That looks fantastic. It's too bad we didn't get a full season.
Too much MSG. Happened to me in New Haven once.
MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
Wow, I thought we either jumped ahead in the "What's new on the charts this week" or I greatly misremembered when that song came out.
Yes, she was. I have a relative who acts so much like her, so it was quite amusing to see that kind of personality show up on TIH.
Speaking of performances, Richard Loo's final role provided one his few career opportunities to break out the usual, endless subservient or sinister roles he was saddled with throughout most of his career. While Kam Chong is corrupt, Loo made him the thinking, cool-headed villain, as opposed to the finger pointing, call-to-arms "evil Asian" of so many Hollywood films.
As mentioned in the notes for this episode, immigrant fears of law enforcement / deportation were (ultimately) just one part of the sub-plot, but it certainly played in a more realistic manner (to anyone who knew immigrants in that era) than say, immigrant/immigration stories you seen on some present days series (the often wrongheaded Supergirl above the rest), where it is clear those writing it speak from the typical soapbox of no life experience, or choose to read talking points instead of making something relatable to real people.
Yeah, neurological failure will do that do you!
Ah, I remember something like that from the Reeves series.
No bandages? Or perhaps he was desperate to get out of town, after being poisoned, so why waste even an additional minute?
Being an observant cop (except where matters of the heart ae concerned), I would guess he thinks it not a coincidence that the Hulk appeared at the East Winds Club--from the same waiting area where David was, and again at David's apartment.
That looks fantastic. It's too bad we didn't get a full season.
Exo-Man would have fit right in with the terrible Legends of the Superheroes or Electrawoman and Dynagirl. The costume is so Saturday morning!
I'm not sure. Someone could check the dated, illustrated conceptuals for both ships and track their evolution to the model stage and see which ship arrived at a certain design first. In any case--
Well, there's certainly similarities....
The snowspeeder was going to be the front of a Y-Wing. Ralph's version looks even more like Buck's ride:
http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=89773
Speaking of Ralph:
http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=91619
BTW --I listened to Coast-to-Coast AM last night--and I am glad I did--guest Kenneth Johnson was taking calls, and talking about his new book--perhaps based on the Comte de Saint Germain.
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/johnson-kenneth/87058
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I love it. It kinda reminded me of Major Matt Mason's exo-suit.
Land of the Giants: “Nightmare”: Well, this is an odd one. It begins in medias res, with the Spindrift crew testing a new power system called a Delta Device, which they’ve built with the help of a friendly giant scientist named Andre, whom we’ve never met until this moment. If this were a modern show, I would’ve expected a “Three Weeks Earlier” flashback to ensue before long, but instead, we’re just supposed to pick up in the middle and fill in the blanks. (At first I wondered if there was actually some continuity with last week’s “Our Man O’Reilly,” where they got away with a bunch of tools and equipment at the end, but clearly not.) Naturally, the device goes wrong, and the radiation burst it emits leads to some weird hallucinatory effects that make people see each other disappear or move in slow motion -- which has the side effect of prevening Andre’s boss Dr. Berger (Torin Thatcher) from seeing the Spindrift when he stumbles across it. (Dan rather stupidly rushes directly back to camp when fleeing Berger -- really, he should know better.) Inspector Kobick, making his return for the first time in a while, captures Valerie, but Berger later accidentally frees her when he can’t see her in the cage.
Meanwhile, Steve, Dan, and Mark try to rescue Valerie but are stymied by their own inability to see the giants and their cars, and then it gets really freaky as their hallucinations kick into high gear and we see them on surreal, non-giant studio sets simulating a nightmarish, twisted cityscape, and Steve’s guilt about not letting Andre come to camp to fix the device leads him to hallucinate being chased down by a train driven by a cackling Kobick, and then swordfighting with a vindictive Mark (since this show loves getting Steve and Mark to fight), then falling off a vertiginous drop which is represented by stock footage of the Project Tik-Tok complex miniature from The Time Tunnel. (Not when he actually falls, but to show his POV looking down.)
Unfortunately, it resolves too easily, as the hallucinations simply wear off and everyone just happens to stumble across each other, and the climactic peril is merely the device almost exploding because Fitzhugh turned it on without knowing that was a risk (though I could’ve sworn he had been told that). And Andre rather easily tricks Kobick into thinking that Berger, not he, is the collaborator. So a pretty interesting idea in the middle there, but ultimately fizzling. Also, if the effects are just hallucinations, then it’s problematical that they kick in for several people at the same time.
This episode must’ve been filmed before “O’Reilly,” because Betty is back to nonexistence again. In an episode about everyone “disappearing” and being unable to see or locate each other, and constantly asking about each other’s whereabouts, you’d think Betty would’ve come up, but nobody mentions her as someone who should be part of the group.
By the way, the week before last, I decided to stop watching LOTG once a week and just binge through the rest of the season and write the reviews in advance as I did with Hulk and Kolchak, since I figured I couldn't rely on the streaming service keeping it around as long as I needed. And it turns out it's a good thing I did, for a different reason. I just replaced a damaged hard drive on my laptop, and now for some reason my headphone/external speaker jack won't work. So until I get that fixed somehow (get the drivers sorted out or whatever), watching online video (or rather, listening to it) is problematical. So, yay for accidentally good timing.
