The pilot debuted to mixed — although overall positive — reviews, with comparisons drawn to the Nightmare on Elm Street series of movies (no doubt due to Craven and Englund's involvement), The Twilight Zone, Fantasy Island, Quantum Leap, Cheers, Moonlighting and Topper.
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Creator Wes Craven's original concept for the series involved standalone episodes akin to The Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories, but with regular characters bookending the tales ("like Twilight Zone meets Cheers", as Craven often said in interviews).
A Nightmare on Elm Street | Hard Rock Cafe | The Vinyl Cafe | café | The Nightmare Before Christmas | Nightmare | Bagdad Café | A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master | World Cafe | The Nightmare Man | The Nightmare Fair | The Actor's Nightmare | Penguin Cafe Orchestra | Nightmare Castle | Internet café | Café Society | Café | A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child | The Nightmare of Black Island | The Gaslight Cafe | Sturm Café | Nuyorican Poets Café | Nightmare of Eden | Internet cafe | Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | Café de Paris | Café del Mar | cafe | Bluebird Café | A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge |