The Secret Empire

This was a great escape for me as a teen in the late 70s. Although the mists of time may tempered this somewhat, but I remember the production values and scripts were of a higher quality than some TV shows at the same time (CHIPS and SuperTrain). Part of the Cliffhangers television show, The Secret Empire was kind of like The Wild Wild West meets The Fugitive and Star Wars. At the time it was novel to have each show end in a cliffhanger, ala Saturday serials. If I remember right, three shows, one about Susan Anton (Stop Susan Williams) and one about Dracula were given 20 minute segments in an hour long show. Each one ended in a cliffhanger and was resolved the next week.

It was the right mix of sex appeal (Susan Anton) science fiction (Lost Empire) and horror (Dracula), and it came about two years before Raiders of the Lost Ark made it to the silver screen. Too bad it hasn't made it to DVD/VHS yet. With the current "release anything" mentality perhaps this show will make it to tape/DVD soon.

I watched this series from the first one, and each week I looked forward anxiously to the next episode. The series was canceled after a short run (maybe 6 weeks), and I really couldn't understand why. It was a great show, with good acting and plot. Even if it would one day be available on DVD, it would still end in the middle of all the plots. I especially liked the western episode called "The Secret Empire". It was one of the most imaginative shows I have ever seen. It starts out like a standard western, where a ranchers cattle are being stolen. When the ranch hands chase the rustlers, they seem to disappear into a mountain. eventually, someone discovers the entrance to the inside of the mountain, and when they enter, what they find turns the show into a science fiction.