Spectre

...from co-writer and producer Gene Roddenberry.

Robert Culp stars as William Sebastian, a renowned criminologist whose attentions have turned to occult matters in recent years. He re-teams with old colleague Ham Hamilton (Gig Young), an alcoholic medical doctor who's hit hard times,vand they journey to England to investigate reports of supernatural powers targeting the wealthy Anitra Cyon (Ann Bell). Also featuring John Hurt and James Villiers as Anitra's brothers, Gordon Jackson as a Scotland Yard inspector, and Majel Barrett as Lilith, Sebastian's spell-casting housekeeper.

If Star Trek was Roddenberry's rumination on 60's-era idealism, this failed pilot was his look at 70's hedonism and the search for spiritual meaning. Modeled after Holmes & Watson, Culp and Young's characters encounter a cult of Dionysian sex-addicts and demon worshipers, all living an anything-goes debauched lifestyle that ultimately leads to their destruction.

This film suffers from poor production values, shoddy editing, terrible pacing, and laughable effects in the big finale. The identity of the mastermind behind everything is.

From the demise of Star Trek: TOS to the premiere of Star Trek: TNG Gene Roddenberry took at least three swings at returning to Stateside prime-time television. None of the broadcast pilots was bought by a commercial network as a series. I viewed each at first broadcast.

Genesis II (later repackaged and re-tried as Planet Earth) had an interesting pilot, very much a product of Roddenberry and his times, but likely as a series would have become quite weird and not lasted long. The Questor Tapes had a superb pilot, but likely as a series would have been forced by network suits to devolve into The Robo-Fugitive.

Spectre was not your average Roddenberry product and wasn't even science fiction. Its concept was decidedly original and very well wrought—what if, just What If?, everything you suspect and fear about the occult is true and a world-renowned criminologist who KNOWS that sets out to right the purposive wrongs of some mighty nasty perps who must be called by their true names out loud? If this sounds familiar, mind you, this is the Stateside television pilot I recall after 30-plus years…

Robert Culp is at his certifiable creepiest. And he's the good guy. This is not the DC Comics Spectre, he's no Doc Strange, John Constantine or He(ck)boy, less Sherlock Holmes and more Manly Wade Wellman's John Thunstone (with the apparent trappings of wealth) or John the Balladeer (without the southern mountain accent or music). William Sebastian quite literally has a bone to pick with an antagonist that has a very long memory and reach, not to mention staying power. By the end you want to know more about Sebastian, how and why he knows what he knows, and what compels him to know and do more.

A fine supporting cast, John Hurt, Gordon Jackson, James Villiers and Gig Young in particular. Good production values in a fittingly English setting. Well-paced with genuine suspense in the right places. And, for Stateside prime-time in the Seventies, a knockout confrontation with some truly evil—things—that, as best as I can recall, were not enhanced with anything other than makeup, clever editing, a hypnotic chant, and lots of fire.

Had this become a series we likely would've seen less of "Ham" (more Dr McCoy than Dr Watson, and certainly less of poor Gig Young) and more of Lilith. A section of the viewing demographic that also thought Mr Spock a satanic influence would probably get a little wound up and publicly take offense. I am told the theatrical release with respectable box office overseas is marginally longer and adds to that knockout confrontation some truly evil—distractions—that don't need makeup at all. I'd like to think it could have done better on Stateside television simply because it would have HAD to leave something to the imagination and NOT explain everything.

So here's a pitch: Given today's audience, if Someone Out There is still watching, consider the possibilities!

What a disappointment to learn that this wonderful occult thriller is NOT available neither on DVD nor VHS. Gene Roddenberry did this made for TV movie and it is superb! The best role for Robert Culp and the superb Gig Young plays the sidekick in a wonderful energy with Culp. The lovely wife of Roddemberry, Majel Barrett. plays the mysterious Lilith, housekeeper of William Sebastian. The English settings and a wondrous cast of British actors make this a really exquisite example of the genre. The phenomenally talented John Hurt in a standout performance. This is what American television was capable of at one time.

Shame on the movie industry for letting this classic of horror and the master Gene Roddenberry disappear. SHAME ON THEM!!

Interesting buddy-teaming of Robert Culp as a criminologist in England who specializes in paranormal matters and Gig Young as a disbelieving physician never quite catches fire. The two are on the spooky trail of someone or some THING who scares his victims to death and rips apart their bodies. A trip to the shady mansion of a haughty financier--and possible devil-worshiper--takes up too much time on the clock (the would-be sins and titillation therein fail to come off in a movie made for television). Culp and Young trade dry, beleaguered quips in a riff on Holmes and Watson while the wind whips up a tempest and a wolf howls in the background. Gene Roddenberry penned the teleplay from his original story, making the film a curiosity for "Star Trek" fans, however the scenario offers nothing particularly special. Wait for a showing of "Curse of the Demon" instead!

Take the basis of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, bring them forward 100 years and instead of crime, have them battle spiritual evil... A great idea, but unrealized here. A slightly ridiculous plot only saved by the talented Robert Culp who plays it straight down the line. A criminologist who specializes in the occult and battling evil. Gig Young was at the end of his carreer and shortly following this outing, his life as well. A sad loss of a fine comedic actor who usually didnt get the girl but did get all the best lines. Though in this film, Young basically sleep walks through the movie... Almost as if he was on sedatives. Culp and Young are recruited by a beautiful woman whose brother has recently undergone a personality change after doing some archeological investigations on his English country estate. So, off they all go to England to get to the bottom of things. This movie has a real Gene Roddenberry flavor to it. If you have seen any of Roddenberry's post Star Trek TV movies (basically, failed pilots)... Well, you'll know what I mean. But, bottom line is I liked this when I saw it in 1977 and it is still fun to watch. Not scary, but fun never the less. Look for it on The Fox Movie Network as it gets shown there often....