For years and years I faithfully attended horror conventions with my pals but of late my need to get out there and stroll the dealer tables has faded. Most of that is due to the responsibilities of a family but there's also the fact that the stuff that was once a staple of the bootleg circuit has been made available through legit means. Case in point: the announcement that Werewolf: The Series is now coming to DVD.
TV Shows on DVD reports that the short-lived 1987 show is being released by Shout! Factory. On September 1st (date subject to change), all 28 half-hour episodes of the show - along with the two-hour pilot - will finally be on DVD. It's been years since I've watched any of
Werewolf: The Series - the last time I picked up a copy of the series at a con, the shoddy quality of the VHS dupe discouraged me from sitting through much more than five minutes of it. But I have very fond memories of keeping up with the show back in the day. With a premise that was like a lycanthropic version of
The Incredible Hulk, with a young werewolf scouring the country for a cure for his condition all while being hunted by an older werewolf (played by veteran actor Chuck Connors),
Werewolf: The Series had all the makings of a long run but sadly was an early casualty of the initial Fox Network line-up. The werewolf itself was created by FX god Rick Baker and whatever the show's faults, it was a blast to have a weekly dose of werewolf action on TV.
I just hope when I finally watch this again that it'll hold up better than Swamp Thing: The Series (1990-1993) has. I got that set when it was released on DVD, with memories of the show (which originally aired on the USA Network) as being kind of/sort of ok only to find that, aside from the cool Swamp Thing suit that improved over the movie version, the show was completely unwatchable. I'd be a little heartbroken if that's the case with Werewolf but I have a feeling I'll develop a serious case of full moon fever once I watch it again.
