Wednesday, May 15, 2013

MMM: Horror Nostalgia 1990s

The 90s were a boom time for Horror TV and movies.  There were many fun, high-quality shows -- just take a look!

Horror TV shows from the 90s:


Forever Knight (1992-1996)
An 800-year-old vampire, Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies) works as a homicide detective while endeavoring to keep the fact that he’s a vampire from his co-workers. By doing so, he hopes to make up for his past evil deeds and become mortal again.
Interesting Note:  Ten years after this Canadian show ended, it’s premise was revived in America in a show called “Moonlight” about a vampire detective.  That show only lasted a year.




The X-Files (1993-2002)
Cast:  David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson
Two FBI agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.

Interesting Notes:
  • Recurring use of the number 1013.  Ten Thirteen is the name of Chris Carter's production company; his birthday is October 13, 1956.  The number 1121 also appears often; it's creator Chris Carter's wife, Dori's, birthday.
  • The character Senator Richard Matheson is named after Richard Matheson, whose writing inspired "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," the show that inspired Chris Carter to create "The X-Files."
  • Props from Mulder's X-Files office are currently on display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum in Los Angeles.  According to the museum, the famous "I Want to Believe" UFO poster from the office continually had to be replaced on the set as copies kept disappearing.  The poster on display at the museum is reportedly one of the last available copies of the original set-used posters.
  • In the early years of the series, Mulder is a firm believer in extraterrestrials and Scully is skeptical.  In reality, Gillian Anderson is the believer and David Duchovny is the skeptic. 


Poltergeist: The Legacy, TV Series (1996-1999)
"The Legacy," a secret society that began many centuries ago, accumulates knowledge and artifacts to fight against the world’s evil.  The Legacy resides in San Francisco in a castle-like house on Angel Island.  Dr. Derek Rayne (Derek de Lint) heads up the team comprised of psychiatrist, Rachel Corrigan (Helen Shaver); priest, Philip Callaghan (Patrick Fitzgerald); ex-Navy SEAL, Nick Boyle (Martin Cummins); and researcher/psychic Alexandra Moreau (Robbi Chong).



 

Millenium (1996-1999)
This series was created by Chris Carter (“X-Files”) and stars Lance Henrikson (the android in “Aliens”).  Henrikson plays Frank Black, an ex-FBI profiler who works for the mysterious Millennium Group that takes a special interest in serial killers and end of the world prophecies.




Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
A teen moves from the dangerous streets of L.A. to quiet Sunnydale only to learn that every possible horrible creature calls Sunnydale home, and only she can destroy them
Interesting Notes:

  • Series star Sarah Michelle Gellar initially auditioned for the role of Cordelia Chase, and Charisma Carpenter, who plays Cordelia, auditioned for the role of Buffy.  Others who auditioned for Buffy and got other roles include Julie Benz (Darla),  Elizabeth Anne Allen (Amy Madison),  Julia Lee (Anne) and Mercedes McNab (Harmony).  Other actresses considered for the lead role of Buffy also included Katie Holmes and Selma Blair.
  • Bianca Lawson, who played Kendra the Vampire Slayer in season 2, originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia.
  • Nathan Fillion (Caleb) originally auditioned for the role of Angel when the show was first being cast in late 1996.
  • Danny Strong (Jonathan) originally auditioned for the role of Xander.
  • Ryan Reynolds was originally offered the role of Xander.
  • Seth Green played Oz, the boyfriend of Alyson Hannigan.  He also played her boyfriend in "My Stepmother is an Alien." 


The Hunger (1997-2000)
Host:  David Bowie
This show was a horror anthology like “Tales From the Darkside,” but with more lurid and erotic stories.




Angel (1999-2004)
The vampire Angel (David Boreanaz), cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and aids people with supernatural-related problems while questing for his own redemption.  A spin-off of the extremely successful “Buffy.”


So Weird (1999-2001) 
Disney Channel: Fiona “Fi” Phillips (Cara DeLizia) experiences supernatural and paranormal things like vampires, werewolves and ghosts while traveling around the country with her brother, her friend and her mom.  Then she posts her experiences on her website called "So Weird."


