"The Hitchhiker" series aired on HBO back in 1983 and ran until 1991. During that time I actually had HBO, so I was able to see most of the episodes when they originally aired. I got hooked into the style of the series almost immediately, in part because I have always enjoyed anthology shows, but also because the stories were told in the vein of the old "Alfred Hitchcock Presents…", meaning they were mostly thrillers dealing with cheating spouses as opposed to ghosts monsters. A couple of years ago HBO started releasing the series in volumes, and being that I enjoyed the series so much had to start collecting them. Currently they are up to Volume 3, which offers up ten more stories in the series. From the appearance of the transfers, HBO didn’t really go to too much trouble to re-master the episodes, but they still look okay so I don’t really have any complaints in that area. If I were to have any nitpick, it would be that there are no extra features to speak of. Considering the roster of talent that starred in some of the episodes, I'm really surprised the studio didn't try to snag at least and interview or two.

After all, this volume alone gives us the likes of Edward Albert, Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside, Bill Paxton, Timothy Bottoms, Parker Stevenson, and Lauren Hutton.

As I mentioned, the episodes in the series were rarely supernatural in nature, and in the case of this set there's only one ('Riding the Nightmare'). The rest offer up tales of murderous prostitutes, practical jokes gone awry, romantic triangles and hit and run accidents.

"The Hitchhiker" of the series was played by Page Fletcher (who later went on to play Robocop in the Prime Directive Series) and he would start and end each episode much in the way Hitchcock and Rod Serling did in theirs. He would bookend with little comments about each episode, and even interacts with the characters in the story from time to time. Originally the part was cast with Nicholas Campbell, but he only ended up in the first three episodes and had his scenes re-shot (what a rip!).

The series was highly underrated at the time and I recommend checking it out if you get a chance!!

Episodes:
Man at the Window
Dead Man's Curve
Made for Each Other
Joker
Videodate
Best Shot
My Enemy
Tough Guys Don’t Whine
Riding the Nightmare
The Cruelest Cut

Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: HBO
Release Date: 10/31/2006
Region: 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The Hitchhiker: Volume 3 a B.