''Monsters'' is an American syndicated horror

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

during the 1990s. The series grew out of ''

Tales from the Darkside ''Tales from the Darkside'' is an American anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero. Debuting in October 1983 with a pilot episode and then being picked up for syndication in September 1984, the show ran for 4 seasons through July ...

'', the previous project by producer

Richard P. Rubinstein Richard P. Rubinstein (born June 15, 1947) is an American film and television producer, who has worked mainly in the science fiction and horror genres. In the 1970s and 1980s he collaborated frequently with horror director George A. Romero, in ...

and his company Laurel Entertainment. Unlike ''Tales'', which sometimes featured stories of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became 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, from the

animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

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. 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

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.

Production

had grown frustrated that while his company Laurel Productions' show ''

'' got good reviews, praise tended to focus on the stories and acting, with almost no mention of the makeup and special effects. 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''. The start of production was delayed several months by the

1988 Writers Guild of America strike The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) against major United States television and film studios represented by the ...

. ''Monsters'' went into production August 8, 1988 (the day after the strike ended), and began airing October 22. Renowned makeup artist Dick Smith was hired as a special makeup effects consultant. The show was produced at a budget of roughly $200,000 per episode, much lower than what was typical for network television shows. The show's stable of directors included

Bette Gordon Bette Gordon (born June 22, 1950) is an Americans, American filmmaker and professor at Columbia University School of the Arts. She is best known for her films ''Variety (1983 film), Variety'' (1983) and ''Handsome Harry'' (2009) both of which rece ...

, 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 James Michael Reaves (born September 14, 1950) is an American writer, known for his contributions as scriptwriter and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including '' Disney's Gargoyles'' and '' Batman: The An ...

, 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

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

Home media

eOne Entertainment Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in February 2014.A Press Release for 'The Complete Series' Comes Out of Entertainment One's Closet

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monsters (Tv Series) 1988 American television series debuts 1980s American comedy-drama television series 1990s American comedy-drama television series 1980s American horror television series 1990s American horror television series 1980s American anthology television series 1990s American anthology television series 1991 American television series endings American television shows featuring puppetry First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series about monsters Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Tribune Entertainment Television shows set in New York City Television series by Entertainment One