Tonight on MeTV, when we say we’re serving up a stinger- it’s not that cocktail drink! It’s a stop-motion menace whose creation was supervised by the man who brought us “King Kong”, taking us south of the border- and below its surface- where lurks the massive menace of the “Black Scorpion”!

This 1957 horror story begins with us meeting a duo of geologists on a mission to Mexico. They are researching a huge earthquake that has created a volcano and major destruction. Doctors Hank Scott and Arturo Ramos head to the rustic village of San Lorenzo. They observe examples of the destruction- including a disheveled house, but also, more puzzling, a bashed–in police car- with damage that doesn’t appear to be done by an earthquake! Then they make two more discoveries- a little baby alone in the house, fortunately in good health- and the policeman whose patrol car it was- unfortunately, in the exact opposite condition.

Heading back to the village, they meet with the local priest Father Delgado to arrange care for the child. The priest relates that not only has there been this great natural disaster, but other strange things have occurred. There have been cattle killed, as well as other unexplained damage that superstitious villagers are attributing to a “demon bull”. Hank and Arturo don’t think any of this should cause them to discontinue the geological surveying they originally set out to do- and they head out to find some answers, as the military arrives in the village to help with disaster relief.

Once they are out in the wild country, a freak accident introduces the two doctors to a beautiful local rancher, Teresa Alvarez, who invites them to use her posh hacienda as their headquarters. In the ranch house, they meet Juanito, the precocious son of one of the servants, who takes a liking to Hank. While they are there, the phone lines that were damaged by the earthquake are restored-but just as one of the workmen on the scene calls Teresa to let her know- we see the reasons for some of the odd destruction- as giant scorpions attack the workmen! The next target for the scorpions is San Lorenzo, where even the military has no way to stop the huge horrors!

By daybreak, the monsters have gone- leaving a path of death and wreckage. The only hope to stop these creatures is finding the scorpions’ lair- and the doctors, Teresa, noted entomologist Dr. Velasco, along with a military squad, all search for any possible area that might be their nesting place. The search finally reveals where the scorpions are holed up, and Hank, along with Arturo, gets lowered bravely into an underground cavern with an assortment of odd creatures- including, of course, the giant scorpions! When attempts are made to seal the scorpions in, they only lead to a showdown in Mexico City with the biggest and most dangerous of the arachnids!

This film, as we mentioned, features stop motion animation supervised by Willis O’Brien, who brought the original “King Kong” to life. (A couple things you will see reportedly were actually from unused scenes in that giant ape movie!) We’ll fill you in on some of the problems O’Brien and his team encountered and tell you about some of our cast members- including lovely Mara Corday and leading man Richard Denning, both of whom you have seen in movies on our show. We’ll give you the word on a new sports betting bar, and I will sing while they sting with a song accompanied by Doug Graves. You’ll also see some celebrity encounters, and, since we will be at the Flashback Weekend horror convention today, we’ll go back in time to remember another visit from years ago!

We did want to point out that this show was one of the last we did during the COVID pandemic, forcing us to do the program from my home base and the top-secret Sven Cave. At the very beginning, before we start the show, Nostalgiaferatoo will attempt to explain that- emphasis on “attempt”.

“Black Scorpion” crawls onto your TV screen tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. If you need help in finding what time and channel we’re on where you are, please consult your local listings, or check in at www.metv.com . Live-Tweeting on Twitter/X and Bluesky will be happening during the show-use the hashtag #svengoolie in your posts on either place. On our main local Chicago station, WCIU the U, has a special surprise for viewers- an encore of the second Carl Kolchak made-for-tv movie, “The Night Strangler” (for those suffering Kolchak withdrawal since our MeTV network is giving the show a rest) so tune in at 11 am.

A couple quick notes- we had an amazing time meeting fans from all over the country at the big San Diego Comic Con last weekend- and, if you’re reading this early enough, and are near the area, you can still catch me at the above-mentioned Flashback Weekend convention in Rosemont, IL. Details are under the “appearances” tab here on our website Also- yes, a new Sven artist series shirt is now available- check out the great design by Terry Beatty in our store!

Tonight, be prepared for desert heat and blazing horror being the thing- when scorpions sting!