X-Entertainment | X-Entertainment loves Amazing Stories.

X-Entertainment loves Amazing Stories.

Was going to wait till late Sunday to put this up, but it's already done, so yeah. I've had this review sitting on the bench waiting to be written for months, and it was starting to get mad at me. Here's a review of Go To The Head Of The Class, my most favorite-ever episode from the late, great Amazing Stories television series. Starring Christopher Lloyd as a psychotic school teacher who loses his head over two of his students, I was permanently affected after just one viewing on a 1986 Sunday night.

Posted by Matt on 05/13/2006. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 122 comments

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Yup, not in my recollection. But anything with Lloyd is aces.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 05/13/2006 11:15 PM

The only recollection I have of AMAZING STORIES involves a dragon eating piano keys (????)

Chestnuts roasted by The Manimal @ 05/13/2006 11:30 PM

I loved that show! However, for some reason don’t remember any single episode. Except for (I think) one with Mark Hamill in which he somehow obtained some sort of Geni, which of course turned out bad. Is this from the same series?????

Chestnuts roasted by Dan @ 05/13/2006 11:33 PM

Those clips are incredible. I can’t believe I never watched this show. They let blond Jason Bateman just make that horrified face forever…excellent.
Couple of episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark stuck in my psyche for a long time. That awful Fifteen had me freaked out for high school too.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 05/13/2006 11:35 PM

Funny that I was searching the web for info on this show and I stumbled onto your little review. Nice work.

Chestnuts roasted by Percy @ 05/13/2006 11:36 PM

I remember that show. I loved that episode, though the WWII one with the bomber that lost it’s landing gear was my favorite.

Chestnuts roasted by Grey Weirdo @ 05/13/2006 11:39 PM

Yeah, the "Mission" segment with the landing gear was one of my favorites. I also liked "Remote Control Man", where the guy lost himself in TV, and several 1980′s icon came through the television as his adopted family.

Chestnuts roasted by Dude McGuy @ 05/13/2006 11:50 PM

Wow, talk about the past sneaking up and biting you in the ass. I remember the Amazing Stories well,(I am 28 after all) and the one that is the most prominant in my mind involved Jon Cryer, a chemical accident that could bring pics to life and various messed-up super models. I remember the writing being super weak, and that some episodes were like train wrecks you couldn’t turn away from.
Anyway, most excellent article Matt.

Chestnuts roasted by bloodybrilliantme @ 05/13/2006 11:53 PM

Wow! I loved Amazing Stories as a kid, but never saw "Go to the Head of the Class". I see I was really missing out.

Is anyone else a big fan of these Twilight Zone? What exactly do they call this genre?

Chestnuts roasted by Xabungle @ 05/13/2006 11:56 PM

Wow. I saw "Amazing Stories" and said "huh?" But when I read the episode title and the name "Christopher Lloyd," I immediately knew what was going on. And I hereby deem that "summarily awesome."

I used an inordinate number of quotations up there.

Chestnuts roasted by Rhino @ 05/13/2006 11:58 PM

Okay. I messed up my first ever post here. What I intended to ask was…
Anyone else a fan of these types of shows? Similar to the Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, or Night Gallery, perusing the fantastic and weird in one episode. What is this genre (if it is a genre)?

Chestnuts roasted by Xabungle @ 05/14/2006 12:07 PM

I’m a pretty big fan of whatever you’d call this type of television show.

Actually, Amazing Stories is probably my least favorite, and by that I only mean that I’ve seen the least amount of episodes of it compared to the others. Everyone should really check out the reruns on Sci-Fi — recent finds include an ep where Weird Al plays the most annoying green alien polygamist ever.

Have seen too many Twilight Zone episodes to remember. Favorites include the one with that ballbusting "Caesar" dummy, and the one where the guy gets gambling fever and thinks slot machines are attacking him.

Tales From The Darkside reminds me so much of fucking around on Saturday afternoons. There’s one episode from the series I want to review someday, involving a girl who temporarily shacks up with a supposedly nice old couple only to find out that they want to turn her into soup.

And that The Outer Limits episode where Beau Bridges raises an army of extraterrestrial cockroaches rocked.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 05/14/2006 12:15 PM

My personal fav involved a mummy, wasn’t a scary one but was hysterical, or at least was for my pre-pubescent mind at the time.

