10 Great Characters Wasted On Terrible Horror TV Shows

Original A Nightmare on Elm Street maestro Wes Craven helped to oversee Freddy Krueger’s arrival on the small screen. Where the original film had told a compelling tale establishing solid lore in the town of Springwood, Freddy's Nightmares sees the razor-handed villain getting up to all manner of random hijinks. 

Robert Englund continued the beloved horror villain role here, essentially hosting the show as viewers follow him on his bloodthirsty escapades. While the classically trained actor brings his usual wit and gross-out charisma to the role, the character is badly let down by external factors. Where the films are routinely soaked in blood and gore, TV censorship standards at the time ensured the series failed to deliver the violent goods. 

Over the course of two humdrum seasons, Krueger enjoyed a variety of different takes from multiple writers and directors. While a show modelled on A Nightmare on Elm Street could've been thrilling, this series borders on giving the mythos the sitcom treatment.  

Unfortunately, even for the franchise’s most die-hard fans, this oddly soft, formulaic series ultimately did a disservice to one of the most prolific slashers in cinema history.