Meanwhile, Steve, Dan, and Mark try to rescue Valerie but are stymied by their own inability to see the giants and their cars, and then it gets really freaky as their hallucinations kick into high gear and we see them on surreal, non-giant studio sets simulating a nightmarish, twisted cityscape, and Steve’s guilt about not letting Andre come to camp to fix the device leads him to hallucinate being chased down by a train driven by a cackling Kobick, and then swordfighting with a vindictive Mark (since this show loves getting Steve and Mark to fight), then falling off a vertiginous drop which is represented by stock footage of the Project Tik-Tok complex miniature from The Time Tunnel. (Not when he actually falls, but to show his POV looking down.)
Unfortunately, it resolves too easily, as the hallucinations simply wear off and everyone just happens to stumble across each other, and the climactic peril is merely the device almost exploding because Fitzhugh turned it on without knowing that was a risk (though I could’ve sworn he had been told that). And Andre rather easily tricks Kobick into thinking that Berger, not he, is the collaborator. So a pretty interesting idea in the middle there, but ultimately fizzling. Also, if the effects are just hallucinations, then it’s problematical that they kick in for several people at the same time.
This episode must’ve been filmed before “O’Reilly,” because Betty is back to nonexistence again. In an episode about everyone “disappearing” and being unable to see or locate each other, and constantly asking about each other’s whereabouts, you’d think Betty would’ve come up, but nobody mentions her as someone who should be part of the group.
By the way, the week before last, I decided to stop watching LOTG once a week and just binge through the rest of the season and write the reviews in advance as I did with Hulk and Kolchak, since I figured I couldn't rely on the streaming service keeping it around as long as I needed. And it turns out it's a good thing I did, for a different reason. I just replaced a damaged hard drive on my laptop, and now for some reason my headphone/external speaker jack won't work. So until I get that fixed somehow (get the drivers sorted out or whatever), watching online video (or rather, listening to it) is problematical. So, yay for accidentally good timing.
Sharp eye, RJ. The Major Matt Mason suit was closely based on a NASA prototype as seen on the cover of LIFE magazine (4/27/62).
Left to right: the NASA suit, Mattel's Major Matt Mason version, Exo-Man, and in a design evolution sense, reduce the NASA head gear, add it to Exo-Man, and it bears a close resemblance to the suit from Star Trek - The Motion Picture.
^Oh, I didn't even notice that. A coincidence, of course.
Hmm, that's true. One weird thing about Star Trek was, the few times they showed the characters in spacesuits, they seemed kind of primitive compared to the other technology of the era.Sharp eye, RJ. The Major Matt Mason suit was closely based on a NASA prototype as seen on the cover of LIFE magazine (4/27/62).
Left to right: the NASA suit, Mattel's Major Matt Mason version, Exo-Man, and in a design evolution sense, reduce the NASA head gear, add it to Exo-Man, and it bears a close resemblance to the suit from Star Trek - The Motion Picture.
The scenes with Lamont are even more amusing when you recall that Browne was Darrin McGavin's wife.
I still wonder if the reason the Chicago PD went through so many lieutenants is because the secret conspiratorial forces that were occasionally hinted to exist had them all fired for their failure to keep Kolchak reined in. Kinda like the fate of Numbers 2 on The Prisoner. Although I'm not sure that works, since the powers-that-be always seemed pretty successful at killing Kolchak's stories and keeping the public from learning of the monsters.
This week: the episode that MeTV didn't want you to see!
The Incredible Hulk
"The First"
Originally aired March 6, 1981
Events in the news in the weeks since the previous episode:
New on the charts in those weeks:
"Hold on Loosely," 38 Special
(#27 US; #3 Rock)
"I Can't Stand It," Eric Clapton
(#10 US; #1 Rock)
"Sweetheart," Franke & The Knockouts
(#10 US; #40 AC; #27 Rock)
"A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)," Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio
(#4 US; #11 AC; #1 R&B)
_______
The Incredible Hulk
"The First"
Originally aired March 6, 1981
Events in the news in the weeks since the previous episode:
New on the charts in those weeks:
"Hold on Loosely," 38 Special
(#27 US; #3 Rock)
"I Can't Stand It," Eric Clapton
(#10 US; #1 Rock)
"Sweetheart," Franke & The Knockouts
(#10 US; #40 AC; #27 Rock)
"A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)," Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio
(#4 US; #11 AC; #1 R&B)
_______
Nothing special. Haha. It really isn't, but it's not bad.
Clapton, as we all know, is God.
No recollection whatsoever. It must have been popular for two hours on a Tuesday afternoon while I was at work.
Let's all pray to Clapton to have Ray Parker Jr. retroactively deleted from the universe. Or at least just this song.
Now it's my turn to say...eh, not his best.
I vaguely recall it...and I think 1976 called, wanting its sound back.That's a little harsh....
No, definitely not, but I don't think there's any such thing as bad Clapton.Now it's my turn to say...eh, not his best.
Maybe a little.
There's the Ghostbusters theme, I suppose. But Raydio was awful, and this song just makes my brain bleed. He sounds like a 13-year-old boy figuring out what the other boys knew when they were 12. Basically, a Millennial 35 years early.
