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Ranking Elm Street: Freddy Vs Jason
Number 5: Freddy Vs Jason
We’re moving outside of the Elm Street series here. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare in 1994 would see that out. (Here in the UK, the marketing even labelled it Elm Street Part 7.)
Almost a decade later, in 2003, Englund picks up Freddy’s iconic glove one more time. This time his opponent isn’t Nancy, or Jesse, or the Dream Warriors, or Alice. It’s another iconic 80s slasher: Jason Voorhees.
The Friday the 13th series predates Elm Street, its first outing landing in 1980. By 1982, Jason is wearing the hockey mask we all associate with him. By 1986 — and quite possibly influenced by Elm Street — Jason is resurrected, and the more supernatural elements of his character are in place. At the end of Jason Goes to Hell, the supposed finale for the series, Freddy’s glove appears. The stage is set for the crossover.
Full disclosure: I haven’t seen all the Friday the 13th films. Maybe they should be on my list. But I saw enough back in the day to know what they were about, and a lot of the mythology was covered again in the Never Sleep Again documentary.
What we get here is a battle that takes us to the iconic locations. There’s a psychiatric hospital very reminiscent of Dream Warriors. Camp Crystal Lake is also a key setting. The film is packed with callbacks to both franchises.
Who wins? Well, that depends on how you read that final scene. But as an Elm Street guy… You thought Jason won? You must be dreaming.
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Ranking Elm Street: The Dream Master
Number 6: Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream MasterWe’ll come to the Dream Warriors a little later in the countdown. Why are they relevant here? Because Part 4 is a direct episodic continuation of Part 3. And Part 3 is one of the best Elm Street movies. (Do I think it’s the best? You’ll have to wait and see. But it’s damn close, and honestly it can vary depending on the day of the week.)
So why would a direct sequel sit this low? A sequel with so much to like — and the highest‑grossing entry in the series, at least until Jason got involved.
Let’s get the “bad” out of the way first, if you can even call it that. The Dream Warriors brilliantly tied up the Elm Street saga. It was a direct sequel to the first film, and Freddy was written out in a way that felt neat and final.
Until a dog pee brought him back to life. How? Why?
I guess the idea was that the ground the Dream Warriors buried him in was no longer hallowed. Then the newly resurrected Freddy slaughters the Dream Warriors in the first twenty minutes. I’m not sure why they decided to do that. If you watch these films back‑to‑back, it’s jarring.
Now onto the good — and I’ve probably been harsh with this one’s placement. This is Freddy at his most MTV. He kills off the kids in more imaginative, over‑the‑top ways. There’s a scene where a character is turned into a giant cockroach. In many ways, this is the most 80s film I’ve ever seen.
We also have a new heroine, Alice, who goes from shy and timid to defeating Freddy in the finale. And it’s not a fluke — her arc is earned.
From here, we depart from the Elm Street formula. The next film pits Freddy against another horror icon in a grudge match that winds up being a lot of fun.
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Ranking Elm Street: Freddy’s Dead
Number 7: Nightmare on Elm Street 6: Freddy’s Dead – The Final NightmareRemember how I mentioned that as the films went on Freddy became more of a parody? Here he flies on a broomstick quoting The Wizard of Oz. This is the film largely known for jumping the shark. The kills come in very early‑90s ways — one character is even killed inside a video game. Because of this, I couldn’t rank the film any higher. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to like.
I remember the scenes showing a child‑free Springwood being quite surreal. It’s a “what happens if Freddy has killed all the young?” scenario. The adults of Springwood have all gone crazy. It’s not subtle, but it definitely leaves an impression.
Then there’s the stuff with Freddy’s daughter, Maggie, being the one to finally kill him. It’s poetic, and almost certainly added just as a way to end Freddy for good. Because there are five films before this, and Krueger having a wife and daughter is never mentioned previously.
It’s played too much for laughs, but it also feels like there might be a missed opportunity here. Could you imagine the weight of being Freddy’s daughter? The revelation comes too late in the film to really be explored, and the tone doesn’t try beyond Maggie existing to be the good and Freddy the bad.
This film is fun. But it didn’t feel like the right send‑off for the series. That would come later.
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Ranking Elm Street: Freddys Revenge
Number 8: Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Many will disagree with me here. The reasons this one ranks eighth on our countdown we’ll get to soon, but let me start by saying there’s plenty to like.
