Set Sail from the Sven Cave on the "7th Voyage of Sinbad"- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- to celebrate as we approach the 100^th anniversary of the birth of the great master of stop-motion filmmaking Ray Harryhausen- we present his very first color movie , and the first of the adventures of a legendary hero that he brought to life- as we encounter magicians and monsters while on the “Seventh Voyage of Sinbad”!

In this 1958 classic, Sinbad and his beautiful fiancée the Princess Parisa, are heading to their wedding, which will help insure peace between the sailor’s home of Baghdad and Chandra, her father’s realm. However, they get sidetracked to a remote island- where they witness one Sokurah fleeing from the attack of a giant Cyclops! They take the man, actually a mysterious magician, aboard their ship- but he insists that they take him back to the island, because he lost a wondrous magic lamp there while escaping! Sinbad refuses, since his marriage is pending, and they continue to Baghdad.

It is there that Sokurah uses his evil magic to cause mayhem-and uses a prediction of war to try to convince the rulers to transport him back to the island. When that fails, he causes a frightening transformation of the young princess to create turmoil between her father the Caliph and Sinbad’s people- revealing the only cure for her condition would use the shell of the legendary bird-like creature the Roc- which just so happens to be found on the Cyclops island. This results in them giving in to his demands, and Sinbad and crew begin the trip back to the dangerous isle- armed with plans that Sokurah has given them for a giant crossbow to fight off the creatures they will meet.

Of course, things are not helped by Sinbad having to recruit additional crewmen from- where else?- the Caliph’s prison! In spite of mutiny, a major storm, and some supernatural evils, they finally reach the island- where Sinbad and Sokura split up and lead their separate groups of men into the valley of the Cyclops. This leads to capture, the recovery of the lamp- complete with the young genie it holds- and encounters with more monsters, as well as a final face-off in Sokurah’s dangerous fortress!

This film includes some of Harryhausen’s amazing stop-motion creatures ( including a battling skeleton that seems to be the ancestor of the whole troop of skeletons seen in a later Harryhausen film, “Jason and the Argonauts”) presented in the process he called “Dynamation”-as well as a score by Bernard Herrmann! We’ll introduce the cast, including Kerwin  ( NOT Kerwyn!) Matthews and Kathryn Grant ( we’ll tell you which big star she later married!)- and you’ll see that this show is a combination of new material from the Sven cave, along with sequences including our old set and coffin. I will even attempt to do a new song without Doug ( we’re still trying to work out getting him to broadcast from home!)

“7^th Voyage of Sinbad” sets sail tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. Live-Tweet with the Sven fans on Twitter who are posting during the show, using the hashtag #svengoolie – that get us among the top-trending national topics most weeks! Chicago area viewers get another look at our first broadcast from the Sven cave and “The Man with Nine Lives” at 11 am on the U.

The new “Svengoolie At Home” box- loaded with fun items to keep you entertained right in your own domicile- is selling briskly- even with added inventory, there is only a limited number available- so check it out and order in the store on our website or at www.metv.com .

We’re sorry to say that one of our favorite yearly events, Flashback Weekend, has understandably been cancelled for this year. Here’s hoping things will get closer to normal soon- and we can visit with all our friends and fans again.

Meanwhile, join us on a cruise that definitely WILL happen- tonight- on MeTV!