FEARnet Series "Holliston" Was a One

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For this month’s installment of “TV Terrors” we revisit the horror-comedy sitcom “Holliston,” which aired for two seasons on the now-defunct FEARnet in 2012 and 2013.

Adam Green and Joe Lynch are two filmmakers and genuine horror fans who have given their fellow horror fans so much over the years, including some great movies like Mayhem, the Hatchet franchise, and Frozen, as well as the upcoming Suitable Flesh. Among their many contributions to the genre was their horror sitcom, “Holliston.”

The best way to describe the series for the uninitiated would be if “Spaced” had a head on collision with “Friends” and was re-attached into a weird, funny monster. Originally premiering as the first original series on the now defunct FEARnet in 2012, “Holliston” is set in the small town of Holliston, Massachusetts, and stars Adam Green as “Adam” and Joe Lynch as “Joe.” Both stars play fictional versions of themselves that are best friends and roommates.

Both characters are chasing their dream to become horror filmmakers, and throughout the series’ run they desperately seek funding for their horror film Shinpads. To pay the bills, the pair hosts a horror program at a local cable access station. Complimenting Joe and Adam are a great supporting cast including Laura Ortiz, who is hilarious as “Laura” (duh), Joe’s morbid and artistic longtime girlfriend. Corri English (who, of course, plays “Corri”) is Adam’s ex-girlfriend and longtime sweetheart who he tries to consistently win back throughout the series.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention their beloved cat, Axl.

There’s also the deliriously out there appearances by the legendary Dee Snider as Adam and Joe’s cross-dressing, glam rock loving boss “Lance Rockett,” a parody of Snider himself.

And then there’s Adam’s imaginary friend and spiritual guide “Oderus,” as played by the late, great David Brockie (GWAR). “Oderus” is not only a source of big laughs but also contributes a lot in helping Adam realize certain things about himself. Throughout Adam and Joe’s adventures, they also bump into a gallery of other assorted horror icons.

During its run, “Holliston” accrued a bevy of guest stars that all appear for a few episodes and have some obvious fun poking fun at themselves. This includes Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Derek Mears, Danielle Harris, the late great Sid Haig, Darren Lynn Bousman, and James Gunn. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Although Green likens “Holliston” to “Taxi,” the series is a lot more like watching a demented version of “Friends.” Green and Lynch break (often shatter) fourth walls, never hesitate to get as meta as possible (even staging the sitcom freeze frame gag), and offer a peek into a world that horror fans can definitely relate to. And therein lies the beauty of the show. “Holliston” is the only sitcom we’ve to date ever seen about horror fans and film buffs, serving as a unique love letter both to the world of horror and to classic sitcoms all at once.

“Society forgets sometimes that horror fans aren’t all about realistic violence or sadistic disturbing imagery,” Green told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s about time that horror fans were represented as main characters and real people.”

For a horror glutton like yours truly who also grew up on sitcoms with laugh tracks and multiple cameras, “Holliston” really does hit that sweet spot quite often in the way it utilizes the format to help develop episodes often so random in sub-plots and running gags. Season one is rough around the edges, but season two is where the series really comes into its prime.

Among some of my favorite episodes, there’s the season one finale “Weekend of Horrors,” where the group ventures to the Fangoria horror convention in hopes of passing their trailer for Shinpads on to John Landis. Along the way they cross paths with Danielle Harris and Kane Hodder, the latter of whom hilariously punches Joe out for a joke he made about him earlier in the episode.

Another favorite is season two’s “Hobgoblin,” where the group ventures out to film their own found footage movie. I also love “Halloween Girl,” where Danielle Harris stays with Adam and Joe to help with their movie, only for Adam to learn that Danielle is completely unhinged. The best moment of the episode involves Kane Hodder having a seizure when character Sarah the waitress remarks on how much she loved him in Freddy vs. Jason. The guest appearances by horror icons allowed us to see some of our favorites in a whole new – often hilarious – light.

“Holliston” aired for two seasons with seventeen episodes total, including a one hour Christmas special. It also spawned a one shot comic in 2017. The unofficial series finale maddeningly ended without resolution despite a big confession, a huge revelation, a potential departure, and a—zombie apocalypse, for some reason. Although there were plans for a third season after an extended hiatus (and the sad passing of David Brockie), the episodes never came. The series did garner a brief resurgence after being streamed on Shudder for a few years, however.

Before or after, there’s truly never been anything else quite like “Holliston.”

Is It On DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming? The entire series is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. You can also get both seasons of the series on Blu-ray and DVD.

Felix is a horror, pop culture, and comic book fanatic based in The Bronx. Along with being a self published author, he also operates his blog Cinema Crazed and loves 90's nostalgia. His number one bucket list item is to visit Ireland on Halloween. Or to marry Victoria Justice. Currently undecided.