Horror Films of the 1990s:

Arachnophobia (1990)
Darkman (1990)
Flatliners (1990)
It (1990)
Misery (1990)
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
Phantom of the Opera (1991)
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Candyman (1992)
Dracula (1992)
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992)
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Body Snatchers (1993)
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
The Stand (1994)
Wolf (1994) (I never knew Jack Nicholson could be such a sexy werewolf!)
Copycat (1995)
The Craft (1996)
Diabolique (1996)
The Frighteners (1996)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Scream (1996)
Thinner (1996)
Anaconda (1997)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Mimic (1997)
The Relic (1997)
Blade (1998)
The Faculty (1998)
Godzilla (1998)

The Astronaut’s Wife (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Bone Collector (1999)
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
End of Days (1999)
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
The Mummy (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Stir of Echoes (1999)
Storm of the Century (1999)




These TV shows and films are some of the best ever made,  but I have to say I love the ones of the 2000s even more.  Join me tomorrow and see if you agree!




Join the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. We're hopping for seven days, from May 11-17, in celebration of  monsters, mayhem, and all things Horror related!

30 comments:

Maynard Morrissey said...

Another fabulous list! Many horror fans claim that the 90s were a bad decade for horror - I don't think so! I grew up in that wonderful decade and got the chance to see many of the above-mentioned flicks in theater:
the whole Scream trilogy, I Know What You Did 1 & 2, Jurassic Park trilogy, Blade, Mimic, Deep Blue Sea...

Little Gothic Horrors said...

I didn't see 'Forever Knight', but I watched 'Moonlight'. I really enjoyed that show and was very disappointed when it was cancelled. I'm also a huge fan of 'The X-Files', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel'!

Heather R. Holden said...

Love Buffy and Angel! I knew some of that casting trivia previously, but not all of it. (Like Nathan Fillion auditioning for Angel--whoa!)

Also, Hocus Pocus is a classic. Easily one of my all-time favorite movies!

Sophie Duncan said...

I can tick off most of those TV series as some of my favourites of all time. I even wrote Poltergeist the Legacy fanfic! ;P I always preferred the horror eps of the X-Files to the alien conspiracy ones, and, sadly, they got fewer and fewer as the series went on :(. Forever Knight always struck me as a cop show that happened to have a vampire in it, but I did love the original Nick Knight movie with Rick Springfield :). And there are so many of those movies on my DVD shelf too.

Great Post!

Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles

Jocelyn Rish said...

So many great shows and movies. Loved the Buffy trivia - I knew a few of those tidbits, but not all of them. Somehow I missed Poltergeist The Legacy, but I'm not sure how or why since it sounds right up my alley.

Shah Wharton said...

I had a LOT of these movies and a few of the series on VHS for year, but gave most of them away when we moved to Dubai 2010 :( Not that we even own a video player these days, but *groan! Miss my babies. I do have many on DVD now though, but still need to replace so many. Great list.

Shah X

shahwharton.com

Ms Misantropia said...

I actually liked Moonlight and was sad to see it canceled. I think it was partly because of the writer's strike. There's a few TV shows on your list that I've never heard of, it's possible they never made it to Swedish television. For instance I'm intrigued by Poltergeist: Legacy.

Dani said...

You definitely highlighted the 90's best shows and films!! Brought back all kinds of memories.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

I love Forever Knight, I have it all on DVD. I was actually hooked by the original TV movie with Rick Springfield, Midnight Cop as it was called in out local video shop. I was also a big P:TL fan, but Philip was my fav character and they virtually wrote him out after s1 so I was most upset. X-files was cool until the arc too over - I hate arcs! I never could quite get in to Millenium, but Buffy is a classic. I think I've seen all but three of the movies you listed as well. Great post :)
Tasha's Thinkings

Unknown said...

I loved all the Buffy info, so great!
Fantastic picks!The 90's was freaking awesome for TV!
Stopping by with my MMM'S Carmen Jenner Author and Book Me!
Happy Hopping! =D

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Okay. Now you've got something! I was a major, major, major X-Files fan! Did not miss an episode. And - *hangs head, blushing* - I must be honest, here. I was a Buffy fan, too. :)

Anonymous said...

