Freddy's Nightmares
DVD cover
Genre	Horror
Creator(s)	Wes Craven (characters)
Starring	Robert Englund
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	44
Production
Running time	60 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndication
Original run	October 9, 1988 – March 11, 1990
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Freddy's Nightmares (also known as: "A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy's Nightmares The Series") was 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, or Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. The pilot episode was directed by Tobe Hooper. Image File history File links Freddysnightmares. ... Wesley Earl Craven (born August 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American film director and writer best known as the creator of many horror films, including the famed Nightmare on Elm Street series featuring the redoubtable Freddy Krueger character. ... Robert Englund costumed as the diabolical child-killer Freddy Krueger. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in leap years). ... 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cover art for the first film A Nightmare on Elm Street is a series of horror films that were exceptionally popular in the 1980s. ... This article is about the fictional character. ... Robert Englund costumed as the diabolical child-killer Freddy Krueger. ... Screenshot of opening sequence of Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents was a half-hour anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Twilight Zone title. ... Tobe Hooper Tobe Hooper (born January 25, 1943) is an American television and film director best known for his work in the horror film genre. ...

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. In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... War of the Worlds is a television program that ran for two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. ... Friday the 13th: The Series was a television series that ran for three seasons, from September 1987 to May of 1990. ...

The series was produced by New Line Television and distributed by Lorimar Television for the first season. When Lorimar was sold to Warner Bros. Television, that company took over distribution rights. New Line Television is a American television production/distribution company launched in 1988, an subsidiary of New Line Cinema and Time Warner. ... Lorimar Productions was a American television production company, active from 1968-1993. ... Warner Bros. ...

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 basis—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. New Line Cinema logo New Line Cinema, founded in 1967, is one of the major American film studios. ...

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 (it was, however, often hinted that Krueger indirectly influenced the desolate nature of the plotlines.) Springwood, Ohio is the fictional town in which the A Nightmare on Elm Street series takes place in. ...

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:

• Morris Chestnut
• Joshua Cox
• Mariska Hargitay
• Lori Petty
• Brad Pitt
• John Cameron Mitchell

Morris L. Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American film and television actor. ... Joshua Cox as David Corwin in Babylon 5 Joshua Cox (born August 9, 1965 in San Diego, California, USA) is an American actor. ... Mariska[1] Magdolina Hargitay (born January 23, 1964) is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning American actress best known for her role as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ... Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is an American movie actress. ... William Bradley Brad Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. ... John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is an American writer, actor, and director. ...

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. 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... The following is an excerpt of the article entitled DVD. For the sake of convenience, the terms Region 0, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4, Region 5, Region 6, Region 7 and Region 8 redirect to this page. ... DVD (commonly known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... No More Mr. ... An episode of Freddys Nightmares which starred David Lander and Mary Crosby is directed by William Malone. ... An episode of the ill-fated TV series Freddys Nightmares in which a medium is possessed by the evil demon Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund). ... Episode of Freddys Nightmares dealing with a talk-show host who does a special on nightmares that are causing the deaths of teenagers in Springwood. ... One of the more interesting episodes of the short-lives series Freddys Nightmares stars a young Mariska Hargitay as Marsha, a sexually repressed college student who is trying to study on Halloween night despite the interupptions by her boyfriend and Freddy Krueger (played by Robert Englund. ... Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Vertical Helical Scan, better known by its abbreviation VHS (and often confused to be Video Home System) is a recording and playing standard for analog video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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). A 1991 British video release by Braveworld LTD. This film is a compilation of two episodes of Freddys Nightmares and is directed by horror veterans Tobe Hooper and Tom McLoughlin. ... No More Mr. ... Tobe Hooper Tobe Hooper (born January 25, 1943) is an American television and film director best known for his work in the horror film genre. ... Masters of Horror is an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. ... Mick Garris (December 4, 1951 -) is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California. ...

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 cancelled the release of Volume 2^[2].

In 2006, AOL has teamed up with distributor Warner Bros. Television to bring Freddy's Nightmares to its new In2TV broadband service, however, it is only available to the US. Warner Bros. ... . ...

NBC Universal's horror-themed cable channel Chiller, which launched on March 1st, 2007, is airing Freddy's Nightmares for the first time on television in more than a decade. The series airs Thursdays at 8PM and 11PM Eastern and Saturdays and Sundays at 8PM Eastern. [1] NBC Universal is a media and entertainment conglomerate formed in May 2004 by the combination of General Electrics NBC with Vivendi Universal Entertainment, part of Vivendi Universal. ... Horror can mean several things: Horror (emotion) Horror fiction Horror film This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Chiller is a 24 hour American cable television channel, launching on March 1st, 2007, specializing in horror programming. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

References

1. ^ amazon.co.uk listing of Volume 1
2. ^ 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 The Nightmare On Elm Street Companion