The Sentry (1975) - podcast episode cover

The Sentry (1975)

Nov 25, 201924 min
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Episode description

We discuss the last filmed episode of Kolchak The Night Stalker, The Sentry. It's a tale of a lizard man who lives deep in the recesses of the earth that causes havoc (and death) at a massive data warehouse.

Transcript

Hm, this is one story. I mean, I get to file in person, so I'll have to talk fast because it's after me. Claustrophobia has long been a part of the human experience, from Lacrole magnan follow up to Freud. So if you ever happen to find yourself underground, I'm deep underground, don't linger in the shadows. That was the voice of reporter Carl Coolcheck in the Case that We call The Century. It was written by al Ford Neil and John Huff, directed by Seymour Robi, and aired March twenty eighth,

nineteen seventy five. I am Mike White, and I am joined as always by Chris ashe You're actually joined by a giant man in a rubber giant monster suit. Holy shit, Holy it is right emphasis on the ship. So The Century is the last filmed episode of Colchack the night Stalker. So this is We're not to the end of the podcast yet, but this is the end of an era. Chris and I have to say, I'm a

little sad. Yeah, I'm a little sad too. I remember the evening where you kind of put the feelers out for anyone wanting to do a Col check podcast and I at the time that would have been the second podcast that I was on other than my own. And I mean I remember I owned the cole Chack DVDs from a long time ago. My dad bought him for me because there was a show he liked. When I guess my dad probably

would have been little younger than I am now. But it is crazy that we've kind of come all the way to the end, like here it is the final episode of the show, not of us. We heard about this one when we were doing Mister R I n G and talking to John Hoff who was the co writer of that episode, and I remember him saying that by the time they were shooting this, a lot of people had checked out. And I can't say that that necessarily comes through too much in the episode

you made mention of the rubber suit. Yeah, that could look a little bit better. I kind of wish they had gone a little more Gorn from Star Trek because I would have Gorn a little bit, or even like the last episode that we talked about where it was Molder and Scully meet the wear Monster that two thousand whatever technology. But that was a sweet costume that Murray was wearing yeah, but this one, it kind of feels like something that

Ultraman would have thought. I think they really did themselves a service by keeping this thing in the dark as much as they possibly could. It reminds you of the Star Trek episode with the Horta where it's like all underground and they're touching the thing's eggs. That's what it reminded me of. It is a bummer that this is the final episode of the show that was filmed, because it's not good. Well. This episode reminded me a lot of the Matchamendo.

The whole idea of the building that is being built in having troubles because it's being plagued by supernatural forces. It reminded me of another one too, and I'm sure as we talk it'll come to me, but yeah, I was just like, okay, yeah, it feels like very familiar territory in this one. They're going for the whole hollow Earth lizard people kind of thing.

I mean, we've had so many different types of creatures and this one is playing a little bit into that because we've got this storage facility that is what ten thousand feet underground, which I'm surprised that you can do that so close to Chicago, it feels like it would be kind of a little dangerous. I can't see the bedrock being that strong around there, But I might be overthinking this. I think you're doing the job that the riders should have

done. Yeah, it's it's this weird kind of alluding to lizard people underneath the ground, lizard people in the sewers, the mole people, like, it's very much in that vein, and then you even have like the eggs at the end, which just ends up being like a very obvious trope to go to. It's just a misunderstood monster trying to get its eggs. It's okay, he just wants his machete. Yeah, exactly. Wow, have you seen that movie? Oh yeah, that's the only Jason movie I've seen

all the way through other than Freddie versus Jason. It's okay, Oh god, it's a great line. It is. It is a great line.

It's a really weird thing to have a Cold Tack episode where you see the monster and you almost wish you hadn't because it is just a guy in a clearly rubber suit, and um, there's a there's a YouTube series or a YouTube channel called um Tested with Adam Savage, and he talks about how like, when you make costumes, you should not put the support for the head of the costume on your own head because it looks weird when you move around.

