As the inaugural season of Warehouse 13 kicks into high gear, I thought I would take a moment to discuss an old television show with many similarities to the current ScyFy show: Friday the 13th: the Series. This is the first of two articles discussing the show and its cast.
Friday the 13th The series debuted in syndication on September 28, 1987. Although the show was created by Frank Mancusso, the originator (and many of the same production and distribution people) as the Friday the 13th movie franchise; the television had absolutely nothing to do with Jason Voorheese, Camp Crystal Lake or hockey masks. Instead, the show revolved around two cousins who inherited a pawn shop. Unfortunately, this was not an ordinary pawn shop. As the opening prologue states:
Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil to sell cursed antiques. But he broke the pact, and it cost him his soul. Now, his niece Micki, and her cousin Ryan have inherited the store... and with it, the curse. Now they must get everything back and the real terror begins.
Friday the 13th The series debuted in syndication on September 28, 1987. Although the show was created by Frank Mancusso, the originator (and many of the same production and distribution people) as the Friday the 13th movie franchise; the television had absolutely nothing to do with Jason Voorheese, Camp Crystal Lake or hockey masks. Instead, the show revolved around two cousins who inherited a pawn shop. Unfortunately, this was not an ordinary pawn shop. As the opening prologue states:
Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil to sell cursed antiques. But he broke the pact, and it cost him his soul. Now, his niece Micki, and her cousin Ryan have inherited the store... and with it, the curse. Now they must get everything back and the real terror begins.
For three seasons the two cousins tried to get Uncle Lewis Vendredi's (which is French for Friday) various cursed objects back. The show starred the beautiful Louise Robey (credited only as Robey) as Micki, John D. LeMay as Ryan, and Chris Wiggins as a Jack Marshack an occultist who helps them regain the cursed items. The cast changed slightly when LeMay left the show when Ryan became a child as a result of a convoluted plot twist and the character was replaced by Johnny Venture played by Steve Monarque. By removing the "cousin" angle the show could explore romance between the two main characters (even though it was repeatedly stated that Ryan and Micki were "cousins by marriage" the prospect of romance was probably too racy for the time) . The creators did establish something between Micki and Johnny, but quickly abandoned the idea.
The show certainly pushed the envelope when it came to television horror. Some episodes were more violent, scarier and bloodier than many R rated movies released at the time. I recently watched a few of these episodes (they are frequently aired on the ScyFy and the Chiller channel) and they hold up pretty well considering they are 20 years old. Interestingly, many of the more dramatic moments of unknown peril could have been easily avoided if cell phones (or even the internet) had existed.
No discussion of Friday the 13th would be complete without pointing out that although there is no official relationship between the movies, there was a rumor that the final item recovered was going to be the hockey mask belonging to Jason Voorhees. I should also add that Eric Morse wrote a webnovel called "The Mask of Jason Voorhees" which tied the movies and the television show together.
The First Season and The Second Season are available on DVD. The Final Season will be released on September 22 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. If you intend to buy the DVDs please use my links, as it will help support this webpage. If you want to watch the series on the ScyFy or Chiller channels for free, I'm okay with that too.
The show certainly pushed the envelope when it came to television horror. Some episodes were more violent, scarier and bloodier than many R rated movies released at the time. I recently watched a few of these episodes (they are frequently aired on the ScyFy and the Chiller channel) and they hold up pretty well considering they are 20 years old. Interestingly, many of the more dramatic moments of unknown peril could have been easily avoided if cell phones (or even the internet) had existed.
No discussion of Friday the 13th would be complete without pointing out that although there is no official relationship between the movies, there was a rumor that the final item recovered was going to be the hockey mask belonging to Jason Voorhees. I should also add that Eric Morse wrote a webnovel called "The Mask of Jason Voorhees" which tied the movies and the television show together.
The First Season and The Second Season are available on DVD. The Final Season will be released on September 22 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. If you intend to buy the DVDs please use my links, as it will help support this webpage. If you want to watch the series on the ScyFy or Chiller channels for free, I'm okay with that too.
Tune in tomorrow where we explore what the show's actors are up to and compare Friday the 13th the Series to ScyFy's new show, Warehouse 13.
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