3 Great Horror TV Shows Not Named THE TWILIGHT ZONE

1. American Gothic. This short-lived seriocomic ensemble gem written by Shaun Cassidy featured Gary Cole as the sheriff of the small Southern town of Trinity. He loves his town and protects his town and just happens to also probably be the devil. And he has a son (played perfectly by Lucas Black). Although this show firmly had its tongue planted in its cheek, it was still able to reach levels of shake-in-your-boots terror. In fact, I'd say that it was able to achieve this because of its comic moments. Counterpoint is underrated. So was American Gothic.

2. Medium. NBC just cancelled (and CBS just picked up) this marvelously creepy showcase for Patricia Arquette, a unique and unusual actress. She played Allison Dubois, a housewife plagued with second sight, who works for the district attorney. Her dreams push the boundaries of gory surrealism. One recent episode featured images of mutilated women, their eyes graphically gouged out. A fantastic cast of actors, including American Gothic alum Jake Weber, played her family. In fact, one area in which Medium really excelled were the quiet family moments between Allison, her scientist-husband, and her trio of daughters, all of whom have inheritied Allison's gift/curse.

2. Friday the 13th: The Series. Am I kidding you? No, I am not kidding you. Despite some cheesy special effects, this show more often than not delivered the goods, and more. The premise here: two cousins inherit an antique store from their evil uncle, who cursed all of the antiques he sold. Now the cousins have to retrive the cursed antiques before they ruin the lives of their owners by tempting them to commit horrible acts. It's a solid engine for a series and the way the antiques preyed upon their owners' insecurities added a nice dimensionality to the horror. Ah-ha, but what did the series have to do with Camp Crystal Lake, Jason Vorhees, and horny coeds being impaled? Absolutely nothing.

CAIN (9,692-90,000 wds)