The Incredible Hulk--
"The First" (part one)
VISSARIA--ONE YEAR AGO: After crashing their car, a group of teenagers seek help at the notorious Jeffrey Clive house, where it is believed people were murdered. Walt--frightened by the old tales--searches for a phone. Walt discovers a small, but elaborate laboratory; curious, he pulls down a lever which activates motors, lowers a lit, conical emitter over a man-sized table--with restraints & pulsing lights beneath its frosted glass surface. Before he can study the unusual setting, he hears a noise behind a curtain, pulls it aside, then screams; his friend (Case) runs to the source of the noise, and is stopped cold as he sees whatever happened to Walt--
Case: "Ohhh, God...."
VISSARIA--PRESENT:
David Banner (using the last name Barr) arrives in town by bus, and makes his way to the library, where he searches through the April 12, 1952 edition of local newspaper, the Vissaria Daily News. Of interest is a photo with a bizarre creature snarling with the caption--
Noticing the article, a janitor provides some background information on Dr. Clive, his house and darker matters--
Janitor: "Now, that was a nasty business. Weird. The Clive house still gives people the creeps. Just last year, a boy was murdered there. Unexplained. His brother found him--all cut up, but the police couldn't find a clue. How'd you hear about this?"
David: "Well, I was...uh...reading about Dr. Clive--his work on radiology, and then this thing about a creature, you know, and I got a little curious. Did you know Dr. Clive?"
Janitor: "Well, I knew of him. He was a strange one. Weren't more than a handful of people in town he'd talk to. And the way he worked--day and night. Always a light on in his lab. He never even had time to come to the inn on Sunday for a drink. And there were these flashes of light on his roof. Don't ask me what they were, but it was after that the thing appeared. Killed a farmer--Frank Townsend."
David: "Hmm...there's....something that I don't understand. I mean, the articles just suddenly stop. There's the notice about Clive's death, and that's it."
Janitor: "Yeah, well, I'll tell you about that. Right after the thing killed Townsend, people got pretty scared. So, some people went up to talk to Clive. Things got out of hand. Well, Clive fell, or something. He died a couple of days later. Now the newspaper thought it best not to play it up."
David: "What about the creature?"
Janitor: "Never seen again."
David: "Is there--um--anybody in town that I could talk to about Clive?"
Janitor: "Uh...Elizabeth Collins. They was gonna get married. She's probably in the park right now. Sends her afternoons there, reading poetry."
David finds the refined Ms. Collins doing just that--reading in the local park, and asks about Clive's work and the house; sitting nearby, Case (brother of the deceased Walt) and his friend crowd Banner, questioning him about his interest in Clive's work, and making it clear strangers are not welcome. Sherriff Carl Decker walks up, telling the two young men that their hostile behavior will not do anything for Walt.
Sherriff Decker tells David that there's nothing to be found at the Clive house, and makes a point to inform David that Vissaria is a quite town, and he would like to keep it that way. Thanks to David's non-judgmental interest in Clive's work, Elizabeth warms up to him, and invites him to her home--
Elizabeth: "No one here ever spoke of Jeffrey as a great scientist. I never really understood his work. Jeffrey tried to explain, but I..I just didn't have the background. It was something about using the sun's radioactivity to increase strength and productivity. I don't know. It doesn't really make any sense."
David: "What about the creature?"
Elizabeth: "You said you wanted to talk about Jeffrey."
David: "Yes, but the um...well, the creature could be tied to Dr. Clive and I need to know that."
Elizabeth: "I don't know anything about that. Listen, whatever mistakes Jeffrey made, he rectified them."
David: "What do you mean?"
Elizabeth: "Well, he wasn't specific, but he told me that his work had led to something terrible. But he assured me that he'd been able to cure it."
David: (shocked) "...cure it? Those were Dr. Clive's words??"
Elizabeth: "Just before he died, he completed a cure. He told me that, and he never would have lied--not to me."
David: "Miss Collins, this could be very...very important to me. Did Dr. Clive keep any notes?"
Elizabeth: "I--I think so.I wouldn't know where they are. Dell Frye--he's Jeffrey's old assistant--maybe he could help you. I've kept him on at the house. If he can't help you, have a look for yourself."
Elizabeth gives the key to Jeffrey's house to an eager David.
David: "Miss Collins, if what you've told me is correct, you've done me a great favor."
David goes to the Clive house, and meets Dell Frye. Frye is resistant to answering any of David's questions, and warns that he looks after Elizabeth. Although suspicious of David's motives, he does not prevent him from exploring the house. Its not long before David discovers Clive's lab. Studying everything in sight, Banner discovers Clive's journals, individually dated from 1946-49. 1950 & '51 are missing. He's approached by Sherriff Decker, who seems tense, asking if David intends to leave town now hat he's found the journals, and believes its for the better that the journals in question are missing. Although Decker has no personal ill feeling for Clive, he felt the doctor--shortly before his death--was--
Decker: "..up to something evil."
Decker continues, explaining that this green, unbelievably strong creature tore Frank Townsend apart. The horror of it all has the residents of Vassaria hypersensitive about all things coming from or associated with Clive--including the young men David ran into at the park. That said, Decker warns that David could be in for trouble, now that its known he's interested in Clive's work. Later, as David questions Frye again, Case & Willie show up--armed with an axe handle. Frye takes advantage of the tension by acting as if David is harassing him; the young men hit David with the handle, and chase him, until David trips, falls into a dry well and Hulks out.
The creature emerges from the well, with an astonished Frye & the young men backing away. The Hulk violently hurls Case into a wood shed, then rockets a sack of dirt into the back of the running Willie. Frye follows the Hulk into the woods, and gets the creature to follow him--away from the rifle-carrying Case & Willie. After using a secret entrance to Clive's lab, Frye watches the creature transform back to David--
Frye: "How long you been like this?"
