This Stinger Has No Vodka- But You Might Need Tequila to Face “The Black Scorpion”- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV, our program is again infested by another giant arachnid! No, it’s not a prehistoric spider, nor a tarantula- it’s a stop-motion menace whose creation was supervised by the man who brought us “King Kong”! Our destination is south of the border- and even below the surface- where the massive menace is the “Black Scorpion”!

In this 1957 feature, we meet a duo of geologists on a mission to Mexico, where a huge earthquake has created a volcano, combined to result in major destruction. Doctors Hank Scott and Arturo Ramos are on their way to the rustic village of San Lorenzo when they happen upon examples of the destruction- a disheveled house, but also, more puzzling, a bashed–in police car?! That kind of damage doesn’t appear to be done by an earthquake! They make two more discoveries- a little baby alone in the house, in good health- and the policeman whose patrol car it was- in exactly the opposite condition.

They head into the village, to have the child taken care of and to meet with one Father Delgado. The priest relates that , besides the natural disaster, there have been other strange things going on-cattle being killed, as well as other unexplained damage- that superstitious villagers are attributing to a “demon bull”. This all isn’t enough for Hank and Arturo to decide to discontinue the geological surveying they originally set out to do- and they set out to find some answers, even as the military arrive to help with disaster relief.

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. Soon, phone lines that were damaged by the earthquake are restored, and just as one of the workmen on the scene calls Teresa to let her know- we see the reason for some of the odd destruction- as giant scorpions attack the workmen!

Their next target is San Lorenzo, where even the military has no way to stop the huge horrors! By daybreak, the monsters have gone- but have left a path of death and wreckage. It is imperative that the scorpions’ lair must be found- and the doctors, Teresa, noted entomologist Dr. Velasco, and a military squad all look for any possible area that might be their nesting place. Upon its discovery, Hank and Arturo bravely get lowered into an underground cavern with various odd creatures- including, of course, the giant scorpions! Attempts are made to seal the scorpions in- but 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 from unused scenes in the 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 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 my encounter with one of the maternal stars of a MeTV show- and, having just visited Flashback Weekend, we go back in time to remember another visit from years ago that includes several celebrity guests!

“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-Xing (why does that sound like voting?) or, we could still refer to it as live Tweeting, continues - using the hashtag #svengoolie in what you post. On our main local Chicago station, CW26, viewers can see an encore of another the Hammer hairball horror, “Shadow of the Cat” at 11 am.

We’d like to thank everyone who joined us at this year’s Flashback Weekend last week in Rosemont, for the epic combination of Joe Bob Briggs, Darcy the Mail Girl, and myself- what a great reception to that event! Happy to get to meet so many of our viewers and to again take part if the fun of the costume contest. It all shows why Flashback Weekend is always one of the top events we do every year!

Tonight, it becomes more of a “Stingback Weekend” – as we face the sting of the Black Scorpion!