The Hitchhiker | |
---|---|
Genre | Anthology Horror Mystery |
Starring | Page Fletcher Nicholas Campbell |
Composers | Paul Hoffert Shuki Levy Michel Rubini Haim Saban |
Country of origin | United States Canada France |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 85 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Lewis Chesler (1986–1987) Riff Markowitz (1986–1987) Richard Rothstein Jeremy Lipp Jacques Methe David Perlmutter |
Running time | 30 minutes (approx) |
Production company | Chester/Perlmutter/Markowitz Productions |
Original release | |
Network | HBO (1983–1987) First Choice (1983–1987) USA Network (1989–1991) La Cinq (1989–1991) |
Release | November 23, 1983 – February 22, 1991 |
The Hitchhiker (also known as Deadly Nightmares in the United Kingdom and Le Voyageur in France) [1] is a mystery horror anthology television series. It aired from 1983 to 1987 on HBO, and First Choice and NTV in Canada. The series later moved to the USA Network from 1989 to 1991.
Each episode is introduced and concluded by a mysterious wanderer known only as "The Hitchhiker", and explores the foibles of humanity and its dark spirit. The title character was played by Nicholas Campbell from 1983-1984 (3 episodes), and Page Fletcher from 1984-1991 (82 episodes). There were a total of 85 episodes over six seasons (39 first runs on HBO and 46 first runs on USA).
The series was a United States/Canada/France co-production. It was filmed in Vancouver and Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Paris, France. The show was produced by Corazon Productions (Season 1 for a total of three episodes), Quintina Productions (Seasons 2-4 for a total of 36 episodes), and La Cinq, Atlantique & Quintina Productions (Seasons 5-6 for a total of 46 episodes).
The Hitchhiker was created by Lewis Chesler and Riff Markowitz, later joined by Richard Rothstein. The pilot episode consisted of three stories. Richard Rothstein wrote two and Jeph Loeb and Matt Weissman wrote the third.
Paul Hoffert created the theme music for the show. [2]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Network | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | ||||
1 | 3 | November 23, 1983 | December 14, 1983 | HBO | |
2 | 10 | November 13, 1984 | April 9, 1985 | ||
3 | 13 | September 15, 1985 | April 22, 1986 | ||
4 | 13 | February 17, 1987 | May 12, 1987 | ||
5 | 26 | May 22, 1989 | December 16, 1989 | USA Network | |
6 | 20 | September 21, 1990 | February 22, 1991 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Shattered Vows" | Ivan Nagy | Lewis Chesler | November 23, 1983 |
2 | 2 | "When Morning Comes" | Ivan Nagy | Lewis Chesler | November 30, 1983 |
3 | 3 | "Split Decision" | Ivan Nagy | Lewis Chesler | December 14, 1983 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | 1 | "Lovesounds" | David Wickes | Jeph Loeb & Matthew Weisman | November 13, 1984 |
5 | 2 | "Remembering Melody" | Christopher Leitch | Teleplay by : Alvin Sapinsley Based on a short story by : George R. R. Martin | November 27, 1984 |
6 | 3 | "Face to Face" | David Wickes | Story by : Richard Rothstein Teleplay by : Robert J. Avrech | December 4, 1984 |
7 | 4 | "And If We Dream" | Mai Zetterling | Story by : Richard Rothstein Teleplay by : Leora Barish | January 15, 1985 |
8 | 5 | "Petty Thieves" | Christopher Leitch | Story by : Richard Rothstein Teleplay by : William Darrid | January 29, 1985 |
9 | 6 | "Videodate" | Richard Rothstein | Richard Rothstein | February 16, 1985 |
10 | 7 | "A Time for Rifles" | David Wickes | Story by : H.A. DeRose Written by : Stanford Whitmore | March 2, 1985 |
11 | 8 | "Man at the Window" | Christopher Leitch | Michael Janover | March 12, 1985 |
12 | 9 | "Hired Help" | Mai Zetterling | Story by : Gail Glaze Written by : Stanford Whitmore | March 26, 1985 |
