User reviews

Steven Spielberg produced, wrote, came up with ideas for and even directed episodes of Amazing Stories, so naturally this would have to be the greatest anthology ever right? Unfortunately wrong. Some episodes are just fantastic, but all too often it was a mixed bag. In fact, that might have been it's downfall is it was way too mixed. Some episodes were light comedies, some were dramas, some were horror, and one was even animated, which made this a similar, but not as good 80s version of the Twilight Zone (which also was around).

Normally I'd like having a mixture of stories in an anthology show, but they just didn't fully work here. Some of the more fantastical dramatic episodes felt like they would be better being shown late on night on the Lifetime network, like the episode "Ghost Train", which was directed by Spielberg himself. In that episode, it gave the message of hope, and gave us a fantasy story, but overall it was just a build up to the ending which didn't blow me away anyways. The horror episodes tended to work better than the drama, but there were far more dramatic ones, and they grow tiring to watch. Acting wise, this anthology got some big stars, similar to the original Twilight Zone. Kevin Costner, Kiefer Sutherland, Milton Berle, Dom Deluise, Harvey Keitel, Beau Bridges, Charlie Sheen, Forrest Whitaker, Tim Robbins, John Lithgow, Rhea Perlman, Danny Devito, Patrick Swayze, Christopher Lloyd, June Lockhart, Kathy Baker, Weird Al Yankovich and many other well knowns have been in episodes of the show. It's fun to see well known actors in almost every episode of the series. Great directors have also had part in episodes including Spielberg himself, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Bob Clark, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Paul Bartel, Joe Dante, Robert Zemeckis, Danny Devito and even Martin Scorsese. I'd actually recommend this more to fans of the directors and/or the 80s than anyone else.

Amazing Stories was sometimes amazing, usually good, occasionally mediocre, and every once in a while a real stinker came out. But, this show has nostalgic value to me, and it's sort of fun to sit on boring afternoons and watch some episodes. John Williams' theme music for the show is sure to be caught in anyone's head who watches this, too.

My rating: Good show. 30 mins. per episode. TVPG

As my 175th review, I chose this as I was given the Season 1 set for Christmas & have been looking at this series for the first time. I remember the ads for it years ago, but never watched it because the NBC people moved the series around so much that I could never find out when it was on.

In the season 1 shows, the first 6 episodes were really solid. Then the next 6 tailed off. The third 6 got better again. I have not watched the last 6 yet. The DVD's do feature some deleted scenes though so far the deleted scenes i have looked at have not been anything major.

What this series did have was names & not just Spielberg's - consider Clint Eastwood directing an episode with Sondra Locke in it. Mark Hammil does an episode,Kevin Costner, Sid Ceasar, Milton Berle, & others.

The episodes range from cute - Aliens touring Hollywood to World War 2 Missions to depression era stuff to the Alamo. The good thing is Spielberg did not try to get corny & do a Rod Sterling type of introduction to each one. This gave him a little more time to develop plots than Sterling format. Actually the aliens, the Alamo & the VooDoo sitter are pretty good.

The bad news is that some of the plots are quite predictable. Given the overall quality of the DVD I have seen though, the DVDs are the way to watch these. I think too many commercials are put in on the Science Fiction channel & these shows make no sense when they are shortened at all. In fact, I would not be surprised that even when they ran on NBC they were shortened too which is why the series failed.

Even with predictable plots, The DVD sticks a lot into each episode so shortening these hurts them.

To be clear: The episodes vary in quality - not all deserve a 6+, but some of them definitely do compete with expensive productions, with just 20-25minutes of runtime, which forced the writer to make dense or intense story telling.

My personal favorites are "Go to the head of class" (double ep with Christopher Lloyd), "Mummy Daddy", but also "The Mission" (another twin double ep.) is damn good, "Thanksgiving" creepy as hell, "Magic Saturday" as a quite memorable, bitter-sweet story. Some stories have similarities to later blockbusters or mystery series episodes.