Chestnuts roasted by Bizzar @ 05/14/2006 12:18 PM

I guess the "green alien" modifier is how Al beats out Chloe Sevigny
"Anthology series" appears to be what we’re looking for. Wikipedia:
An anthology series is a television series that features different stories, with a different cast of characters in every episode. Typically these have been found in the science fiction and horror genres. Examples include Twilight Zone, Night Gallery,Alfred Hitchcock Presents,The Outer Limits and Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 05/14/2006 12:25 PM

It’s Amaaaaaain’ Stories!

Chestnuts roasted by Mystie @ 05/14/2006 12:56 PM

Didnt Amazing Stories have an episode where this guy steals this crystal that heals people and this Native American guy who looks like "Spirit" from GI Joe comes looking for it. Or have I been huffin a little too much glue?

Chestnuts roasted by Spectre1979 @ 05/14/2006 1:04 AM

I used to call my little brother Mr. Braaaaaad. I remember watching this as a kid, I thought it was a TV movie or something.

Chestnuts roasted by Erick @ 05/14/2006 1:28 AM

I never saw "Amazing Stories," but I do remember encountering a light-speed creepy clip of Christopher Lloyd as the teacher, as part of a montage/commercial of shows my cable provider aired during 1993.

I really love the bizarre occurrence/science fiction story genre, but I feel that few of the shows nowadays have really done it justice. The "New Twilight Zone" of the late 80s is a noteworthy exception, though. The opening sequence was at a level on par with the original, with things such as a rotating doll and a human fetus contained in a sphere of scariness. And "Beyond Belief" satisfactorily entertained me the was-it-real-or-not gimmick, and the optical illusions Frakes smilingly demonstrated in the Ripley’s Believe it or Not room. But the new "Outer Limits" and the new, new "Twilight Zone" (with heavy metal opening music–ew!) have disappointed.

Chestnuts roasted by Venison @ 05/14/2006 1:42 AM

I forgot a few words in the above post, both grammatically and conversationally. I was reminded of the 60′s supernatural melodrama "Dark Shadows"–anyone seen it? I wasn’t alive when it first aired (otherwise I’d probably be the same age as most of our parents), but it aired recently for a while on the SciFi channel, and I got caught up in it about two summers ago. It had a real nice spooky atmosphere, with modern-man vampires, centuries-old secrets, and gothic mansion interior sets. I doubt it’s available on DVD, but I’ve fallen into a deep enough like-like relationship with the show that I might try tracking it down.

Chestnuts roasted by Venison @ 05/14/2006 2:01 AM

I can’t believe Justice League: Unlimited is over, and what a kickass ending. Total nerdgasm, and who’s the last hero we see in the series? Batman.

SNL was actually GOOD tonight too! Jason Alexander & Jerry both appear in pre-taped bits during Julia’s monologue, and Al Gore himself appears in the opening sketch (which was a presidential address on a Parallel Earth), and a Point-Counterpoint on Weekend Update.

I haven’t heard of this show at all bot Chris Lloyd kicks ass in any villain role.

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 05/14/2006 2:04 AM

I feel your pain, Invader Norbert. The Cartoon Network did the Justice League a major injustice (yo ho, pun!:)). I haven’t even been able to catch many episodes, since the Cartoon Network has been inconsistent in its airings in the past. Oh, well. It has only strengthened my resolve to dole out cash for the DVDs of Batman: The Animated Series.

Chestnuts roasted by Venison @ 05/14/2006 2:30 AM

Aww fuck.

It had to be this gay-assed show. Sorry, but I thought that the stories were just plain stupid. However, I will still read this article, and maybe I will like it anyway.

Chestnuts roasted by Nate @ 05/14/2006 2:32 AM

I loved Amazing Stories, and this episode scared the hell out of me as a kid. The clips brought back memories. =)

Chestnuts roasted by Ariel @ 05/14/2006 2:43 AM

The Weird Al episode is entitled Miss Stardust and the dragon eating piano keys is The Grieble. Sci-Fi channel runs marathons every once in a while.

Chestnuts roasted by Bludge @ 05/14/2006 2:45 AM

Oh, wow, is it October already? That article got me really pumped for bubblegum shaped like eyeballs and the smell of fake blood. Time for beer and a Halloweentown marathon. Summer rocksss

Chestnuts roasted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 05/14/2006 2:54 AM

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