13 | 10 | "Murderous Feelings" | Mai Zetterling | Charles Israel | April 9, 1985 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | 1 | "Nightshift" | Phillip Noyce | Story by : April Campbell Jones & Bruce Jones Teleplay by : William Darrid | September 15, 1985 |
15 | 2 | "Out of the Night" | Brian Grant | Story by : Richard Rothstein Teleplay by : Marjorie David | October 29, 1985 |
16 | 3 | "The Killer" | Carl Schenkel | Story by : Richard Rothstein & Christopher Leitch Teleplay by : April Campbell Jones & Bruce Jones | November 12, 1985 |
17 | 4 | "W.G.O.D" | Mike Hodges | Story by : Richard Rothstein Teleplay by : Thomas Baum | November 26, 1985 |
18 | 5 | "Man's Best Friend" | Philip Noyce | Story by : April Campbell Jones & Bruce Jones Teleplay by : Nevin Schreiner | December 10, 1985 |
19 | 6 | "Ghostwriter" | Carl Schenkel | Thomas Baum | January 7, 1986 |
20 | 7 | "O.D. Feelin'" | Richard Rothstein | Richard Rothstein & Christopher Leitch | January 28, 1986 |
21 | 8 | "Dead Man's Curve" | Roger Vadim | Story by : Christopher Leitch Teleplay by : John Harrison | February 11, 1986 |
22 | 9 | "The Curse" | Phillip Noyce | Story by : Richard Rothstein & Christopher Leitch Teleplay by : Thomas Baum | February 25, 1986 |
23 | 10 | "True Believer" | Carl Schenkel | William Kelly | March 11, 1986 |
24 | 11 | "Last Scene" | Paul Verhoeven | Story by : Richard Rothstein Teleplay by : Robert J. Avrech | March 25, 1986 |
25 | 12 | "Man of Her Dreams" | Phillip Noyce | Story by : April Campbell & Bruce Jones Teleplay by : Gary Ross | April 8, 1986 |
26 | 13 | "One Last Prayer" | Brian Grant | Story by : April Campbell & Bruce Jones Teleplay by : Leora Barish & Henry Bean | April 22, 1986 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | 1 | "Perfect Order" | Daniel Vigne | Marjorie David | February 17, 1987 |
28 | 2 | "Minuteman" | Chris Thomson | Thomas Baum | February 24, 1987 |
29 | 3 | "Dead Heat" | Kees Van Oostrum | Story by : William Rontog Teleplay by : Maurice Noel | March 3, 1987 |
30 | 4 | "Why Are You Here?" | Chris Thomson | Story by : Christopher Leitch Teleplay by : Christopher Leitch & L. M. Kit Carson | March 10, 1987 |
31 | 5 | "Homebodies" | Carl Schenkel | Story by : Christopher Leitch & Richard Rothstein Teleplay by : Christopher Leitch | March 17, 1987 |
32 | 6 | "Doctor's Orders" | Reynaldo Villalobos | Thomas Baum | March 24, 1987 |
33 | 7 | "The Legendary Billy B." | Chris Thomson | Story by : Marjorie David Teleplay by : L. M. Kit Carson | March 31, 1987 |
34 | 8 | "In the Name of Love" | John Laing | Story by : Richard Rothstein, Christopher Leitch & Jeremy Lipp Teleplay by : Jeremy Lipp | April 7, 1987 |
35 | 9 | "Made for Each Other" | Thomas Baum | Thomas Baum | April 14, 1987 |
36 | 10 | "Joker" | Colin Bucksey | Story by : James Padrino Teleplay by : William Gray & Robert Reneau | April 21, 1987 |
37 | 11 | "Best Shot" | John Kent Harrison | John Kent Harrison | April 28, 1987 |
38 | 12 | "Secret Ingredient" | Colin Bucksey | Gail Glaze | May 5, 1987 |
39 | 13 | "Cabin Fever" | Clyde Monroe | Story by : April Campbell, Bruce Jones & David Latt Teleplay by : April Campbell, Bruce Jones & Jon Boorstin | May 12, 1987 |
Like the much earlier Twilight Zone series, with which it had a lot of other commonalities, The Hitchhiker served as starting point for many actors, some of whom would go on to gain greater recognition elsewhere. Notable cast members (in alphabetical order):
In 1995, The Hitchhiker entered syndication. To make the HBO episodes suitable for US broadcast television, edits were made, both for content (to remove nudity/gore/adult language) and for running time, to get them down to the standard 22-minute length needed to insert commercials. Reruns in foreign markets, such as Canada and Europe, often still contained the nudity/language/gore.
