Nightmare Cafe: Difference between revisions
m Bot: Changing Category:Sony Pictures Television shows per CFD, see Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/2006 July 10 |
|||
Line 61: | Line 61: | ||
==Miscellanea== |
==Miscellanea== |
||
* The original concept for the series involved standalone episodes akin to ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' or ''[[Amazing Stories (TV series)|Amazing Stories]]'', but with regular characters bookending the tales ("like ''Twilight Zone'' meets ''[[Cheers]]''", as creator Wes Craven often said in interviews). NBC gave Craven the green light, but when he prepared to write the pilot, he realized that he wanted the regular characters to also be the ''main'' characters. Despite the show being retooled before the pilot was even written, contemporary critics still often referred to ''Nightmare Cafe'' as a "supernatural/horror anthology" series. |
|||
* Although the production team originally toyed with the idea of filming in a real diner, that idea was eventually scrapped, and a set was built in Vancouver's North Shore Studios. The set was built to be mobile, as certain scripts called for parts of the cafe interior to appear in completely different locations; it was also built with a ceiling, unusually for television at the time, and each booth was given an authentic 1940s-era table jukebox, rented from a private collector. |
|||
* The waterfront that served as the café's "home base" was actually the Vancouver waterfront (no surprise, given that the series was shot in Vancouver). |
|||
* The pilot episode of ''Nightmare Cafe'' was first "officially" aired on 28 February 1992 at 10 pm EST. However, NBC decided to lead off its new season of shows with a special "sneak preview" night, in which one of its new programs would be unveiled early, in order to generate advance buzz and get a jump on the season. That "secret" episode was the pilot of ''Nightmare Cafe'', although in actuality it wasn't much of a surprise, since many TV writers had already disclosed which program was to be shown. The pilot debuted to mixed — although overall positive — reviews, with comparisons drawn to the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street|Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' series of movies (no doubt due to Craven and Englund's involvement), ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', ''[[Fantasy Island]]'', ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', ''[[Cheers]]'', ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]'' and ''[[Topper (television)|Topper]]''. |
|||
* At the end of the pilot episode (aired 29 January 1992), Frank and Fay's first official customer - a young Asian woman - peeks her head around the door to ask if the café is still open. Many reviewers at the time believed this to be a clever in-joke, given that the woman was played by [[Joan Chen]], whose character [[Josie Packard]] had apparently met a mysterious and untimely end of sorts in the ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' episode "[[The Condemned Woman (Twin Peaks episode)|The Condemned Woman]]" (2.16), which had aired almost a year previously, on 16 February 1991. |
|||
* Both the first and second episodes begin with a shot of car headlights approaching the waterfront, and end (more or less) with the villain in a prison cell. The plot of the first four episodes each involves (or seems to involve) a woman in peril from her dangerous lover. |
|||
* Jack Coleman met his future wife, [[Beth Toussaint]], while filming the second episode (''Dying Well is the Best Revenge''), which featured their respective characters in a romantic relationship. They married four years later, on 21 June 1996, in Cape Cod. [http://www.ultimatedynasty.net/archives/archives21.html] |
* Jack Coleman met his future wife, [[Beth Toussaint]], while filming the second episode (''Dying Well is the Best Revenge''), which featured their respective characters in a romantic relationship. They married four years later, on 21 June 1996, in Cape Cod. [http://www.ultimatedynasty.net/archives/archives21.html] |
Revision as of 07:57, 31 July 2006
Nightmare Cafe | |
---|---|
Created by | Wes Craven Thomas Baum |
Starring | Robert Englund Jack Coleman Lindsay Frost |
Country of origin | USA |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Running time | 1 hour, with commercials |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | Lua error in mw.lua at line 143: field 'month' missing in date table. |
Nightmare Cafe is a short-lived American telefantasy program which aired on NBC for an abridged first season from January to April 1992. While the overall tone of the program was that of a mystical fantasy, it frequently incorporated elements of dark humor, horror, and even outright comedy. A total of six episodes were produced before low ratings led to its cancellation. The series has subsequently been shown on the Sci Fi Channel as part of their Series Collection.
Overview
Nightmare Cafe broadly concerns the inhabitants of the titular otherworldly café: mysterious proprietor Blackie, sarcastic but good-hearted cook Frank, and insecure yet gutsy waitress Fay. During the show's limited run, the origins of the café were never revealed, but it has the power to materialize in any location (much like the TARDIS in Doctor Who, albeit apparently without the ability to time-travel), and seems to be sentient on some level. The café is usually situated by a waterfront; when it changes its location, its inhabitants realize that they are about to be given a mission.
Themes
Nightmare Cafe is a show about second chances. Characters who enter the café - presumably drawn there by the café itself, as an embodiment of fate - are given the opportunity to correct something in their lives that went wrong, if they are morally good; or, if they are morally bad, to atone for something they have done or will do, sometimes against their will, and often incorporating poetic justice.
The Café
The café serves as both a central location for the action and as a plot catalyst, primarily by exerting its influence upon each episode's protagonist(s), or antagonist(s), to bring them into contact with the regulars. Aside from transporting itself from place to place in its entirety, once settled, it can also create portals between itself and various locations, which are traversed (often unexpectedly, on the whim of the café) by crossing the threshold of one of the café's many doorways. These portals are not even restricted to the Earth; the café can also travel to outer space and, apparently, even heaven, which hints at a supernatural origin. The café also has the ability to make both idle and heartfelt wishes come true, which of course are not always what the recipient actually wants or needs, and the café seems to take a perverse delight in "misinterpreting" such wishes. Frank and Fay often take advantage of this ability by wishing themselves from place to place; when this occurs, or when the café otherwise deems it important, those remaining in the dining room can watch the exploits of their companions on the (sometimes interactive) television set mounted in the far wall.
