The Hitchhiker (TV series)

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 in Canada. The series later moved to the USA Network from 1989 to 1991.

The Hitchhiker
The Hitchhiker title screen
Genre	Anthology Horror Mystery
Starring	Page Fletcher Nicholas Campbell
Composer(s)	Shuki Levy Michel Rubini Haim Saban
Country of origin	U.S.A. Canada France
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	85
Production
Executive producer(s)	Lewis Chesler (1986-1987) Riff Markowitz (1986-1987) Richard Rothstein Jeremy Lipp Jacques Methe David Perlmutter
Running time	30 mins. (approx)
Production company(s)	Chester/Perlmutter/Markowitz Productions
Distributor	Rysher Entertainment HBO
Release
Original network	HBO (1983-1987) First Choice (1983-1987) USA Network (1989-1991) La Cinq (1989-1991)
Original release	1983 – 1991

Synopsis

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).

Production notes

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 thirty-six episodes), and La Cinq, Atlantique & Quintina Productions (Seasons 5-6 for a total of forty-seven 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.

Michel Rubini created the theme music for the show.[2]

Episodes

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		Network
			First aired	Last aired
	1	3	November 23, 1983 (1983-11-23)	December 14, 1983 (1983-12-14)	HBO
	2	10	November 13, 1984 (1984-11-13)	April 9, 1985 (1985-04-09)
	3	13	September 15, 1985 (1985-09-15)	April 22, 1986 (1986-04-22)
	4	13	February 17, 1987 (1987-02-17)	May 12, 1987 (1987-05-12)
	5	26	May 22, 1989 (1989-05-22)	December 16, 1989 (1989-12-16)	USA Network
	6	20	September 21, 1990 (1990-09-21)	February 22, 1991 (1991-02-22)

Season 1 (1983)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Shattered Vows"	Ivan Nagy	Lewis Chesler	November 23, 1983 (1983-11-23)
2	2	"When Morning Comes"	Ivan Nagy	TBA	November 30, 1983 (1983-11-30)
3	3	"Split Decision"	Ivan Nagy	Lewis Chesler	December 14, 1983 (1983-12-14)

Season 2 (1984–85)

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 (1984-11-13)
5	2	"Remembering Melody"	Christopher Leitch	Teleplay by: Alvin Sapinsley Based on a short story by: George R. R. Martin	November 27, 1984 (1984-11-27)
6	3	"Face to Face"	David Wickes	Teleplay by: Robert J. Avrech Story by: Richard Rothstein	December 4, 1984 (1984-12-04)
7	4	"And If We Dream"	Mai Zetterling	Teleplay by: Leora Barish Story by: Richard Rothstein	January 15, 1985 (1985-01-15)
8	5	"Petty Thieves"	Christopher Leitch	Teleplay by: William Darrid Story by: Richard Rothstein	January 29, 1985 (1985-01-29)
9	6	"Videodate"	Richard Rothstein	Richard Rothstein	February 16, 1985 (1985-02-16)
10	7	"A Time for Rifles"	David Wickes	Written by: Stanford Whitmore Story by: H.A. DeRose	March 2, 1985 (1985-03-02)
11	8	"Man at the Window"	Christopher Leitch	Michael Janover	March 12, 1985 (1985-03-12)
12	9	"Hired Help"	Mai Zetterling	Written by: Stanford Whitmore Story by: Gail Glaze	March 26, 1985 (1985-03-26)
13	10	"Murderous Feelings"	Mai Zetterling	Charles Israel	April 9, 1985 (1985-04-09)

