Tales from the Crypt (TV series): Difference between revisions

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Line 2: [[File:Crypt_Keeper_9572.jpg\|frame\|Ah! Hello, kiddies!]] {{quote\| ''Welcome, boils and ghouls!''}}▼ A critically acclaimed [[Genre Anthology\|horror anthology]] series that ran from 1989 to 1996. Every week, the show featured the Crypt Keeper telling horrifying tales based on stories from the gruesome ''[[Tales from the Crypt (comics)\|Tales from the Crypt]]'' comics from [[EC Comics]] of the 1950s. Because the show was on the premium cable channel HBO, it was not subject to FCC censorship and featured lots of gore and sexual situations. The Crypt Keeper, a gruesome puppet voiced by John Kassir and performed by [[Patty Maloney]], served as [[Narrator\|host]] in a manner similar to that of [[Rod Serling]] on ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', providing lead-ins and closing comments... which were filled with [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] after pun of a macabre nature.▼ ▲{{quote\| ''Welcome, boils and ghouls!''}} Related loosely to the [[ECTales ~~Comics~~from the Crypt (~~Film~~film)\|1972 Film]] of the same name, as both had stories based on [[Tales from the Crypt (comics)\|comics from the same company]]. For the animated adaptation, see ''[[Tales ~~From~~from the ~~Crypt Keeper~~Cryptkeeper]]''.▼ ▲A critically acclaimed [[Genre Anthology\|horror anthology]] series that ran from 1989 to 1996. Every week, the show featured the Crypt Keeper telling horrifying tales based on stories from the gruesome [[EC Comics]] of the 1950s. Because the show was on the premium cable channel HBO, it was not subject to FCC censorship and featured lots of gore and sexual situations. The Crypt Keeper, a gruesome puppet voiced by John Kassir and performed by [[Patty Maloney]], served as [[Narrator\|host]] in a manner similar to that of [[Rod Serling]] on ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', providing lead-ins and closing comments... which were filled with [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] after pun of a macabre nature. ▲Related loosely to the [[EC Comics (Film)\|1972 Film]] of the same name, as both had stories based on comics from the same company. For the animated adaptation, see ''[[Tales From the Crypt Keeper]]''. {{tropelist}} * [[Abhorrent Admirer]]: Winona, ''in spades''. Line 23: * [[Bittersweet Ending]]: "My Brother's Keeper": Frank watched his Siamese twin brother Eddie murder the love of his life, but (before both blacked out) he managed to sign the release for surgery. When they wake up, they're "free," with Eddie taken away by the police and Frank planning to live his life to the fullest. * [[Black Comedy]]: The episode "Cutting Cards" is a particularly vivid one, as a game of Russian roulette devolves into a round of "chop poker" that goes nowhere good in a hurry. * [[Black Comedy Rape]]: In the episode "Death of Some Salesman". Counts as both [[Rape Is OK When It Is Female On Male]] ''and'' [[Double Standard Rape (Male Onon Male)]], since Winona is quite obviously played by a man ([[Tim Curry]], no less!). Technically he agreed to it...but it certainly wouldn't have been any better if he hadn't. * [[Bloodier and Gorier]]: Than the comics, which were 'plenty' gory enough on their own. ** [[Hotter and Sexier]]: More nudity, at any rate. Line 34: * [[Book Ends]] * [[Buried Alive]]: "Dig That Cat, He's Real Gone" * [[Can't Get Away ~~With~~with Nuthin']]: Standard, with one or two [[Karma Houdini]] subversions. * [[Cats Have Nine Lives]]: A homeless dude is offered a chance at (gruesome) fun and profit after he has a cat's brain gland implanted into him; it gives him the mythical extra lives, which allow him to die repeatedly as a circus performer. ** Also played with in the episode "Ear Today, Gone Tomorrow". Line 44: * [[Conjoined Twins]]: The episode "My Brother's Keeper" is about [[Sibling Yin-Yang\|completely opposite]] conjoined twins. This is also used in a twist in at least three other episodes: {{spoiler\|"The Ventriloquist's Dummy", "People Who Live In Brass Hearses", and "About Face".}} * [[Crazy Jealous Guy]]: Steve Dixon in "Split Second" rapidly becomes one after getting married, and unfortunately for him, his wife has no intention to remain faithful. * [[Creator Cameo]]: Not unusual, especially if a given director happens to have an acting career of their own. [[Michael J. Fox]] plays a prosecuting attorney in "The Trap," [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] helps get the Crypt Keeper in shape in "The Switch," [[Tom Hanks]] shows up in "None but the Lonely Heart," and Bob Hoskins is in the opening to "Fatal Caper." * [[Creepy Crossdresser]]: {{spoiler\|Roger in "Came the Dawn" by way of split personality.}} * [[Cruel Twist Ending]]: A few episodes. * [[Darker and Edgier]]: The final episode, "The Third Pig", gives this treatment to ''[[Three Little Pigs]]''. ** The whole show in general is Darker and Edgier than the comics, although they weren't exactly family-friendly to start with: The lack of censorship allowed them to basically throw in as much sex, violence and swearing as they liked. * [[Death Byby Materialism]]: This is a recurring theme. * [[Demonic Dummy]]: In "The Ventriloquist's Dummy". * [[The Dog Bites Back]]: If someone committed an immoral act, you can be absolutely certain that he will meet his end by the end of the episode — often in a spectacularly gruesome manner. * [[Dr. Jerk]]: "The New Arrival" * [[Eat the Evidence]]: "The Assassin" ends with {{spoiler\|Janet, revealed to be the missing assassin (she has [[~~Transsexual~~Transsexualism\|had a sex change]] to disguise herself) serving up the remains of the CIA agents to her husband, though he doesn't know what he's eating.