The whole series is a journey through a diverse bunch of stories, (later on) well known actors and directors, many styles, ways of story telling, speed, suspense, and sometimes spooky beyond the X-Files. Real film buffs, on the other hand, will recognize the style and details of certain directors and writers, like Zemeckis.

IMHO the concept of this productions is essential for ANY film producing country, to give especially newbies a chance to learn and grow, with few limitations for their fantasy and style.

All in all, both, lovers of big cinema and niche shows will for sure find episodes they really like and they can discuss with others.

Some "amazing stories" were actually just rehashes of old ideas, but some, such as "The Mission", were superbly written, directed, and are worth seeking out. To add to their appeal, some top-notch actors are involved to bring an extra dimension to the story. Worth seeing.

This show is my tenth favorite anthology show, as well as an honorable mention in favorite fantasy TV shows. But also, the show is another under the radar gem, I wouldn't say it was overlooked it was a moderate hit at the time but as time went on its became slightly forgotten. This show is a different kind of anthology as this one is mainly focused on the fantasy genre which I like and is not something I see much or at all in the anthology genre; most anthologies and there tales have an element of fantasy and a sum of them are of the fantasy genre, this show is pure fantasy based.

The production value is on par, this show was produced by some of the best people Steven Spielberg and others and they no doubt brought out the best. The budget was high, and it was used well. Really like that they have some well-known or familiar named directors some of them I'm a little surprised even did this kind of show at all.

Even familiar faces and stars in the episodes like Mark Hamell, John Lithgow, Kevin Costner, Keither Sutherland, Dom Deloise, it's always fun to see big names and familiar faces being involved in the anthologies really helps showcase their talents or just simply a break from the norm.

I even love that theme song which is one of my favorite theme songs of all time done by one of my favorite composers John Williams. It just has that adventurous tune which fits. Also like the intro which is one of my favorite intos that I feel is sorely missing in TV; it's a very interesting was as it just shows the power of stories and how timeless and universal they are.

It's true that this show may have some rotten tomatoes on the vine but same is said for a lot of anthologies it's always going to be hit or miss, it's always a matter of preference. But there are also plenty of ripe and fine tomatoes that are worth picking and are what truly count. I'll just say a few of my favorite tales, yeah you might not agree with them but as I said before it's a matter of preference after all.

1. Family Dog: This is no surprise my favorite tale of all. The episode was the debut of one of my favorite animation directors of all time Brad Bird, whom of course is known for "The Iron Giant", "The Incredibles 1 and 2", etc.; this was a great start for him and on a side note this episode became an animated TV series I think is underrated.

The things that were unique about this episode was that it was all animated and it focused on a nonverbal protagonist. I really love the protagonist whom is just so cute, surprised there were never any plush toys of him, really like the shape of his head which is unusual as it looks like a ice cream cone which I feel adds to the cuteness.

The dog is sort of the sad clown and straight man of the segment, as there seems to be all kinds of chaos and insanity going on with the family, let alone grief he receives.

2. You got to Believe Me: This tale sort of predates the "Final Destination" franchise as the premise is a bit uncannily similar. The late Charles During is good as a sympathetic protagonist who has been given a premonition of doom, you really route for him despite his reluctance does everything he can to stop the terrible tragedy.

3. Mummy Daddy: This is a funny horror comedy that kind of predates the film "Scream". It's just funny how it parodies all the clichés in all of the old-time universal horror movies but also how fantasy and reality collide.

Overall, if you're into the anthology genre, this is worth check out. There are plenty of amazing tales to satisfy your amazement.

Rating: 3 and a half stars

This is an anthology series from creator Steven Spielberg. It's best described as a more family-friendly Twilight Zone. It has a throwback feel towards the old comic book stories. It often references an older time or has a nostalgic feel back to the 50's. It lasted two full seasons. The most iconic episode is probably the fifth episode in season one. It's the WWII bomber plane with cartoon wheels. One does notice some bigger actors in some of the earlier episodes. I absolutely remember the Ghost Train and Miscalculation. Both The Mission and Ghost Train are directed by Spielberg and a good number of stories are from him. One episode has Paul Bartel redoing his Secret Cinema. These are half hour episodes which does limit them to short stories. Mostly, they have one central reveal or shocking concept. There isn't enough time to have multiple twists and turns. It doesn't always have the edginess or the darkness. It's definitely not trying for the same style as Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. It has more fun with the lighter side of the genre. There are some really good episodes and at least, almost every one of them works in some way.

