The Hill is Alive with the Sound of-Giant Ants! It's "THEM!" -Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- we are happy to finally bring to our network  a film which many of our viewers have been clamoring for! Prepare to meet some deadly desert denizens out to prove life is no picnic when you face the atomic-mutated menace of – “THEM!”

This 1954 sci fi favorite begins with a team of New Mexico State Police officers doing a search of the desert- which turns up an unexpected sight- of a little girl wandering the sandy terrain. When they approach her, she is in a daze-catatonic and non-communicative. At a loss to figure out what happened to her, they are directed by a spotter aircraft to a vacation trailer- that has been torn apart and demolished! There are no signs of anyone else- but the two cops, Sgt. Peterson and Trooper Blackburn, are fairly sure the little one was here- and whatever happened is responsible for her condition. They have the child placed in an ambulance- but fail to notice that, when an odd high-pitched sound fills the air, she suddenly sits up in reaction!

Heading down to the road to the local general store- they find that it too has been trashed- and its proprietor lies dead in the cellar! Peterson heads back to police headquarters, leaving Blackburn behind at the crime scene- not knowing the officer will soon hear that same strange sound- leading to disastrous results that leave Blackburn missing!

Back at headquarters, authorities are equally stumped- evidence shows multiple shots were fired by the deceased store owner and Blackburn’s weapon-yet no perpetrators’ bodies were found. Even more confusing- the store owner’s body was full of formic acid! The FBI is called in- one agent Robert Graham, who can’t shed any light on what has happened either. An odd print found at the scenes of the crimes results in the Department of Agriculture calling in some experts- a father/daughter team of animal specialists, Dr. Medford the elder and his lovely offspring Dr. Pat- whose beauty is matched by her brains.

The Drs. Medford form a theory- which they test out during a hospital visit to the girl, who still has not spoken. When a theory the doctor has is tested- and a small glass of formic acid is waved under her nose, the child suddenly becomes frantic, screaming “Them! Them!” ( Hopefully she got credit for naming this film…)

The doctors, Agent Graham and Peterson lead a group out to the desert where the girl was found, with old Dr. Medford hinting he knows what’s behind the strange and deadly destruction- and the cause is revealed to them when huge eight-foot ants attack!( Before someone wisecracks-the ants actually have six feet- the eight is their size.)

It appears that a colony of ants mutated to huge size due to the radiation from atomic testing at nearby Alamogordo. The army steps in with a plan to trap all the ants in their massive anthill colony and destroy them- but- when that plan is not 100% successful, it leads to even greater danger with the ants moving into new – and much more inhabited-territory!

This favorite ‘50s fright flick boasts an impressive cast, including James Whitmore and “Gunsmoke” star James Arness. We’ll talk about the cast members and give some insights to the production’s history, as well as bringing you a new Sven song and a way to help you ditch your cable or satellite provider.

“Them!” infests your TV tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central. If you are unsure of when and where to find our show, check in your local listings or at www.metv.com . A huge number of viewers love to live-Tweet during the show on Twitter every week- you can join in, by posting and using the hashtag #svengoolie . Chicago area viewers can relive our Halloween night production from last week- “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man”- at 11 am on our main local channel,  CW26.

The new Sven coffee mugs are a big hit! Fiends who love caffeine (and our program) have been snapping up the terrific mugs, with four different designs, at a rapid pace- so, if you want to have your coffee with someone straight from the coffin, order now in our store! ( Yes, I have a store.) Need I add that they make great gifts? You can buy some for your ants- I mean, aunts!

Join us tonight for the  first “big bug” horror film of the ‘50s-brewing up trouble ( and formic acid) on MeTV!