Post by fenris on Jun 22, 2006 14:37:56 GMT
She-Wolf of London was a TV series that Sky screened during the early Nineties. I watched it at the time, and while it was far from brilliant, I found it to be enjoyable. I’d not really thought much about She-Wolf since then, but I recently looked on the internet for information about the series, and was surprised to discover that it has a connection to Hex.
First, some background: She-Wolf of London was an American/British co-production, filmed in the UK with a mostly British cast. American actress Kate Hodge played Randi Wallace, a student who was studying mythology and folklore at a London university under Professor Ian Matheson (played by Brit actor Neil Dickson). In the first episode, while camping out on the moors near London (!), Randi is attacked & mauled by a large wild creature. When the next full moon comes along, she transforms into a ferocious werewolf in front of Ian, who luckily escapes unharmed. Promising to help her find a cure, he arranges for Randi to lodge with his parents, where she joins the other permanent houseguest, Ian’s young America cousin Julian.
Subsequent episodes had Ian and Randi encounter various supernatural threats while seeking a cure for the latter’s condition. Everytime the full moon rolled round, Ian chained Randi to the wall in his parents' cellar (incidentally, Randi in werewolf-form was played by Diane Youdale, who later became Jet in the gameshow Gladiators).
Despite the English setting and cast, I’ve always assumed that She-Wolf's writers were American, because one notable aspect of the series was it’s condescending attitude towards both Britain and it’s people. The UK was portrayed as a slightly pathetic and backward little country, full of cozy picture-postcard villages and quaint Dickensian towns populated by colourful eccentrics. This was best summed up in an early episode when Julian, seated at breakfast, gazes round at his English relatives and sneers with contempt & disbelief: “How did you people ever have an empire?”
The writers also displayed an eye-opening lack of knowledge and regard about British history. For example, the episode The Juggler concerns an ancient pagan demon who only becomes active between Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night – ignoring the fact that the latter occasion has only existed for a few hundred years. And in The Wild Hunt, the writers would have us believe that in the late 19th century, large sections of the English countrywide were openly ruled by evil wizards (!).
The scripts also contained other problems: the supernatural elements were often as subtle as a sledgehammer, and the series also tended to concentrate too much on the comic relief, with the humour quite broad. However, one memorable aspect of the show was it’s frank and open attitude to sex, almost unique for a genre series at the time, with sexual themes (even if only of the ‘nudge nudge wink wink’ variety) appearing in the majority of episodes.
However, after fourteen episodes had been completed, the British backers pulled out. Undaunted, the American producers decamped back to the States and immediately started filming a spin-off series called Love & Curses, in which Randi and Ian left England and moved to Los Angeles. While continuing to look for a cure, they both worked on a TV chat show about the paranormal – Ian as the host, Randi as a production assistant.
There were other changes: previously there had been a spark of attraction between Ian and Randi, but they were just good friends. However, in Love & Curses they immediately became a couple. Randi’s appearance when in werewolf-form was also redesigned considerably, and not for the better.
However, the major difference was in the tone of the new series. While some of the episodes of She-Wolf were based around some unlikely or faintly ridiculous concepts, the storylines on Love & Curses were all particularly ludicrous, and it was clear that the producers had decided to play the series’ premise for laughs. Unsurprisingly, Love & Curses only lasted six episodes.
And the Hex connection? Four episodes of She-Wolf of London (and the first episode of Love & Curses) were directed by the Hexmeister himself, Brian Grant.
Here's a brief summary of all fourteen episodes of She-Wolf of London;
1.) She-Wolf of London. Randi is attacked and bitten, and Ian helps her track down the werewolf responsible.
2.) The Bog Man of Letchmoor Heath. After the preserved body of a murderer has been unearthed in a marsh, a series of violent killings occur in a nearby village.
3.) The Juggler. Julian befriends a girl who is being stalked by an ancient pagan demon.
4.) Moonlight Becomes You (directed by Brian Grant). The search for a missing person leads Randi and Ian to a mental asylum, where secret experiments are taking place.
5.) Nice Girls Don't. Ian and Randi discover that young men are having the life sucked out of them by a group of succubus posing as escorts.
6.) Little Bookshop of Horrors. Bizarre deaths occur when innocent people become possessed by fictitious characters.
7.) The Wild Hunt (directed by Brian Grant). Randi and Ian are stranded in a decaying coastal town, where the local inhabitants are being hunted by a terrifying horse-riding phantom.
8.) What's Got Into Them? The Matheson household becomes the final battleground in a century-long war between two ghosts.
9.) Can't Keep a Dead Man Down (Part One). Ian discovers one of his colleagues is creating an army of zombies. Meanwhile, Randi's ex-husband turns up.
10.) Can't Keep a Dead Man Down (Part Two). Having transformed into a werewolf in the middle of a trans-Atlantic flight, Randi has to get back to the UK and help Ian save the world from a zombie uprising.
11.) Big Top She-Wolf (directed by Brian Grant). The circus comes to town, and Randi falls under the spell of the charming and demonic ringmaster.
12.) She-Devil. Several men have been ripped apart while making love, and the investigation leads to Ian's former girlfriend.
13.) Voodoo Child. Looking into a case of spontaneous human combustion, Randi and Ian suspect a group of headstrong youths who are dabbling in black magic.
