DBWI: "Adventures Into The Unknown" Never Made

[Mr_ Bondoc]

During the late 1980s until the late 1990s, independent Canadian film production companies, experimented with horror and science fiction syndicated TV series, with series such as Monsters and Tales from the Darkside, which served as anthology series. The best in my opinion was the series Adventures Into the Unknown, which ran from 1987-1995.

As such, what were your favorite episodes? Who were your favorite guest stars? And please refrain from actor William Shatner and his episode "The Truth or the Legend?"

 

[trollolol12]

My favorite episode was "Bigfoot was here"(episode 3, season 2), where a wealthy man launch an expedition to capture the legendary bigfoot but finds out later that he is hunted by the same beast he is searching. I loved the part where bigfoot runs on all fours, like a gorilla. That part was terrifying and original because the big foot has always been shown to run on two legs.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

My favorite episode was "Bigfoot was here"(episode 3, season 2), where a wealthy man launch an expedition to capture the legendary bigfoot but finds out later that he is hunted by the same beast he is searching. I loved the part where bigfoot runs on all fours, like a gorilla. That part was terrifying and original because the big foot has always been shown to run on two legs.

The fact that the episode starred Wilhelm Dafoe, fresh from his appearance in Platoon, served to make the episode that more intense.... I also challenge anyone to see the plot twist at the end, which gives even the film Predator a run for its money...

 

[trollolol12]

The fact that the episode starred Wilhelm Dafoe, fresh from his appearance in Platoon, served to make the episode that more intense.... I also challenge anyone to see the plot twist at the end, which gives even the film Predator a run for its money...

That ending was one of the best endings that series had. I don't want to spoil it to the people who didn't see "Bigfoot was here" so...
"The dark entity" is another of my favorite episodes, being the 8 episode of season 1. With Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith starring in it, it tells the story of a con-man trying to scam a successful businessman into believing that he is cursed. The Plot twist at the end...nothing beats it, even shows like "The Twilight Zone" still don't manage to create that kind of twist. If you don't saw that episode yet, don't open the spoiler.

Spoiler: The Twist of that episode

The businessman is a serial killer who was tricking the con-man with the intention of killing him....but the con-man is some kind of demonic alien who tricks the businessman to go to an insolated location with the intention of eating him

.
Before i forgot: if AITU wasn't made...we wouldn't have seen the flood of horror series (Imagine living in a world without "Creeping To The Dark")

​

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

One thing is for sure, I know people complain that the latter seasons lacked quality, mainly due to budget cuts, but the Michelle Forbes/ Aaron Eckhart piece "Preborn" (Season 7, episode 9), mixing the issue of abortion and time travel was certainly one to start political debates on both sides of the aisle....

 

[trollolol12]

One thing is for sure, I know people complain that the latter seasons lacked quality, mainly due to budget cuts, but the Michelle Forbes/ Aaron Eckhart piece "Preborn" (Season 7, episode 9), mixing the issue of abortion and time travel was certainly one to start political debates on both sides of the aisle....

Yes, i agree that latter seasons had some good episodes although they lack a better budget (Like the episode "The Neighbor", Season 8, episode 2, with Ashton Kutcher as the MC) but they are a minority in comparison with the other episodes that weren't that good ("Season Of Yetis". season 7, episode 8, again with Ashton Kutcher, and Jeff Goldblum), that was one of the reasons why season 8 was the last season, with the final episode being "Robotic Troubles", with Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Willis, that manages to combine Horror and Sci-fi succesfully.
The movie (1999) was good, and we se the return of the demonic alien of "The Dark Entity" chasing the serial killers of "Last Stop In Vegas" (season 5, episode 10) while fighting against the creatures of "The Well" (season 7, episode 10), with the apparition of the entity of "The Truth or the Legend?" (season 3, episode 3) and William Shatner's character in the chase of the latter.
Bondoc, What is your opinion about the episode 4 of season 5 called "History Changes"?.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Yes, i agree that latter seasons had some good episodes although they lack a better budget (Like the episode "The Neighbor", Season 8, episode 2, with Ashton Kutcher as the MC) but they are a minority in comparison with the other episodes that weren't that good ("Season Of Yetis". season 7, episode 8, again with Ashton Kutcher, and Jeff Goldblum), that was one of the reasons why season 8 was the last season, with the final episode being "Robotic Troubles", with Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Willis, that manages to combine Horror and Sci-fi succesfully.
The movie (1999) was good, and we se the return of the demonic alien of "The Dark Entity" chasing the serial killers of "Last Stop In Vegas" (season 5, episode 10) while fighting against the creatures of "The Well" (season 7, episode 10), with the apparition of the entity of "The Truth or the Legend?" (season 3, episode 3) and William Shatner's character in the chase of the latter.
Bondoc, What is your opinion about the episode 4 of season 5 called "History Changes"?.