After 1983, (but prior to the 1995 syndication), the first three episodes had footage edited and/or re-shot to replace Nicholas Campbell with Page Fletcher, in order to preserve continuity during reruns. The Hitchhiker was syndicated by Rysher Entertainment (since absorbed by CBS Television Distribution) up until 2000.
Lorimar Home Video released four VHS volumes of HBO episodes to the rental market in 1987 (a trade ad for the first two volumes confirms those were also released on Beta format). Volume 1 contained "W.G.O.D", "The Curse" and "Hired Help". Volume 2 consisted of "Nightshift", "Dead Man's Curve" and "Perfect Order". The third volume had "Ghostwriter", "And If We Dream" and "True Believer". The final Lorimar tape had "Videodate", "Man's Best Friend" and "Face to Face". These four volumes were also issued on laserdisc the following year.
Budget label Goodtimes Home Video also released a single VHS volume containing three of the USA Network episodes in 1989. That tape contained "Her Finest Hour", "In Living Color" and "My Enemy".
HBO Home Video released a three-volume set on DVD between 2004–2006, featuring various episodes from the series. The two-disc, three-volume sets contain a selection of 30 episodes, most from the HBO-produced episodes but also including some that were made for the USA Network. [3] [4] [5]
In Australia, Volumes 1 and 2 were issued together in a single set, but instead of 20 episodes, the Australian set consists of only 17, leaving out "The Legendary Billy B.", "A Whole New You" and "Dead Heat".
In the United Kingdom, only the first HBO volume was released. This particular release contained nine episodes instead of 10. As with the Australian set, "The Legendary Billy B." is omitted from this release.
In Canada, Koch Entertainment (now known as Entertainment One) released Canadian seasons 1 and 3 (which correspond to US Seasons 1-3 and 5, respectively) on DVD in 2004. [6] [7] On October 18, 2005, Koch released The Complete Fourth Season (which corresponds to US Season 6). [8] According to Koch, the reason Canadian Season 2 (US Season 4) was not released was due to them not being able to find out who owned the Canadian distribution rights to those particular episodes.
Alliance Home Entertainment released The Hitchhiker: The Complete Collection on DVD in Canada for the very first time on October 11, 2011. [9] "The Complete Collection" is a bit misleading in that this does not contain all episodes (or even all of the HBO episodes). What is "complete" is that this release combines the three previously-released HBO Home Video volumes into one set.
Between the three HBO volumes and the Canadian season sets, all episodes of the show were released on home video except for "Minuteman" and "Doctor's Orders" (both of which came from US Season 4).
As of 2024, The Hitchhiker is not available on HBO's streaming service, Max.
Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | CableACE Awards | Nominated | Actress in a Dramatic Series | Jenny Seagrove (For episode "Killer") |
Actress in a Dramatic Series | Kirstie Alley (For episode "Out of the Night") | |||
Actor in a Dramatic Series | Michael O'Keefe (For episode "Man's Best Friend") | |||
Won | Actor in a Dramatic Series | Gary Busey (For episode "WGOD") | ||
1999 | Gemini Award | Nominated | Best Sound in a Dramatic Program or Series | Tim Archer, W. Michael Beard, Rick Ellis, Thomas Hidderley, and Anthony Lancett |
Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Television. It was founded by Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson, and Lee Rich. The company's name was a portmanteau of the name of Adelson's then wife, Lori, and Palomar Airport.
Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Amazing Stories is an American anthology television series created by Steven Spielberg, that originally ran on NBC in the United States from September 29, 1985, to April 10, 1987.
Kenneth Lerner is an American television, stage and film actor. He is known for playing Principal Flutie in the first episodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and earlier roles on Happy Days, along with numerous film and television guest-starring roles.
Robert "Shep" Pettibone is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s.
America Undercover is a series of documentaries that aired on the cable television network HBO from 1983 through 2006. Within the series are several sub-series, such as Autopsy, Real Sex, and Taxicab Confessions.
Hewson Consultants were one of the smaller software companies which produced video games for home computers in the mid-1980s. They had a reputation for high-quality games which continually pushed the boundaries of what the computers were capable of and can be compared favourably with other ground-breaking software houses like Ultimate Play the Game and Beyond. Fourteen of their games were awarded "Megagame" by Your Sinclair.
Gilbert John Mellé was an American artist, jazz musician and film composer.
Daniel Attias is an American television director and producer. He is also director of his only feature film Silver Bullet from 1985, based on the novella by Stephen King. Attias' career has spanned five decades, during which he has directed a significant number of popular primetime television programs, including Miami Vice and Beverly Hills, 90210. He frequently works on series for HBO and has directed episodes of The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, True Blood, Entourage and Deadwood. Attias has received two Emmy Award nominations for his directing of Entourage.
Rob Mounsey is an American musician, composer, and arranger.
"Nightshift" is a 1985 song by the Commodores and the title track from their album of the same name. The song was written by lead singer Walter Orange in collaboration with Dennis Lambert and Franne Golde as a tribute to soul/R&B singers Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, both of whom died in 1984. The song was released as the album's first single in January 1985 by Motown Records. "Nightshift" was recorded in 1984 and became the Commodores' first hit after Lionel Richie's departure from the group. Bruce Springsteen covered the song in his 2022 studio album, Only the Strong Survive.
Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market.
August Werner Schellenberg was a Canadian actor. He played Randolph in the first three installments of the Free Willy film series (1993–1997) as well as characters in Black Robe (1991), The New World (2005), and dozens of other films and television shows.
Audrey Landers is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Afton Cooper on the television series Dallas and her role as Val Clarke in the film version of A Chorus Line (1985).
John Stanley Bartley, A.S.C., often credited as John S. Bartley, is a New Zealand-born American cinematographer best known for his work on television series such as Lost, Bates Motel and The X Files and feature films such as The X Files: I Want to Believe and The Chronicles of Riddick.
Francine Vicki Golde, better known as Franne Golde or Frannie Golde, is an American songwriter, musician, singer and writer. Her songs have appeared on more than 100 million records sold worldwide. Golde has received BMI awards for singles with The Pussycat Dolls "Stickwitu", Randy Travis's "A Man Ain't Made of Stone", The Kinleys' "Somebody's Out There Watching" from the Touched by an Angel soundtrack, Selena's "Dreaming of You", Jody Watley's "Don't You Want Me" and "Nightshift" by the Commodores, which also won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group and received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. Most recently, Golde was nominated to The Songwriter's Hall Of Fame and Bruce Springsteen covered Nightshift on his Only The Strong Survive album. She started her own clothing line known for creating "The Original Magic Pant" in August 2016.
The Masters of the Universe media franchise has appeared in several comic book series. Most were small publications, which were included as bonuses with action figures. Standalone comic-book series were also published by DC, Marvel Comics, London Edition Magazines and Image Comics.
Lucky Luke is an animated television series based on the comic book series of the same name created by the Belgian cartoonist and creator of the franchise Morris. The series lasted for 26 episodes, and was co-produced by Hanna-Barbera, Gaumont, Extrafilm and FR3. In France, the series was broadcast from 15 October 1984 on FR3. In the United States, the show aired in syndication on various CBS and ABC stations.