Episode: “Horror
in the Heights”, in which elderly people in Chicago’s Roosevelt Heights are
being mysteriously murdered, and our favorite paranormal investigative
reporter, Carl Kolchak, discovers that a Hindu demon called the
Raksasha is to blame. Our favorite Hammer Studio screenwriter, Jimmy Sangster,
wrote the topical script (with rewrites by future Sopranos bard David Chase)
that deals with the squalid conditions of the Heights’ residents (which include
the great comedian Phil Silvers). They just assume that the horrible droves of
rats and anti-Semites that plague their neighborhood are responsible for killing
their friends. The portrayals of the Jewish populace are a bit broad, but this
is still a pointed episode that demands we stop throwing our elderly away with
the trash. And, of course, Darren McGavin. Darren McGavin forever.