David: "For some time. Years. Did I hurt anybody?"
Frye: "Nope. How did this happen to you?"
David: "An experiment. Radiation."
Frye: "Who did it?"
David: "I did."
Frye: "Are you a doctor? A scientist?"
David nods.
Frye: "Uh-huh. I know about you...here."
Frye shows David a stack of newspaper clippings covering the Hulk--
Frye: "This is you, isn't it?"
David: "Yes."
Frye: "Well...its all right. I...I understand."
David: "I've got to leave."
Frye: "No. I said I understand. I've seen this before--what you are."
David: "Clive."
Frye: "You can stay here as long as you like."
David: "No!"
Frye: "Clive, he fixed it, you know? This--uh--this thing. He stopped it. He cured it."
David: "But how can you be sure? Clive's dead."
Frye: "I can be sure...it wasn't Clive who was the thing. It was me. He did it to me. I was just like you."
With David's help, Frye shows David how the machine is activated in conjunction with the solar collector on the roof; David surmises that the collector either pulled basic solar energy, or some specific element from the sun, supported by Clive's charts detailing maximum solar flare activity across the year 1950.
Frye reveals he was once terminally ill, but Clive believed he had the key to Frye's recovery; after using the device, Frye did not feel different until a severe back injury triggered his transformation. After that, he felt better than at any point in his life--and strong. Sometime later, the local ruffians assaulted Frye (as usual), only this time, Frye's creature responded. The oft-mentioned Frank Townsend was killed after shooting at the creature--a tragedy Frye carries with him to the present...even if he cannot remember the murder. Despite appearances to the contrary, Frye denies having any part of last year's murder (Walt).
David explains that Clive probably used gamma radiation in a way paralleling his own experiments; although the equipment is not as sophisticated as Banner's at the Culver Institute, it was effective in collecting, the concentrating radiation from the sun. From Frye's understanding, the cure also uses the collector and emitter, plus some sort of injectible serum which rendered him unconscious for days, but he was cured.
Just as David believes his own search for a cure cannot progress without the missing journals, Frye retrieves them from the secret entrance. David stares at the journals, barely believing what promise it holds. Later, David reads through Clive's journals, and learns something disturbing--
Clive: "The experiment has led to brief, periodic metamorphoses of the test subject, triggered, it seems by either anger or frustration. The test subject becomes what appears to be a primitive double with incredible strengths. This creature could be particularly dangerous, I fear, due to the test subject's inherent personality. It's my hope that by subjecting the test subject to the same level of radiation, I can make him susceptible to the cellular growth suppressant that I have synthesized from pituitary extract. Although the suppressant has properties which will incapacitate ubject for about 48 hours, I foresee no permanent ill effects."
David faces yet another setback when he discovers that the serum formula pages are missing, but as luck would have it, a vial with the remaining, crystalline formula survived. As David and Frye activate the device, Case and Willie spy on the house, vowing to do something about it if the sheriff fails to act. When complaints to sheriff Decker is met with the truth of legal limitations, Case and Willie storm off, Hell-bent on street justice.
At the Clive house, David believes he can reconstitute the serum, which fills Frye with the hope of curing his longstanding health problems. David promises to help him seek professional help (being the chance for the best possible outcome), but Frye--obsessed with the idea of superhuman power--
Frye: "I haven't forgotten, and I want it back!"
David: "You wanna ruin your life? It's ruined mine!!"
Frye: "My life is ruined already! I've had enough! I want the strength again!!"
David: "And you want to live always afraid?? Always afraid of being hunted, hurting other people??"
Frye: "Like who? That bully Townsend??"
David: "YES!!"
Frye: "He had it coming!! Or that kid--that damn kid..."
Frye catches himself too late. His behavior confirms Clive's character assessment--
David: "Dell, what are you saying, Dell??"
Frye: "I had to do it. I had to protect this...I couldn't let some kid ruin it! All these years I kept everything working. All these years I've waited for this--for YOU!! You've got to help me!"
David: "No!"
Frye: "Yes!
Unable to stomach more of David's arguments, Frye hits David with a rack, knocking him out. Spotting the undamaged syringe with new serum, Frye activates the emitter device...just as Case and Willie pound on the front door, demanding Frye to open the door. With no response, Case and Willie throw torches through the lab windows, setting a desk on fire; the would-be arsonists flee while Frye snuffs out the fire, and continues to set his creature's restoration in motion. David recovers, trying to shut down the device; his actions anger Frye, who begins to transform into his own kind of Hulk--a tall, thinner version, but filled with as much rage. Frye's creature throws David to the floor, kicking his body over before moving in to attack. David is spared by the sound of an oncoming police siren, which sends the Frye creature running through the secret passage and into the woods. Banner collects the container with the crystallized serum and watches helplessly as another Hulk--one with a darker personality--is on the loose...
NOTES:
Major cure-related episode.
Jack McGee does not appear in this episode.
Four years in, and TIH finally gave a certain part of the audience what it wanted all along: another super-powered creature. However, living up to series standards, this would not be a quip-splattered romp like several Marvel productions of the then-distant future, but focusing on human drama, the cost of lusting for power, and tragedy.
Bixby never failed to deliver, as he effectively expressed Banner's constant fear of being hunted, or hurting someone. As he pointed out, his life is ruined.