I was delighted to finally see the release of Amazing Stories the first season on DVD. I had forgotten just what a stellar cast of actors and directors worked on this series. For the longest time the only way you got to see this remarkable series was with the VHS 2 or 3 episode collections or when Sci-Fi would re-run the episodes. However, when Sci-Fi would host the re-runs, they generally stuck to the same episodes. There were a few outstanding episodes in Season One like The Mission that they didn't repeat. Does anyone know exactly how long this series ran? It says 1985 to 1987 at the top here at IMDb but I thought it ran longer than two years. If you loved the Twilight Zone, Night Gallery and Outer Limits, you will love this series and you will not be disappointed with your purchase.

This show did have some lame stories but the mission and mirror mirror were the two best episodes of the series.

This series was just like what you would expect from Mr.Spielberg. It is truly one of those frighting, funny, childish shows that you won't forget. Just like Outer Limits (another great show) this little series does what not a lot can. It was great, and deserved to run longer. It was a great show, that even kids could watch, though some of the shows were a little scary when they wanted to be, but all of them always had a moral at the end (like the Twilight Zone) that made you realize what situation you didn't want to end up in, or ones that you did. I remember watching some of these on Sci-fi when I was 10, and even now, I still enjoy seeing them when I can. Truly a fun, imaginative show. I loved it, and still do.

This is undoubtedly one of the best series of the 80s, with a good story, good characters, good actors, good sound mix, good soundtrack and with the participation of movie experts in each episode of the series (as Steven Spielberg) , each episode looks better. Highly recommend.

Fun to watch peoples imaginations come to life. I would have liked to sat in on the storyboard creations.

If you are looking for an anthology program with all the magic and fine writing of "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits", you should keep on looking. "Amazing Stories" was a short-lived 80s series and after re-watching a bunch of episodes recently, I was actually surprised it lasted two seasons and wasn't canceled sooner. This is because although it was a Steven Spielberg production, the show was incredibly uneven. Many of the episodes were bad--poorly written and very broadly acted. I think perhaps much of this is because they were trying to create a show that would appeal much more to kids than adults--and so many episodes are just tedious and annoying. It's a real shame, as a few of the shows (such as the one starring John Lithgow) were magical and sweet. The idea of such a program COULD have worked. It's just a darn shame the writing was so bad and the appeal strictly limited to kids.

By the way, if you think I am wrong about the show, try re-watching a few episodes yourself. I thought the show was pretty good back in the 80s when it debuted but when seen today, they have clearly NOT aged well. The acting and subtlety seem more akin to "Family Matters" (that annoying Urkel show) or "Full House" than an anthology series. Also, the earlier episodes were a tad better and often featured top directors or famous actors directing (such as Timothy Hutton and Burt Reynolds). Later, the show fell into a more mundane pattern with less stars and a bit less entertainment.

Also, if you watch, pay attention to the heavily computer generated intro. In the mid-80s, it was DEFINITELY state of the art and amazing. By today, it looks incredibly dated and shabby. This is NOT a criticism--more a comment about how far CGI has come since then.

Spielburg is truly one of our cinematic giants and were so lucky to have him. I remember that he said that he based Raiders Of The Lost Ark on all those cliffhanger movie serials that he saw as a kid. He is like a person with the mind of a genius and the heart of a child. Amazing Stories was his contribution to television and this series has been unfairly forgotten. It should have run longer and I am glad some of the episodes are out on video. It was imaginative and daring just like the movies Speilburg directed. It told different stories every week and used some of our finest actors in the roles. The one that touched my heart the most was one about a man who was a soldier in World War II and came home resented by his little girl. She wandered off in the woods during a picnic and was lost forever. Years later, when the old man's wife is on her deathbed, he hears a knock at the door and he opens it to see his little girl. She has come for her mother and takes her away. This was one of the most moving stories that I have ever seen and it almost brings tears to my eyes thinking of it even now. Some episodes were dramatic and some were funny but the point is that all were masterful and original. Fred Allen once said "No wonder they call tv a medium, nothing on it is ever well done". I think even Fred would have loved Amazing Stories.