And that's clearly what is going on with this costume is the support mechanics for the head of the creature is on the actor's head, and so it's like wopping around when they run, which is even more distracting. The shots of it when it is in silhouette coming towards the camera and you hear the growling, I'm like, okay, that's good. But then yeah, as you see more, Oh, I know which one it was. It was the one with the Primal Man and the fight with the Primal Man underground towards

the end. That's also what this episode reminded me of. That makes sense too again because it's set underground, I mean setting things underground kind of a compound. Yeah, and then also the whole idea of like, oh,

we are reviving this thing and pissing it off. And Primal Scream was the name of that one, and you know, it was like, hey, we I don't understand this facility that they're at because most of it are these really nice concrete walls, but then there are caves that are part of this thing, and it's like, okay, like all right, we're gonna build it down to like level N. But after that, fuck it, we found natural case We're just going to leave those there. It's like what is

going on here? And there's this weird story too. The scientist who finds these eggs, he has this whole weird backstory about how he found these rocks in Utah and was sending them back to his lab, but then another scientist wrote his name on the box and so they got sent to him and he took all the credit and I'm just waiting for that to pay off, and it never pays off well. And Albert Paulson, who is Ecuadorian, is

given the task of trying to do a German Austrian accent. I think he was maybe Russian because he's talking about Russia, but yeah, who knows. His character's name is doctor Verheyden, which you know it's about as German as German can get, I guess in this show. And his character is really annoying and not a character you want to spend too much time with because he's poorly written and all he does essentially scream at Cole Jay or anyone for that

matter. This episode was strange to me and that I didn't feel the act breaks as much as I've felt other episodes. It really felt like this whole thing was of a piece, and it moved very nice once we got into the story proper, and I liked Kathy Brown as Lieutenant Irene Lamont and how she was playing the reporters against each other, and the way that she was using her looks and things and like, oh boys, you don't want to have me busted back to traffic and all this kind of stuff. I like

the way that she was manipulating the system. First time we've actually seen a female cop of any sort of rank in this episode, in this whole series, which is unfortunate because she's the best part of this episode. She's great, right, Oh yeah, Kathy Brown is great in this episode. Almost makes you forget about the guy in the lizard suit most you'll notice, I said, almost, what's worse this or the headless biker this? Wow? This because the suit is just this is look we talked about it. What

feels like a lifetime ago but remember the Werewolf episode. How can I forget? You bring that up almost every episode. Well, it's because it was just so bad. The makeup on Eric Braden was just so bad it's kind of hard to forget. And that's what this smacks of. It smacks of that, just like, really it knows that it's cheeseball and cornball to the max, and it doesn't fight it. And I'm normally okay with that,

but it is it's even a little much for this show. I don't know I can actually look past that because the rest of the episode is so strong. To me, I like the whole investigative angle that's going on the way that Carl is figuring this stuff out the way that I don't buy that Tom Bosley as Jack Flaherty knew that Carl was something other than a Nickel salesman from Albuquerque. I don't buy that when he says like, oh, yeah, I knew and I was just stringing him along. I think Bosley's lying there.

I don't think he's that smart. I'd like that he's finding information out from that guy, he's finding information out from the union guy that he is pretending to be a doctor and we've got, speaking of Star Trek, a guy who I mostly know from Star Trek in the Twilight Zone as our head

doctor there. John Hoyt does Doctor Beckwith. I'd like that. There's actually a little bit more in the script when it comes to that autopsy scene, and that autopsy scene, I have to say, is not handled very well as far as the direction goes, because they actually they have to stick in that line where he turns off Doctor Beckwith turns off the microphone and then talks amongst the other doctors, and then she has to turn around and say,

well, I guess he doesn't want us to hear this stuff. And it's like, okay, I understand what's going on here, but it's really super subtle what's happening as far as him turning off that microphone. But anyway, there's a little bit more in the script, which is he turns to cole Check and ask for a certain type of saw, and cole Check looks down at all of these instruments and has no fucking idea what it is and hands something to the guy and the guy goes, this isn't a Geiger saw or

whatever. This isn't even a saw, and that's when cole Check does say, well it's Wednesday, I'm gonna go hit a bucket of balls and runs out of the room. Yeah the Lord, I will. I will say this, but I did not dislike this episode. I just can't bring myself to overlook the man in the suit, which is me being a little narrow minded. One of the weird kind of idiosyncrasies of this episode is Andrew Robinson,

who plays Scorpio in Dirty Harry. He's in this episode. No, he's not, okay, because I thought that I saw him and I saw on IMDb that it says he's in here, but it was just some guy who looks like him. Yeah. I asked him about it, and he's just like, no, I've never been in Colchack okay, because like I kept looking at the guy being like, that looks like him, but it's not. So IMDb, get your shit together, because it's it says he's on there, and I swear to god that guy looks just like him.