Being a special episode, Johnson and Company had a little fun with fond, on-screen tributes to fantasy productions of the past--in large part from Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Universal, 1943). Banner--like Talbot--travels to a town known for a horrific experiment by a despised scientist, an associated murder, faces angry residents, discovers hidden files, but the unusual experiments offer the only chance to end the unwanted condition, Through it all, TIH retains its own series identity.
Continuing with the Universal inspiration, Harry Townes' Dell Frye was a nice nod to late character actor Dwight Frye, (1899-1943) best known for his roles as Fritz in Frankenstein (Universal, 1931), Karl in The Bride of Frankenstein (Universal, 1935) & cinema's most memorable Renfield in Dracula (Universal, 1931).
Clive was named for troubled actor Colin Clive, AKA Frankenstein & The Bride of Frankenstein's Henry Frankenstein.
Vissaria (the town name) was first used in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Universal, 1943), although in that film, it was spelled "Vasaria"--a slight difference, but both towns are known for being the setting of infamous experiments with deadly results.
Lola Albright's Elizabeth Collins--a borrowed name from the matriarch of the Collins clan from Dark Shadows (ABC, 1966-71).
Finally, part one of The First aired on March 6, 1981, a few days earlier on March 1, Bill Bixby's 6-year old son Christopher died of acute epiglottitis (triggering cardiac arrest, and sending him into a coma) while on a trip with Bixby's former wife, Brenda Benet. Few can imagine what both parents were going through, but the acrimonious relationship between the two (Bixby reportedly asked her not to take the sick child on that trip), and the competency of the ER staff officially questioned did not help matters. Devastated, Bixby tried to press on--
Bixby:
Kenneth Johnson on Bixby in the wake of his son's death:
GUEST CAST:
Harry Townes (Dell Frye) rates high on the fantasy credits list, with strong work dating back to the early years of television, including work with Rod Serling throughout the legend's career--
"The First" (part one)
VISSARIA--ONE YEAR AGO: After crashing their car, a group of teenagers seek help at the notorious Jeffrey Clive house, where it is believed people were murdered. Walt--frightened by the old tales--searches for a phone. Walt discovers a small, but elaborate laboratory; curious, he pulls down a lever which activates motors, lowers a lit, conical emitter over a man-sized table--with restraints & pulsing lights beneath its frosted glass surface. Before he can study the unusual setting, he hears a noise behind a curtain, pulls it aside, then screams; his friend (Case) runs to the source of the noise, and is stopped cold as he sees whatever happened to Walt--
Case: "Ohhh, God...."
VISSARIA--PRESENT:
David Banner (using the last name Barr) arrives in town by bus, and makes his way to the library, where he searches through the April 12, 1952 edition of local newspaper, the Vissaria Daily News. Of interest is a photo with a bizarre creature snarling with the caption--
Noticing the article, a janitor provides some background information on Dr. Clive, his house and darker matters--
Janitor: "Now, that was a nasty business. Weird. The Clive house still gives people the creeps. Just last year, a boy was murdered there. Unexplained. His brother found him--all cut up, but the police couldn't find a clue. How'd you hear about this?"
David: "Well, I was...uh...reading about Dr. Clive--his work on radiology, and then this thing about a creature, you know, and I got a little curious. Did you know Dr. Clive?"
Janitor: "Well, I knew of him. He was a strange one. Weren't more than a handful of people in town he'd talk to. And the way he worked--day and night. Always a light on in his lab. He never even had time to come to the inn on Sunday for a drink. And there were these flashes of light on his roof. Don't ask me what they were, but it was after that the thing appeared. Killed a farmer--Frank Townsend."
David: "Hmm...there's....something that I don't understand. I mean, the articles just suddenly stop. There's the notice about Clive's death, and that's it."
Janitor: "Yeah, well, I'll tell you about that. Right after the thing killed Townsend, people got pretty scared. So, some people went up to talk to Clive. Things got out of hand. Well, Clive fell, or something. He died a couple of days later. Now the newspaper thought it best not to play it up."
David: "What about the creature?"
Janitor: "Never seen again."
David: "Is there--um--anybody in town that I could talk to about Clive?"
Janitor: "Uh...Elizabeth Collins. They was gonna get married. She's probably in the park right now. Sends her afternoons there, reading poetry."
David finds the refined Ms. Collins doing just that--reading in the local park, and asks about Clive's work and the house; sitting nearby, Case (brother of the deceased Walt) and his friend crowd Banner, questioning him about his interest in Clive's work, and making it clear strangers are not welcome. Sherriff Carl Decker walks up, telling the two young men that their hostile behavior will not do anything for Walt.
Sherriff Decker tells David that there's nothing to be found at the Clive house, and makes a point to inform David that Vissaria is a quite town, and he would like to keep it that way. Thanks to David's non-judgmental interest in Clive's work, Elizabeth warms up to him, and invites him to her home--
Elizabeth: "No one here ever spoke of Jeffrey as a great scientist. I never really understood his work. Jeffrey tried to explain, but I..I just didn't have the background. It was something about using the sun's radioactivity to increase strength and productivity. I don't know. It doesn't really make any sense."
David: "What about the creature?"
Elizabeth: "You said you wanted to talk about Jeffrey."
David: "Yes, but the um...well, the creature could be tied to Dr. Clive and I need to know that."
Elizabeth: "I don't know anything about that. Listen, whatever mistakes Jeffrey made, he rectified them."
