On tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker, a psychologist (Brian Kerwin) learns about the dangers of manipulating a patient. As you may be able to guess, The Hitchhiker dislikes psychologists almost as much as he dislikes tabloid journalists. In fact, is there anyone that The Hitchhiker does like?
This episode originally aired on July 8th, 1989.
On tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker, Robert Carradine plays a corrupt diplomat in France whose life falls apart when all of his dark secrets are revealed. This is another Hitchhiker episode in which The Hitchhiker takes an obvious glee in revealing the hypocrisy of someone who holds himself up as being moral and perfect. Keep an eye out for Lucio Fulci’s favorite actress, Catriona MacColl, in the role of Carradine’s long-suffering wife!
This episode originally aired on July 7th, 1989.
On tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker, a nurse (Tammy Lauren) decides that the best way to win the husband of her patient is to indulge in a little black magic. Needless to say, things don’t go quite as planned. And yes, The Hitchhiker definitely has something to say about it!
Seriously, I would so freak out if I ever saw The Hitchhiker commenting on anything that I’ve ever done in my life. “Lisa Marie Bowman thought she could escape real-life horror by writing about fictional horror. But sometimes, that which we think is fiction, turns out to be real….” AGCK!
This episode originally aired on July 1st, 1989.
On tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker, the title character (Page Fletcher) continues to come across the worst people on the planet.
This time, that person is Eric Coleman (Ray Sharkey), a once great photographer who now makes a disreputable living taking pictures of celebrities and tragedies. When Eric has a chance to stop a woman’s suicide, he instead decides to take pictures. His new assistant goes out of her way to make Eric feel the error of his ways.
This episode features a convincingly sleazy performance from Ray Sharkey. Eric Coleman is a character who you will definitely want to see receive his comeuppance.
This episode originally aired on April 29th, 1989.
Tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker is a stylish homage to noir, starring Meg Foster as a femme fatale who is not quite as blind as she pretends to be. This episode was directed by Phillip Noyce, who was also responsible for a film about an actual blind person, Blind Fury. Interestingly enough, that film also featured Meg Foster, though in a very different role than the one that she plays here.
This episode originally aired on April 22nd, 1989.
On tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker, Michael Woods plays a cocky gigolo who spends the weekend at a cabin with an alcoholic director (Jerry Orbach) and his sultry wife (Season Hubley). When Hubley suggests that Woods murder her husband, it seems like a standard noir-situation but it become obvious that Orbach is not quite as clueless as Woods assumed. Who is playing which game?
This is an enjoyable episode, largely due to the performance of the wonderful Jerry Orbach. This episode originally aired on May 12th, 1987.
On tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker, Dean Paul Martin (son of Dean) plays a vitamin salesman who discovers that competition can be deadly! This episode features a wonderfully sleazy turn from Dean Paul Martin and enjoyably macabre ending. Sadly, this would be one of Dean Paul Martin’s final appearances before his death in a 1987 aviation accident.
This episode originally aired on May 5th, 1987.
“What does it take to light a madman’s fuse? Just a twinkle in a young girl’s eye?” The Hitchhiker (Page Fletcher) asks us. “If the hunger for love can drive a man to murder, well… that’s when a fellow really needs a friend.”
Tonight, on The Hitchhiker, two dangerous men form a combustible friendship. Trout (Bill Paxton) is wild and loud and rambunctious. Wax (Bud Cort) is a nerdy and mild-mannered serial killer. Trout and Wax bond and become unlikely friends but that friendship is threatened when they pick up a sex worker named Sunny (Jonelle Allen).
This episode, featuring excellent performances from Bill Paxton and Bud Cort, originally aired on April 14th, 1987.
At the tail end of the 60s, the so-called king of acid rock, guitarist Billy Baltimore (Brad Dourif) was assassinated on stage. Or was he? When tabloid journalist Jane L. (Kirstie Alley) is told by her morally conflicted photographer, Hodie (Andy Summers of the Police), that he believes Billy Baltimore faked his own death and is actually living in a mansion and plotting his comeback, Jane L. decides to break into the mansion and find out for herself.
That turns out to be a big mistake. But, as badly as things go for Jane L. and Hodie, this is an entertaining episode that features Kirstie Alley at her most neurotic and Brad Dourif at his most off-beat. The ending might not make much sense but the journey is still worth it. For the record, the Hitchhiker (Page Fletcher) really does not like tabloid reporters.
The episode originally aired on March 31st, 1987.
Tonight’s episode of The Hitchhiker is an early example of found footage horror.
Jerry Rulack (played by the star of Midnight Express, Brad Davis, in one of his final performances) is a smarmy TV host who, along with his camera crew, goes from nightclub to nightclub and asks the clubgoers, “Why are you here?” Eventually, Jerry runs into a rich girl named Donette (Helen Hunt), who turns the question around and leaves Jerry to wonder why he’s there. Donette and her friends are rich, decadent, and ultimately dangerous. Eventually, Jerry discovers that there is a price to pay for asking too many stupid questions. Brad Davis does an adequate Geraldo Rivera impersonation while Helen Hunt seems to be having fun playing someone who literally cares about nothing. As the Hitchhiker, Page Fletcher is wonderfully judgmental while introducing Jerry and later while considering his fate.
This episode originally aired on March 10th, 1987.
Through the Shattered Lens 