Monsters

*Monsters* is a syndicated horror anthology series that originally aired from 1988 to 1991 and later had reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. As of 2011, the series has been featured in sporadic weekday marathons on NBC Universal's horror and suspense-themed cable channel, Chiller. In a manner similar to *Tales from the Darkside*, *Monsters* was produced by the same producer and, in some respects, followed in the footsteps of that show. However, it differed in certain ways. While *Tales* occasionally included stories of science fiction and fantasy, *Monsters* was more strictly focused on horror. As the title suggests, each episode centered on a different monster, ranging from the animatronic puppet of a fictional children's television program to mutated, weapon-wielding lab rats. Like *Tales*, the stories in *Monsters* were rarely straightforward action plots and often included ironic twists in which a character's conceit or greed led to their downfall, frequently with gruesome consequences. Additionally, the series often incorporated a sense of comedy, a tone not commonly found in horror productions, which in some cases lightened the audience's mood but in many instances enhanced the overall eerie atmosphere of the episodes.