Honestly, I never watched many Tales from the Crypt episodes during their early run. My access to HBO was spotty at best, and my addiction to television (and movies, and music) had yet to kick into gear. So, I don't have the attachment to these episodes that many of you probably have. My memories of the episodes I did see are faint and contain no specifics. Still, the memories are fond, and I eagerly looked forward to digging into this season when the set arrived on my doorstep. However, not everything is bright and rosy. Most of the episodes in this sixth season do not really live up to those fond memories of seasons gone by. Not all is bad, but I probably should have revisited the earlier seasons first, a tactical error on my part.

Tales from the Crypt ran for seven seasons on HBO from 1989 through 1996, and running anywhere from six to 18 episodes per season. The concept seems perfect for a horror anthology. In the 1950s, EC Comics published a few series of horror-themed comic books, Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear. It is these books which would become the source material for the HBO series. It was championed, and produced, by some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Richard Donner, Joel Silver, David Giler, Walter Hill, and Robert Zemeckis. Each episode was brought to the small screen in oft times campy, sometimes bloody, and almost always entertaining fashion. It is the source material that would seem to have betrayed the ongoing quality and success of the series. The best material was obviously the first to go, and that top tier material was probably all used up by the time the sixth season rolled around, leaving it a little trickier to find stories worthy of filming.

Even with this season not living up to what I expect to find in the earlier years, I love the anthology series. Sadly, these types of shows don't really work all that well anymore, especially in the growing age of the serial drama (which I also like). I guess we can't have it all!

Season six is comprised of fifteen episodes of varying quality, littered with an array of guest stars. Fortunately, whenever a stinker reared its ugly head, it was never all that long until a good one came along, although the next time I get the itch to dive into this season, I will be sure to skip the lesser episodes.