Freddy's Nightmares

This is the television spin-off born out of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, though it doesn't lean on that connection to explain itself. Freddy Krueger appears at the top of each episode to set up two separate stories, then steps back to let them play out in their own right. The very first episode puts him on trial for the murder of a child, which is an unusually dark place to begin.

The fear shifts from week to week rather than building steadily. Some stories keep Freddy close to the centre of things, others hand the nastiness over to people we've never met before and will never meet again, so there's no settled rhythm to brace for.

Good for a night when you want horror running rather than horror demanding your full attention. Two stories an episode means a slow one is never far from being replaced, and there's a strange pleasure in watching a villain enjoy hosting his own anthology.