Did He Inherit a Dastardly Dual Identity? "Meet the "Son of Dr. Jekyll" Tonight!

We kick off our Halloween month tonight on MeTV- with somewhat of a sequel to one of the most famous horror stories, both on film and in print- in which an earnest and intelligent young scientist learns the shocking truth about his ancestry- and inherits not only his father’s estate , but his reputation! Tales of his father as a good man turned savage monster urge him to set out to repeat his dad’s experiments and clear the family name- only to face persecution and perilous dangers of the formula that ruined his father- and could ruin the “Son of Dr. Jekyll”!

His story opens at the end of another man’s story- as we see the senior Jekyll fleeing from an angry mob after committing a terrible murder! He heads to his estate and laboratory, and, while trying to escape the mob, meets his demise. Two of his closest friends –Utterson and Lanyon- witness his death, and hurry to the scene of the crime he had fled from. They find Jekyll’s baby son- now all alone in the world. They take charge of the poor orphan, and decide that it would be proper for Utterson to raise the child- never letting him know about his real family’s horrible history.

Thirty years later- grown-up baby Edward is a brilliant science student- engaged to Utterson’s niece Lynn. His brilliance may be leading him into dangerous territory-for he is being expelled from the science academy for performing “unorthodox experiments”! Coincidentally, Utterson and Lanyon decide that , since he is of age, and due to claim his inheritance, Edward should finally learn the truth about his real father. Edward accepts the facts, and takes possession of the key to his father’s old place. Undeterred by the public’s attitudes about his father- and now, him- he decides to move into the family estate. Finding his father’s old laboratory, he is compelled to continue his dad’s work- and prove that his father was NOT a monster in real life, and that the formula he created was the cause of his change of behavior. He also begins a constant battle against the public’s perception of himself and his father- and, in a situation that seems very contemporary, ends up “set up” in what appear to be violent circumstances by the local “news” people. This causes his neighbors to become even more frightened that, like father, like son- there is now a sinister successor to the original evil Hyde!

His experimentation continues, regardless- but there are hidden agendas in motion, putting his career and life in peril! Has Edward’s use of his father’s formula sent him to the dark side of human nature- and unleashed another Hyde to prey upon the frightened populace?

This 1951 film is considered by some as a sort of sequel to the 1941 Spencer Tracy “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”- adding a plot twist to that film’s conclusion. We’ll go down the list of cast members, headed by Louis Hayward, present an edition of the popular Sven game, “Too Drawn Out”, and introduce a less-than hair-raising product, as well as favoring you with a Sven song.

"Son of Dr. Jekyll" makes his appearance tonight on MeTV at 8pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or, if you need more information on where and when to find the show in your area, just check your local listings, or at www.metv.com .You can also join the horde of Sven fans on Twitter during the show, who live-Tweet as the show runs, using the hashtag #svengoolie . All that Tweeting continues to keep us trending nationally every week! In the Chicago area, viewers can get one more look at our special edition of Bela Lugosi’s “Dracula” – with the unique added musical soundtrack-this morning at 11 am on the U, at its new channel location. We’ve gotten e mails from Chicago area fans asking why the show is no longer on Saturday mornings- we assure you, it is- just go to the channel that formerly housed the UToo!

I’ve made my way back from the New York Comic Con on a redeye flight to attend the “Haunting in Hammond” this afternoon! And, we’ve listed all the Halloween appearances booked so far - including the special event at Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications honoring my “40 years as Sven” anniversary-  under the “appearances” tab on this website. We’ll add any additional live or media appearances as they come up, so make sure to check back often. It looks like we’ll have one this Tuesday night on WLS-AM ( 890)- with Jennifer Weigel at 10 pm central time. Also- the remaining limited edition Sven anniversary shirt is now in our store- please order as soon as possible- like the others, it WILL sell out rather quickly!

And- we’re only a week and a half away from the first chapter of “Svengoolie Meets the DC Universe” in all the major DC titles! We could see how excited fans are about this when we were at the New York Comic Con yesterday!

But tonight- instead of a superhero- we meet a man with a dual identity- walking a thin line between good and evil! Join us on MeTV for a story with plenty to “Hyde”!