Well, and then you get the guys on Facebook who are just like, oh, happy birthday to Andrew Robinson and here's all these pictures here. He is, as you know, the guy from d Space nine in this role, in this role, in this role, and here he is at Colchack and it's like, no, I'm sorry, but that's not him. Yeah, but I am not crazy. It does look like it. No, it totally looks like him, more so than anyone who's not him should look like him. Well, if people are looking, where is he at,

he's he's what the what's the guy's name? The guy that, like Colecheck calls on the phone? Right, oh right, yeah, the guy who ends up shipping him to the place kind of looks like him. It does look like him a lot. I can see that. It's like, IMDb, don't you just don't let people assign actors to ship that they're not in, Like, come on, I like that whole idea of them shipping him to the place that's kind of good too, feels very Scooby Doo. Like.

The end of the episode feels very Scooby Doo. I like that this episode starts kind of in C two, where we've got Carl on the run from the creature and the whole like, I might not be able to file this one in person, so here I go. I bet you're wondering how I got here, Like, that's what that help. It's very jj Abrams, Like had that continued on? Like had that been the like probably like the climax of the fourth out of fifth five acts then continued on for like

another ten minutes. That's a jj Abrams. That's what he loves to do. See Mission Impossible three for more of that. Yeah, exactly where it's like two thirds of the movie is just a flashback. I liked it, like you said, I liked everything underground. I like how this being the final episode, we got to see Vincenzo again. We didn't get to see Jack Grinnage. We didn't get to see Miss Emily, which is unfortunate.

That newsroom is pretty empty. Yeah, it's almost like everybody left. And by everyone, I mean the actual actors didn't want to be in the show anymore. I mean, look, I can't I can't help but feel a

little melancholy towards the fact that this is the final episode. It was really sad watching this the other day, and I was just like, oh, there's no more to see, because look, you and I are used to doing a podcast that can run infinitem I mean, the projection booth, the Culture Cast will essentially run until either one of us are done and or probably in my case dead, and so like they're going to run until they're done.

But this is the first time I've done a podcast where there is a definitive this is the last of it, and that's it, and it is it is, it's it's it's sad. It is sad in a way. I mean, we could start writing Colcheck fan fiction if we wanted, and then just read stories to each other. What about cole check slash fiction? Oh, Tony, talk to me, big man, talk to me, big daddy. Don't get your ascid in an uproar, and then Tony unzipped

his pants. Oh my god. I also really kind of feel sad that the way the show ends is with col Check Scooby Doo like Shaggy get out of this tunnel at the end. It's not that it's not a high note. It's just like a really dorky note to go out on. At this point, they knew that was it, but I mean, they still had a couple episodes written, so they weren't planning at the beginning that this is how Carl's going to go out And did the monster kill Irene Lamont. You

know, that's a good question, because she just kind of disappears. They're like all in that room, and then the monster kool aid Man's its way through the wall twice. Hi God, I'm thinking they should have hired this guy because he can dig through walls, and you know, he's like Charles Brownson in The Great Escape. So what I thought was going I thought there was actually gonna be a twist in this episode, and it was going to turn out that it was just like a rival someone like fucking with them,

and that it was going to be a person in a suit. And I would have gotten away with it do if it weren't for you meddling kids. How about if he takes away Lieutenant Irene Lamont like the beast taking you know, Faye ray away. Oh, like makes her his like dungeon bride. Yeah, I'm okay with that. Is that headcannon? Now, Irene Lamont is just underground, being just like impregnated by this weird lizard monster. I've