David: "What do you mean?"
Elizabeth: "Well, he wasn't specific, but he told me that his work had led to something terrible. But he assured me that he'd been able to cure it."
David: (shocked) "...cure it? Those were Dr. Clive's words??"
Elizabeth: "Just before he died, he completed a cure. He told me that, and he never would have lied--not to me."
David: "Miss Collins, this could be very...very important to me. Did Dr. Clive keep any notes?"
Elizabeth: "I--I think so.I wouldn't know where they are. Dell Frye--he's Jeffrey's old assistant--maybe he could help you. I've kept him on at the house. If he can't help you, have a look for yourself."
Elizabeth gives the key to Jeffrey's house to an eager David.
David: "Miss Collins, if what you've told me is correct, you've done me a great favor."
David goes to the Clive house, and meets Dell Frye. Frye is resistant to answering any of David's questions, and warns that he looks after Elizabeth. Although suspicious of David's motives, he does not prevent him from exploring the house. Its not long before David discovers Clive's lab. Studying everything in sight, Banner discovers Clive's journals, individually dated from 1946-49. 1950 & '51 are missing. He's approached by Sherriff Decker, who seems tense, asking if David intends to leave town now hat he's found the journals, and believes its for the better that the journals in question are missing. Although Decker has no personal ill feeling for Clive, he felt the doctor--shortly before his death--was--
Decker: "..up to something evil."
Decker continues, explaining that this green, unbelievably strong creature tore Frank Townsend apart. The horror of it all has the residents of Vassaria hypersensitive about all things coming from or associated with Clive--including the young men David ran into at the park. That said, Decker warns that David could be in for trouble, now that its known he's interested in Clive's work. Later, as David questions Frye again, Case & Willie show up--armed with an axe handle. Frye takes advantage of the tension by acting as if David is harassing him; the young men hit David with the handle, and chase him, until David trips, falls into a dry well and Hulks out.
The creature emerges from the well, with an astonished Frye & the young men backing away. The Hulk violently hurls Case into a wood shed, then rockets a sack of dirt into the back of the running Willie. Frye follows the Hulk into the woods, and gets the creature to follow him--away from the rifle-carrying Case & Willie. After using a secret entrance to Clive's lab, Frye watches the creature transform back to David--
Frye: "How long you been like this?"
David: "For some time. Years. Did I hurt anybody?"
Frye: "Nope. How did this happen to you?"
David: "An experiment. Radiation."
Frye: "Who did it?"
David: "I did."
Frye: "Are you a doctor? A scientist?"
David nods.
Frye: "Uh-huh. I know about you...here."
Frye shows David a stack of newspaper clippings covering the Hulk--
Frye: "This is you, isn't it?"
David: "Yes."
Frye: "Well...its all right. I...I understand."
David: "I've got to leave."
Frye: "No. I said I understand. I've seen this before--what you are."
David: "Clive."
Frye: "You can stay here as long as you like."
David: "No!"
Frye: "Clive, he fixed it, you know? This--uh--this thing. He stopped it. He cured it."
David: "But how can you be sure? Clive's dead."
Frye: "I can be sure...it wasn't Clive who was the thing. It was me. He did it to me. I was just like you."
With David's help, Frye shows David how the machine is activated in conjunction with the solar collector on the roof; David surmises that the collector either pulled basic solar energy, or some specific element from the sun, supported by Clive's charts detailing maximum solar flare activity across the year 1950.
Frye reveals he was once terminally ill, but Clive believed he had the key to Frye's recovery; after using the device, Frye did not feel different until a severe back injury triggered his transformation. After that, he felt better than at any point in his life--and strong. Sometime later, the local ruffians assaulted Frye (as usual), only this time, Frye's creature responded. The oft-mentioned Frank Townsend was killed after shooting at the creature--a tragedy Frye carries with him to the present...even if he cannot remember the murder. Despite appearances to the contrary, Frye denies having any part of last year's murder (Walt).
David explains that Clive probably used gamma radiation in a way paralleling his own experiments; although the equipment is not as sophisticated as Banner's at the Culver Institute, it was effective in collecting, the concentrating radiation from the sun. From Frye's understanding, the cure also uses the collector and emitter, plus some sort of injectible serum which rendered him unconscious for days, but he was cured.
Just as David believes his own search for a cure cannot progress without the missing journals, Frye retrieves them from the secret entrance. David stares at the journals, barely believing what promise it holds. Later, David reads through Clive's journals, and learns something disturbing--
Clive: "The experiment has led to brief, periodic metamorphoses of the test subject, triggered, it seems by either anger or frustration. The test subject becomes what appears to be a primitive double with incredible strengths. This creature could be particularly dangerous, I fear, due to the test subject's inherent personality. It's my hope that by subjecting the test subject to the same level of radiation, I can make him susceptible to the cellular growth suppressant that I have synthesized from pituitary extract. Although the suppressant has properties which will incapacitate ubject for about 48 hours, I foresee no permanent ill effects."
David faces yet another setback when he discovers that the serum formula pages are missing, but as luck would have it, a vial with the remaining, crystalline formula survived. As David and Frye activate the device, Case and Willie spy on the house, vowing to do something about it if the sheriff fails to act. When complaints to sheriff Decker is met with the truth of legal limitations, Case and Willie storm off, Hell-bent on street justice.