14.) Beyond the Beyond (directed by Brian Grant). A straight-forward whodunit, as Randi and Ian try to solve a murder at a sci-fi convention.
First, some background: She-Wolf of London was an American/British co-production, filmed in the UK with a mostly British cast. American actress Kate Hodge played Randi Wallace, a student who was studying mythology and folklore at a London university under Professor Ian Matheson (played by Brit actor Neil Dickson). In the first episode, while camping out on the moors near London (!), Randi is attacked & mauled by a large wild creature. When the next full moon comes along, she transforms into a ferocious werewolf in front of Ian, who luckily escapes unharmed. Promising to help her find a cure, he arranges for Randi to lodge with his parents, where she joins the other permanent houseguest, Ian’s young America cousin Julian.
Subsequent episodes had Ian and Randi encounter various supernatural threats while seeking a cure for the latter’s condition. Everytime the full moon rolled round, Ian chained Randi to the wall in his parents' cellar (incidentally, Randi in werewolf-form was played by Diane Youdale, who later became Jet in the gameshow Gladiators).
Despite the English setting and cast, I’ve always assumed that She-Wolf's writers were American, because one notable aspect of the series was it’s condescending attitude towards both Britain and it’s people. The UK was portrayed as a slightly pathetic and backward little country, full of cozy picture-postcard villages and quaint Dickensian towns populated by colourful eccentrics. This was best summed up in an early episode when Julian, seated at breakfast, gazes round at his English relatives and sneers with contempt & disbelief: “How did you people ever have an empire?”
The writers also displayed an eye-opening lack of knowledge and regard about British history. For example, the episode The Juggler concerns an ancient pagan demon who only becomes active between Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night – ignoring the fact that the latter occasion has only existed for a few hundred years. And in The Wild Hunt, the writers would have us believe that in the late 19th century, large sections of the English countrywide were openly ruled by evil wizards (!).
The scripts also contained other problems: the supernatural elements were often as subtle as a sledgehammer, and the series also tended to concentrate too much on the comic relief, with the humour quite broad. However, one memorable aspect of the show was it’s frank and open attitude to sex, almost unique for a genre series at the time, with sexual themes (even if only of the ‘nudge nudge wink wink’ variety) appearing in the majority of episodes.
However, after fourteen episodes had been completed, the British backers pulled out. Undaunted, the American producers decamped back to the States and immediately started filming a spin-off series called Love & Curses, in which Randi and Ian left England and moved to Los Angeles. While continuing to look for a cure, they both worked on a TV chat show about the paranormal – Ian as the host, Randi as a production assistant.
There were other changes: previously there had been a spark of attraction between Ian and Randi, but they were just good friends. However, in Love & Curses they immediately became a couple. Randi’s appearance when in werewolf-form was also redesigned considerably, and not for the better.
However, the major difference was in the tone of the new series. While some of the episodes of She-Wolf were based around some unlikely or faintly ridiculous concepts, the storylines on Love & Curses were all particularly ludicrous, and it was clear that the producers had decided to play the series’ premise for laughs. Unsurprisingly, Love & Curses only lasted six episodes.
And the Hex connection? Four episodes of She-Wolf of London (and the first episode of Love & Curses) were directed by the Hexmeister himself, Brian Grant.
Here's a brief summary of all fourteen episodes of She-Wolf of London;
1.) She-Wolf of London. Randi is attacked and bitten, and Ian helps her track down the werewolf responsible.
2.) The Bog Man of Letchmoor Heath. After the preserved body of a murderer has been unearthed in a marsh, a series of violent killings occur in a nearby village.
3.) The Juggler. Julian befriends a girl who is being stalked by an ancient pagan demon.
4.) Moonlight Becomes You (directed by Brian Grant). The search for a missing person leads Randi and Ian to a mental asylum, where secret experiments are taking place.
5.) Nice Girls Don't. Ian and Randi discover that young men are having the life sucked out of them by a group of succubus posing as escorts.
6.) Little Bookshop of Horrors. Bizarre deaths occur when innocent people become possessed by fictitious characters.
7.) The Wild Hunt (directed by Brian Grant). Randi and Ian are stranded in a decaying coastal town, where the local inhabitants are being hunted by a terrifying horse-riding phantom.
8.) What's Got Into Them? The Matheson household becomes the final battleground in a century-long war between two ghosts.
9.) Can't Keep a Dead Man Down (Part One). Ian discovers one of his colleagues is creating an army of zombies. Meanwhile, Randi's ex-husband turns up.
10.) Can't Keep a Dead Man Down (Part Two). Having transformed into a werewolf in the middle of a trans-Atlantic flight, Randi has to get back to the UK and help Ian save the world from a zombie uprising.
11.) Big Top She-Wolf (directed by Brian Grant). The circus comes to town, and Randi falls under the spell of the charming and demonic ringmaster.
12.) She-Devil. Several men have been ripped apart while making love, and the investigation leads to Ian's former girlfriend.
13.) Voodoo Child. Looking into a case of spontaneous human combustion, Randi and Ian suspect a group of headstrong youths who are dabbling in black magic.
14.) Beyond the Beyond (directed by Brian Grant). A straight-forward whodunit, as Randi and Ian try to solve a murder at a sci-fi convention.