Season 3 (1985–86)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
14	1	"Nightshift"	Phillip Noyce	Teleplay by: William Darrid Story by: April Campbell Jones & Bruce Jones	September 15, 1985 (1985-09-15)
15	2	"Out of the Night"	Brian Grant	Teleplay by: Marjorie David Story by: Richard Rothstein	October 29, 1985 (1985-10-29)
16	3	"The Killer"	Carl Schenkel	Teleplay by: April Campbell Jones & Bruce Jones Story by: Richard Rothstein & Christopher Leitch	November 12, 1985 (1985-11-12)
17	4	"W.G.O.D"	Mike Hodges	Teleplay by: Thomas Baum Story by: Richard Rothstein	November 26, 1985 (1985-11-26)
18	5	"Man's Best Friend"	Philip Noyce	Teleplay by: Nevin Schreiner Story by: April Campbell Jones & Bruce Jones	December 10, 1985 (1985-12-10)
19	6	"Ghostwriter"	Carl Schenkel	Thomas Baum	January 7, 1986 (1986-01-07)
20	7	"O.D. Feelin'"	Richard Rothstein	Richard Rothstein & Christopher Leitch	January 28, 1986 (1986-01-28)
21	8	"Dead Man's Curve"	Roger Vadim	Teleplay by: John Harrison Story by: Christopher Leitch	February 11, 1986 (1986-02-11)
22	9	"The Curse"	Phillip Noyce	Teleplay by: Thomas Baum Story by: Richard Rothstein & Christopher Leitch	February 25, 1986 (1986-02-25)
23	10	"True Believer"	Carl Schenkel	William Kelly	March 11, 1986 (1986-03-11)
24	11	"Last Scene"	Paul Verhoeven	Teleplay by: Robert J. Avrech Story by: Richard Rothstein	March 25, 1986 (1986-03-25)
25	12	"Man of Her Dreams"	Phillip Noyce	Teleplay by: Gary Ross Story by: April Campbell & Bruce Jones	April 8, 1986 (1986-04-08)
26	13	"One Last Prayer"	Brian Grant	Teleplay by: Leora Barish & Henry Bean Story by: April Campbell & Bruce Jones	April 22, 1986 (1986-04-22)

Season 4 (1987)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
27	1	"Perfect Order"	Daniel Vigne	Marjorie David	February 17, 1987 (1987-02-17)
28	2	"Minuteman"	Chris Thomson	Thomas Baum	February 24, 1987 (1987-02-24)
29	3	"Dead Heat"	Kees Van Oostrum	Teleplay by: Maurice Noel Story by: William Rontog	March 3, 1987 (1987-03-03)
30	4	"Why Are You Here?"	Chris Thomson	Teleplay by: Christopher Leitch & L. M. Kit Carson Story by: Christopher Leitch	March 10, 1987 (1987-03-10)
31	5	"Homebodies"	Carl Schenkel	Teleplay by: Christopher Leitch Story by: Christopher Leitch & Richard Rothstein	March 17, 1987 (1987-03-17)
32	6	"Doctor's Orders"	Reynaldo Villalobos	Thomas Baum	March 24, 1987 (1987-03-24)
33	7	"The Legendary Billy B."	Chris Thomson	Teleplay by: L. M. Kit Carson Story by: Marjorie David	March 31, 1987 (1987-03-31)
34	8	"In the Name of Love"	John Laing	Teleplay by: Jeremy Lipp Story by: Richard Rothstein, Christopher Leitch & Jeremy Lipp	April 7, 1987 (1987-04-07)
35	9	"Made for Each Other"	Thomas Baum	Thomas Baum	April 14, 1987 (1987-04-14)
36	10	"Joker"	Colin Bucksey	Teleplay by: William Gray & Robert Reneau Story by: James Padrino	April 21, 1987 (1987-04-21)
37	11	"Best Shot"	John Kent Harrison	John Harrison	April 28, 1987 (1987-04-28)
38	12	"Secret Ingredient"	Colin Bucksey	Gail Glaze	May 5, 1987 (1987-05-05)
39	13	"Cabin Fever"	Clyde Monroe	Teleplay by: April Campbell, Bruce Jones & Jon Boorstin Story by: April Campbell, Bruce Jones & David Latt	May 12, 1987 (1987-05-12)

