Around Halloween time my thoughts start turning to murder and mayhem, and out come the horror flicks.
Six spooktacular episodes hold the promise that would become HBO's stellar horror series. I loved this show of gruesome morality tales, and I watched it over and over in college -- mostly in crappy edited for broadcast TV versions, because my dorm didn't get HBO.
I love the "We're HBO! We've got to show a boob!" mentality -- it's hysterical some of the tricks they go through to try to sneak a little sex or swearing into these relatively tame stories. And while the first season doesn't have some of the star power that would come later, it's still got some pretty good stories:
-- "The Man Who was Death." A prison executioner loves his job -- so much that he can't stop doing it.
-- "And All Through the House." A woman butchers her husband on Christmas Eve, only to find out Santa knows she's been naughty.
-- "Dig That Cat ... He's Real Gone." A Tales from the Crypt classic, Joe Pantoliano plays a sideshow performer who gets more than he bargained for when a mad scientist offers him immortality.
-- "Only Sin Deep." A hooker pawns the one thing she has -- her beauty -- for a shot at the big time. But money's not enough to get what you really want.
-- "Lover, Come Hack to Me." A smooth operator marries a shy virgin for her money, and then gets the tables turned on his murderous plan. This one has some scenes so similar to the set-up for "Rocky Horror" that I was looking for Magenta and Riff-Raff.
-- "Collection Completed." Kooky and on the left side of bizarre, Audrey Lindley (that's Mrs. Roper for you Three's Company fans) plays a pet-obsessed housewife on a collision course with her animal-hating workaholic husband.
This was a great season. But stay tuned, Boils and Ghouls. There's plenty more terrifying tales to come!
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