In later sequels, Freddy leans more into comedy than horror. In Part 2, he still has the menace of the first film, and the plot does something genuinely different with him.
This is where the problem lies for me. I’m in agreement with Wes Craven’s take that this film exposes Freddy too much. His menace comes from being able to kill you while you sleep. In dreams, Freddy holds all the power. In this film, he crosses over into the waking world.
Jesse is our main character — one of the only male leads in the Elm Street series, another departure from the usual formula. His girlfriend Lisa has a large role too. The story is essentially a possession film. Much has been said about the subtext, and you can very much class this film as of its time.
It’s a short watch, clocking in at about an hour and twenty minutes. Definitely a part of horror history. And that VHS cover with the school bus was unforgettable.
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A Few Metres in the Dark
We go back to the 90s now. Barry’s video shop. The back wall was dedicated to what we now know as horror icons. You know the faces: Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Chucky, Ghostface — and the one that both fascinated and scared me the most, Freddy Krueger.
Of course, I couldn’t rent these movies. I was still watching Adam West’s Batman because the new films were fifteen‑plus. So for a while, Freddy remained an oversized VHS box. Older friends had seen the films, though. They were more than happy to fill me in on all the details — and the scare factor.
“Freddy 3 is my favourite, but if you think that’s scary don’t watch Freddy 1,” was something I remember. So in my head, these films became much more frightening than they really were.
What scared me at the time was this: unlike the other boogeymen, Freddy came for you when you were sleeping. Sooner or later, everyone has to sleep. Freddy also almost exclusively killed teenagers, and I had just become a teenager. Sad as it is, that’s where your mind goes at a young age. Being able to separate fact from fiction came later.
Then, one night in the mid‑1990s, an older friend was “babysitting” another friend in my year. This friend had Sky Movies and wanted everyone over at his. Because it was time to meet Freddy.
As a group of friends we laughed and talked through most of it. I remember friends who had seen that particular film jumping at various moments. Another used mock knives to make the claw sound. It was all good fun. The film that night was Part 3. It blended horror with dark fantasy and is still one of my favourites.
Then came time to leave. My house was only a small walk — a few metres, in fact, from my friend’s. A few metres in the dark, that is.
The babysitter looked at me, then out at the night, and sighed. “I’ll walk you home,” he said. Thankfully he didn’t add a phrase like I’ll be right back into that conversation.
Thanks, Anthony.
It’s October… it’s the dark month. It’s time to finally revisit Elm Street.
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When Nintendo’s Crown Jewels Washed Up with Ocean
The early 80s was a difficult time for gaming. You hear many horror stories about the Video Games Crash of ’83 — those Atari carts of E.T. all being taken to landfill.
However, these stories all come from the same place: the United States. Across here, there was no video game crash. Instead, we had classroom wars about whether the ZX Spectrum or the Commodore 64 was the best home computer. Gaming was very much still a thing over here, and we were in those years where Nintendo had yet to launch its home console.
The story is very similar to how Nintendo games ended up on Atari: licensing deals. This era, though, had some UK anomalies. Atari had the US rights to develop games like Mario Bros. Here in the UK, Ocean Software had the converted licences to Nintendo’s crown jewels.
You’ll hear a lot about Ocean and bad games, but it’s not necessarily true. The Batman 1989 game on the home computers — particularly the Amiga — wasn’t bad. Their versions of Rainbow Islands and Robocop were also pretty good, in my opinion. I’m sure, as the late Queen once said, recollections may vary.
With the amount of games they were churning out in the early 80s, Ocean acquired licences for anything they could: Robocop, Rambo, Batman, Hook, Jurassic Park, Knight Rider, early WWF… I’m sure there were more. Turnaround times, from what I understand, were fast. If you had a home computer, chances are you had an Ocean game.
Granted, I’ve now played the Atari version of Donkey Kong, and it’s probably slightly better — only because Mario’s movements seem more precise. I played that one years later on the C64 Mini. But the Ocean version is recognisably Donkey Kong, and had this been my introduction to the game, I wouldn’t have been too disappointed either.
