She-Wolf of London
She-Wolf of London was a television series produced by the Finnegan/Pinchuk Company, HTV and MCA Television Entertainment that aired in first-run syndication in the USA from October 1990 to April 1991. The first 14 episodes were filmed in England and aired under the She-Wolf title, and a second season of six episodes was filmed in Los Angeles and aired under the title Love and Curses, with a drastically reduced cast.
| She-Wolf of London | |
|---|---|
 Series intro | |
| Also known as | Love and Curses |
| Genre | Horror |
| Created by | Tom McLoughlin Mick Garris |
| Starring |
|
| Composer(s) | Steve Levine |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Sheldon Pinchuk Bill Finnegan Pat Finnegan Patrick Dromgoole Paul Sarony |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
|
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | October 9, 1990 – April 10, 1991 |
Plot
American graduate student Randi Wallace (Kate Hodge) travels to Britain to study mythology with Prof. Ian Matheson (Neil Dickson). She arrives expecting a stodgy old academic, but Ian is young and the two are immediately attracted to one other. Their attraction increases but a complication quickly arises when Randi spends a night on the moors and is bitten by a werewolf. She survives what the local hospital thinks was an attack by a large rabid wolf; she insists that it was not a true wolf but instead something supernatural and she seeks Ian's help. For the rest of the series, Randi and Ian investigate supernatural phenomena together while they search for a cure for her lycanthropy and he becomes her keeper during her transformations. Randi's curse draws the attention of various supernatural creatures: another werewolf, spirit possession, succubus, a possessed bookstore, a bogeyman, an evil carnival, a Guy Fawkes spirit, a killer horseman, in a small town, zombies who ultimately confront Randi in her werewolf form (Diane Youdale). Eventually, their search takes them from British academe to American TV, when they move back to Randi's native California and Ian becomes host of a trashy TV talk show focusing on psychic phenomena. The series was an old-style romantic comedy with a touch of horror. The romantic comedy comes from Randi and Ian's relationship, and their relationship to the Matheson family and the people she and Ian work for. Randi's transformations did not occur every episode but only during the full moon. This gave her and Ian a chance to investigate the supernatural without having to face possible lycanthropic transformations every week.
Cast
- Kate Hodge as Randi Wallace
- Neil Dickson as Prof. Ian Matheson
- Scott Fults as Julian Matheson
- Jean Challis as Mum Matheson
- Arthur Cox as Dad Matheson
- Dorothea Phillips as Aunt Elsa
- Diane Youdale as Randi (She-Wolf)
Characters
Kate Hodge – As a graduate student Randi Wallace, who after surviving a werewolf attack, fears what she will become every time there's a full moon.
Neil Dickson – As mythology professor Ian Matheson, who helps Randi (Kate Hodge), search for a cure.
Background
She-Wolf of London was part of the Hollywood Premiere Network, an early attempt by Universal Television to create an "ad-hoc" syndication network. The series premiered along with two other shows, Shades of L.A. and They Came from Outer Space, on October 9, 1990. The package aired on many of the stations that would later become either UPN or WB affiliates.
The series included female nudity in some episodes, something not uncommon to European television, but considered taboo for U.S. non-cable television programming.[1]
Midway through the first season, HTV pulled their financial backing, and the lower budget forced production to move to Los Angeles for the final six episodes. The series was retitled Love and Curses; Neil Dickson's character was dismissed from his position as a British professor and moved to L.A. to become the host of a talk show investigating the paranormal (explained by the success of one of his books after it was issued with a trashy mass market title). The joint UK/US production ended after its first season, along with the cancellation of two other Hollywood Premiere Network shows.[2]
Episodes of the series ran on the Sci-Fi Channel for a short time following its cancellation. For these airings, the Love and Curses episodes were retitled She-Wolf of London. The opening sequence for these episodes were replaced by the show's original opening. These episodes were also retitled when run in Britain on Sky One, with the opening moments of the She-Wolf titles used to establish the series's title logo, before the titles cut to the Love and Curses opening credits sequence.
Episodes
As "She-Wolf of London"/"Love & Curses"
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "She-Wolf of London" | Dennis Abey | Mick Garris & Tom McLoughlin | October 9, 1990 |
| 2 | "The Bog Man of Letchmoor Heath" | Roger Cheveley | Anthony Adams | October 16, 1990 |
| 3 | "Moonlight Becomes You" | Brian Grant | Valerie West | October 23, 1990 |
| 4 | "The Juggler" | Gerry Mill | Jim Henshaw | October 30, 1990 |
| 5 | "Nice Girls Don't" | Roger Cheveley | Teleplay by: William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg Story by: Abbie Bernstein & Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | November 6, 1990 |
| 6 | "Little Bookshop of Horrors" | Gerry Mill | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | November 13, 1990 |
| 7 | "Can't Keep a Dead Man Down: Part 1" | Roger Cheveley | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | November 20, 1990 |
| 8 | "Can't Keep a Dead Man Down: Part 2" | Roger Cheveley | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | November 27, 1990 |
| 9 | "The Wild Hunt" | Brian Grant | Diana Ayers & Susan Sebastian | December 4, 1990 |
| 10 | "What's Got Into Them?" | Dennis Abey | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | January 12, 1991 |
| 11 | "Big Top She-Wolf" | Brian Grant | Kate Boutilier | January 19, 1991 |
| 12 | "She Devil" | Dennis Abey | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | January 26, 1991 |
| 13 | "Voodoo Child" | Roger Cheveley | Terry Erwin | February 2, 1991 |
| 14 | "Beyond the Beyond" | Brian Grant | Teleplay by: Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin Story by: Arthur Sellers & Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | February 9, 1991 |
| 15 | "Curiosity Killed the Kravitz" | Brian Grant | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | March 6, 1991 |
| 16 | "Habeas Corpses" | Chuck Bowman | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | March 13, 1991 |
| 17 | "Bride of the Wolfman" | Bruce Seth Green | Kate Boutilier | March 20, 1991 |
| 18 | "Heart Attack" | Chuck Bowman | William Rabkin & Lee Goldberg | March 27, 1991 |
| 19 | "Mystical Pizza" | Bruce Seth Green | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | April 3, 1991 |
| 20 | "Eclipse" | Gary Walkow | Richard Manning & Hans Beimler | April 10, 1991 |
DVD release
It was announced November 18, 2009 that all 20 episodes would be released in a complete series box set from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.[3] Included are the six episodes from the 2nd season that was retitled "Love and Curses." She-Wolf Of London: Love And Curses was released on February 2, 2010 as a 4-disc set.[4] The boxed set contains no extras and the opening credits of the series were changed. While originally, the "She-Wolf Of London" episodes had a different theme from the L.A.-based "Love And Curses" episodes, all episodes in the boxed set begin with the "Love And Curses" theme.
References
- "Show Biography". Xoomer.virgilio.it. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- "Character Biography". Internationalhero.co.uk. 1990-10-09. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- "She-Wolf of London Hitting DVD". Dreadcentral.com. 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- "DVD release information". Tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-06-05.