American anthology television series (1982?1987)
Faerie Tale Theatre
(also known as
Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre
) is an American award-winning
live-action
fairytale fantasy
drama
anthology television series
of 27 episodes, that originally broadcast nationally on
Showtime
from September 11,
1982
, until November 14,
1987
(before being sold internationally). It is a retelling of 25 classic
fairy tales
, particularly those written by
The Brothers Grimm
,
Charles Perrault
and
Hans Christian Andersen
. Episode 18 was not based on a fairy tale, but rather on the poem, "
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
".
The 27th episode was a reunion special of cast and crew, titled "Grimm Party", in which, in fairy tale style, they attend a gala in fancy dress.
The series, as a live-action adaptation, was notable for featuring a number of Hollywood actors and famous celebrities portraying the costumed characters, and also utilized filming by well-known directors.
Faerie Tale Theatre
was followed by three other short anthology series also produced by Duvall, including
Tall Tales and Legends
, which follows a theme similar to the latter, with a focus on
American folklore
,
Nightmare Classics
(6 produced of the intended 9 episodes), aimed at an older audience, and
Bedtime Stories
(12 episodes).
Series background
[
edit
]
Actress
Shelley Duvall
, who conceived the series, served as
executive producer
and host alongside associate producers Bridget Terry and
Fred Fuchs
. Duvall also starred in three episodes, portraying various characters, and was a featured narrator of three episodes, as well as providing the voice of the animatronic
Nightingale
, in the episode of the same title.
Every episode begins with Duvall introducing herself and giving a brief synopsis of the night's fairy-tale episode that would follow.
The series followed a style similar to an earlier fairy-tale anthology series, called
Shirley Temple's Storybook
, broadcast between 1958 and 1961, in which
Shirley Temple
serves as narrator, with this series also featuring numerous celebrities portraying the costumed characters.
The series was one of the first examples of original cable programming, alongside
HBO
's
Fraggle Rock
.
[1]
Production
[
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]
Duvall began the conception of
Faerie Tale Theatre
while she was filming the live-action 1980 film,
Popeye
, in Malta. She reportedly asked her co-star,
Robin Williams
, for his opinion on "
The Frog Prince
", a fairy tale that she was reading during production.
[2]
Williams thought that it was funny, and would later star in the namesake pilot episode of the series that was written, narrated and directed by
Monty Python
's
Eric Idle
(who would appear in the episode "The Pied Piper of Hamelin").
Many of the episodes were produced by Fred Fuchs, in association with Duvall, with the screenplays written by Rod Ash, Mark Curtiss,
Maryedith Burrell
and
Robert C. Jones
. All of the episodes were produced and shot from 1982 to 1985, and videotaped mostly at the
ABC Television Studios
in
Burbank
, California.
Episodes were directed by
Francis Ford Coppola
,
Ivan Passer
,
Emile Ardolino
, and
Tim Burton
, as well as other famous
Hollywood
directors.
Episodes
[
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]
Artwork
[
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]
Many episodes feature backdrops and settings inspired by specific artists and children's book illustrators.
[3]
Home media
[
edit
]
Faerie Tale Theatre
was released on
VHS
,
Betamax
,
CED
and
Laserdisc
in the 1980s through the mid-1990s, initially by
CBS/FOX Video
(which was also in Australia), followed by
Playhouse Video
(an extended label under CBS/FOX) and
Razzmatazz Entertainment
/
Cabin Fever Entertainment
. In the UK, it was released by
MGM-UA Home Video
.
Starmaker II held the rights to the series from 2004 to 2006, and at first, released 26 episodes as individual
DVDs
.
[4]
This was followed by a double-sided 4-disc box set and a 6-disc box set, each version containing the same 26 episodes. The "Greatest Moments" episode was not included in this release.
After 2006,
Koch Vision
held the series' distribution rights, and in November 2006, licensed the rights worldwide (excluding DVDs in North America) to the British company, 3DD Entertainment.
[5]
[6]
A remastered 7-disc box set, including the lost "Greatest Moments" episode, was released by Koch Vision in September 2008.
[7]
In 2009, Koch Vision released the episodes by theme on six DVD compilations:
Tales from the Brothers Grimm
("Hansel and Gretel", "Rapunzel", "Rumpelstiltskin" and "Little Red Riding Hood"),
Funny Tales
("The Tale of The Frog Prince", "Pinocchio", "The Three Little Pigs" and "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed"),
Tales from Hans Christian Andersen
("The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Nightingale", "The Snow Queen" and "Thumbelina"),
Princess Tales
("Cinderella", "The Little Mermaid", "The Dancing Princesses" and "The Princess and the Pea"),
Magical Tales
("Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp", "Beauty and the Beast", "Puss in Boots" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs") and
Bedtime Tales
("Jack and the Beanstalk", "Sleeping Beauty", "Rip Van Winkle" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears").
[8]
When released on DVD by Starmaker II and Koch Vision, the following scenes were cut from the series:
- "Goldilocks and the Three Bears": Papa Bear and Mama Bear trying to fix Cubby Bear's chair; the
Charades
scene is shortened.
- "The Pied Piper of Hamelin": Julius Caesar Rat's monologue.
- "Rumpelstiltskin": the Miller's daughter singing with the animals in the forest (this scene was also unavailable on the VHS releases).
Awards
[
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]
Local and international broadcast
[
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]
In the United States, the series was originally broadcast on
Showtime
from 1982 and 1986, and re-aired on the
Disney Channel
from 1994 and 1996.
[9]
It was also broadcast in syndication on various television channels,
[10]
including
PBS
[11]
[12]
and
BookTelevision
.
[13]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sandra Salmans (6 February 1984).
"Showtime Challenges Rivals"
.
The New York Times
– via NYTimes.com.
- ^
Suskin, Steven (2008-09-07).
"THE DVD SHELF: "Mad Men" Season One, and Duvall's "Faerie Tale Theatre"
"
. Playbill.com. Archived from
the original
on 2008-09-10
. Retrieved
2008-09-08
.
- ^
Stengel, Richard and Denise Worrell (July 25, 1983).
"Video: Cinderella Puts On a Show"
.
Time
. Archived from
the original
on December 22, 2008.
- ^
Bianculli, David (October 28, 2004).
"Old Family Treasures Unearthed On DVD"
.
New York Daily News
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"3DD Takes On New Properties from U.S. Companies"
.
World Screen
. November 3, 2006. Archived from
the original
on December 19, 2007.
- ^
"International Market: 3DD Entertainment"
.
Cynopsis: Multi-Cultural & International Edition
. November 6, 2006. Archived from
the original
on June 1, 2008.
- ^
"Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Collection (2008)"
.
Amazon
. 2 September 2008.
ASIN: B001AZIRV8
- ^
Catalog
kochvision.com
- ^
Bianculli, David (September 26, 1995).
"Cable Viewers Suffer Unkindest Cuts Of All"
.
New York Daily News
.
- ^
Nanwalt, Sasha (August 6, 1989).
"TELEVISION; Shelley Duvall Tries Scaring Up A New Audience"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Lomartire, Paul (April 21, 1992).
"
'BEDTIME STORIES' A FINE SHOW FOR KIDS"
.
Palm Beach Post
.
- ^
KLRU TV Schedule ? Search By Title: List of KLRU programs
Archived
2012-09-18 at the
Wayback Machine
klru.org
- ^
"Program Schedule"
.
BookTelevision
. March 29, 2007. Archived from
the original
on March 29, 2007.
External links
[
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]
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Family Programming
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