The Gill Man’s Last Gasp- “The Creature Walks Among Us” Tonight!

Tonight on the Me-TV network, we bring you the final chapter in the “Black Lagoon” trilogy- as the amphibian Gill Man becomes an air-breathing land dweller in “The Creature Walks Among Us”! When we last saw the Creature from the Black Lagoon, at the end of “Revenge of the Creature”, it was pretty much the same as when we last saw him at the end of the original film- his seemingly inert body slowly sinking into the watery depths. Surely, this time, the prehistoric Gill Man was extinct! Well, not so fast- though the Creature tried to make his escape into the Florida waters, and was supposedly gunned down- a rather nasty scientist, one Dr. Barton, has reason to believe that the Gill man survived- and puts together an expedition to the Everglades to search for him and capture him! His bored and abused wife, Marcia, joins the expedition, hoping to dull the pain of her unhappy marriage with some adventure. Also along are Dr. Morgan, a straight-shooter scientist- and young Jed Grant, a cocky guide who’s familiar with the Everglades- and wants to get more familiar with Marcia! After a meeting with a local fisherman who was injured by the Gill Man, seemingly confirming his continued existence, the crew travels the ‘glades in search of the Creature, using a sonar-like scanner to identify him. Before long, they are confronting the Gill Man- but, when an accidental brush with fire puts the Creature’s life in jeopardy, an amazing discovery about his internal organs prompts the crew to operate on this strange “missing link” between sea creatures and man to allow him to breathe like a land animal! This new life confuses the Gill Man, and, when he is confined in Dr. Barton’s compound, he learns more about land creatures- including man, as he watches the cruel Dr. Barton’s interactions with his co-workers and his wife, and the sleazy Jed’s continued attempts to interact with Marcia. Tension and mayhem, with the innocent Gill Man having blame placed on him, result in the Creature fighting back! This 1956 topper to the “Creature” series again features Ricou Browning inside the Gill Man suit for all the water scenes. The prerequisite swimsuit-wearing female who draws the Creature’s attention is played, this time around, by Leigh Snowden. Rex Reason and Jeff Morrow, who we last saw on our show in “This Island Earth” are the hero and heel, with Greg Palmer as the shifty cad of a guide. The Creature gets an altered look as part of his conversion to a land dweller- and, seriously- am I the only one who wishes they’d left him in his original form, and kept him coming back for more sequels? “The Creature Walks Among Us” comes strolling across your TV screen tonight on our Me-TV network- at 10 pm eastern, 9 pm central, 1 am on KOFY, or, check your local listings for the time slot in your area. If your local Me-TV station runs infomercials instead of our show- contact them (your local station) and let them know that you’d prefer to see our show! In the Chicago area, you only get one extra Sven show this week- at 3 pm on U Too- with “”Enemy from Space”- since the usual 11 am Sven run will be pre-empted so that we can bring you the second-longest parade in the U.S.- the annual Bud Billiken “Back to School” parade! You can make up for no 11 am show by coming out to see me live at Flashback Weekend- this afternoon, signing from 2 to 4 pm, and then hosting the always-fun costume contest! You can find details in previous blogs, or under our “appearances” tab.