Le notti del lupo

I remember when I was a little kid back in 1987 I was so fascinated by "Werewolf", a very well made TV series by then newborn FOX network. The premise of the show rang familiar, a lone good guy wanders the country helping people, always on the run from the law. This brings back memories of "The Fugitive". Ofcourse, said lone good guy who was named Eric Cord also uncontrollably transforms into a massively frightening werewolf beast. This harkens back to "The Incredible Hulk" TV series.

Eric Cord is a typical college student who is told by his roommate Ted that he is a werewolf and must be killed. Eric doesn't believe him until he sees Ted actually transform into a werewolf and Eric is forced to kill him with the silver bullet that Ted gave him. Sadly, Eric is bitten, and the curse is passed onto him. Eric must then track down the head werewolf and kill him or her to break the curse. Cord is a wanted fugitive for killing his roommate Ted, and a tough as nails bounty hunter named Alamo Joe Rogan is relentlessly on his trail. Rogan grew up thinking that he could stand up to anything if he could look it in the eye,...if he could look it in the eye that is. So part of Rogan's obsession is confronting Eric's werewolf, and his own fear of the one thing in the world that momentarily scared Rogan sh*tless and made him "blink"---seeing that terrifying werewolf. The special effects by Rick Baker were OUTSTANDING for a TV series made in 1987.

The main difference with Eric Cord and Dr. Banner was that, you knew that the Hulk would never intentionally kill anyone. Even if people attacked the Hulk, he would never kill them. Toss them 20 feet through the air maybey, but "Hulk no kill". A werewolf is a different story. And with Eric Cord's werewolf, there was ALWAYS the lurking menace of his werewolf killing innocents, not just the "bad guys". And in some episodes, Eric's werewolf actually did kill some innocent people. It was clear that towards the end of the 1st season, that Eric was not as in control of his beast as he was in the beginning. (losing control of the werewolf was something his friend Ted warned him about). Unfortunately, the FOX network in all it's grand stupidity decided to cancel "Werewolf" in 1988 after just one measely season and replaced it with that idiot program called "It's the Gary Shandling Show".

The only weak spot about "Werewolf" was that it was only 30 minutes long an episode, when it really should have been a full hour long. This show preceded WB's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" by 10 years, and FOX will never live down canceling this great series.

Werewolf. Almost no one remembers this little gem of the 80's! It was a breakthrough in special effects! Especially since it was a television series. It was definitely movie quality at the time and can stand on it's own today. The story was so engrossing that I remember planting myself in front of the television, guarding the dial like a rabid dog, just so no one changed the channel as I waited for the show to come on. I would love to see this on DVD in the near future. That heaven seems to be fading by the day. I;m keeping my fingers crossed! C'Mon Fox or Tristar or whoever has the rights to this show... How about Frank Lupo? Is he still alive? I'd love to spread knowledge about this great series... but I can't even find it on VHS!!! All i ask is for this to be brought back into the spotlight where it belongs.

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.

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.

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.