Episode 8: Bad Medicine

Episode 8: Bad Medicine aka The Diablero

Original Airdate: 11/29/74

Guest Starring: Victor Jory, Ramon Bieri
and Richard Kiel as The Diablero

Written by L. Ford Neale and John Huff

Directed by Alex Grasshoff

Someone is stealing jewels from Chicago's upper class, leaving feathers or footprints alongside the bodies of victims that by all appearances have committed suicide. A mysterious giant Indian is spotted at one of the crime scenes, leading Kolchak to research Native American folklore.

PE: Richard Kiel looks as comfortable in Native American gear as he did in his leprechaun uniform in the "Well of Doom" episode of Thriller. Just three years shy of superstardom as Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (and its sequel Moonraker). Here he doesn't do much but raise his arms threateningly and cringe from Carl's flash but I suppose that was his schtick before the Bond films. His only line is a verse from "Old MacDonald" (E-I-E-I-O).

JS: At first I thought I was just my imagination, but he kept singing it! I never knew that was a traditional Native American tune. Personally, I think Kiel's most memorable performance was as the monster in the "I Was A Teenage Monster" episode of The Monkees.

PE: One thing I find interesting is that whenever there's an argument over a story, Tony never brings up Carl's past accomplishments. In this episode, for instance, there's a face-off over Carl's assertion that there's a story behind the suicides of the two socialites. Carl says something along the lines of "Why won't you let me follow up on this story" and Tony says, after a beat "Well, just look at you, you don't have any tact, no rapport with society." If I was Tony, I'd tell him he can't do the story because Carl will dig deep enough to find the murders were perpetrated by a vampire or a werewolf. And Carl himself seems amnesiac about his brushes with monsters. A few times he's exclaimed that he found it hard to believe what he was seeing. The producers, just once, should have filmed a scene where Kolchak sits down, has a drink and (ala Die Hard's John McClain) shouts "Not again! Why does this keep happening to me?"

JS: The newsroom sequences throughout this episode utilize the full cast to great effectiveness. I hope Updyke and Miss Emily get similar opportunities to shine in future episodes. My favorite bit was when Kolchak, to the dismay of his peers, searches for a page in the phone book, only to find that it has previously been torn out of most of the copies (by him).

PE: Our laugh-out-loud sequence this episode belongs to Carl, Updyke, and Miss Emily, When Carl calls Miss Emily to get some information out of Updyke, he sets into motion all manner of slapstick. I've not seen Jack Grinnage used to good effect until this sequence and Ruth McDevitt (who, I've gone on record as saying, annoyed me more than Aunt Harriet) shows she's got comedic skills as well. It's a nicely choreographed scene ala the morgue sequence in "The Zombie."

JS: I enjoyed Kolchak's visit to ex-con/barber portrayed by Marvin Kaplan. Despite getting the info he needed on diamonds, it was clear he wasn't comfortable going under Delgado's razor. Kaplan is a memorable comedic character actor who had recurring roles in Alice and the post-Twin Peaks David Lynch/Mark Frost production On The Air. Of course once you've seen him as "Uncle Pooch" in Lynch's Wild At Heart, you'll never look at him the same again.

PE: I almost laughed out loud seeing character actor Victor Jory in a grey hippie wig until I checked out his c.v. Jory had played Indians several times before in projects as diverse as F Troop (as Chief Mean Buffalo) and John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn (as Tall Tree). I still think the wig looks funky on him.

JS: It was a darn shame that Kolchak forgot to bring the photo he took of the Diablero with him when he met with Dr. Temple. What a stroke of luck the museum happened to have their own 8' tall Diablero on display!

PE: Charlotte Elaine Van Piet's neighborhood sure looks familiar to those who followed our Thriller-a-Day blog.

JS: I thought this episode featured a nice integration of Kolchak and the cops. Sure, it's a stretch to believe that he can worm his way into a two-eleven in progress, but the way he pulls the Mustang right in line with the squad cars, you'd think he was just another one of the boys in blue.

PE: Captain Joe Baker (Bieri) gets the "Top Cop" badge from me. He's much more than the usual "Get out of here, Kolchak!"lawman (though there's a lot of that as well). Witness the scene in Baker's office where the cop listens to Carl rant about an Indian who can turn into a crow and a coyote, then asks, quizzically, "What does an Indian sorcerer need with expensive jewels?' Kolchak is speechless for once. Great interaction here between the two actors. Bieri's one of those faces I remember from sitting in front of a TV set three hours a night in the 1970s. He popped up on Ironside, Kung Fu, Mannix, Cannon and all the other staples of my childhood.

JS: The Diablero's weakness is a bit silly. Every time Kolchak takes his picture, Richard Kiel looks like he's going to cry. And then we find out that his reflection is what it will take to vanquish him? Sure, he's not the most handsome of the usual suspects in the line-up, but come on! They did give him a particularly nasty onscreen disintegration.

PE: I forgot that 1974 was the year of the Moog when it came to TV soundtracks. Especially grating is "Coyote''s Theme."

JS: Would you be happier with the return of Gil Mellé? I'll take Jerry Fielding, thanks.

PE: Have we ever or do we ever get to see Carl Kolchak's domicile?

JS: There's a lot to appreciate here—but oddly enough very little of it has to do with our monster of the week.

PE: A few good bits here and there but not one of the better shows. I've a feeling that Kiel's second appearance on Kolchak: The Night Stalker may be just the medicine the doctor ordered.

PE Rating:

JS Rating:

Next up... Kolchak faces Peremalfait!