11.30 Kolchak: The Night Stalker
01.00 Supernatural
02.00 The Avengers
Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Episode 2. "The Zombie" One of television's scariest moments ever occurs in the final minutes of this classic episode. Carl Kolchak, intrepid reporter with a penchant for finding ties to the supernatural in the murders he writes about, has tracked a dangerous Zombie to it's lair. He crawls up beside it as it 'sleeps' and begins the ritual that will bring it's existance to an end. He pours rock salt into it's mouth and prepares to sew the lips closed. It's a slow, painful process. For Carl and the viewer. We sit, glued to the screen. Watching, waiting... for the Zombie to wake up.
And then...
The eyes flicker wide open! And the chase is on!
Seldom has TV Horror (or movie horror, for that matter) managed to create such a jolt. But this show manages it with skill. On a regular basis. This episode, the second in the run, is one of the very best. Charles Aidman (who would go on to narrate The Twilight Zone in the '80s) is a step closer to the type of Police Captains who would hassle Kolchak during his weekly adventures. The story wastes too much time showing us Carl's efforts to explain things to the Police and his Editor. Future episodes (wisely) didn't dwell on this aspect quite so much.
It's a fast-moving, event-packed story. Mobsters are dying. Night after night. The killer turns out to be a dead man. Buried by the police (after his own murder) on two seperate occasions, he is now tracking down the ones responsible for his murder. It doesn't take Carl very long to figure this out, and he accepts it pretty much from the get-go. And when nobody believes him (or, at least, admits to his face that he is right) he sets out to stop the creature himself. And, of course, get the story.
It's got a great cast, many funny scenes and a truly terrific climax. In all respects: this is a classic. When you watch it you know you are watching a masterpiece. Yet, incredibly, it's not even close to being the best episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 16. "Roadkill" is close to being the best episode of Supernatural. Predictable, but nonetheless powerful, it stars Tricia Helfer as a young woman on the run from a vengeful ghost. It's the middle of the night (of course) and it's a deserted stretch of highway (of course) when Molly and her husband have a car crash. Molly wakes to find her husband gone from the wreckage and herself the target of a powerful, evil spirit. She runs and runs. And runs right out in front of Sam and Dean Winchester. Who, strangely, have no problems believing that she might be on the run from a ghost. Much to Molly's surprise it's almost as if these two wanderers are prepared to go fighting ghosts. And, before long, the three of them trek back into the scary woods to find the ghost and - Molly hopes - her missing husband.
It's a terrific episode. Tricia Helfer is wonderful (as always) and her performance anchors the episode from start to finish. It's rare (and wonderful) to have an outsider (a normal person) reacting to the crazy things that the brothers have to do on a regular basis. Helfer doesn't get all the acting honours, however, as both the regulars give it their all, as well. And the script not only tells a great story from start to finish, but it also serves to expand the world of Supernatural and define a lot of the rules of what happens there. A+ from me.
The Avengers. Episode 130. "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues" A nice solid outing in the Avengers canon. We follow two men as they commit two murders and frame two wealthy, powerful men and proceed to blackmail them because all the clues point to them as the real killers. It's all done with the usual Avengers flair and lots of quirky touches (the policeman on the case is hilarious). Tara is sidelined in this one (wheelchair-bound with an ankle injury) so Steed does all the sleuthing on his own. But Miss King is not removed from the episode. In the end, in an effort to deal with Steed's snooping, the bad guys decided to frame him for Tara King's murder. Alone in her home, and injured as well, she should make easy pickings. Not quite. And the episode's climax is a rousing action sequence, where Tara takes on the two attackers and gives them a sound thrashing (killing one in the process) before Steed arrives to find her... in need of no rescueing whatsoever. One he does arrive (to find her appartment in a mess) they have a casual conversation about trivial matters. Typical Avengers and rather wonderful.
Highlight? Supernatural (twist ending)
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Fri, Oct 31, 08 - Kolchak, Supernatural, Avengers
