I always love horror anthologies because they give writers more creative freedom to do whatever they want. But also the reader and viewer the power of choice to choose which stories to try out but also which one they like and don't like.This show is one of my favorite horror anthology shows that I think is under the radar and slightly forgotten. This show is also another childhood relic of mine, I've seen this when I was 12 it was one of the first horror anthologies I saw. I bumped into this show one day and gave it a go and I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised, this is the kind to show that I feel is almost made for fans of the horror genre.There really isn't a whole lot I can say, it's a horror anthology what can you really say. But this is one of my of my favorites along with "Night Galary", "Are You Afraid of the Dark", "Twilght Zone" (both the old and 80's version) and plenty others.The production value was on a modest to low budget but I personally feel it was used wises and well, also it was network television show what do you expect. But they did the best they could with what they had to create the effect they were going for and I felt they succeeded.I really love that theme song which to me is one of my personal favorite theme song. Its a very eerie and creepy tone that can send chills as you see the music correlate with the title sequence we see some random enviorments in the daylight but then suddenly they start to seem unsettling as we see some shadows overlapping them and daylight fading a bit, they suddenly the friendly enviorments begin to seem dangerous as if there could be something lurking in those shadows. Down to the narrators voice and what he says which sent chills and have stuck with me ever since.And most of the stories are memorable and creative, most of them are straight forward horror, though some others are black comedies, or even fun fantasy tales which is alright with me, I always like a little something different to keep an anthology fresh. Some of them were even by a lot of well known writers like Clive Barker, Steven King, Robert Bloch, and several others. As well as some episodes were director by a few well known people like George Romaro and Tom Savani. These facts to me are really cool because it shows this show has actually had some talent involved which to me helps gives this anthology some heart. It would be awesome if someone ever makes another horror anthology show and to have both old and new generation talent involved, it should be considered because we seriously need another horror anthology show right now.Some of my favorites are "Anavercery Dinner" which in a way is a modern day Brothers Grimm like tale, "Last Car" where a girl is taking a train home only she's not going home, "Word Processor of the Gods" a fun wishforfillment story let alone cool concept, "Biglows Last Smoke" which is uncannily similar to the Steven King short story let alone the title alone in a way that story is more of a black comedy but also a good metaphor on addiction and it's destructive nature, "Levetation" which was a fable on the danger of ambition gone awry and tempting fate, the ending I'll admit left a cold chill in me. Yeah, there are plenty more but I displayed enough of them, just check them out for yourself or simply make your own list So, until next time try to enjoy the daylight.Rating: 4 stars

DARKSIDE proved to be a distinct step down from classic TV anthology series like THE TWILIGHT ZONE and CHILLER. Episodes were shot on video and a synthesizer was often the only musical accompaniment. Plots were often all too predictable. Yet a handful of episodes stand out,and you can read about them in detail here on IMDb. Familiar faces popped up in most episodes, which was a definite plus. But if you watch a TWILIGHT ZONE episode followed by a DARKSIDE episode, you are going to cringe at the incredible cheapness of the latter. The show is constantly in reruns on channels like The Sci-Fi Channel, for what it's worth. For all its faults, I will recommend HBO's TALES FROM THE CRYPT over this. Heck, I'll even recommend THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER or Roald Dahl's short-lived series over DARKSIDE.

This show was really great, most of the time. Like the original Twilight Zone, it was sometimes horror episodes, sometimes fantasy and sometimes comedy/fantasy. 92 episodes aired, around 70 of them being really great, and the others being stinkers. Since it was on regular TV, it couldn't contain very much language, and the violence was plentiful, but usually mild. The narrator Paul Sparer had a really creepy voice and started and ended the show. The shows were often about ghosts, demons, Satan, monsters and even a boy putting his voice onto a computer. Each episode had a surprise ending, which made it even better. It was often very morbid and could be depressing, but usually wasn't. It was great.My rating: A. 1984-1988. 30 mins. 6 volumes with 5 episodes on each are available on VHS, and one volume has two.(32 episodes available)

The television horror anthology has a long and noble history. In the Fifties, Rod Serling blazed the trail with THE TWILIGHT ZONE; though the series mostly veered in the direction of what may be called "speculative fantasy", it did produce its share of horrific/macabre episodes. This was to be followed by THRILLER in the early Sixties, a much more overtly Gothic series hosted by Boris Karloff, and one of the first television series to catch flack for experimenting with graphic violence (one episode featured a man staggering down a flight of stairs with an ax buried in his head!). Serling struck again with NIGHT GALLERY in the Seventies, an often genuinely weird and experimental series that, like THRILLER, often drew from the great pulp horror tales of the past for inspiration. And, in the Eighties, came George Romero's TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE.I vividly remember the show as a pre-teen; it would premier late at night, around 11:30 after the news and "normal" programming concluded. As that bleary witching hour approached, when the wholesome prime-time like of FAMILY TIES and THE FACTS OF LIFE seemed miles gone by, disorientation and apprehension would set in - the atmosphere was right for a kid to be scared! And nothing was scarier than DARKSIDE's opening sequence. What looked like pastoral postcard scenes of rural Vermont would give way to the ominous intonations of Paul Sparer, backed up by a prickly synthesizer score. The title card would then appear in dripping letters of crimson. It was, in a word, unforgettable.For budgetary reasons, the episodes were shot on video; on the one hand, this gave them an air of cheapness, but on the other lent them a kind of creepy immediacy. The frequent appearance of veteran stars meanwhile, some of who hadn't then worked in years, provided some old-fashioned cachet. Eddie Bracken starred in one I'll never forget - A Case of the Stubborns, based on a story by Robert Bloch. Bracken plays a cranky old grandfather who refuses to accept the fact that he has died, much to the distress of his family. As the days pass, Bracken begins to decompose, to the point of literally sneezing his nose off. Another one that stuck with me was called Inside the Closet, which starred Fritz Weaver as a doctor with a horrible Tom Savini-designed secret locked in his doll closet. One of the (deservedly) best-loved episodes was a Christmas-themed affair called Seasons of Belief. This one had E. G. Marshall sadistically terrorizing his children with stories of The Grither, a sort of demonic Santa being whose name must never be spoken. Building to a truly spectacular conclusion, Seasons of Belief stands out as an endearingly bilious Yuletide classic. In addition to the old-timers, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE boasted some up-and-coming talent as well - the aforementioned A Case of the Stubborns also starred Christian Slater. Another one I remember, called Monsters in My Room, had little Seth Green as a boy who faces the titular trouble. To further sweeten the package, horror masters like Romero, Savini, and Bloch frequently contributed behind the camera.TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE looms large in the pantheon of Eighties horror (when the genre wasn't afraid to be bold and nasty), as well as in the hearts of those of us who remember it. As it's been off the air for some time, a DVD release may well be in order, so that a whole new generation might behold what gave many Children of the Eighties a pleasant little chill back in the day. As the show's closer immortally put it: "The Darkside is always there, waiting for us to enter, waiting to enter us. Until next time - try to enjoy the daylight."