Tonight on MeTV- we add some chills to your Labor Day weekend with the product of the labors of renowned director/producer Dan Curtis- and writer Richard Matheson. It’s a triple-dip into fantasy and horror, with the feel of both “The Twilight Zone” and “Trilogy of Terror”- with stories that build tension well into the “Dead of Night”!

This 1977 made-for-TV film began as a one-episode pilot for a “Dead of Night” series back in the late 60s that never got picked up- which was actually the same case as “Trilogy of Terror”. Curtis expanded both these projects into made for TV movies, teamed with Matheson who either wrote or adapted each story in this presentation.

Our first story in this movie is actually sweet and sentimental, with a science fiction twist. A young man who loves vintage cars obtains and restores a 1926 roadster- but on his first road trip in the car, he somehow travels through time, back to the 20s! He has an unfortunate encounter there- but then finds himself back in the present day-where he realizes his trip to the past has a major effect on his future in the tale of a “Second Chance” !

Story number two transports us to an old European village, and a villa where a skeptical doctor’s young wife seems to be a continuing victim of -a vampire! He refuses to believe that such a thing is the true reason for her illness- and recruits a young friend to try to solve the mystery of what’s going on-leading to a shocking conclusion that questions the statement that there is “No Such Thing as a Vampire”!

The final story can arguably compete with the final story of “Trilogy of Terror” as far as being eerie and frightening. We meet a distraught mother who is grieving the drowning death of her young son. In spite of her husband’s warnings, she resorts to extreme supernatural lengths to bring the child back. Black magic succeeds in reaching that goal- but her boy doesn’t seem to be the same as before- as his mother finds out with the return of “Bobby”!

This anthology features a lot of familiar faces in the cast- Ed Begley Jr., 1960s “The Avengers” Patrick MacNee, Joan Hackett, and even Elijah Cook Jr., among others. We’ll introduce you to all of them, provide background information on the production. You’ll see me check out a different time-travelling automobile than the one in our first story, get a Nostalgiaferatoo visit, play another “Too Drawn Out” guessing game, and enjoy some vintage clips involving creepy kids- and more!

It's always necessary for me to remind viewers that this is NOT the famed British-made anthology film “Dead of Night”- and the stories here are totally unrelated to that film.

“Dead of Night” comes to life tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. As always, you are invited to join in on the live-Tweeting on Twitter/X- or the live posting on Bluesky during the show- just make sure to add the hashtag #svengoolie to your posts. Our Chicago area viewers can thrill to the encore of the Hammer Studios first color horror film- “Curse of Frankenstein” at 11 am on our main local station, WCIU, the U!

Have you seen the latest design in our artists series? This one is created by our friend the amazing comic artist who has worked for DC, Marvel, and Dick Tracy- Joe Staton! It’s available on a variety of merchandise- so check out our store.

We invite you to join us tonight in the “Dead of Night”!