Hitchhiker - Unglaubliche Geschichten

The Hitchhiker was a television series that was truly imaginative with every episode. Each episode was unique in that you as the viewer did not know what to expect. One episode you could be scared as hell and next could leave you in a state of bewilderment. This series also launched many successful acting careers such as Helen Hunt, Gary Busey and others. "The Hitchhiker" was a series that was ahead of its time. It is certainly one of the most underrated shows that I know of....not to mention the most frightening opening songs which helped set the tone for the viewer and the "hitchhiker's" journey in each episode.

OK, I admit I have a misguided, nostalgic affection for this 80's anthology series because it was on HBO back when I was a young impressionable teenager, and the episodes always had a dose of gratuitous nudity back in the days before I had too much knowledge of real women (or had gotten Cinemax). The series is loosely tied together by the most blow-dried and handsome hitchhiker you've ever seen (Page Fletcher), who narrates to the camera, cocking his head slightly back and making portentious and often non-sensical comments that usually only peripherally connect to the story he's apparently narrating. He also never actually seems to get a ride, or really interact with anyone in the world of the series at all.(He has some great theme music though).

The stories are an uneven mixture. Some of them are pretty creepy, while others are more silly, and still others are downright stupid. Some of the best are "Man's Best Friend" with Michael O'Keefe, "WGOD" with Gary Busey, and "Face to Face" with Robert Vaugn and Sybil Danning in red lingerie (the better for Vaugn, playing a hedonistic plastic surgeon, to cut off with a scalpel so he can snort cocaine off her breasts). Both the good and bad episodes contain a lot of second-tier stars mercilessly chewing the scenery and sometimes each other (i.e. Vaugn and Danning). There's also some unusual appearances by European-based actors like Ornella Muti or Susan Anspach, or some actors who later went on to bigger things like Bill Paxton or Michael Madsen. If you look closely you'll also recognize some name directors in the credits like the Australian Philip Noyce back in his pre "Dead Calm", pre-Hollywood days.

The best way to see this series ironically is to buy the used, out-of-print VHS copies which mostly focus on the early seasons; the three US DVD compilations are totally random and have a pretty sorry good episode/lame episode ratio. The show was apparently Canadian and is also available there, but--buyer beware--the Canadian DVD seasons are completely different than the American ones (although I guess if you ARE Canadian you don't really need to beware). Not recommended for everybody, but you know who you are.

This old 1980's show from HBO is 10 times better than the stuff the studio puts out today, like Sex in the City and Sopranos. The problem is it was well ahead of its time as proven by the success of a similar show, the X-Files.

The series was basically a set of independent shows, the only common them was the pre- and post-show dialogue from a mysterious hitchhiker who passes through each episode. Creepy and sexy, each show had its own moral as some (usually more than one) character would get their come-upance in the end. All sorts of Hollywood stars signed up for guest appearances, Gary Busey, Harry Hamlin, Kirstie Alley, Willem Dafoe, even KISS lead singer Gene Simmons, and many many more.

I've caught rebroadcasts recently on one of the gazillion HBO channels now being broadcast (HBO Zone is what I think it is called), so it is out there someplace. The last poster and I agree on one episode "The Legend of Billy B." was my favorite too. If I remember right, it starred Kirstie Alley as a reporter trying to track down an Elvis-like rock star who was supposedly dead.

Catch this show if you can.

The Hitchhiker, a man of mystery traveling the land and being the Rod Sterling of the 1980's introducing stories that have great twists. I love HBO's first series that titillated and terrified. Great writing and one of the eeriest theme songs of all time.

Until the past few years, the only thing I had remembered about this series was the haunting opening theme song. I have since watched many of the episodes, and I have a mixed review. For me, the show seemed to lose some creativity after the second season. The early episodes were often great, and almost every episode was clever, imaginative, and at times, somewhat creepy. For whatever reason, the later episodes just don't interest me the same way. But whether you watch an early show or a late one, this is a program that should be checked out, if only to hear that theme song...