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While much of the initial fanbase that helped turn Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into a pop culture phenomenon aged out following the original cartoon (1987-1996) and live action movies (1990-1993), the property has continued to flourish with reboots in TV, film, and comics every few years.

If the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has you interested in exploring various versions of TMNT, there’s no better place for a horror fan to start than Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series that aired for five seasons between 2012 and 2017.

While there’s an inherent connection to horror in the various mutants and monsters that pop up throughout the franchise, no rendition embraces the genre nearly as much as this one. In addition to references to classics like Alien, Friday the 13th, and The Evil Dead, the series employed several notable horror actors throughout its 124-episode run.

Here are 15 horror icons who lent their voices to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012.

1. Corey Feldman – Slash

Corey Feldman may not be synonymous with horror, but the pedigree of Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Lost Boys, and Gremlins is more than enough to make him an icon of the genre. His TMNT legacy is even stronger, having voiced Donatello in the first and third live action films.

In animated form, Feldman play Slash, who was a villain in the original series but an ally in this version. He starts out as Raphael’s pet tortoise, Spike, before being accidentally mutated. He’s introduced in Season 2’s “Slash and Destroy” and appears in total of 12 episodes, culminating with the series finale, “The Big Blow Out.”

2. Kelly Hu – Karai

Feldman’s not the only Friday the 13th franchise alumnus on the show. Kelly Hu’s resume includes The Scorpion King, X2: X-Men United, and Arrow, but horror fans will recall her film debut as Eva in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.

Hu plays the integral TMNT role of Karai, a character that debuted in the comics in 1992 and previously appeared in the 2003 animated series. She’s in 31 episodes of TMNT 2012, from season 1’s “New Girl in Town” to season 5’s “The Foot Walks Again.”

In this incarnation, Karai starts out as a fierce, teenage Foot Clan member that was raised by the evil Shredder. She later aligns herself with the Turtles upon the revelation that she’s actually Master Splinter’s biological daughter from before he was mutated. In season 3, she’s exposed to a mutagen that gives her serpent-like abilities.

3. Cassandra Peterson – Ms. Campbell

Cassandra Peterson — beloved by all as horror host Elvira — is usually vivacious, but her part on TMNT required a more monotonous performance. She voices Ms. Campbell/Utrom Queen in six episodes, from season 1’s “The Alien Agenda” to season 5’s “When Worlds Collide.”

Ms. Campbell is introduced as a woman who takes an interest in April O’Neil before it’s revealed that she’s an evil robot sent by the evil Krang, armed with laser eyes and missile arms. When her human disguise is damaged in season 4’s “The War for Dimension X,” the Utom Queen’s true form is revealed.

4. Keith David – Sal Commander

Keith David achieved cult status for his roles in The Thing (which, incidentally, inspired TMNT’s season 3 episode “Burned Secrets”) and They Live, but his rich pipes have also earned him Emmy awards. His extensive voice work includes Gargoyles, Coraline, The Princess and the Frog, Spawn, and Rick and Morty.

On TMNT, he voices Sal Commander (also known as G’Throkka) for five episodes, from season 4’s “The Moons of Thalos 3” to season 5’s “When Worlds Collide Part 2.” An ally to the Turtles, Sal is the commander of the Salamandrians, an extraterrestrial species that resembles large, humanoid salamanders.

5. Jeffrey Combs – Rat King

Rat King is a villain that originated in the comics and appeared in both the 1987 and 2003 animated series. Re-Animator star Jeffrey Combs lends his voice to the character for four episodes of the 2012 rendition.

He debuts as Dr. Victor Falcon in season 1’s “Monkey Brains” and returns in “I, Monster,” in which his experiments yield him the ability to control rats, hence the Rat King moniker. Splinter defeats him and his army of giant rats in season 2’s “Of Rats and Men.” His final appearance is in season 4’s “Darkest Plight” as a hallucination to Splinter.

6. Ron Perlman – Armaggon

Ron Perlman has played and/or appeared alongside various creatures in the likes of Hellboy, Blade II, Alien: Resurrection, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and Sleepwalkers. For three episodes in TMNT’s fourth season, he voiced the villainous Armaggon, an alien cyborg shark.

Armaggon debuts in “The Outlaw Armaggon” as a bounty hunter hired by crime lord Vringath Dregg (voiced by Peter Stormare) to capture the Turtles. He makes his final appearance in “The Evil of Dregg,” in which he’s defeated for good.

7. Chris Sarandon – Dracula

Over three decades after starring as Jerry Dandrige in Fright Night, Chris Sarandon returned to his vampiric roots to portray the ultimate blood sucker: Count Dracula. He plays an integral role in season 5’s four-part Monster & Mutants arc, first appearing (albeit without dialogue) in “The Curse of Savanti Romero.”

Dracula is one of the creatures recruited by time-traveling sorcerer Savanti Romero to take over the world, along with Frankenstein’s Monster, Vulko the werewolf, and The Pharaoh mummy. Dracula plans to betray Savanti, but Michelangelo destroys him before he has the chance.

