"Nightmare Cafe" (1992) TV series

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Creators:

Thomas Baum
Wes Craven

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

29 January 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Frank Nolan and Fay Peronivic find themselves in a mysterious all-night cafe following a brush with death - but they soon learn that they did...

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Penance | Ghost | Diner

Cast

Jack Coleman	...	Frank Nolan (6 episodes, 1992)
Lindsay Frost	...	Fay Peronivic (6 episodes, 1992)
Robert Englund	...	Blackie (3 episodes, 1992)

Runtime:

60 min (6 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

MGM Television

Quotes:

[opening sequence for all but first episode]
Blackie: Touch that remote and you die!
[image jumps three times as if someone changing channels, but it's the same show]
Blackie: Now that I've got your attention, here's the deal. See those two people? That's Frank, and that's Fay. Strangers when they met, turns out they've got a lot in common. Both died on the same night, both ended up in the same body of water, and both took refuge in the same all-night cafe...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Seinfeld: The Pitch (#4.3)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Where or When

I can barely remember it...

...but I think it was cool.

Sometimes I like to surprise people by bringing up obscure TV shows from the 1990s that even I can barely recall. My two favorite programs to cite are "Nightmare Cafe" and "Covington Cross" - both short-lived, and both with a cool premise. Generally speaking, nobody I talk to has seen or heard of either one of them.

I remember "Nightmare Cafe" better. If memory serves, it was about a creepy café (of course). People stumbled in and had weird things happen to them. Oddly enough, I recall that the café was not strictly evil - sometimes, it would help people resolve conflicts in their lives. But in a creepy, cryptic way, naturally.

Mostly I remember the tone of the show, which was eerie, in a "Sapphire and Steel" sort of way. I also found Robert Englund very charismatic, and it was nice to see him out of mutated makeup for a change.

Of course the show was canceled, for the usual reason - it had a lousy time slot! I wonder if, given a chance, it might've been another "X-Files."

Apropos of nothing, one person I spoke to once did actually remember this show. And she was really, really hot. What does this say about the quality of the show itself? Nothing, but I thought it was worth mentioning!