Der Werwolf kehrt zurück

I remember when I was younger and use to not be able to wait for the show to come on because, I could not wait to see the werewolf. The werewolf was the reason I wanted to watch the show, not to mention the whole story line. The fact that Eric was bitten and sets out to find the werewolf who could be the cure makes for an incredible series of events that could take place. What makes it more exciting is that Skorzeney is a bigger more powerful werewolf. I have to agree that the show had great potential especially after finding out that there is a werewolf more powerful than Skorzeney. Why they didn't stick withit I don't know.

After recently discovering a short-lived show called "Wolf Lake", I began reminiscing about the best werewolf show that I can remember as a series on television. I miss this show "Werewolf". I remember watching this show on USA on Friday or Saturday nights. It was either preceded by or followed by another great show called "The Hitchhiker". These two shows made for one heck of a night of television watching for not only a young teenage boy (me), but for anybody who enjoys supernatural monsters (i.e. werewolves) and thrilling tales of fantasy. I thought the werewolves on this show were the most vicious, coolest looking werewolves that I had seen yet. And while the pentagram on the palm doesn't go with traditional folklore, I like it. This is definitely a show that I yearn to see as reruns on cable t.v, or better yet, picked up by a network and continued where it left off.

Back in 1988, kids and adults all over America would sit down on those long weekend nights to watch the latest episode of "Werewolf", the new horror series from the creators of "The A-Team". It tells the story of Eric Cord (John J. York), a college kid whose world is ripped apart when his roommate tells him that he is a murderous werewolf and asks to be shot with a silver bullet. Despite his initial scepticism, Eric witnesses his friend change into the beast and is forced to shoot him -- but not before he gets bitten by the monster.

Now he knows that in order to break the curse he must severe the bloodline by killing the original werewolf, an insane sea captain called Skorzeny (Chuck Connors, replaced by a stand-in for the later episodes), while he is also chased by a relentless part-Indian bounty hunter, Alamo Joe Rogan (Lance LeGault). On his travels, hitchhiking his way from job to job while hunting Skorzeny, he finds that ordinary humans can be even more evil than the beast inside of him, but there are also those who try to help and understand him. He even meets others like himself, although they are almost always insane or evil, or both. Later he discovers that his true nemesis is actually a particularly powerful and ancient werewolf named Nicholas Remy (Brian Thompson).

While for the most part this was a fairly lighthearted thriller series at least partly aimed at children, there is also some truly dark subject matter in some of the episodes, and it becomes genuinely more and more surreal as it goes on. It has a great eighties-style soundtrack, although the constant guitar solo in the background becomes a little intrusive in some episodes ... is this a horror show or a Guns n' Roses music video? The episodes themselves are only thirty minutes long, which often feels too short. Many of the episodes could easily have stood being extended to an hour -- the standard length for most series of this type.

After the feature length pilot episode, there were a total of twenty eight episodes that were produced. It also sparked a six-issue comic book adaptation, although that's difficult to find these days. Fox, still in it's early years, cancelled the show after one season -- regardless of the superb quality of the later episodes (it's slot was taken by "Married with Children"). Since then, the show has been completely neglected. Due to the lack of reruns and the fact that it still hasn't been released on DVD, hardly anyone knows about it except those who loved it during it's initial run. This series remains a forgotten gem.

When the FOX network started they had a lot of quirky, interesting shows. One of them was Werewolf, which unfortunately, didn't last beyond its first season. The opening credits to this show was great, showing a full moon in the sky before panning down to a werewolf hidden in the bushes. Chuck Connors was great as a malevolent werewolf who gave the impression that he could control when and where he transformed into one, unlike the hero of the show. Connor's character was killed off near the end of the show's run, I believe. However, the main character discovered that there was another werewolf more powerful than Connor's character that had to be dispatched as well before the curse could be broken. That plotline had much potential, but FOX didn't stick with it.

I watched Werewolf as a young boy, and was fascinated with it, wholly. It was a great show, featuring make up and special effects by monster master, Rick Baker. The story was a re-tread of Bill Bixby's Incredible Hulk, but wherein that beast was a heart of gold, in lies Eric Cord's chest beats the heart of a beast. Cord journeys to find the malevolent sea captain, Janos Skorzeny, portrayed by the late, great Chuck Connors, who was responsible for his transformation. Connors' metamorphosis into his lycanthrope form is second only to An American Werewolf In London. Alas, Werewolf died after only 28 episodes, not the victim of a silver bullet or blade, but the pen stroke of wary Fox executives, who decided Married With Children is better Sunday night fare.