Season 5: 1989

1. "The Martyr" (1989-04-22)
2. "In Living Color" (1989-04-29)
3. "Dark Wishes" (1989-07-01)
4. "Garter Belt" (1989-07-7)
5. "Shadow Puppets" (1989-07-08)
6. "Renaissance" (1989-07-14)
7. "The Miracle of Alice Ames" (1989-07-15)
8. "Code Liz" (1989-07-21)
9. "Her Finest Hour" (1989-07-22)
10. "Together Forever" (1989-07-28)
11. "Phantom Zone" (1989-08-04)
12. "Spinning Wheel" (1989-08-05)
13. "Square Deal" (1989-08-11)
14. "Part of Me" (1989-08-12)
15. "Fashion Exchange" (1989-08-18)
16. "Hootch" (1989-09-16)
17. "Coach" (1989-09-30)
18. "The Verdict" (1989-11-04)
19. "Hit and Run" (1989-11-10)
20. "Studio 3X" (1989-11-11)
21. "Striptease" (1989-11-17)
22. "The Cruelest Cut" (1989-11-18)
23. "The Dying Generation" (1989-11-24)
24. "My Enemy" (1989-11-25)
25. "Power Play" (1989-12-09)
26. "Pawns" (1989-12-16)

Season 6: 1990–91

1. "Fading Away" (1990-09-21)
2. "Tough Guys Don't Whine" (1990-09-28)
3. "Riding the Nightmare" (1990-10-05)
4. "Strate Shooter" (1990-10-12)
5. "Hard Rhyme" (1990-10-19)
6. "Toxic Shock" (1990-10-26)
7. "New Dawn" (1990-11-02)
8. "A Function of Control" (1990-11-09)
9. "Trust Me" (1990-11-16)
10. "Windows" (1990-11-23)
11. "Working Girl" (1990-11-30)
12. "White Slaves" (1990-12-07)
13. "Tourist Trap" (1990-12-14)
14. "Homecoming" (1991-01-11)
15. "Living a Lie" (1991-01-18)
16. "Made in Paris" (1991-01-25)
17. "A Whole New You" (1991-02-01)
18. "Offspring" (1991-02-08)
19. "Secrets" (1991-02-15)
20. "New Blood" (1991-02-22)

Cast

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):