Plus, all those movie licenses meant that the Ocean games lined up looked like the VHS shelf at Barry’s Video Shop. Speaking of which… we’re approaching the haunting month of Halloween, and we never did get around to discussing those films Barry wouldn’t rent me …
More next time
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When Nintendo Were Multiplatform
Mario on Atari
I’ve always been a Nintendo fan. These days I’m happy to stay a few generations behind (Yes I own a Wii U), but their exclusives have always been fun to play particular with younger family.
Of course preferring retro games over modern the Super Mario Series is something I’ve gone back to many times.
Always though these games are locked behind that Nintendo hardware. Want to play Mario, Zelda or Donkey Kong then you need a Nintendo of some description.
Well that wasn’t always the case.
In 1983 The Atari 2600 got the legendary Nintendo arcade title Donkey Kong. Here in the UK it was from CB electronics but this stemmed from an American deal Coleco (As in Colecovision Atari’s rival from the 1st console war).
This 2600 port only featured 2 levels of the Arcade. It’s blocky and Donkey Kong doesn’t look properly like Donkey Kong (yet) but it’s playable and it must have been a hell of an effort considering the 2600 hardware limitations
We got Donkey Kong Jnr from CB Electronics in the UK under that same licence deal. This time only one stage was missing. Yes it was primitive and missing power ups. But it was another Nintendo title that was introduced to players during the Atari run.
Then in 1983 the Arari got the Mario Bros. Four years before Super Mario Bros on the NES would redefine the platforming landscape the coop platformer the Mario Bros was on Atari. This coop platform game. For anyone who jumped on from Super Mario Bros this game might seem unrecognisable. For those who jumped on at Mario Bros 3 this will feel like someone made a full game based on that mini game battle mode in that game.
Actually, Nintendo were making callbacks as early as 1988.
Mario Bros on the Atari was not a rare game by any stretch. Researching for this blog I can’t find the actual sales number. But most people I know who had an Atari had the Mario Bros it was almost as common as Pac Man.
Was the port any good. Well, again given the limitations of the 2600, yes the port was very good. Much better too in the 2 player mode.
There you have it. The Nintendo characters that did appear on a non Nintendo console.
So what about us home computer fans…
Well I’m getting to that. Catch you in the next one.
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Batman 1966: The Joker
Joker Is Wild / Batman Is RiledIt was already cemented in the comics by this point: the Clown Prince of Crime was the ultimate foil for the Caped Crusader. The Joker’s first appearance on the ’66 TV show is a genuinely great TV introduction to the character.
We open with the Joker escaping prison using a giant spring during a gimmick prison baseball game. There’s no origin story — as with most of the rogues in the TV show — and this isn’t the Dynamic Duo’s first battle with him. The Joker and his henchmen somehow hide inside statues at Gotham Museum, waiting to strike when the museum closes. The Duo work this out, and the battle kicks off. All this happens in the first fifteen or so minutes of the episode. With Joker coming out on top, you’re led into a false cliffhanger halfway through. We even get the narrator asking the usual end‑of‑episode questions. In short, these two episodes break the Batman formula in the best possible way.
Batman foils that mid‑episode cliffhanger with his utility belt, leading to the Joker making his own:
“I swear by all that is funny, I shall never be foiled by that insidious unconstitutional device again!”
The story loosely adapts Batman issue #73 — The Joker’s Utility Belt.
The real cliffhanger comes when the Joker, disguised as an opera clown, captures the Dynamic Duo and plans to unmask them on live TV. If that mask looks familiar, I’m not surprised. Over forty years later, The Dark Knight would pay tribute to the series by having the Joker use the same mask in the film’s opening scenes.
Batman and Robin escape the scenario the next week, but it’s a great cliffhanger that kept me guessing.
Batman: “You’re trapped, Joker. As a duly deputised agent of the law I order you to surrender.” Joker: “As the Clown Prince of Crime, I decline.”
It’s all pretty poetic, really, for a “campy” TV series.
Before the curtain falls on the Joker, we get reactions from Gotham citizens via newsreels and newspaper headline flashes — all adding to the idea that the Joker has Batman’s number. This doesn’t feel like any other story that season.
Cesar Romero’s Joker became a template for the character. Decades later, Mark Hamill — the Joker in the ’90s animated series (we’ll get to it) — would credit Romero with laying the groundwork for everyone who followed.
