It's Big and Furry- Across the Desert It'll Scurry- You'd Best Worry - It's "Tarantula"-Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- we continue our month of Halloween horrors with a creature that could help you add decorative spider webbing to your property as part of your seasonal display- the only problem being, it may also make a treat out of any trick-or-treaters! It turns a small desert town into a monstrous mélange of deformed mutants and mutilated cattle, courtesy of the giant-sized hairy horror of the -"Tarantula"!

We drop in on the small Arizona town of Desert Rock (no, that's not a music channel on Sirius XM) where local medical man Dr. Matt Hastings is called to the town morgue to view a dead body found in the desert. Not that unusual an occurrence- except for the fact that this unfortunate fellow is strangely  disfigured! Dr. Matt surmises that he was suffering from acromegaly ( the very real syndrome- that famed wrestler Andre the Giant  and actor Rondo Hatton suffered from). The victim is identified as an assistant to esteemed local scientist Dr. Deemer- but the fact of his identity is tough to swallow, since acromegaly develops very slowly-yet this assistant was fine literally days ago! Matt heads out to speak with Deemer at his laboratory home in the desert, and gets a tour of Deemer's place and his current research project - a super atomic-isotope fueled nutrient that can make animals grow to a larger size, creating more food for the world's ever-increasing population. We see he has already treated several animals with the nutrient and they have responded as he had hoped, growing into over-sized versions of their species. Deemer assumes that his dead assistant had injected himself with the serum as a test, though it was not yet fully perfected ( a cautionary lesson for all, with what’s going on in the world). Deemer thinks the rapid advancement of the acromegaly was just a singular freak occurrence. With that information, Matt bids Deemer farewell, and heads back to his practice in town.

Shortly after his departure- the serum leads to more turmoil, with disastrous results- including some destruction –and the escape of an oversized tarantula! The very next day, Matt wants to head back to the lab to ask more questions, and just happens to run into Steve-a new assistant sent for by Deemer. Steve is actually a lovely young woman- who Matt is more than happy to accompany over to the laboratory! She is welcomed by Deemer, and takes up residence at his place, so she can be close to her work.

Meanwhile, more mysteries surface- including the discovery of bones of formerly living cattle, some strange puddles of an odd liquid, and reports of missing ranchers- while Steve notices some odd physical changes in Deemer. And did I mention there's this big fuzzy thing sneaking across the desert?! Before long, it's up to Matt to try to save the townspeople from an ever-growing menace that  seems unstoppable ( aren’t they all)!

Jack Arnold wrote and directed this 1955 chiller, yet another example of the 1950s obsession with giant, radiation- spawned creatures. We'll introduce you to the cast, including Leo G. Carroll, leading man John Agar, stunning 50s Playboy Playmate Mara Corday, and a few cameos, including a facially-obscured Clint Eastwood-as well as talking about certain techniques used in this film. We'll have a traditional song about the title creature, plus other Sven fun- including a vintage convention visit with an old friend, actor William Forsythe!

“Tarantula” crawls onto your screen on Me-TV tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific,      7 pm central, and, if you are unsure of what time or station we run on in your area, check your local listings , or at www.metv.com . Don't forget, MeTV invites you to live-Tweet along during the show on Twitter- use the hashtag  #svengoolie.  Chicago area viewers can experience a return trip to the “Island of Terror” with Peter Cushing this morning at 11 am on our main local station, CW26.

Have you checked out the store on our website for our latest items- Svengoolie phone cases? There are 4 different designs, and they are available for many types of phones. Just click on the store tab on our website or at www.metv.com .

Again, we are sorry that the current COVID situation has prevented us from doing our usual Halloween season appearances this month. We miss being able to meet with you- and hope we will be back on the road soon.

But, tonight- join us for oversized arachnid anarchy on MeTV!