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The Hitchhiker
Genre	Anthology
Starring	Page Fletcher; Nicholas Campbell
Composer(s)	Shuki Levy; Michel Rubini; Haim Saban
Country of origin	Canada; France; United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	85
Production
Executive producer(s)	Lewis Chesler (1986-1987); Riff Markowitz (1986-1987); Richard Rothstein; Jeremy Lipp; Jacques Methe; David Perlmutter
Running time	30 mins. (approx)
Broadcast
Original channel	HBO (1983-1987); First Choice (1983-1987); USA Network (1989-1991)
Original run	1983 – 1991

The Hitchhiker is a mystery anthology series that aired from 1983 to 1987 on HBO and First Choice in Canada. The series later moved to the USA Network from 1989 to 1991.

[edit] Synopsis

Each episode is introduced and concluded by a mysterious wanderer known only as "The Hitchhiker," and explores the foibles of humanity and its dark spirit. The title character was played by Nicholas Campbell from 1983-1984 (3 episodes), and Page Fletcher from 1984-1991 (82 episodes). There were a total of 85 episodes over six seasons (39 first runs on HBO & 46 first runs on USA).

[edit] Production notes

The series was a Canada/United States/France co-production. It was filmed in Vancouver and Toronto, Ontario, Canada and France. The show was produced by Corazon Productions (Season 1 for a total of three episodes), Quintina Productions (Seasons 2-4 for a total of thirty-six episodes), and Atlantique & Quintina Productions (Seasons 5-6 for a total of forty-seven episodes).

The Hitchhiker was created by Richard Rothstein and Lewis Chesler. The pilot episode consisted of three stories. Richard Rothstein wrote two and Jeph Loeb and Matt Weissman wrote the third.

[edit] Cast

Like the much earlier Twilight Zone series, with which it had a lot of other commonalities, The Hitchhiker served as starting point for many actors, some of whom would go on to gain greater recognition elsewhere. Notable cast members (in alphabetical order):

Kirstie Alley: Angelica in "Out of the Night" (1985), Jane L. in "The Legendary Billy B." (1987)
Sandra Bernhard: Rat in "O.D. Feelin" (1986)
Rachel Blanchard: Karen O'Neill in "Riding the Nightmare" (1990)
Karen Black: Kay in "Hired Help" (1985)
Timothy Bottoms: Star in "Joker" (1987)
Gary Busey: Reverend Nolan Powers in "W.G.O.D." (1985)
Robert Carradine: Frank in "Garter Belt" (1989)
Peter Coyote: Alex in "Last Scene" (1985)
Willem Dafoe: Jeffrey Hunt in "Ghostwriter" (1985)
Joe Dallesandro: Star in "Fashion Exchange" (1988)
Michael Des Barres: The Wise Man in "O.D. Feelin;" (1986)
Brad Dourif: Billy B. in "The Legendary Billy B." (1987)
Louise Fletcher: Mother Birch in "Offspring" (1991)
Zach Galligan: in "Toxic Shock" (1990)
John Glover: in "Striptease" (1989)
Elliott Gould: Star in "A Whole New You" (1990)
Bruce Greenwood: Star in "Shattered Vows" (1983)
C. Thomas Howell: Star in "White Slaves" (1990)
Helen Hunt: Donette in "Why are You Here?" (1987)
Lauren Hutton: Tess O'Neill in "Riding the Nightmare" (1987)
Claude Jade: Monique in "Windows" (1990)
Margot Kidder: Star in "Nightshift" (1986)
Klaus Kinski: Kurt Hoffmann in "Love Sounds" (1985)
Lorenzo Lamas: in "Trust Me" (1990)
Kelly Lynch: Theresa/Melissa in "Joker" (1987)
Michael Madsen: John Hampton in "The Man at the Window" (1985)
Virginia Madsen: Christina in "Perfect Order" (1987)
Darren McGavin: Old Man in "Nightshift" (1986)
Belinda Montgomery: in "The Man at the Window" (1985)
Carrie-Anne Moss: Lookalike in "My Enemy" (1989)
Ornella Muti: Sister Teresa in "True Believer" (1987)
Franco Nero: Star in "Murderous Feelings" (1985)
Jerry Orbach: Cameron in "Cabin Fever" (1987)
Geraldine Page: Lynette in "W.G.O.D." (1985)
Joe Pantoliano: Brother Charles in "The Miracle of Alice Ames" (1988)
Bill Paxton: Trout in "Made for Each Other" (1987)
James Remar: Ron in "Homebodies" (1987)
Michael Schoeffling: Lance in "Dead Man's Curve" (1986)
Gene Simmons: Mr. Big in "O.D. Feelin" (1986)
Tom Skerritt: Detective in "True Believer" (1985)
Shannon Tweed: Barbara in "Videodate" (1984)
Robert Vaughn: Star in "Face to Face" (1984)
Fred Ward: Star in "Dead Heat" (1987)
Alberta Watson: Jill Friedlander in "Remembering Melody" (1984)

[edit] Syndication and DVD release

In 1996, The Hitchhiker entered syndication and was re-edited (to remove the violence and/or nudity/sexuality that were featured on the HBO runs). The series was also re-shot the first three Nicholas Campbell episodes with Page Fletcher to preserve continuity during the syndication runs. The Hitchhiker was syndicated by Rysher up until 2000.

The series is available on DVD, with two different versions on the market. The HBO 2-disc sets for sale in the US contain episodes that are out of sequence to the order that they appeared in. The Alliance Atlantis DVD box sets for sale in Canada show the episodes in the same order in which they were broadcast in Canada.

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1987	CableACE Awards	Nominated	Actress in a Dramatic Series	Jenny Seagrove (For episode "Killer")
			Actress in a Dramatic Series	Kirstie Alley (For episode "Out of the Night")
			Actor in a Dramatic Series	Michael O'Keefe (For episode "Man's Best Friend")
		Won	Actor in a Dramatic Series	Gary Busey (For episode "WGOD")
1999	Gemini Award	Nominated	Best Sound in a Dramatic Program or Series	Tim Archer, W. Michael Beard, Rick Ellis, Thomas Hidderley, and Anthony Lancett

[edit] External links