At the Clive house, David believes he can reconstitute the serum, which fills Frye with the hope of curing his longstanding health problems. David promises to help him seek professional help (being the chance for the best possible outcome), but Frye--obsessed with the idea of superhuman power--
Frye: "I haven't forgotten, and I want it back!"
David: "You wanna ruin your life? It's ruined mine!!"
Frye: "My life is ruined already! I've had enough! I want the strength again!!"
David: "And you want to live always afraid?? Always afraid of being hunted, hurting other people??"
Frye: "Like who? That bully Townsend??"
David: "YES!!"
Frye: "He had it coming!! Or that kid--that damn kid..."
Frye catches himself too late. His behavior confirms Clive's character assessment--
David: "Dell, what are you saying, Dell??"
Frye: "I had to do it. I had to protect this...I couldn't let some kid ruin it! All these years I kept everything working. All these years I've waited for this--for YOU!! You've got to help me!"
David: "No!"
Frye: "Yes!
Unable to stomach more of David's arguments, Frye hits David with a rack, knocking him out. Spotting the undamaged syringe with new serum, Frye activates the emitter device...just as Case and Willie pound on the front door, demanding Frye to open the door. With no response, Case and Willie throw torches through the lab windows, setting a desk on fire; the would-be arsonists flee while Frye snuffs out the fire, and continues to set his creature's restoration in motion. David recovers, trying to shut down the device; his actions anger Frye, who begins to transform into his own kind of Hulk--a tall, thinner version, but filled with as much rage. Frye's creature throws David to the floor, kicking his body over before moving in to attack. David is spared by the sound of an oncoming police siren, which sends the Frye creature running through the secret passage and into the woods. Banner collects the container with the crystallized serum and watches helplessly as another Hulk--one with a darker personality--is on the loose...
NOTES:
Major cure-related episode.
Jack McGee does not appear in this episode.
Four years in, and TIH finally gave a certain part of the audience what it wanted all along: another super-powered creature. However, living up to series standards, this would not be a quip-splattered romp like several Marvel productions of the then-distant future, but focusing on human drama, the cost of lusting for power, and tragedy.
Bixby never failed to deliver, as he effectively expressed Banner's constant fear of being hunted, or hurting someone. As he pointed out, his life is ruined.
Being a special episode, Johnson and Company had a little fun with fond, on-screen tributes to fantasy productions of the past--in large part from Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Universal, 1943). Banner--like Talbot--travels to a town known for a horrific experiment by a despised scientist, an associated murder, faces angry residents, discovers hidden files, but the unusual experiments offer the only chance to end the unwanted condition, Through it all, TIH retains its own series identity.
Continuing with the Universal inspiration, Harry Townes' Dell Frye was a nice nod to late character actor Dwight Frye, (1899-1943) best known for his roles as Fritz in Frankenstein (Universal, 1931), Karl in The Bride of Frankenstein (Universal, 1935) & cinema's most memorable Renfield in Dracula (Universal, 1931).
Clive was named for troubled actor Colin Clive, AKA Frankenstein & The Bride of Frankenstein's Henry Frankenstein.
Vissaria (the town name) was first used in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (Universal, 1943), although in that film, it was spelled "Vasaria"--a slight difference, but both towns are known for being the setting of infamous experiments with deadly results.
Lola Albright's Elizabeth Collins--a borrowed name from the matriarch of the Collins clan from Dark Shadows (ABC, 1966-71).
Finally, part one of The First aired on March 6, 1981, a few days earlier on March 1, Bill Bixby's 6-year old son Christopher died of acute epiglottitis (triggering cardiac arrest, and sending him into a coma) while on a trip with Bixby's former wife, Brenda Benet. Few can imagine what both parents were going through, but the acrimonious relationship between the two (Bixby reportedly asked her not to take the sick child on that trip), and the competency of the ER staff officially questioned did not help matters. Devastated, Bixby tried to press on--
Bixby:
Kenneth Johnson on Bixby in the wake of his son's death:
GUEST CAST:
Harry Townes (Dell Frye) rates high on the fantasy credits list, with strong work dating back to the early years of television, including work with Rod Serling throughout the legend's career--
- Tales of Tomorrow (ABC, 1951/1952) - "Test Flight" & "Youth on Tap"
- Lux Video Theatre (CBS, 1952) - "Mr. Finchley Versus the Bomb" - written by Rod Serling
- Suspense (CBS, 1954) - "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk" & "String"
- Inner Sanctum (NBC, 1954) - "Watcher by the Dead" / "Queen of Spades" / "Dream of Murder"
- The Kaiser Aluminum Hour (NBC, 1956) - "Mr. Finchley Versus the Bomb" - another version of the Rod Serling script
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS, 1956) - "The Creeper" & "My Brother, Richard"
- Suspicion (NBC, 1957) - "The Deadly Game"
- Steve Canyon (NBC, 1958) - "Operation Towline"
- Men Into Space (CBS, 1959) - "Lost Missile"
- Destination Space (CBS, 1959) - TV movie directed by Joe (14 episodes of Star Trek) Pevney
- One Step Beyond (ABC, 1959 / 1960) - "The Bride Possessed" & "Anniversary of a Murder"
- The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1960 / 1961) - "The Four of Us Are Dying" & "Shadow Play"