}} * [[Everybody Lives]]: A rare example with a macabre [[Black Comedy]] twist in "Cutting Cards". * [[Evil Uncle]]: "Fitting Punishment" Line 64: * [[Friend to All Living Things]]: Anita from "Collection Completed." She has many pets of different species and is always willing to take in strays. ** [[Alternate Character Interpretation\|Her husband]] would define her as a [[Crazy Cat Lady]] instead. * [[Fun ~~With~~with Acronyms]]: The episode "Mournin' Mess" revolves around a reporter investigating the mysterious deaths of several homeless people, which he believes are connected to a charitable organisation called the "Grateful Homeless Outcasts and Unwanted Layaway Society". What do you think their secret is? * [[Fur Against Fang]]: The ending to {{spoiler\|"The Secret"}}. ** ''And'' {{spoiler\|"Werewolf Concerto"}}. Line 98: * [[Mandatory Twist Ending]]: One for just about every episode. However, some were quite happy to the good characters, [[Karmic Twist Ending\|delivering well-deserved vengeance to the unsympathetic]]. * [[Mono-Gender Monsters]]: A variant of this in "Lover Come Hack to Me", where [every baby born into Peggy's family is apparently female. * [[The Movie]]: Technically six. Two films were produced in the 1970s by Amicus Productions — [[EC Comics (~~Film~~film)\|a self-titled movie and ''The Vault of Horror'']]. (Unsurprisingly, though, this series has a loose connection to those movies.) In 1989, a [[Compilation Movie]] was put together, consisting of "The Man Who Was Death", "And All Through the House", and "Dig That Cat, He's Real Gone". Three stand-alone films were made in the 1990s: ''[[Demon Knight]]'', ''[[Bordello of Blood]]'' and ''Ritual'', the last of which was released straight to video. ** Note that ''Ritual'' was produced as a ''TFtC'' movie, but later edited to remove any connection to the franchise. This connection was later restored in an effort to increase awareness of it. * [[No Fourth Wall]]: At least as far as the Crypt Keeper is concerned. * [[Not in ~~The~~the Face]]: On one episode which stars a pair of bandit lovers, the man is always paranoid about something happening to his visage. Predictably, there's more to this fear than simple vanity, as revealed by the twist ending. * [[Not Just a Tournament]]: There are a few episodes where a contestant murders the odds-on favorite, but finds out too late that the "prize" for winning is death. In one case, an actor literally kills for a chance to play [[Hamlet]], but discovers that he was really auditioning to play Yorick [the skull]. In another case, a [[Beauty Pageant]] contestant kills another, but discovers that the pageant is "Miss Autopsy". * [[Off ~~With~~with His Head]]: Happens in a handful of episodes. * [[Origins Episode]]: "Lower Berth" establishes how the Crypt Keeper came to be. Appropriately, the episode was directed by Kevin Yagher, who helped the Crypt Keeper come to be in real life. * [[POV Cam]]: "You, Murderer" (with the added bonus of being from the POV of [[Humphrey Bogart]]), "Abra Cadaver" Line 117: "Yellow", "Showdown", and "King of the Road" are rather tonally different from the rest of the show. This is because they were originally part of a pilot for a planned TV version of ''[[Two-Fisted Tales]]'' instead. "Fitting Punishment" is notably the only episode with an entirely black cast. * [[Spin-Off]]: The animated ''[[Tales ~~From~~from the ~~Crypt Keeper~~Cryptkeeper]]'' and the [[CBS]] [[Game Show]] ''Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House'' were aimed at a younger audience, but still horrifying. * [[Spiritual Successor]]: ''Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror'' will seem very familiar to fans of this series, from the [[Black Comedy]] to the charismatic host to the godawful puns. The first segment will also seem very familiar to ''[[~~Death Note (Manga)\|~~Death Note]]'' fans, but [[Follow the Leader\|that's a whole different story]]. ** ''Perversions of Science'', a short-lived series that essentially replaced this one after the final season. * [[Swallow the Key]]: In "Carrion Death," a criminal and a cop are handcuffed together. The cop is killed, but he manages to swallow the key before the criminal can get it, forcing the criminal to lug the dead cop along as he attempts to escape across the desert. * [[Title Drop]]: Happened a few times, but perhaps the most (purposefully) blatant was by the Crypt Keeper in "Korman's Kalamity": {{quote\| "...because long before my eerie offerings appeared on your silver screen, they were a magazine called - get a load of this - ''Tales from the Crypt''!"}} * [[Tomato in ~~The~~the Mirror]] * [[~~Transsexual~~Transsexualism]]: The twist of {{spoiler\|"The Assassin", where the wife of an AWOL assassin turns out to be the rogue "himself", who had more work done than "his" would-be killers initially assumed.}} ** This is also the twist of {{spoiler\|"Fatal Caper", where the female lawyer turns out to be the father's disowned third son, which she reveals right after seducing him and disrobing.}} * [[The Uriah Gambit]]: In "Forever Ambergris", an aging photographer sends his young protege to a village that was ravaged by germ warfare, knowing the younger man will fall victim to the same flesh-rotting disease that killed the villagers, leaving his hot girlfriend for the older man's taking. {{spoiler\|Naturally, it backfires when the older man learns his protege sent some germ-infected flora to his girlfriend before he knew anything was wrong.}} Line 137: [[Category:American Series]] [[Category:Horror Series]] [[Category:~~Tales From The Crypt~~{{PAGENAME}}]] [[Category:TV Series]]