Once upon a time (as all good stories must start), anthologies were a TV staple.

Back in the 1950s and ’60s, such programs as “The Twilight Zone,” “Night Gallery,” “The Outer Limits” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” would offer up the TV equivalent of short stories to make those early viewers think.

So who would be a more natural successor to such luminaries as Hitchcock and Rod Serling than Bangor’s own Stephen King?

After all, in addition to his dozens of novels over the past 30 years, King also has penned several short-story collections.

In fact, of the eight stories used in this four-week series, five come from the titular 1993 volume, while two others are culled from 2002’s “Everything’s Eventual” and the last from 1978’s “Nightshift.”

While King himself wasn’t involved in the filming of the anthology in Australia, he did provide input on scripts and directorial choices. Not being on the set probably helped him to resist again making a Hitchcockian cameo.

Still, a number of people on both sides of the camera have been involved with previous King TV productions, and that helps to maintain the flavor of the horror-master (which perhaps should be served alongside fava beans and washed down with a nice chianti).

Opening things tonight is “Battleground” (shown without commercial interruption). It stars William Hurt as an aging assassin whose latest victim takes revenge in a particularly playful manner. As written by Richard Christian Matheson and directed by Brian Henson, “Battleground” is done without dialogue, an intriguing change of pace.

Tonight’s second episode, “Crouch’s End,” tells about a young American couple honeymooning in London and what happens to them when they stray into the wrong neighborhood. I get time-space paradoxes as much as the next guy, but I couldn’t follow this, I’m afraid.

But that’s the beauty of anthologies. First, it’s perfect for today’s many viewers with short attention spans. Second, you invest only an hour in a set of characters and circumstances. And then, to paraphrase The Casinos, if it don’t work out, if it don’t work out, then you can tell ’em goodbye.

King has developed a good relationship with TNT, which has previously aired new productions of “Carrie” and “Salem’s Lot.” It’s much like the one he has had through the years with ABC, only with the diminished ratings expectations of cable.

Will “Nightmares & Dreamscapes” be a one-time “event”? It needn’t be. There must be more of King’s creations that can be adapted. Coming next summer to TNT: “Scribblings From the Napkins of Stephen King.”