This series has become better with age. I wish I could say the same for Robey's acting career. And that is not meant as a slam at her. Quite the opposite. I've always felt Robey got a bit of a raw deal coming out of Friday the 13th. She did more than an adequate job; she did a *good* job. But she appears to be about the only one whose acting career went nowhere afterward. A pity. She had a touch for comedy in the series and was integral to the creation of a fairly strong Ensemble cast.
The series itself debuted right at the beginning of the Golden Age of syndication, IMO. Coming a few years after Tales from the Darkside and a year or so right before Monsters, Friday the 13th just might be my favorite of the bunch, although the 1980 anthology series, Hammer House of Horror, despite one or two clunkers, is also in the mix.
A nice plot device, too, with a cursed antique or relic providing the genesis for each week's adventure. You remember how nice it was not to need and worry about "story arcs" and serial story strategies. The self contained episode, to me, is always a joy, and, ever since Kolchak: The Night Stalker, a true indication of the talented storyteller. Serial and story arcs are usually a sign of desperate, lower grade TV production, of undisciplined writers and lazy producers.
The series itself debuted right at the beginning of the Golden Age of syndication, IMO. Coming a few years after Tales from the Darkside and a year or so right before Monsters, Friday the 13th just might be my favorite of the bunch, although the 1980 anthology series, Hammer House of Horror, despite one or two clunkers, is also in the mix.
A nice plot device, too, with a cursed antique or relic providing the genesis for each week's adventure. You remember how nice it was not to need and worry about "story arcs" and serial story strategies. The self contained episode, to me, is always a joy, and, ever since Kolchak: The Night Stalker, a true indication of the talented storyteller. Serial and story arcs are usually a sign of desperate, lower grade TV production, of undisciplined writers and lazy producers.
