Jumping From the Swamp To Your TV in "Frogs" - Tonight on MeTV

Tonight on MeTV- we add some heat and humidity to your Labor Day weekend – as a Florida swamp becomes the battleground between humans and amphibians, as reptiles and various other creatures are out for revenge against the polluting ways of mankind- heralded by the arrival of- “Frogs”!

This 1972 horror film starts off calmly enough- with Pickett Smith, a wildlife photographer, canoeing through the waters of a swamp, taking photos of various plants and creatures while noting evidence of pollution throughout the area. His canoe is unceremoniously overturned by a speedboat driven by a boozy young man, and he is taken aboard the craft to meet the wealthy young idiot Clint and his pretty sister Karen. They offer him the chance to come dry off at their palatial family mansion, where he meets the patriarch of the family- the wheel-chair bound grump, Jason Crockett, who invites him to stay to join in on his annual combined celebration of his birthday and the 4th of July. It’s obvious that Jason runs his plantation- and his family- with an iron hand, and that there is little doubt that his business methods are responsible for the pollution Pickett has observed.

Also observed is that the area seems to be overrun with frogs of various sizes, and Jason, not very fond of their presence, has sent out his man Grover to spray pesticide (great idea! Add more pollution!) to solve the problem. Little does he realize the problem is already well on its way out of hand.

Pickett meets several other members of the family, as well as the house staff- and surprisingly seems to meet with Jason’s approval. He is even asked to check on the whereabouts of certain missing people- and his findings are not good. He has also found an unusual number of swamp creatures all over the area- many more than are normal. As employees and family members become victims of attacks by the different animal species, it’s suggested that the family should leave the area- but Jason refuses to let anything interfere with his celebration, and demands that they stay! ( It’s his party, and he’ll die if he wants to…) Things only get worse, and escape begins to seem impossible- as the frogs advance in number and no human is safe!

This movie was made during a time when ecology was becoming a major concern, and it is considered to be part of a group of films known as “eco-horror” in which nature fights back against the population polluting and destroying the natural world. It boasts some big name actors- from Ray Milland and a very young Sam Elliot to well-known TV actress Joan Van Ark. We’ll tell you about the cast, and some background on the production, as well as bringing you a song- and watch for a brief greeting from a major star and Sven fan who faithfully watched my shows when he was just local to the Chicago area- and still tunes in today! And, for those who have seen the original poster promoting the film- no, there is no huge frog big enough to swallow a human and have its hand protruding from its mouth- but there are enough deadly creatures around to make up for that! We do warn you that there are some scenes that may not be suitable for all viewers -especially those who don’t like snakes, frogs, and other creepy crawly things!

“Frogs” invades your TV screen tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. Once again last week on Twitter, so many viewers were live-Tweeting during the show that we were trending within the top ten topics for the whole program. Feel free to join in, using the hashtag #svengoolie. This morning, local Chicago area viewers get to marvel once again at the amazing special effects that turned dogs into- well, dogs with wigs and false teeth- in “Killer Shrews” at 11 am on CW26.

Tonight, however, we progress from dogs to frogs- as cold-blooded creatures become cold-blooded killers! And-just a reminder- make sure you check out the latest amazing t-shirt in our artists series, by Bill Morrison, in our store! You’ll find it and other wearable works of art available there- with more to come!