seen shit like that in an Allen Moore comic. It's pretty weird. It seems kind of hr Geiger to me, Like, especially if the lizard was just like implanting eggs down her throat or something. Wow, this took a turn. It did for the worst. That was worse than the slash fiction. Thinking about that. Yeah, thinking about Irene Lamont being forcibly raped by this monster, it's awful. I can see her like, h Dallas and alien, ye kill me where you made in the deleted scene where he's being

turned into an egg. Oh Jesus, that's not Cannon Goldchack just goes and murders her, because we all know Coldchack is okay with murder. Yeah, and he had that torch, he could have just torched her right there. I don't understand why Colchack didn't just give the beast its eggs back, right and he's just like no, He grabs the eggs and like hauls them to the end of his hallway with torches and then he's just like swinging at it

like I didn't. The other issue I have with this episode is normally, when we have coal Check facing the monster at the end, it's very much understood what he's trying to achieve in facing the monster. I don't know what he was trying to achieve facing the monster at the end of this episode. Right, it's not like he had a magic stick to poke him with. No, right, he could have just given the creature its eggs back. It could have just left the eggs in the middle of the hallway and then

ran someplace. Well, that's my point, like the eggs could have been taken out of the which again, also, nut's not overlook the fact that this creature can break through walls but can't open up a metal locker to get its eggs back. No, you're getting crazy. Well no, I'm just using logic. There's a lot of stuff in this episode that's really dorky and goofy, and it's coal Check, so it's kind of to be expected.

But even I have a hard time overlooking some of the stuff in this episode, like huge like logic jumps, like get like logic, like gaps in logic. I just sometimes I can't get on board with him. Yeah, I would say this isn't at the top of the game, no, but again, it's just it is. The disappointment of it all is that this is that final shot of cold Check running through the tunnels. Is the last

time we see Darren McGavin in that role. That's right. Sad aside from that one time in the two thousand and six show Oh Shut your Face where he shows up, it just kind of stands there. Well, let me ask you, when do we want to talk about what our favorite episode of the show was? On this episode or on the next one? No, I think on the next one. I mean, so we can either do one of two things. One is talk about the unproduced scripts and I think

we were talking about having Richer back for that chieh. Yes, we can do that, and that can be the end of things. Or we can do that and we can do another thing where we kind of wrap some stuff up and talk about our favorite episodes. We sing memories in my be a perfect time because I think Kats is coming out right around that time. And then we can talk a little bit about the books if we happen to get to some of those things. But well, that would take us through the

end of the year. That would take us right through the end of the year, and then we start fresh in January with our new podcast venture. I think we do that, Okay, So yeah, so come on back folks next month. We were talking about the Eve of Terror, the get of Belisle, and the executioners, especially if we can find that executioner script. Somebody on Twitter messaged Richard and I'm still waiting for him to actually get

the script and shoot that over. So come on folk back. That a script called The Get of Belisle did not get made into an episode is a missed opportunity. I'm still waiting the title. I'm still waiting to know what Belisle gets? What does Beliet? What are you getting? What does this get? What is the Get of Belisle? I'm sorry, I just don't get you. Yeah, what is get get? What? What are you

getting? Yeah? I want to thank John Walker for doing our theme song, and I want to think all of you find people for listening this long. I think we've been doing this for three years now. If you have been here since the beginning, thank you so much. Maybe somebody can tell me how many times Chris has complained about the Werewolf episode. Maybe someone can tell me how many times people just ignore the fact that I'm on this episode

of this show. How many times people ignore the fact that I'm on this show. I know what's going to happen now as far as the authorities are concerning the event, so they Pril twentieth and twenty first, will never have occurred. They're gonna tell me that if I ever breathe a word of this, they're gonna break me like a strong man. What about the century was eggs hatch in the warm, dark bank dampness of its nesting place. Who knows? Maybe the government will find the nest, maybe they won't. Who'll

probably never know. But if you're on a subway or a pedestrian tunnel underneath the ballpark and you think you hear something moving in the walls, it may not be your imagination. Take my advice, don't walk. Run to the nearest exit poll. Pop up the po

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