WARNING- Keep Your (Social) Distance from -"Gargoyles"- Tonight!

Perhaps the desert might be a good place for social distancing- but you’d definitely want to keep your distance from some legendary demons on the prowl out there! Tonight on MeTV, we bring back a favorite "made for TV" movie of the early 70s – the story of an anthropologist author and his daughter, whose skeptical research into so-called mythical creatures becomes a confrontation, when they discover the existence of - "Gargoyles"!

We arrive at an airport in the American southwest, where Dr. Mercer Boley, writer and investigator/debunker of demonology meets up with his lovely daughter Diana, who serves as photographer on his projects. Ready to research his latest book, they set out-but have a bit of confusion about their route. They end up at a local “tourist trap”- a curio shop where, just for the heck of it, they check out the inventory, in case by some miracle there are any real artifacts. Uncle Willie, the grizzled old proprietor, takes note that the pair are showing little regard for his stock and definitely are not taking his artifacts seriously- so he tries to impress them by revealing the bona fide items he keeps in the back of the shop. He shows them a display of a skeleton of –well, some sort of creature- which the doctor thinks is just a combination of various animal bones, kind of like a display of a jackalope would be. Daughter Diana, however, noting Willie’s serious demeanor, tends to think there's some truth to it all, and not just some ballyhoo to hoax suckers. Willie tells them about the history of the area and what he’s found, but as day gives way to night, and he describes some ancient Indian beliefs, a strong windstorm unexplainably rises- at least, they think it’s a windstorm! The mayhem causes a huge destructive fire, bad news for Willie-and dad and daughter barely escape, dragging with them with the skull of that odd display of the creature’s skeleton. They haven’t reached safety, though- as they drive away, their car is attacked and battered by shadowy figures!

They finally escape the onslaught, and manage to limp their car to a gas station. The attendant is shocked by the amount of damage their vehicle has sustained- and since it’ll take a while to fix it all up, they head to the adjoining motel, run by a boozy woman who obviously has not just fallen off the wagon, but must’ve been run over by it!! When day breaks, Dad and Diana go to report the previous night’s mishaps to the police- who are currently busy apprehending a pack of local young men on motorbikes ( watch for one of the squad cars to miraculously change from a Chevy to a Ford in the proceedings!). The officers believe these no-good punks are responsible for the tragic conflagration at the old museum, but Doctor Boley and his daughter know better. However, they don’t think they can reveal the truth of what they experienced- they just don't think the cops will buy their story- at least not yet.

Back at the motel that night- Diana and Dad get some unexpected visitors- actual gargoyles, seemingly in search of the skull taken from the museum! After some confrontation, the gargoyles escape, but one is killed- and Doc takes it back to their room ( eww!), suspecting that the gargoyles were behind the museum incident- and that the skull may have belonged to one of their ancestors!

The next day, Diana goes to the police department- hoping to convince the cops that the boys they've locked up are not to blame-but the police and even the guys she's trying to help laugh off her story of the odd creatures.

She returns to the motel after dark- but so do the gargoyles, intent on reclaiming their dead comrade’s body-and more! Diana ends up captured by the gargoyles, who reveal to her what their true plans are- and it’s up the doctor- and anyone he can convince that the gargoyles are real- to save his daughter- and stop the weird creatures before they begin their plan to defeat the human race!

This 1972 movie’s cast includes big screen star Cornell Wilde, the lovely Jennifer Salt, the "Dark Shadows" TV show's Grayson Hall, and a very young Scott Glenn- plus the late Bernie Casey as the head of the gargoyles. Along with information about the movie, we bring you a visit with lovely actress Brooke Theiss, a veteran of “Nightmare on Elm Street 4” and the sitcom ”Just the Ten of Us”, plus a takeoff on a popular 80s TV show, a song based on a tune by a friend (a talented musician whose group got its start in- BERWYN!) -and even more!

"Gargoyles" fly onto your screen tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or check time and channel in your area in local listings or at www.metv.com . You can help us trend nationally as usual on Twitter by live-Tweeting during the program, using the hashtag #svengoolie. Chicago area viewers will get bugged one more time by “The Deadly Mantis"- at 11 am on the U.

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Thanks to our loyal fans who join us every week- and all the new viewers who have found us and are now coming back! Stay safe and beware of the “Gargoyles” tonight!