Tonight on MeTV- get a look at a new hero walking in the footsteps of Dr. Van Helsing- that Hammer originally thought would begin a new series of adventures of “Captain Kronos- Vampire Hunter”!

We first encounter the Captain on the road- along with his companion Professor Grost (finally- a hunchbacked assistant who is NOT evil!)- heading to the aid of his old wartime friend Dr. Marcus. Along the way, they encounter Carla,a lovely peasant girl who is unjustly being punished- and bring her along on their trip. They explain that they are vampire hunters, which she seems to pretty much take in stride.

The reason that Marcus has called for assistance is a puzzling series of strange deaths of young women attributed to highly accelerated aging. The answer that Kronos and Grost discern is that this is the work of -a vampire! It’s not the usual blood-sucking kind, but a sub-genre that sucks the youth out of its victim. (They explain that there are actually many species of vampires, with different needs.) Marcus finds this hard to believe, but joins in as the vampire hunting duo preforms special test that indicates the presence of a vampire.

Meanwhile, Marcus visits the offspring of a deceased old friend, Lord Durward- his son Paul and daughter Sara- but is not allowed to see their mother, who is bedridden with an undetermined illness. Soon after, Marcus has a bizarre experience with a shrouded figure in the woods- leaving him confused, and with blood on his lips!

Kronos must deal with a group of thugs sent to kill him by the mysterious figure behind the aging deaths, and the results of Marcus’ strange encounter- leading to the possible discovery of a way to kill the vampire but also conflict with local villagers who think Kronos is up to no good. It all snowballs into a final battle brought on by confusion about who the vampire actually is- and a shocking unexpected surprise!

This 1974 Hammer film, as I mentioned, was hoped to become a series of films- we’ll explain why it didn’t, and introduce you to the cast, including Horst Janson and sultry horror actress Caroline Munro. You’ll also see a real first- Nostalgiaferatoo taking a stab at solving a “Too Drawn Out” puzzle- a possible cure for vampire-inspired aging- a new song – and more!

“Captain Kronos- Vampire Hunter” begins his quest tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. As always, feel free to join the viewers posting live during the show on Blusesky and Twitter/X- just use that hashtag #svengoolie. In the Chicago viewing area, we will provide an encore of the Carl Kolchak original made-for-TV movie “The Night Stalker” at 11 am on WCIU the U.

Thanks for the great reception for the Sven Squad and I at the San Diego Comic Con last weekend! Today, if you’re in the Chicago area, you can see me at the Flashback Weekend Horror Convention in Rosemont, IL- for professionally shot photo ops, autograph signings with selfies, and my annual hosting of the costume contest. You’ll find info under the “appearances” tab on our website.

Join us tonight for the single adventure of a valiant destroyer of vampires- and several deceased aged women- although the youthful Caroline Munro more than makes up for that!