8. Dana DeLorenzo – Esmeralda

No stranger to being surrounded by monsters after three seasons of Ash vs Evil Dead, Dana DeLorenzo can be heard alongside Sarandon in “The Crypt of Dracula.” She plays Esmeralda, the daughter of Vulko the werewolf. The Romanian traveler shares her knowledge of monsters with the Turtles.

DeLorenzo’s Ash vs Evil Dead co-star Lucy Lawless voices Daagon supreme ruler Hiidrala in season 4’s “The Cosmic Ocean.”

9. Danny Trejo – Newtralizer

Machete don’t text, but he does voices. Genre favorite Danny Trejo plays Newtralizer (also known as K’Vathrak), a Salamandrian bounty hunter who will stop at nothing to eradicate the Kraang — even if that means taking out innocent humans and the Turtles.

The character first appears in Season 1’s “Operation: Break Out,” in which he breaks out of his cell and Donnie gives him his nickname. Trejo came in to play him in season 2’s “Newtralized,” briefly teaming up with Feldman’s Slash in an episode loaded with Star Wars references, and later returning in season 5’s two-part “When Worlds Collide,” where he has the newfound ability to wield electricity.

10. James Hong – Ho Chan

James Hong has over 600 credits — from Blade Runner to Seinfeld to Kung Fu Panda to Everything Everywhere All at Once — but horror fans will always associate him with Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China. He plays a similar role in TMNT’s Big Trouble homage, “A Chinatown Ghost Story,” in Season 2.

Hong voices the villainous Ho Chan, an ancient ghost sorcerer who even borrows a line from ol’ Jack Burton, “It’s all in the reflexes.” While the Turtles ultimately defeat him, he vows to return at the end of the episode. He does so in season 5’s “End Times,” but this time around Splinter ensures it’s the last of him.

11. Robert Englund – Dire Beaver / Dread Beaver

Robert Englund is, of course, best known for his work in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. When TMNT drew inspiration from the horror classic for season 5’s “In Dreams,” they called on Freddy Krueger himself to provide a voice.

Englund voices Dire Beaver and Dread Beaver, two of the four interdimensional Dream Beavers that trap the Turtles in their dreams. The episode features several nods to Freddy, including the beavers’ long claws, a musical cue reminiscent of the Elm Street theme, and a nightmare involving a furnace.

12. John Kassir – Dark Beaver / Dave Beaver

Along with Englund in “In Dreams,” the other two Dream Beavers — Dark Beaver and Dave Beaver — are played by John Kassir. He has over 250 credits to his name, the majority of which are voice roles, but his unmistakable pipes are best known for Tales from the Crypt‘s ghoulish host, the Crypt Keeper.

13. Bill Moseley – Bernie

Would you believe there’s a third horror icon in “In Dreams?” Bill Moseley — known for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, and Night of the Living Dead — plays Bernie in the same episode.

A physicist-turned-grocer, Bernie has stayed awake for decades to prevent the Dream Beavers from attacking our world. His weapon of choice is a chainsaw with “The Saw is Family” engraved on the blade, in reference to Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.

The character later makes a photo cameo later in season 3 in “Dinosaur Seen in Sewers,” where he’s featured on a tabloid with the headline “Man did not sleep for 40 years.”

14. Lance Henriksen – Zog

With credits including The Terminator, Aliens, Near Dark, Scream 3, and Pumpkinhead, Lance Henriksen is an undisputed genre legend. He lends his talents to TMNT as Zog, a character that was originally created for the comics and previously appeared in the 2003 animated series.

Zog appears in season 3’s “Dinosaur Seen in Sewers” as a scout who plans to signal his fellow Triceratons to attack the Earth in order to destroy the Kraang – until the Turtles get involved, that is. He refuses Raphael’s attempt to save his life, instead opting to plummet to his death.

15. Michael Ironside – Emperor Zanmoran

Michael Ironside brings a signature gravitas to all of his projects, from Total Recall, Starship Troopers, and Scanners to Terminator Salvation, Turbo Kid, and TMNT, in which he plays Emperor Zanmoran.

Although he only appears in one episode – Season 4’s “The Arena of Carnage” – Zanmoran is a pivotal foe whose presence can be felt throughout the season’s space arc. Zanmoran serves as the sadistic leader of the Triceraton Empire and commander of their armada.

Some of the many other recognizable voices that pop up throughout the series include Sean Astin as Raphael, Seth Green as Leonardo, Clancy Brown as Rahzar, David Tennant as The Fugitoid, Mark Hamill as Kavaxas, Jesse Ventura as The Finger, Paul Reubens as Sir Malachi, and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman as Ice Cream Kitty.

Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Series is available on DVD. Select seasons are streaming Netflix and Paramount+.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem opens in theaters on August 2 via Paramount.