This anthology series wasn't really all that great, but on the flip side, it doesn't totally suck either. Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" tries to be a cross b/w "The Twilight Zone", early Disney films, and some magical pulp adventures from the 1930s. But a lot of the episodes are flat out boring. There was a certain ambiance that surrounded "Amazing Stories" and it's marketing back in 1985 that made you think it was an important event series that couldn't be missed. This was a especially true if you were a child a the time. Was it a movie being broadcast on network TV? Was it a made for TV movie that Spielberg dreamed up for NBC? Was George Lucas somehow involved? Or was it just a TV show? The lines of what "Amazing Stories" was often felt blurred, it was not really a sci-fi series, but more creepy tales from the netherworld. It was hard to tell at the time, but I bought it. Hook line and sinker, I was there for every episode. It also had Steven "Jaws/Indiana Jones/E.T." Spielberg's name attached to it, which automatically made people in the mid 80s think it would be awesome. The opening credits with the cavemen sitting around a fire tries to reinforce this notion that the series is telling ancient, wondrous stories but it's simply not that good. To be fair there is some magic to this show and there were a couple of stand out episodes (The Mission was one of my favorites), but I never thought it was the kind of magic that was promised in the credits.

A problem I had was that the episodes often build up to what seems like an amazing climax (pun intended), but level off with corny, tacked on endings that felt written at the last minute. Many of the stories are VERY PREDICTABLE. If the series is award winning, I'm certain it's because of technical achievements. The early CGI TRON styled credits were excellent for their time. In fact I believe "Amazing Stories" was the first TV series to use computer generated special effects.

The show isn't bad at all, it's just not the classic classic that some believe it is. I mean it's entertaining enough, but don't expect Rod Serling kinda story telling. Even as a kid I thought the series was mediocre. I was about in the 5th grade when this show came on, young enough to still be taken in by the premise because the show appeared to promise "Star Wars/Indiana Jones/E.T." kinda magic, but I was an old enough elementary school kid to figure out a dumb or boring story.

Personally I wouldn't get the DVD, this show is best seen as something you would catch on the Sci-Fi channel during a rainy day. I think it's entertaining enough to watch on TV, but not to own. It is great series for mid 80s (1985/'86) nostalgia, it'll likely make you cringe at the gaudy mid 80s styles.

I would grade the series as a B-.

Possibly the worst written anthology series out there. Actually everything is good, the show had a good production value, great actors, stars from the past and those who still had their careers ahead of them. Almost all episodes are based on good ideas. It's kind of an art that practically almost all of them were written so badly that they really annoy you when you watch them.

ever since the sci-fi revival started, i've been wondering if they would ever try another crack at the amazing stories series. i don't know if anyone has seen the new twilight zone series or any of these other 'hack' type shows... but when i think about the best shows since the original twilight zone and outer limits (which are THE BEST) this series is the best thing to happen since those shows went off the air. writing, acting, production value (for its day) are all way above the mark of anything to happen since. the only other show that i remember being EXCELLENT is the short lived jim henson show- and i can't even remember its name. this show along with northen exposure, star trek tng, and a very, very select few make up the creme of the crop of shows since the 80's. oh yeah, of course the x-files had some 'amazing stories-esque' episodes, but 'amazing' was and is the only true modern fantasy series of greatness!!!!!!!! yay!

Amazing Stories was a TV series created by The master Steven Spielberg.It was made in the years 1985-1987.Every time there was a different story and different actors.Amazing Stories was a great fantasy show that kept you interested from the beginning to the end.Very often it had some famous actors so it was nice to watch who were the stars each time.Watch this show if you want to see something interesting.

