Darkroom

1981
Darkroom

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Closed Circuit Nov 27, 1981

A TV newsman (Robert Webber) finds he is being replaced -- by his projected image.

EP2 Stay Tuned, We'll Be Right Back Nov 27, 1981

A man (Lawrence Pressman) discovers his child's crystal radio is receiving clear broadcasts -- from 1942.

EP3 The Bogeyman Will Get You Dec 04, 1981

A teenager (Quinn Cummings) believes she's discovered a vampire (Randolph Powell).

EP4 Uncle George Dec 04, 1981

A poor couple (Claude Akins, June Lockhart) try to find someone to pose as their late uncle, whose pension they can't afford to lose.

EP5 Needlepoint Dec 11, 1981

A woman (Esther Rolle) uses voodoo to avenge her granddaughter's death.

EP6 Siege of 31 August Dec 11, 1981

A farmer (Ronny Cox) is tormented by his memories of war when his son's toy soldiers come to life.

EP7 A Quiet Funeral Dec 18, 1981

A quiet funeral is the setting for a double-crossed forger's revenge.

EP8 Make Up Dec 18, 1981

A magic makeup case transforms a loser (Billy Crystal) into a winner.

EP9 The Partnership Dec 25, 1981

An old man's eerie partnership allows him to live well in a crumbling town.

EP10 Daisies Dec 25, 1981

A filandering botanist develops a machine that reads the thoughts of daisies. His wife, finding out from the daisies about the affair with his assistant, shoots him to death.

EP11 Catnip Dec 25, 1981

A ruthless young man (Cyril O'Reilly) is stalked by a demonic black cat.

EP12 Lost in Translation Jan 08, 1982

An archaeology professor (Andrew Prine) seeks power over others through a magic formula.

EP13 Guillotine Jan 08, 1982

A 19th-century Frenchwoman tries to save her lover from the guillotine.

EP14 Exit Line Jan 15, 1982

An aspiring actor (Stan Shaw) takes revenge on an acerbic critic (Samantha Eggar).

EP15 Who's There? Jan 15, 1982

A husband (Michael Lembeck) sets a trap for his unfaithful wife (Dianne Kay).

EP16 The Rarest of Wines Jan 15, 1982

Son (Henry Polic II) is unhappy about what he received in the will of his recently deceased mother.
7.2| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 27 November 1981 Ended
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Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Darkroom is an American television thriller series which ABC transmitted from November 27, 1981 to January 15, 1982. It was an anthology horror/thriller series, similar in style to Rod Serling's Night Gallery. Each 60-minute episode featured two or more stories of varying length with a new story and a new cast, but each of the episode wraparound segments was hosted by James Coburn. Among the performers who appeared on the series were Steve Allen, Esther Rolle, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, David Carradine, Billy Crystal, and June Lockhart.

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Reviews

lost-in-limbo "You are in a house. Maybe your Own. Maybe one you've never seen before. You feel it... something evil. You run, but there's no escape. Nowhere to turn. You feel something beckoning you. Drawing you into the terror that awaits you in the DARKROOM!"I just watched the complete series of Darkroom over the last couple of nights and was completely surprised by how compelling, effective, creepy and amusing the short stories were in this anthology series. There was a nice variety to the tales in tone and length, with a certain cleverness within their imaginative twists and turns. Ending on a killer note. They were well-made and ably brought across with sound technical delivery despite the cheap looking origins.The memorable intro is ominously unnerving and from the photographic darkroom James Coburn effortlessly narrates with a wry touch. Familiar faces in the cast show up, some even before hitting it big. Interesting to see some genre film-makers attached; Paul Lynch (Prom Night, Humongous), Curtis Harrington (Queen of Blood, The Killing Kind & Ruby) and Rick Rosenthal (Halloween 2). Other than one story I didn't care for (Daisies), I really enjoyed this creative, if short-lived series. Some of my favourites were 'Make-Up' starring Billy Crystal and Brian Dennehy, 'The Partnership' starring David Carradine and 'Exit Line' starring Samantha Eggar and Stan Shaw. Well worth a look if you were entertained by the likes of 'Night Gallery' and 'Alfred Hitchcok Presents'. ...
AaronCapenBanner James Coburn hosted this short-lived anthology series where he presented each tale literally from a darkroom, where he would develop pictures that would relate in some way to the story. This only ran for 7 episodes, and the reason may have been because it so relentlessly cynical and downbeat, with rarely a happy ending for anyone. This might work once or twice, but for most of the 16 segments it must wear the viewer down, and make them turn it off. Did feature future stars like Helen Hunt and Billy Crystal. "Night Gallery" did this sort of thing better. Not yet on DVD, but was on YouTube for awhile. Universal studios owns it, so perhaps Shout/Scream Factory will release it?
RipCity Only lasting six episodes, Darkroom proved why anthology series can work, and why they can't.Way too many of the short segments were clichéd (oh no, yet another 'man has a chance to change the past' story), obvious and dull. And then they'll throw in a story like "The Boogieman Will Get You", or the one with Billy Crystal to tease you into watching again, hoping for one good moment to make sitting through the bad moments worthwhile. Every so often they delivered, but not enough to work on a whole.James Coburn tried to give the show a presence, but a show like this lives and dies by it's writing, and all too often it died.
Mister-6 What hath Rod Serling wrought?You can tell a network's in trouble when it has to drag the same musty ideas out of the closet over and over and OVER again. Here's a prime example of going to the well way too often."Darkroom" was an anthology series in the same vein as "The Twilight Zone", "The Outer Limits", "Night Gallery" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" - so what's the big diff this time? Well, remember the artistry, talent and well-written stories in those prior series? None of that's in evidence here.James Coburn hosts here much in the same vein as he played the bad guy in "Looker", which ain't saying much. The stories aren't much, either - every single one of them is downbeat, ugly, nasty and defeatist. I mean, COME ON! Even Serling had the good sense to have a comic episode of the "Zone" once in a while.Even though there are a few familiar faces in the stories (Robert Webber, Claude Akins, Rue McClanahan, Billy Crystal, Michael Constantine, etc.), nothing they do here will ever come up on their A&E Biographies. At least, they hope so.No wonder it didn't last a full season. Who, in their right mind, would subject themselves to a whole season of under-developed defeatist sludge? Of course, this is the same decade that brought us "Twilight Zone: The Movie"....No stars for "Darkroom"; the buck f-stops here.TIDBIT - "Darkroom" premiered on Thursdays on ABC right before the Robert Stack police drama "Strike Force", another Cop series that was as dark and mean-spirited as "Darkroom".Maybe if Stack and Coburn switched places and had their shows produced by the ZAZ guys (whom Stack worked with on "Airplane!")...?