Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON)

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Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 10/9/2006 12:08:56 AM

mfj fratelli

Posts: 2436
Joined: 14/6/2006
From: The International Brotherhood of Stevedores

Have any of you seen this television series?
Basically, it's about an antiques dealer (Lewis Vendredi) who makes a deal with the Devil. In exchange for 'wealth & immortality' Vendredi agrees to sell cursed objects from his antiques shop. Gradually Vendredi grows tired of working for the Devil and decides to back out of the deal. Unfortunately, The Devil claims his soul before he can recover all the cursed antiques.

Vendredi's niece (Micki Foster), nephew (Ryan Dallion) and long-time friend (Jack Marshak) discover his secret. The task falls upon them to retreive the cursed objects.

The series follows Micki, Ryan, and Jack as they recover such items as:

A quill pen that kills people by simply writing about it
A scalpel that can cure any disease, but only after it has been used to kill
An animated scarecrow that guarantees good crops after it kills three sacrificial victims
A comic book that transforms its owner into a super-powered killer
A patchwork quilt that allows the owner to kill others in their dreams
Louis XVI's handkerchief that can animate wax statues
A kamikaze pilot�s jacket that, when smeared with fresh blood, renders the wearer invisible

This is just a small sample of all the items that they struggle to recover.

I thought that this was such an exciting, creepy show. Often it pushed the boundaries of 'American' television with its depictions of blood & violence.

Sadly it's not available on DVD. Which is a shame since it had such a large cult following.

If you're interested in reading more, here's the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th:_The_Series

I urge all of you to watch it, if by some chance they decide to show it in your area.

_____________________________

The Wire is surely the best TV show ever broadcast in America. This claim isn't based on my having seen all the possible rivals for the title, but on the premise that no other program has ever done anything remotely like what this one does, namely to portray the social, political, and economic life of an American city with the scope, observational precision, and moral vision of great literature.

The Wire has never won an emmy? [It] deserves the Nobel Prize for Literature!

Post #: 1

RE: Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 10/9/2006 9:19:56 AM

demondemon

Posts: 1250
Joined: 4/10/2005

i vaguely remember it. think it was on the sci fi channel about 10 years ago. cant say i thought it was much good.

(in reply to mfj fratelli)

Post #: 2

RE: Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 10/9/2006 7:12:34 PM

mfj fratelli

Posts: 2436
Joined: 14/6/2006
From: The International Brotherhood of Stevedores

quote:

ORIGINAL: demondemon

i vaguely remember it. think it was on the sci fi channel about 10 years ago. cant say i thought it was much good.

Seriously? I thought it was a welcome change to all the dreck on TV at that time.

_____________________________

The Wire is surely the best TV show ever broadcast in America. This claim isn't based on my having seen all the possible rivals for the title, but on the premise that no other program has ever done anything remotely like what this one does, namely to portray the social, political, and economic life of an American city with the scope, observational precision, and moral vision of great literature.

The Wire has never won an emmy? [It] deserves the Nobel Prize for Literature!

(in reply to demondemon)

Post #: 3

RE: Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 10/9/2006 7:59:58 PM

elab49

Posts: 51558
Joined: 1/10/2005

It is pretty dreadful but in an occasionally enjoyable way. Certainly not any form of class TV. It was shown over here interchangeably with the War of the Worlds TV series, and is not entirely dissimilar to Poltergeist: The Legacy. Last time I saw it on terrestrial TV was probably the mid-90s. I actually have some of the videos that were released over here and keep meaning to try them on EBay - they were released as rental.

Now the show pops up occasionally late-night on SF but not for a while now.

_____________________________

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(in reply to mfj fratelli)

Post #: 4

RE: Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 10/9/2006 8:12:02 PM

mfj fratelli

Posts: 2436
Joined: 14/6/2006
From: The International Brotherhood of Stevedores

quote:

ORIGINAL: elab49

It is pretty dreadful but in an occasionally enjoyable way.

Compared to the great series that come out of America now, it can be considered dreadful, but during the late 80's it was a great show.

Maybe I'm being a little too nostalgic and thus warping my sense of its actual worth. However, I still think that I would buy it if it was ever released on DVD. Perhaps it has dated just a tad, but I still would rather watch this than 70% of what is broadcasted on both sides of the pond.

It does have the most interesting premise for a TV show though. At least, in my opinion.

(in reply to elab49)

Post #: 5

RE: Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 10/9/2006 8:55:04 PM

elab49

Posts: 51558
Joined: 1/10/2005

I watched it at that time - and still had that opinion of it. Nothing to do with being dated now. It didn't help that the female lead was an ex-model who just couldn't act - this being about her only attempt at it. The writing was pretty dire too and they had a tendency to repeat themselves. Certainly no depth. I think I saw most of the series but all the vids are from series 1.

But it is no different to the kind of cheesy stuff you occasionally see now. Best class of that in the 80s was probably V.

Maybe you just think higher of it because a) there wasn't much in the way of genre TV around at the time and b) (although I've no idea if it is true) it is just in comparison to the general quality of TV that was available at the time you watched it where you were?

< Message edited by elab49 -- 10/9/2006 8:59:31 PM >

_____________________________

Lips Together and Blow - blogtasticness and Glasgow Film Festival GFF13!

Films watched 2012

What are your top 10/25 films of 2012? Vote in the forum Annual Poll now! Deadline is Sunday.

(in reply to mfj fratelli)

Post #: 6

RE: Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 10/9/2006 9:22:39 PM

mfj fratelli

Posts: 2436
Joined: 14/6/2006
From: The International Brotherhood of Stevedores

I actually remember watching V, but I still would rather watch this. And as for it being cheesy, it perhaps was, but a higher grade of cheese in my opinion. I agree that it had a some problems with acting quality, but so do many of the shows now, It was the 80's, depth was void for the most part, at least on American screens. Maybe there were class television programs in the UK at this time, but for American audiences this was almost all we had. Perhaps not great, but good nonetheless.

I remember shows like V, Freddy's Nightmares, War of the Worlds as being enjoyable as well, but I would still rather watch this.

I'm not trying to say that this show will go down in the annals of TV history as a masterpiece. I just wanted to show my appreciation for it. It will never crack my Top 30 for all-time great tv shows, but it's still one that I have love for.

You say that it was 'dreadful, but in an occasionally enjoyable way'. Perhaps there is some truth in this, but I would subsitute the word 'dreadful' with 'average'. Just to be a little friendlier.

It had an odd, yet charming 'monster of the week' quality to it. Something that I enjoy.

(in reply to elab49)

Post #: 7

RE: Friday the 13th: The Series (NO JASON) - 11/9/2006 10:27:09 AM

elab49

Posts: 51558
Joined: 1/10/2005

I did wonder about your local TV at the time. I don't think we saw quite as much in the way of US imports at the time - mainly the likes of A Team and that kind of glossy adventure show rather than much of any depth. Perfectly enjoyable of course - but not the range of quality we see now pouring from your shores. That really started in the 90s.

_____________________________

Lips Together and Blow - blogtasticness and Glasgow Film Festival GFF13!

Films watched 2012

What are your top 10/25 films of 2012? Vote in the forum Annual Poll now! Deadline is Sunday.

(in reply to mfj fratelli)

Post #: 8