- Thriller (NBC, 1960 / 1961) - "Cheaters" & "Dark Legacy"
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (NBC, 1963 / 1965) - "A Nice Touch" & "The Photographer and the Undertaker"
- Kraft Suspense Theatre (NBC, 1965) - "The Hunt" / "In Darkness, Waiting" (two parts) / "The Rise and Fall of Eddie Carew"
- Tarzan (NBC, 1967) - "Mountains of the Moon (two parts)
- Star Trek (NBC, 1967) - "The Return of the Archons"
- The Invaders (ABC, 1967) - "Valley of the Shadow"
- The Andersonville Trial (KCET, 1970) - not fantasy, but stars William Shatner and Richard Basehart
- The Immortal (ABC, 1970) - "The Return"
- Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1972) - "Lindemann's Catch"
- The Sixth Sense (ABC, 1972) - "Witch, Witch, Burning Bright"
- Planet of the Apes (CBS, 1974) - "The Interrogation"
- Ark II (CBS, 1976) - "Omega"
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (NBC, 1981) - "The Guardians"
- Voyagers! (NBC, 1983) - "The Trial of Phineas Bogg"
- Angel of H.E.A.T. (Studios Pan-Imago, 1983)
- The Warrior and the Sorceress (New Horizons Pictures, 1984)
- Lux Video Theatre (CBS, 1951) - "Inside Story" & "Stolen Years"
- Tales of Tomorrow (ABC, 1952) - "The Miraculous Serum"
- The Monolith Monsters (Universal-International, 1957)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (NBC, 1962) - "The Woman Who Wanted to Live"
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (NBC, 1962 / 1964) - "The Black Curtain" & "Misadventure"
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (NBC. 1967) - "The Prince of Darkness Affair" (two parts)
- Off to See the Wizard (ABC, 1968) - "Captain Sindbad" (two parts)
- Star Trek (NBC, 1968) - "Elaan of Troyius"
- The Six Million Dollar Man (ABC, 1975) - "Look Alike" & "Clark Templeton O'Flaherty"
- The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (NBC, 1978)
- Battlestar Galactica (ABC, 1978) - "Saga of a Star World" & "Lost Planet of the Gods: Part 1"
- Swamp Thing (Embassy Pictures, 1982) - staring as Swamp Thing
- The Powers of Matthew Star (NBC, 1982) - "The Accused"
- The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair (CBS, 1983)
- Hard Time on Planet Earth (CBS, 1989) - "The Hot Dog Man"
- The Return of Swamp Thing (Millimeter Films, 1989) - starring as Swamp Thing
- Swamp Thing: The Series (USA Network, 1990-93) - starring as Swamp Thing
Well................
Maybe a little.
You're not kidding. It was a crap cherry on top of a crap sundae.
Some might say the same about an artist like, say, Smokey. Then someone else might respond that said artist had set a high bar with his previous work. "I Can't Stand It" is pretty bland, underwhleming, and forgettable fare from an artist whose previous body of work includes "Sunshine of Your Love," "White Room," and "Layla."
Am I mistaken, or is this the "scientific instrument that malfunctions to become a death ray" prop that we've seen twice before?
The second time the show has used that name...though this time, for a character who lives in a small town where strange, horrific, things happen because one of its residents is secretly a monster, with other residents including a sheriff and a troublemaker named Willie....
(Now I'm picturing John Karlen trying to intimidate Banner to leave town--"You bettah get outta heah! Right now!!!"
)Nice to see she's getting out of the house these days....
Dana Elcar couldn't have done it better...though it's too bad they didn't cast him, he was active at the time.
-27:22.
Knowing what we know, it's a bit surprising that Frye isn't more afraid of the Hulk, given that his own creature was a killer.
Also, the secret lab door uses a sound effect that's famliar from BSG and Buck Rogers.
I'm fuzzy now as to exactly what was shown in the clippings, but was there specifically anything about Banner having been allegedly killed by the creature, like the Register headline from the pilot? I was under the impression that Frye specifically had guessed who David was...which would make him one of the people on that uncompiled list who know Banner by reputation.
That was a good fake-out, letting the audience believe with David that Clive had been the creature.
If he was Clive's assistant, I have to wonder why he couldn't have done this himself before David came along.
And here I make what could be a controversial call. Both parts of this installment maintain the show's two-HO formula while playing with it by swapping creatures. I'm counting Frye's on-schedule metamorphoses in the averages. -04:57.
And he really loves to chew the scenery.
We're cheated of a confrontation between creatures right there...David's transformed for less. Too bad Frye's creature didn't throw him into a box of broken glass or a cactus plant....
And we get a particularly unusual LM...one of somebody else's creature.
In spades! And this two-parter is definitely on the show's short-list of must-watch episodes.
But he'll be popping in next week....
There's also a really nice touch when Frye is transforming into his creature...David is transfixed, fascinated to witness with his own eyes what he's been going through for so long. One sees a hint of the unrestrained scientific curiosity that got him into his situation....
An interesting list of homages that I didn't know about...though I always did feel that the overall setting and situation was evocative of classic horror films, including the fact that the previous creature incidents had occurred in the 1950s.
_______
ETA--Next week on Heroes & Icons (H&I):
- "Another Path" (originally aired Oct. 27, 1978)
- "Alice in Disco Land" (originally aired Nov. 3, 1978)
- "Killer Instinct" (originally aired Nov. 10, 1978)
- "Stop the Presses" (originally aired Nov. 24, 1978)
- "Escape from Los Santos" (originally aired Dec. 1, 1978)
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