I thought "History Changes" (season 5, episode 4) starring Jeffrey Combs , Bonnie Hunt, and Holly Robinson-Peet, did a good job of explaining why time travel is almost always seen as the domain of white males. As the episode showed, people seem to forget how terrible people were to each other, and just in the past 100 years...

 

[trollolol12]

I thought "History Changes" (season 5, episode 4) starring Jeffrey Combs , Bonnie Hunt, and Holly Robinson-Peet, did a good job of explaining why time travel is almost always seen as the domain of white males. As the episode showed, people seem to forget how terrible people were to each other, and just in the past 100 years...

Yeah, the show raise a lot of controversies about the nature of time-travel. Some people argue that the events of "History Changes" happens in the western/european civilizations and that in the other parts of the world things were different for the women and other races. I don't think any other series produced that kind of debates.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Yeah, the show raise a lot of controversies about the nature of time-travel. Some people argue that the events of "History Changes" happens in the western/european civilizations and that in the other parts of the world things were different for the women and other races. I don't think any other series produced that kind of debates.

I am surprised how Kevin Hart and Dave Chapelle were able to use the episode's premise as part of their comedy routine. Heck, even Carlos Mencia stole the premise when he went on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1996,...

 

[trollolol12]

So...AITU is the show that you compared every other horror show with, so we have "Creeping To The Dark" that is known as "Adventures Into The Unknown for kids", and "Darkness Rises" A.K.A. "Adventures Into The Unknown with guns" and "Horrorville", the "Adventures Into The Unknown in a town". Basically, is a meme now.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

So...AITU is the show that you compared every other horror show with, so we have "Creeping To The Dark" that is known as "Adventures Into The Unknown for kids", and "Darkness Rises" A.K.A. "Adventures Into The Unknown with guns" and "Horrorville", the "Adventures Into The Unknown in a town". Basically, is a meme now.

I like to think that Adventures Into the Unknown is a gateway series for science fiction. Consider that is why so much attention was made to when the Canadian scientists brought 3 seasons of AITU into the International Space Station (ISS) in 2008,...

 

[trollolol12]

I like to think that Adventures Into the Unknown is a gateway series for science fiction. Consider that is why so much attention was made to when the Canadian scientists brought 3 seasons of AITU into the International Space Station (ISS) in 2008,...

I find kinda ironic that one of the episodes that were brought to the ISS was the one called "Terror In The Space Station", the episode about a group of astronauts trying to survive the attack of a killer robot.

 

[Mr_ Bondoc]

I find kinda ironic that one of the episodes that were brought to the ISS was the one called "Terror In The Space Station", the episode about a group of astronauts trying to survive the attack of a killer robot.

I love the twist ending, starring Stephen Dorff, the American astronaut who survives the entire affair, only to reveal that he was a .... VAMPIRE

 

[trollolol12]

I love the twist ending, starring Stephen Dorff, the American astronaut who survives the entire affair, only to reveal that he was a .... VAMPIRE

That twist ending: and the vampire makes his return in "When a Vampire Knocks the Door" and other 3 episodes. I think that that was part of the recipe of the success of the series: it has a continuity other series doesn't have and have some characters that we could call "recurrents" like the con-man/demonic alien (Will Smith) that appeared in 5 episodes and second best, "The Oldman" (Charlton Heston) that appeared in the episode "The Oldman", where a group of thieves tries to robber the house of the old man. after that, he appeared in other 10 episodes, sharing one with the con-man. The fact is nobody knows what the oldman is, we know that he is older than the species that the con-man belongs and people who sees his eyes gets crazy.
I don't know why the Lady in Black is so popular: she appeared in 6 episodes and we know that she's only a human. A normal girl who tricks perverts just to play with them before killing them.