Ghost Train

What a horrible start to a good television show. All of the baloney in this opening episode so typical of the Steven Spielberg agendas that he spewed forth in his first decade of movie making. Here we get a child that knows more than his parents and/or his parents don't believe him; we get the American Indian had "the right" to scalp people because it was their land first message. "Scalping" someone is okay?! Unbelievable. We also get a ludicrous "ghost" story that makes no sense, even considering that it's a ghost story. The is a poor man's Poltergeist and E.T. episode.

It was nice to see little Lukas Haas who was a memorable little Amish boy in the great film "Witness," that also came out about this time. That was about all that was good about this show. Thank goodness, all the episodes got far better as the season went on from this opening turkey.

Great opener for the series, a bit of mystery, suspense, a touch of comedy, and a whole lot of heart. Difficult to discuss without giving away the ending, but there was an opportunity to take an easy route here, but instead we saw a lot of grit and realism that helped bring the story to life. Actors filled their roles well, especially the older Opa and the grandson. A few 'hammy' moments perhaps, a lot more music than needed, but at least it is well composed music.

Definitely a must-see, though not sure if it's one to re-watch over and over unless there's an appreciation for the details. Shareable family television.

Very cute and touching. Good episode even in 2021. The subject matter was treated with care and I really liked Old Pa even within the 20 minutes of meeting him.

Grandpa is convinced that his destiny is with some train that wrecked decades ago. In the end, the train comes for him--with ridiculous results.

This premier episode of "Amazing Stories" seems to encapsulate what was wrong with this Steven Spielberg-produced show. While the series had excellent production values and some wild special effects, the quality of the writing seemed irrelevant. A few of the shows were amazingly good but too many had one-dimensional, almost cartoonish, characters. And, too often there was an emphasis on glitz as opposed to substance. Such is "Ghost Train"--a show with some eye-popping visuals but a story that really makes no sense at all and lacks depth.

Lukas Haas was the perfect child actor for the role, letting the viewer into the world of the characters, not just watching a show. It's truly amazing that an episode this short can give viewers as strong attachment to the characters as a 2-hours movie could do. Young people who stumble across Amazing Stories often accuse it of "ripping off" other TV shows and movies. They don't understand how these shows work. Shows like these are often based on short stories, and those stories are adapted to many television show episodes and movies. No one is "ripping off" anyone; they're just making different adaptations of the same short stories. That's why we see Richard Matheson's name so often on so many of these kids of shows. Amazing Stories is THE BEST at telling these stories. No nasty romance scenes. No nauseating kissing noises. Just stories. "Ghost Train" is one of the most iconic episodes of any show of television history.

Amazing Stories has been one of my favorite shows since I was a kid in the '80s. The episodes are intensely immersive and memorable. When you see an episode of Amazing Stories, you never forget it. That's especially true of "Ghost Train".