Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible
Encyclopedia
Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible is a British television series, created by Graham Duff
, co-written by and starring Steve Coogan
. Originally aired on BBC2 in 2001, the programme was designed as an anthology series, in the style of Tales from the Crypt
, and lampooned many aspects of the horror
genre, homaging the British horror films of Hammer
, Amicus
and Tigon
from the 1960s and 1970s. The title is itself a parody of the Amicus anthology horror film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
.
Dr. Terrible (Coogan) acted as the narrator
for each episode, a self-contained spoof
of a famous horror movie ('victims' included the Hammer Horror films, Fu Manchu
, Witchfinder General
and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). The series also benefitted from guest star appearances from former genre stalwarts such as Honor Blackman
, Graham Crowden
, Sheila Keith
and Angela Pleasence
, all satirising their earlier film performances. Other notable guest stars include Mark Gatiss
, John Thomson, Simon Pegg
, Ronni Ancona
, and Warwick Davis
.
The six-episode series fell short of expectations, and failed to be recommissioned by the BBC
, but has since been released on DVD
.
3 people trapped in a lift retell their recent nightmares in 1970s London.
Gentleman inventor Nathan Blaze must battle the inscrutable Chinese criminal Hang Man Chan in 1900s London.
Dr. Donald Baxter's experiment with burn victims lead him down a dangerous path as he uses the regenerative powers of lizards on his patients with terrifying results.
Hans Brocken and his lovely new virgin wife Carmina are on their honeymoon when they encounter a castle owned by the mysterious Countess Kronstien. She and her ladies seem unusually interested in Carmina.
A famous ballroom dancer loses his feet to a pair of gigantic scissors. After a quick foot transplant his feet start taking on a murderous mind of their own.
Witch locator Captain Tobias Slater travels the north of England accusing beautiful young women of being witches and to avoid the pyre they must sleep with him, until he runs across a real coven and Slater is cursed.
Graham Duff
-Life and Work:Graham Duff is an English writer, actor and producer. He was born in Blackburn, Lancashire and currently resides in Brighton on the south coast of England. He attended and graduated from the University of Brighton. His work for TV and radio is typified by intricate plotting, large...
, co-written by and starring Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
. Originally aired on BBC2 in 2001, the programme was designed as an anthology series, in the style of Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
, and lampooned many aspects of the horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
genre, homaging the British horror films of Hammer
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
, Amicus
Amicus Productions
Amicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. It was founded by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg.-Horror:...
and Tigon
Tigon British Film Productions
Tigon British Film Productions or Tigon was a film production and distribution company founded by Tony Tenser in 1966. It is most famous for its horror films, particularly Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan's Claw...
from the 1960s and 1970s. The title is itself a parody of the Amicus anthology horror film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors is a 1965 British horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky, and starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee....
.
Dr. Terrible (Coogan) acted as the narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
for each episode, a self-contained spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of a famous horror movie ('victims' included the Hammer Horror films, Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
, Witchfinder General
Witchfinder General (film)
Witchfinder General is a 1968 British horror film directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, and Hilary Dwyer. The screenplay was by Reeves and Tom Baker based on Ronald Bassett's novel of the same name. Made on a low budget of under £100,000, the movie was coproduced by...
and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). The series also benefitted from guest star appearances from former genre stalwarts such as Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
, Graham Crowden
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
, Sheila Keith
Sheila Keith
Sheila Keith was a British actress, active in films and TV, born to Scottish parents in London while they were visiting the city and brought up in Aberdeen, Scotland....
and Angela Pleasence
Angela Pleasence
Angela Pleasence is an English actress. She is the daughter of actor Donald Pleasence and his first wife, Miriam Raymond. The surname for both daughter and father has occasionally been miscredited as "Pleasance"...
, all satirising their earlier film performances. Other notable guest stars include Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
, John Thomson, Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
, Ronni Ancona
Ronni Ancona
Ronni Ancona is a Scottish actress, impressionist and author. Ancona won the Best TV Comedy Actress award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards for her work in Big Impression.- Career :...
, and Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
.
The six-episode series fell short of expectations, and failed to be recommissioned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, but has since been released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Episode list
- And Now The Fearing... (Amicus style anthology / The Vault of HorrorThe Vault of Horror (film)The Vault of Horror is a British portmanteau horror film made in 1973 by Amicus Productions. Like its predecessor, Tales from the Crypt, it is based on stories from the EC Comics series written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines...
parody)
3 people trapped in a lift retell their recent nightmares in 1970s London.
- Frenzy Of Tongs (Fu ManchuFu ManchuDr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
/ The Terror of the TongsThe Terror of the TongsThe Terror of the Tongs is a Hammer Film starring Geoffrey Toone, Christopher Lee and Yvonne Monlaur.The film is a quasi-remake of Hammer's Stranglers of Bombay from 1959...
/ Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-ChiangThe Talons of Weng-ChiangThe Talons of Weng-Chiang is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 26 February to 2 April 1977.-Synopsis:...
parody)
Gentleman inventor Nathan Blaze must battle the inscrutable Chinese criminal Hang Man Chan in 1900s London.
- Curse of the Blood of the Lizard of Doom
Dr. Donald Baxter's experiment with burn victims lead him down a dangerous path as he uses the regenerative powers of lizards on his patients with terrifying results.
- Lesbian Vampire Lovers of Lust (Hammer Horror parody, especially the Karnstein Trilogy)
Hans Brocken and his lovely new virgin wife Carmina are on their honeymoon when they encounter a castle owned by the mysterious Countess Kronstien. She and her ladies seem unusually interested in Carmina.
- Voodoo Feet of Death (The Hands of OrlacThe Hands of OrlacOrlacs Hände is an Austrian silent film of 1924. This late Expressionist work, produced by Robert Wiene, has been remade twice.- Plot :...
parody)
A famous ballroom dancer loses his feet to a pair of gigantic scissors. After a quick foot transplant his feet start taking on a murderous mind of their own.
- Scream Satan Scream! (Witchfinder GeneralWitchfinder General (film)Witchfinder General is a 1968 British horror film directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, and Hilary Dwyer. The screenplay was by Reeves and Tom Baker based on Ronald Bassett's novel of the same name. Made on a low budget of under £100,000, the movie was coproduced by...
and Cry of the BansheeCry Of The BansheeCry of the Banshee is a 1970 horror film directed by Gordon Hessler, starring Vincent Price as an evil witchhunter. The film was released by American International Pictures. The film co stars Elizabeth Bergner, Hilary Dwyer, and Hugh Griffith...
parody)
Witch locator Captain Tobias Slater travels the north of England accusing beautiful young women of being witches and to avoid the pyre they must sleep with him, until he runs across a real coven and Slater is cursed.