Another great post! I am loving the flashbacks!
Here's my day V MMM at Design du Jour.

Magaly Guerrero said...

May Monster Madness has awaken many desires. I have a feeling I'll spend the next few months watching The X-Files, Buffy, The Outer Limits and things of the sort ;-)

Stephen Tremp said...

These are some blasts from the past! Poltergeist was an awesome movie. I had not seen anything like it up to that time.

Meradeth Houston said...

Buffy and the X-Files--two of my all time favorites! I still watch them all the time :) Great list, and a few I'm going to have to check out on Netflix!

EvalinaMaria said...

Wow, so many memories! I think X-Files were my #1.
Evalina, This and that...

Al Diaz said...

I used to watch the X Files and Angel. I thought they were good. Such a long list, I see many familiar names in there. :)

Anonymous said...

Fantastic list! My nephew would love it, he's a huge fan of horror/suspense. I've seen a bunch of the movies you listed (most the late 90's teen flicks) and a couple of the TV shows.
Nathan Fillion as Angel? That would have been interesting.

Great stuff! Keep 'em coming!

The Pedestrian Writer

Kate Larkindale said...

What a great collection! I loved the X Files. And Misery has to be one of the creepiest movies ever. Maybe I just think that because I'm a writer....

Melancholy and Menace said...

Great list of movies there!

I had a David Bowie Movie marathon weekend recently
and I watched The Hunger (1980s) movie.
It was quite good.
I'm tempted to watch the TV series now.

Enjoy your day : )

My MMM post for today The Ghoul

Dr. Theda said...

We enjoyed "Forever Knight" and have most of the episodes on VHS tapes....

Ava Quinn said...

I always liked Darkman. As for horror tv shows, I have to go with Friday the 13th-the series, even though it's from the 80's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLHoZ3qR18U And more recently, Supernatural.

stephen Hayes said...

We watched the X-Files regularly.

Spanj said...

I was such a huge X-Files geek; videoing the show off the TV, reading every 'unofficial companion' I could find, devouring every magazine article, interview, or episode guide. I recently started watching them again, but within a few episodes I found myself becoming really, really paranoid. Not good for the mental health then! Of course, this obsession naturally led to me discovering the wonderful Millennium series too.
coffintreehill.tumblr.com

Dr. Theda said...

Wow.... Hello dear Lady Lexa.... and Thank you for joining us at the "Crypt" ... You yourself have So Many followers.... well that list now includes us ... your good "fiend" and new follower ...the Doctor...

Unknown said...

I seriously need to go back and watch the reruns of The X-Files. My favorite movie from your list is Silence of the Lambs. I'm currently watching the new show on NBC called Hannibal. I'm really liking it so far!

Kim (YA Asylum) said...

The X-files is one of my favorite shows. Pre-Duchovny disappearance, it was fabulous. It gave me nightmares -- I literally could not get close to drains (even in the shower) for a week. And clowns? Psh, I'll never go near them. Silence of the Lambs is a favorite of mine too (the NBC TV show Hannibal is pretty great). I love The Mummy, Sleepy Hollow, Godzilla, Anaconda (I've seen them all … mildly ashamed of this fact). Jurassic Park is another favorite -- turns out I have a lot of favorites -- but dinosaurs alive again is awesome.

Reading your blog this week makes me want to go re-watch ALL OF THESE. I should be reading books instead!

Anonymous said...

Buffy had to be my all time favourite show in the 90s... even above Xfiles... I still love it:) My favourites would have to be the funny scenes;)

Julie Flanders said...

Buffy is one of my favorite shows ever, and I loved Angel too. I think this is my favorite decade of your nostalgia posts because of those two and The X-Files! Such awesome shows.

Great movies too. I'm still totally freaked out by Silence of the Lambs and Jurassic Park is an all-time favorite. :)

Annalisa Crawford said...

Loved Buffy and Angel. And had a huge crush on Giles :-)

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