Cast
- Robert Englund - Blackie
- Jack Coleman - Frank Nolan
- Lindsay Frost - Fay Peronivic
Opening Sequence
Following the pilot, the remaining five episodes began with an introduction narrated by Robert Englund as Blackie:
- "Touch that remote and you die! Now that I've got your attention, here's the deal. See those two people? That's Frank, and that's Fay. Strangers when they met, turns out they've got a lot in common. Both died on the same night, both ended up in the same body of water, and both took refuge in the same all-night cafe. Me, I run the place. Name's Blackie. Been here from the beginning. Now, I know I said Frank and Fay were dead, but the cafe needed a new cook and waitress, so it gave them a second chance at life. They do their job, they get to stick around and help unsuspecting customers turn their lives around. 'Course, anything can happen to those who wander in - their worst nightmares, or their forbidden dreams. Yeah, it all happens here...in this little place we call the Nightmare Cafe."
Episodes
- Pilot (29 January 1992)
Frank Nolan and Fay Peronivic find themselves mysteriously drawn to an all-night café following a surreal brush with death.
- Dying Well is the Best Revenge (06 March 1992)
When Frank gets involved with a married woman whose husband is very possessive, Fay worries for his safety.
- Fay & Ivy (13 March 1992)
Fay's younger sister Ivy comes to the city to visit her, but trouble comes along in the form of her scummy boyfriend Jesse.
- The Heart of the Mystery (20 March 1992)
The café slows down time in order to enable a detective to find the answer to an unsolved murder before his death by gunshot.
- Sanctuary for a Child (27 March 1992)
The café brings Frank back to his hometown, where he befriends a boy whose comatose body lies in the town hospital.
- Aliens Ate My Lunch (03 April 1992)
When a desperate tabloid writer concocts a story about a small-town alien invasion, his simple lie snowballs out of his control.
Taglines
Three souls caught between this world and the next, proudly serving mankind with hot coffee and second chances 24 hours a day.
Miscellanea
- The original concept for the series involved standalone episodes akin to The Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories, but with regular characters bookending the tales ("like Twilight Zone meets Cheers", as creator Wes Craven often said in interviews). NBC gave Craven the green light, but when he prepared to write the pilot, he realized that he wanted the regular characters to also be the main characters. Despite the show being retooled before the pilot was even written, contemporary critics still often referred to Nightmare Cafe as a "supernatural/horror anthology" series.
- Although the production team originally toyed with the idea of filming in a real diner, that idea was eventually scrapped, and a set was built in Vancouver's North Shore Studios. The set was built to be mobile, as certain scripts called for parts of the cafe interior to appear in completely different locations; it was also built with a ceiling, unusually for television at the time, and each booth was given an authentic 1940s-era table jukebox, rented from a private collector.
- The waterfront that served as the café's "home base" was actually the Vancouver waterfront (no surprise, given that the series was shot in Vancouver).
- The pilot episode of Nightmare Cafe was first "officially" aired on 28 February 1992 at 10 pm EST. However, NBC decided to lead off its new season of shows with a special "sneak preview" night, in which one of its new programs would be unveiled early, in order to generate advance buzz and get a jump on the season. That "secret" episode was the pilot of Nightmare Cafe, although in actuality it wasn't much of a surprise, since many TV writers had already disclosed which program was to be shown. The pilot debuted to mixed — although overall positive — reviews, with comparisons drawn to the Nightmare on Elm Street series of movies (no doubt due to Craven and Englund's involvement), The Twilight Zone, Fantasy Island, Quantum Leap, Cheers, Moonlighting and Topper.
- At the end of the pilot episode (aired 29 January 1992), Frank and Fay's first official customer - a young Asian woman - peeks her head around the door to ask if the café is still open. Many reviewers at the time believed this to be a clever in-joke, given that the woman was played by Joan Chen, whose character Josie Packard had apparently met a mysterious and untimely end of sorts in the Twin Peaks episode "The Condemned Woman" (2.16), which had aired almost a year previously, on 16 February 1991.
- Both the first and second episodes begin with a shot of car headlights approaching the waterfront, and end (more or less) with the villain in a prison cell. The plot of the first four episodes each involves (or seems to involve) a woman in peril from her dangerous lover.
- Jack Coleman met his future wife, Beth Toussaint, while filming the second episode (Dying Well is the Best Revenge), which featured their respective characters in a romantic relationship. They married four years later, on 21 June 1996, in Cape Cod. [1]
- During its short run, Nightmare Cafe featured an impressive array of popular guest actors, some of whom appeared in the series before they became well-known. These include Carrie-Anne Moss, Angela Bassett, William B. Davis and Don S. Davis.
- In the fourth-season Seinfeld two-part episode "The Pitch" and "The Ticket" (both aired 16 September 1992), a Nightmare Cafe promotional poster - featuring the three leads in front of the café door - can be seen on one wall of the NBC lobby.
Merchandise
- A soundtrack, featuring the incidental music of J. Peter Robinson as well as five songs used in the show, was released by Varèse Sarabande in 1992. [2]