Tag: Legacy of Terror

February 14, 1975 Season 1 Episode 17

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

In this one, Carl Kolchak investigates the brutal, unsolved murders of healthy people whose hearts were removed. It seems that an Aztec cult is offering them as sacrifices for their mummified warrior chief. It’s needed every 52 years in a ten-cycle pattern; this being the ninth, and the fifth and final offering must be a willing one. Pepe Torres seems to be that man, though if Carl has any say in the matter, he may make him change his mind…

Though not tightly plotted, this is still an interesting episode that makes use of its millennium theme and 52-year cycles – we’ll have to watch out for the year 2027! This had some gruesome things in it, especially for network television at the time. If this were on today, it would be an HBO series, I’m sure. 

In this episode, we have toothy Erik Estrada (playing Pepe Torres) before his fame in CHiPs. Three lovely ladies, Vicky (Sondra Currie), Nina (Merrie Lynn Ross), and Lona (Dorrie Thomson), who is at Pepe Torre’s beck and call, but the story drops the ball by mostly ignoring them, with only Currie getting much screen time. We also have Sorrell Booke, a wonderful character actor made famous by The Dukes of Hazzard and many other shows he was in. 

I must say this. One thing I didn’t understand here. Tony Vincenzo is attending a journalist’s convention and has invited Carl Kolchak along. Kolchak hears of a homicide over his police radio and abruptly leaves. I can’t believe that any editor or company, for that matter, would try to prevent a reporter from going to the scene of a crime. But to give it some credit, it’s not a secret that Kolchak doesn’t exactly listen to Tony anyway, so there would be some frustration on Tony’s part. 

You know, it would have been cool if Simon Oakland could have been written to help Kolchak a little more. In fact, Oakland said, “I wish he would, then I could get away from the office, but the scripts have been running this way. They want more of me in the office, but we’ve found we’re competing with the other networks for action, so it’s been all Darren’s (McGavin) show. I suppose I could help him, but…”

“Well, I’m supposed to keep the office scenes alive because they can go dead. I’ve got to bring some organic life into them, and I’m really trying to bring a feeling to it…I wish I had a little more to do in the show. I don’t like it, but I don’t mind.”

Fun Note…Simon Oakland and Darren McGavin got along well both on and off set. They were both featured in a Gunsmoke episode called “The Hostage” in 1965.