Retro Sci Fi TV: A look at shows from the past that may not have stood the test of time and/or that are relegated to their era, but many of us still have fond memories of them.
[Updated]
What Is It? This Steven Spielberg created anthology series borrowed the title from the first science fiction magazine (released by Hugo Gernsback in 1926) and promised “amazing stories” that blended elements of fantasy, science fiction, horror, suspense, and more.
Aired: NBC, 1985-86, 2 Seasons Totaling 45 Episodes
Notable Guest Stars: Sid Caeser, John Lithgow, Kyra Sedgwick, Polly Holliday, Loni Anderson, Mark Hamill
Created By: Steve Spielberg, Joshua Brand, John Falsey
Is It Must Watch Sci Fi TV? No. It’s worth a look for fans of anthology shows, but you might want to do a “best of” search to get a good sampling of the better eps.
The Skinny: In the mid-80s, the broadcast nets decided to revive the anthology format which led to this show and a reboot of Alfred Hitchcock Presents arriving on NBC along with an updating of The Twilight Zone on CBS, all debuting at about the same time. Amazing Stories certainly seemed like a promising new show before it debuted, with Steven Spielberg attached and quite a number of well-known names involved with the episodes. Actors such as Sid Caeser, Dom DeLuise, Gregory Hines, and Mark Hamill were set in guest-starring roles for the first season while directors such as Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, and Joe Dante would helm the episodes with writers like Spielberg, Richard Matheson, Joshua Brand, and Brad Bird penning the scripts. The show also had excellent production values and a two-season commitment from the network up front. But . . . despite all the headliners, Amazing Stories did not quite meet up to its “amazing” expectations.
The episodes of the show definitely nice to look at, but they lacked much in the way of substance. It was all Hollywood glitz with a big budget but without truly good stories to back up the money spent. Sure, the show had a few gems and started to find its way in its second season with episodes like Joe Dante’s “The Greibble” and Tobe Hooper’s “Miss Stardust”. But by that time it was too late. The anthology fever that the networks’ caught the year prior had faded, and all three shows mentioned above would be out of prime time by the end of the 1986-87 season (The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents would continue for a few more seasons in syndication). Amazing Stories definitely had plenty of promise when it first began, but ultimately proved to be rather un-amazing. Fans still have some good memories of the show, though, and as mentioned it does have its share of decent episodes. But it falls short of counting among the great television anthology shows.
>Buy Amazing Stories on DVD and VOD from Amazon.com
Cancelled Too Soon? Yes. As mentioned above, the show had a two-season commitment upfront which it secured with Steven Spielberg’s name in the title. NBC stuck by its contract even though the show only ranked 35th out of over 80 shows on the broadcast networks in its first year. By its second season, the show had dropped to Number 52 in the rankings and NBC decided it was too expensive to bring back at those viewership levels.
Revival: Apple TV+ queued up a revival of this show as one of its first streaming originals. Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Hannibal) was attached to the reboot early on, but he later departed from the production. Spielberg was not originally involved with the reboot, but his Amblin Television production company eventually jumped onboard with Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Lost, Once Upon A Time) joining as showrunners / executive producers. The five-episode first season premiered in 2020, but a second season was never ordered. Apparently, the new version did not register well with critics or viewers, only managing a 41% Tomatometer and 52% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. But as with any anthology series, this one is immanently rebootable and perhaps could return at some point.
Interesting Fact: The 1987 movie “batteries not included” (written by Mick Garris and Brad Bird) started out as an episode planned for Amazing Stories. But Spielberg felt like it would do better as a feature film and set it on course to become a minor Box Office hit.
Where Can You Watch It? Both seasons have been collected on DVD, but it has not received the Blu-ray treatment yet. The show is not currently available for streaming, but you can buy it VOD at places like Amazon and Apple.
Read More About the Show: Wikipedia | IMDb.com
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Amazing Stories by Steven Spielberg was the best thing on tv for its time but I would love to see them again…PLEASE BRING THEM BACK..BUT WITH AN UPDATE
It’s in the works right now.