Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Are You Afraid of the Dark? | |
---|---|
Developed by | Cinar Productions |
Starring | Jacob Tierney Raine Pare-Coull Ross Hull Jodie Resther Jason Alisharan Rachel Blanchard Nathaniel Moreau Daniel DeSanto Joanna Garcia Codie Lucas Wilbee Kareem Blackwell Elisha Cuthbert David Deveau Vanessa Lengies |
Country of origin | Canada United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 91 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 22 mins/episode |
Original release | |
Network | YTV Nickelodeon ITV1/Nickelodeon Nickelodeon |
Release | January 16, 1992 – June 11, 2000 |
Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a Sci-Fi/horror-themed television series. The original series was a joint production between the Canadian companies YTV and Cinar and the American company Nickelodeon. The episode "The Tale of the Phantom Cab" was aired as a pilot on the evening of October 31, 1991. The series was aired from January 16, 1992 to February 3, 1996 on Nickelodeon's SNICK. A revived series with new directors, writers, and cast was produced by Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000 and also played on SNICK. Reruns of the series have since been broadcast internationally, including airings in the United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, and the Czech Republic.
Background
Both series revolved around a group of adolescents who referred to themselves as the "Midnight Society". One night a week, at a secret location in the woods, one member would tell a scary story to the group. The actual story, rather than the telling, was displayed to the television viewer. The story was shown between the group's arrival at the site and their departure. Each storyteller would begin their story by saying "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story..." at which point he or she would toss birch bark powder into a campfire to heighten the flames and produce an eerie white smoke. The storyteller would continue by announcing its title (The Tale of...).
The themes of the stories usually revolved around paranormal phenomena, such as ghosts, magic, haunted houses, magical curses, aliens, witches and the like coming into contact with normal teenagers.
Sources of these tales varied; many were adaptations of public domain fairytales and short stories or urban legends. For example, "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" is considered to be an adaptation of W.W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw".
Some of the episodes' story lines are close to those of books written for the Goosebumps book series by R.L. Stine, intentionally or not, which was popular at roughly the same time as this show. Another episode, "The Tale of the Curious Camera," is an almost exact retelling of the Goosebumps book Say Cheese And Die, though both were likely inspired by "A Most Unusual Camera", an episode of the original Twilight Zone series. Indeed, Goosebumps spawned a TV series as well.
Cast Members
First Series (1992 – 1996)
Actor/Actress | Role | Years |
---|---|---|
Ross Hull | Gary | 1992 – 1996 |
Jodie Resther | Kiki | 1992 – 1996 |
Raine Pare-Coull | Betty Ann | 1992 – 1996 |
Jason Alisharan | Frank | 1992 – 1995 |
Daniel DeSanto | Tucker | 1994 – 1996 |
Joanna Garcia | Samantha | 1994 – 1996 |
Rachel Blanchard | Kristen | 1992 – 1993 |
Nathaniel Moreau | David | 1993 – 1994 |
Codie Lucas Wilbee | Stig | 1995 – 1996 |
Jacob Tierney | Eric | 1992 |
Second Series (1999 – 2000)
Actor/Actress | Role | Years |
---|---|---|
Kareem Blackwell | Quinn | 1999 – 2000 |
Elisha Cuthbert | Megan | 1999 – 2000 |
Vanessa Lengies | Vange | 1999 – 2000 |
Daniel DeSanto | Tucker | 1999 – 2000 |
David Deveau | Andy | 1999 – 2000 |
Recurring characters
One of the more significant recurring characters was Sardo (Richard Dumont), owner of "Sardo's Magic Mansion" (a magic shop). He would often attempt to sell a character a "prized" item, rarely succeeding. He often had items in his shop that contained real properties of magic, yet did not know until it was revealed in the story. One of the most memorable recurring jokes in the series occurred when someone would address him as "Mr. Sardo". He would then get irritated and exclaim: "No 'mister'; accent on the 'doh'!" Although he rarely got what he wanted, he would often end up helping the characters, often intentionally. He appeared in Gary's stories.
Another recurring character was Dr. Vink (Aron Tager). He was a physically imposing man who would often appear as a mad scientist, sorcerer, and the like. He would also get his name mispronounced. When this happened, he would respond "Vink. With a va-va-va." Often, the protagonist would call him a "nutbag" behind his back, assuming he could not hear him, only to have him reply later, "... and I am not a nutbag." He appeared in Frank's stories. Aron Tager also played the carnival worker who stands in front of the Funhouse and invites people to go inside in "The Tale of the Laughing in the Dark".
Both of these characters appear in the double episode "The Tale of Cutter's Treasure", which was told by both Frank and Gary.
Episodes
Future
Executive Producer D.J. MacHale as well as award-winning director David Winning have been recently answering fan e-mails declaring they would be "game" to begin work on an eighth season of Are You Afraid of the Dark. However, both MacHale and Winning have made it clear that there is a serious dispute when it comes to the rights to the show. Nickelodeon and Cookie Jar Entertainment have apparently been embroiled in a long-term, silent struggle over the rights. Until this matter is ever worked out, there is no chance of reviving the franchise.
DVD Releases
Season Releases
DVD Name | Region | Release Date | # of Episodes | Bonus Features |
---|---|---|---|---|
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 1st Season | 1 | April 18, 2006 | 13 | Episode Synopses |
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 2nd Season | 1 | November 28, 2006 | 13 | Episode Synopses |
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Complete 3rd Season | 1 | April 24, 2007 | 12 | Episode Synopses |
Compilations
DVD Name | Region | Release Date | # of Episodes | Bonus Features |
---|---|---|---|---|
Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Freaky Favorites | 1 | October 24,2006 | 8 | Episode Synopses |
References
External links
- 1992 Canadian television program debuts
- 1996 television program series endings
- 1999 television program debuts
- 2000 television program series endings
- 1990s American television series
- 1990s Nickelodeon shows
- 2000s American television series
- 2000s Nickelodeon shows
- Anthology television series
- Children's television series in Canada
- Horror television series
- Nickelodeon shows