• Kirstie Alley: Angelica in "Out of the Night" (1985), Jane L. in "The Legendary Billy B." (1987)
• Sandra Bernhard: Rat in "O.D. Feelin" (1986)
• Rachel Blanchard: Karen O'Neill in "Riding the Nightmare" (1990)
• Karen Black: Kay in "Hired Help" (1985)
• Susan Blakely: Melody in "Remembering Melody" (1984)
• Timothy Bottoms: Peter in "Joker" (1987)
• Melissa Brennan: Denise in "Homebodies" (1987)
• Gary Busey: Reverend Nolan Powers in "W.G.O.D." (1985)
• Robert Carradine: Frank in "Garter Belt" (1989)
• Christopher Collet: Jimmy in "Homebodies" (1987)
• Peter Coyote: Alex in "Last Scene" (1985)
• Willem Dafoe: Jeffrey Hunt in "Ghostwriter" (1985)
• Joe Dallesandro: Julien in "Fashion Exchange" (1988)
• Michael Des Barres: The Wise Man in "O.D. Feelin;" (1986)
• Brad Dourif: Billy B. in "The Legendary Billy B." (1987)
• Louise Fletcher: Mother Birch in "Offspring" (1991)
• Zach Galligan: Dick Raskin in "Toxic Shock" (1990)
• John Glover: Miles Duchet in "Striptease" (1989)
• Elliott Gould: Augie Benson in "A Whole New You" (1990)
• Erin Gray: Leslie in "Together Forever" (1989)
• Bruce Greenwood: Jeff Boder in "Shattered Vows" (1983)
• Antony Hamilton: Jim Buckley in "Man of Her Dreams" (1986)
• Lisa Hartman Black: Cheryl in "Her Finest Hour" (1989)
• Jill Hennessy: Marla Cross in "Striptease" (1989), Elisabeth in "Pawns" (1989)
• C. Thomas Howell: Gerald Brumner in "White Slaves" (1990)
• Helen Hunt: Donette in "Why are You Here?" (1987)
• Lauren Hutton: Tess O'Neill in "Riding the Nightmare" (1987)
• Claude Jade: Monique in "Windows" (1990)
• Margot Kidder: Janie in "Nightshift" (1986)
• Klaus Kinski: Kurt Hoffmann in "Love Sounds" (1985)
• Lorenzo Lamas: Tom Astor in "Trust Me" (1990)
• Audrey Landers: Priscilla Packard in "Split Decision" (1983)
• Judy Landers: Frances Packard in "Split Decision" (1983)
• Kelly Lynch: Theresa/Melissa in "Joker" (1987)
• Michael Madsen: John Hampton in "The Man at the Window" (1985)
• Virginia Madsen: Christina in "Perfect Order" (1987)
• Darren McGavin: Old Man in "Nightshift" (1986)
• Belinda Montgomery: Carla Magnuson in "The Man at the Window" (1985)
• Carrie-Anne Moss: Lookalike in "My Enemy" (1989)
• Ornella Muti: Sister Teresa in "True Believer" (1987)
• Franco Nero: Dr. Peter Milne in "Murderous Feelings" (1985)
• Jerry Orbach: Cameron in "Cabin Fever" (1987)
• Geraldine Page: Lynette in "W.G.O.D." (1985)
• Joe Pantoliano: Brother Charles in "The Miracle of Alice Ames" (1988)
• Bill Paxton: Trout in "Made for Each Other" (1987)
• James Remar: Ron in "Homebodies" (1987)
• August Schellenberg: Bob Ames in "When Morning Comes" (1983)
• Michael Schoeffling: Lance in "Dead Man's Curve" (1986)
• Gene Simmons: Mr. Big in "O.D. Feelin" (1986)
• Tom Skerritt: Detective in "True Believer" (1985)
• Alexandra Stewart: Jackie Winslow in "Shattered Vows" (1983)
• Alan Thicke: Mickey Black in "Tough Guys Don't Whine" (1990)
• Shannon Tweed: Barbara in "Videodate" (1984), Dr. Rita de Roy in "Doctor's Orders" (1987)
• Robert Vaughn: Dr. Christopher Hamilton in "Face to Face" (1984)
• Fred Ward: Luther Redman in "Dead Heat" (1987)
• Alberta Watson: Jill Friedlander in "Remembering Melody" (1984)
• Bruce Weitz: Ray in "Hit and Run" (1989)
• Vincent Grass: Police Officer in "White Slaves", "Part of Me" and "The Miracle of Alice Ames" (1989)
• Olivier Rabourdin: Denis LeBreaux in "A Whole New You" (1991)

Syndication

In 1995, The Hitchhiker entered syndication and was re-edited (to remove the violence and/or nudity/sexuality that were featured on the HBO runs). The first three episodes had some footage edited and/or re-shot to replace Nicholas Campbell with Page Fletcher, in order to preserve continuity during the syndication runs. The Hitchhiker was syndicated by Rysher Entertainment (since absorbed by CBS Television Distribution) up until 2000.

Home media

HBO Home Video released a 3 volume set on DVD between 2004–2006, featuring various episodes from the series. The 2-disc sets contain a selection of episodes, most from the HBO-produced episodes but also including some that were made for the USA Network.[3][4][5]

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] Canadian Season 2 (US Season 4) was not released due to an ownership/rights situation.

Alliance Home Entertainment released The Hitchhiker: The Complete Collection on DVD in Canada for the very first time on October 11, 2011.[8] The release does not contain all episodes of the series as the title indicates, it only features 30 episodes from various seasons.

Awards and nominations

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

References

1. "Release Info" at the IMDb. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
2. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/michelrubini4
3. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00013D54Y
4. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006Z2NYA
5. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HEVZ94
6. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0001E7LL6
7. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0002J9T5G
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2011-08-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• Official site at HBO.com
• The Hitchhiker on IMDb
• The Hitchhiker at TV.com
• The Hitchhiker at epguides.com
• Profile and photograph of Michel Rubini (composer of the TV series soundtrack score)