I was 26 years old when "Amazing Stories" was on TV. My co-workers and I always talked about it the next day at work. Everyone I knew loved the show...it always gave us something great to talk about and almost always made us really, really laugh. Everyone got involved in the conversations and it was always in a positive way. Some of the shows were serious...some were very touching...and some were absolutely hilarious. But they were all very clever in one way or another. They remind me of "Tales from the Crypt" and "The Twilight Zone. Two very, very, very funny episodes were "Head of the Classs" and the one with the college boys with the pink goop in Science class. They were the two that were our favorites. Who couldn't help but repeat the line "Kiss me and I'm yours forever"? Or how about "Mr. Braaaaaad"? I did, however, miss the magnetic episode. And even from just hearing about it really tickled me. I remember laughing so hard that tears were running down my face when the people at work told me about it. I would really love to be able to see that one. Even after twenty years, I still find myself bringing up the show for some good reason or another. I miss the show very much, and I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for it to come out on DVD.

I suppose the fact that this series is produced by Steven Spielberg is what makes it so bland, designed to appeal to the 1980s-2000 audience, so invariably with a happy ending. He is not backward about calling them amazing stories either, though most of the ones I've seen are anything but. The special effects are "technically more advanced" (not more realistic) than series like "The Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" made 25-30 years before. But otherwise they pale in comparison -- almost to invisibility. Like other productions from the Star War era onwards, it is a chore to sit through this dumbed-down Pablum.

When this show premiered Spielberg was at the top of his game/fame. He was a director(Jaws, Raiders, ET) and executive producer(Gremlins, Back to the Future). Amazing Stories was a big event series. It had a million dollar per episode budget(quite high for the 80s), state of the art title credits and many famous faces(especially behind the camera). It didn't even need to show its worth in the first season, it was locked in for two seasons. Alas it was mostly a dud, and was nowhere near as good storywise as the original Twilight Zone or Outer Limits.

There was no equivalent of "To Serve Man" or "Nightmare at 20 000 Feet" in Amazing Stories. No "Zanti Misfits" or "Architects of Fear." Stories that you could watch once and probably remember well, and be able to relay to someone else in a few sentences and still be entertaining because the idea was good.

The best live action episode was in my opinion, "Mummy, Daddy." It had energy, humor and clever ending, which was improvised, and if it had followed the script as originally written(concluding in the hospital) would have been a dud as well.

"Family Dog" also stood out.

I remember "the Main Attraction," "The Mission" (mainly for the cartoony ending), "Gather Ye Acorns," "Miscalculations," "Mirror, Mirror" and "Go to the Head of the Class."

But beyond some fancy special effects and occasional laugh, the stories just don't hold up.

Doing a memorable anthology show is hard, but the cheaper Tales From the Darkside was locked into the horror genre and didn't do so badly.

The most memorable thing about it was in fact the opening credits, and as others have said, the series never lived up to the concept. It was probably held to a higher standard because of Spielberg's film history at the time, but for the small screen, he was no Rod Serling.

This quasi-Twilight Zone series (but with more emphasis on the fantasy elements) ranks as one of my favorite shows. The episodes were all good, and I especially remember the episodes where a guy finds himself trapped in the bottom of an airplane during a war, and one where a nerd can't seem to get the girl he wants and wishes life could be more like the movies, until he finds himself in a dark one...

All in all, not too bad.

The epsiode I remember from this show is probably the one that everyone who watched rememebers most. This one is "Go to The Head of the Class." I was probably 10 or 11 when I first saw it and enjoyed watching it with my older brother and sister. It is packed with moments that make you jump. Now that I am older, I enjoy when it comes on TV and still jump at the shocks. Christopher Lloyd is brilliant as the cruel teacher. The way he says Mr. Braaaand and Miss Simpson will always be a standout. The kids do well also. The music by Alan Silvestri is fantastic and chilling. This is a scary episode, but a lot of fun! So don't lose your head and catch it next time it comes on cable.