Hammer horror fans will be in heaven tonight- with both of the studio’s top stars- Peter Cushing AND Christopher Lee aboard- not to mention the heavenly beauty of Barbara Shelley as well- as a mythological monster lurks in early 20^th century Prussia- turning its victims to stone- as petrified victims of ‘The Gorgon”!

We come in on a modelling session, in which a barely-clad beauty is posing for her artist boyfriend.  When the lass dares to bring up the subject of the two of them being wed, young Bruno brushes it off, claiming he has business to attend to before he even considers marriage. The young lady becomes upset, and reveals the (ahem) reason they NEED to get married.  Bruno is, despite his Bohemian lifestyle, an honorable man, and, since he wants to do the right thing, heads out into the night to speak with the girl’s father. The poor young woman, not sure if that’s the best course of action, chases after him to stop him- only to run into something unexpected –and deadly- in the dark woods!

The girl’s body is delivered to the medical facility of physician Dr. Namarov by the local police inspector, who requests an autopsy. Perhaps they should enlist a mineralogist rather than a physician- because the girl has somehow been turned to stone! Unable to explain the woman’s condition, the police set out to locate and question Bruno- only to find him hanging from a tree limb-dead!

A coroner’s inquest is held, and the prevailing opinion is that Bruno murdered his sweetheart, and then committed suicide.( But how exactly did he turn her to stone?!) Heitz , Bruno’s father, knows his son’s character, and refuses to believe it. He vows to stay in the area to clear his son’s name, only to find himself harassed by an angry mob! The local police barely seem to offer any help, and even Dr. Namarov will not go into any detail about the incident-which leads him to believe that there is something the locals are hiding from him.

That night, Heitz suddenly finds himself answering some strange siren’s call which draws him to the nearby ruins of a castle- where he encounters something so terrifying that he flees, screaming, back to the house! His butler is shocked by his appearance, as a transformation is occurring, changing his master in a hideous manner. Heitz struggles to write a letter to his other son, Paul, and, before his horrid condition overtakes him, entreats the butler to summon the son, and give him – and no one else -the letter.

Soon enough, Paul arrives in town, only to find the authorities- and most everyone else- have no interest in helping him find out what has happened to his father. When he asks to see the body, the request is refused. Paul doubts Dr, Namarov’s claim that his father simply had a heart attack- and his suspicions seem valid when Namarov’s lovely nurse Carla, seemingly taking pity on the young man, reveals she has reason to believe that an ancient supernatural evil that once plagued the area has returned- and is behind recent deaths! Paul shares the belief, after having read his father’s letter- and then actually has his own encounter with the legendary creature, barely surviving!

It is five days later after the encounter that Paul awakens in the hospital. Though he is in bad shape, he gratefully has not succumbed to the petrifying curse that has befallen the others. Carla shows feelings for him, while rejecting the advances of her boss Namarov.

Meanwhile, Paul’s old teacher, Professor Meister, arrives in town, determined to discover what has happened to his student- and what is plaguing the town. Suspicions are raised about Namarov- and soon the realization that the thought-to-be mythological Gorgon now lurks in the shadows of every full moon leads to secrets finally being revealed- while the chance of being turned to stone becomes an ever-present danger!

This 1964 full-color Hammer film boats a cast with  Cushing, Lee, Shelley, and even an actor best known to most as one of the first reincarnations of the Dr. Who character! We’ll talk about them, and explain some facts about the Gorgon of mythology- as well as showing a commercial for a Gorgon business offshoot- and serenading you with our weekly song (or is it, weakly serenading you?)

“The Gorgon” appears on  MeTV tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central- you can find out when and where it airs in your area in your local listings and at www.metv.com. Last Saturday night, we were trending nationally again on Twitter, thanks to all of you who live Tweet during the program- please remember to use the hashtag #svengoolie . Chicago viewers need to note- today, our program will air ONE HOUR EARLIER than normal at 10 am on the U, due to a sports event. Enjoy an encore of “The Invisible Man” at this special time- we will be back at the usual 11 am time next week- before another  one-week change on Thanksgiving weekend, which we’ll explain here soon.

Coming soon- some appearances by Sventa Claus-  watch for info soon under the “appearances” tab here on our site.

The 4^th and final chapter of “Svengoolie Meets the DC Universe” will appear in select DC Comics this Wednesday the 20th- in several of the DC books that come out on that day. Your comic book store staff can help you find the ones with the Sven story. We’ve been very pleased by the great reaction to the story, and very proud to be a part of the DC Universe!

Also- we are grateful for your support in having the Svengoolie Surprise Fan Boxes- all one thousand of them- sell out in just over a week!  We are working on more Sven merchandise for you- make sure you answer the survey that was in your box, so we can tell what you might want more of in the future!

Tonight’s show is just a stone’s throw away- tune in for some petrifying horror!

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