First aired 37 years ago today, F13: The Series

On this day--3 Oct.--in 1987, FRIDAY THE 13th: THE SERIES first aired. Created by Frank Mancuso Jr. and Larry B. Williams, the show had no relation to the then-ongoing film series of the same name--it was originally to be called THE 13th HOUR, then this was changed, probably to cash in on the popularity of the franchise. Probably a mistake, as the series wasn't slasher rubbish but a horror anthology disguised as a regular show. The cast, which included Chris Wiggins, Louise Robey, John D. LeMay and, later, Steve Monarque were on a mission to recover cursed antiques, which was used as a premise to play out classical horror tales in a rotating variety of settings.

Always entertaining, the show was initially a bit rough-around-the-edges but eventually worked it down to a science and was quite good. It ran for 72 episodes over 3 seasons then was artificially killed at arguably its creative peak (and when it was pulling solid ratings) by a pressure campaign aimed at its sponsors by a gaggle of Barney Fife-4-Fighting crusaders with shrubbery up their orifices about violence on television and far too much time on their hands.