"The Beast in the Black"

[ceebeegee]

I watched The Greatest American Hero episode "The Beast in the Black" on Sunday--oh my God, sooooo scary! Holy crap, that is a spooky episode. Bill and Ralph visit this abandoned house that's scheduled to be demolished in a few days--Ralph has set up an agreement that his students can salvage stuff from it to sell, to raise money. Ralph sees weird shit there, like a fire in the fireplace, and a possessed wheelchair (after The Changeling, one of the greatest ghost movies ever, wheelchairs are spooky. As. Shit.) "accidentally" tumbles down the stairs. The BEST part is when Ralph and Bill are looking at this brick wall that walled up an old doorway--Bill just sees the wall, but Ralph sees another room, a dark room with a fire and a woman sitting in front of it. He sticks his head in--and she turns her head to look at him. Holy, holy crap! I literally got chills.

There are other great parts too--the woman turning her head to look at him is the best, but the rest is scary as well. This woman in the room is trapped in the house--she can't leave unless she possesses someone else--so she drops a chandelier on Bill and he dies, for just a second, just enough time for her to slip in. Bill and Ralph don't realize what's happened until at the emergency room, Bill turns around and has these creepy, ice-blue eyes, and a woman's voice comes out of him. So, so cool! Culp does a great job in this episode, as does the director. LOVED the creepy music.

Comments

[dje2004.livejournal.com]

You posted this just to torment me, didn't you? Of all the episodes of that show, this is the one I've wanted to see again the most. The things I remember the most are the fortune teller(?) explaining what the beast was and what its purpose was and how Ralph's powers wouldn't be able to help him against it, and Ralph trying to get past the beast itself, which I recal being this weird thing that you never really get a good look at. When I was young, it was scary. I suspect now I'd probably find it a bit disappointing.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Oh no, it still stands up. I saw this episode when it first came out and I was surprised at how creepy it still was. Wheelchairs that move by themselves! Creepy blue eyes! Women looking at fireplaces in 4th-dimension rooms that turn to look at you!!
I love that the suit doeasn't work there--it ups the stakes and places Ralph and Bill in genuine peril.