krueger • Nancy Thompson • Kristen Parker • Alice Johnson
Minor characters	Joey Crusel • Rick Johnson • Roland Kincaid • Amanda Krueger • Donald Thompson
People	Patricia Arquette • Wes Craven • Robert Englund • Tuesday Knight • Heather Langenkamp • John Saxon • Lisa Wilcox
Related topics	Comic Books • Freddy's Nightmares (TV series) • Hypnocil • Timeline • Video game

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