So how do these episodes rank quality‑wise? They’re right up there with the Batman ’66 movie. It felt like you were getting a mini Batman movie with a new villain every week. These two episodes particularly stand out as being as good as — if not better than — the film. In many ways it’s a shame the series got stuck with licence‑agreement issues, meaning the home‑media release didn’t happen until 2014. But on the flip side, that might have helped keep “Batman in Colour” in syndication long into the ’80s and ’90s.
I hope my enthusiasm has sparked some interest and shown how faithful this series is to the Batman comics — and how its influence is still felt today.
If it has, and those DVDs are a bit of a barrier to entry price‑wise, take a look at your local TV listings. Usually, on a lower‑down channel in the guide, the Dynamic Duo are still in syndication. Still recruiting young fans. Here in the UK, as I type, Talking Pictures TV are re‑running the series.
Next Time: Playing Mario on Atari
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Batman 1966 The Penguin
Hizzonner the Penguin / Dizzoner the PenguinWe have a slight change here. Penguin is the first on this list where I’ve chosen episodes that are not the villain’s debut. These ones come from season 2.
Yes, season 2 — where the phrase “If you’ve seen one episode of Batman, you’ve seen them all” really comes into play.
Being quite into my old TV (as you can probably tell), I’d love to defend season 2. But even I must concede we get formulaic here. We also get some different villain choices. Some are great, and some are clearly stand‑ins (sorry, Puzzler).
Many of these villains have since disappeared: foes like False Face, Colonel Gumm, The Archer, The Sandman, and Chandell.
Some of the new characters I liked, though. I remember enjoying Ma Parker’s story, and I thought The Bookworm made a decent villain too.
I digress — our main villains return here, apart from the Frank Gorshin Riddler. Riddler is recast as John Astin (known for playing Gomez Addams). Good as Astin is, the role doesn’t quite gel with him.
By this point in the series, we’ve seen Burgess Meredith play the Penguin before. The twist this time is that Penguin stops a robbery in the introduction. Naturally, it’s all part of a scheme. Penguin has aspirations of becoming the Mayor of Gotham City.
If that plot sounds familiar, it should. The 1992 Batman Returns film pays homage to the series by using this storyline. Reportedly, Burton wanted Meredith to return to the franchise to play Penguin’s father. By then, Meredith had to pull out due to ill health — a real shame, because I would have loved that callback. We did get the role filled by Paul Reubens, though (someone who will no doubt appear here in a reaction in the future).
As with the other villains, the broad strokes of what we recognise as the Penguin are all here: the crooked businessman. Later adaptations (after Returns) would tone down the gimmicked umbrellas. Returns redesigned the character, but the waddle, nose, and love of those gimmick umbrellas were all in Meredith’s Penguin — all of it dating back to the comic itself (around 1941).
This series was not only closer to the comic than a lot would like to admit — it was a vital building block in the making of the Dark Knight as he is today.
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Batman 1966 The Catwoman
The Purr‑fect Crime / Better Luck Next TimeWe’re picking an episode here from later in series one. Episodes 19 and 20 introduce us to the iconic villain Catwoman, played here purr‑fectly by Julie Newmar.
Considering how iconic Catwoman would become as a character, it’s a tad surprising she appears so late in the season. She doesn’t actually have the honour of being the first female villain in the series — that goes to Zelda the Great. That episode was an adaptation of Detective Comics #346, Batman’s Inescapable Death Trap. A gentle reminder that Batman ’66 is truer to its comic roots than people give it credit for.
Much as we saw with the Riddler in the opener, most of what we know as Catwoman is already here. The look Newmar uses would be replicated in the comics, and later paid heavy homage in The Dark Knight Rises. It’s far from the only time we see Batman ’66 leave fingerprints on the more modern Dark Knight incarnation. Even the catsuit itself originated here.
There are a lot more cat puns in these episodes — most of which went over my head as a child. There’s a line from Catwoman to her henchman… I’m not going to spoil it, but take a look at the episode. It’s another one of those two‑level jokes that fly past kids but raise a smile with adults.
This story also breaks with the traditional Batman ’66 narrative. It has a cliffhanger fake‑out — the wall with spikes. It’s not the first episode to do this; another tier‑A villain we’ll look at later uses a similar pattern.
Have I convinced you of this series’ legacy yet? What if I told you that the next story featured was originally written for the ’66 TV series, then adapted in 1992 as part of the Batman movie often voted the best of the entire franchise.