There were many lighthearted and simply ridiculous elements in this episode and they, unexpectedly, worked together very well.

The episode starts with some stock footage of Chicago in snowy winter, then a scene probably shot in the show's Hollywood studio with the members of the INS news team celebrating Christmas. Well, this time they had a good excuse for there not to be many people present: a flu was supposed to have put most of the staff in bed shivering from the disease. As a consequence, we only see Vicenzo, Kolchak, Updike and a lady I almost completely forgot about.

Vicenzo is anxiously waiting for his vacation on a cruise, all paid by the New York office, but the he has to deal with some accountants coming from there and has to unwuillingly forfeit his travel ticket. Vicenzo asks the person on the phone to help him pretend he's sick, so he doesn't have to work and can travel, but there's no convincing the other fellow. Vicenzo He tries to give his ticket to Updike, but he is really feeling sick (well, he didn't seem sick, and seemed more like a hypochondriac than a liar), so he has to give the ticket to Kolchak. Ironically, later we learn that Vicenzo eventually does catch the flu but still has to go to work because there's nobody else in the office.

It's interesting that Vicenzo couldn't simply give the ticket to Kolchak and say, well, pal, enjoy yourself since I can't. Have your vacation now, and come back with more energy to work. No, Vicenzo only gives Kolchak the cruise ticket (and expense money, I think) provided that Kolchak wrote a story about it. And, of course, any experienced reporter can tell you that a singles' cruise is a really fertile ground for an exciting news coverage or a deep story of significant human interest... Well, well, whatever. AS it usually happens with INS, it's a slow news week.

After a while we meet Kolchak's cabin roommate, a real single, a party guy. And I thought the fact they were roommates would have any meaning and they'd have trouble sharing the cabin, but no, that element was simply ignored after that.

The roommate and his lady friend introduce Carl to Paula, a good-looking mature lady who talks too much and is crazy about movies. Little did he know that her movie knowledge would save the day as she would work as a kind of Lady Google providing Carl with trivia about werewolves in replacement to the books Kolchak usually consults.

You know, for the Carl Kolchak we all love, a woman can only be two things: a nuisance or a tool. (But a woman does make a good sidekick and comic relief.) Well, in the beginning, it seems Paula is going to be the inconvenience Carl will try to dodge the entire episode, but then he finds some use for her, getting her to distract a crew member while Kolchak searched a room he wasn't allowed into. Hey, lady, picking up a contact lens from the floor and putting it right in your eye is totally unsanitary! Later, anyway, she becomes a faithful sidekick. She's even the first to suggest the villain is a werewolf, even if she didn't believe it herself.

Enter the werewolf. I thought Eric Braeden had a strong on-screen presence, even if he didn't have many lines as a rational being. I remember him from the movie Colossus, and other productions from the 1970s. I was amazed, however, by the intricate makeup werewolf work and special effects of when the man transformed into the beast... No, not really. No transformation effects there, and the werewolf look was just a furry face. And that's the problem with showing werewolves in movies and on TV: this monster requires a convincing appearance, unlike a vampire, which can look just like a regular human.

I give my compliments to the stuntman who played the werewolf, because he did a lot of acrobatics, with lots of jumping, running and pushing. Especially pushing. Normally werewolves in movies bite and scratch people tearing their flesh apart, but this werewolf in particular was a great pusher and spent the episode pushing people to the floor. That's how he rolled.

There was another storyline involving the elderly captain and, of course, love boat captain, police captain, it makes no difference: they never believe Kolchak and always try to pretend nothing extraordinary is happening, of course. I liked the part in which the captain quotes maritime law, so Kolchak could get to be in hot water, since legally the captain could have the prerogative to detain him even without evidence, being even more of a problem than the police. But this story didn't go very far either. At least the captain served a purpose in the story and the scene in which he realizes all the buttons of his uniform were gone was hilarious.

However, what really made me laugh hard was the absurdity of the incongruent scene with Kolchak holding a blow torch, an iron pan and making silver bullets in a boat cabin! And cooling them in a juice glass... Next time I'm on a cruise and have nothing to do I'll try and make silver bullets. That seems like a fun pastime and a totally viable thing to do there.

So we finally have the typical episode-end Kolchak/monster confrontation in which the reporter kills the monster, the monster's body is lost (this time in the sea), he suddenly loses all evidence he had, the ship is scrapped, the other victims of the werewolf are sent to to Switzerland for treatment of a rare blood disease, and even the word "werewolf" is erased from all dictionaries. It's all a big conspiracy! And we never hear of Paula again.

The end.

"The Werewolf" was quite entertaining for its absolute absurdity and oddity. It gets 8 prayers to the dead spoken in Latin by a priest.

This is copied over from the old forum. I highlighted a few sections of others reviews at the time. Hopefully they don't mind me copying that over.

Right after my little detour to the future I've boarded the right ship. I really enjoyed this story. After last week felt a little samey this seemed really fresh. The cruise ship is a great location. The threat is never too far away and given how quickly it was getting through the crew I wonder if it would have reached port with anyone aboard. There are some great characters here. The Werewolf himself Stieglitz is not a one dimensional villain. He realises what is happening and tries to prevent further deaths by restraining himself. It is one of the most interesting aspects of Werewolves and given the limited time is well played.

madp - I give my compliments to the stuntman who played the werewolf, because he did a lot of acrobatics, with lots of jumping, running and pushing. Especially pushing. Normally werewolves in movies bite and scratch people tearing their flesh apart, but this werewolf in particular was a great pusher and spent the episode pushing people to the floor. That's how he rolled.

Yeah I thought he was awesome, zip wiring down from the smoke stack.

Paula Griffin was another great addition. She warms to Kolchak immediately and I think she enjoys getting involved in his crazy adventure. I did wonder where Kolchak got his shotgun but you do see Paula paying the shady officer for it. It still baffled me, how much must it of cost for him to take the risk of stealing a firearm and giving it to crew member who is behaving very oddly.

Once again we get Kolchak stalking in the night (I think this is where the name comes from now, not from the monsters) and some tension building scenes as he finds victims of the werewolf. I love his insult "Get in your cabin you dum dum"

madp - So we finally have the typical episode-end Kolchak/monster confrontation in which the reporter kills the monster, the monster's body is lost (this time in the sea), he suddenly loses all evidence he had, the ship is scrapped, the other victims of the werewolf are sent to to Switzerland for treatment of a rare blood disease, and even the word "werewolf" is erased from all dictionaries. It's all a big conspiracy! And we never hear of Paula again.

michaellevenson1 - The writers seem to be suggesting that the default position of those in authority is to go into cover -up mode when confronted by anything weird.

This episode had me thinking about the X-Files which I think someone mentioned before it inspired and I can definitely see that. I don't know why I accepted it in that show, my only thought is it made sense in the overall arc that they were covering up the alien influence and that was demonstrated several times. There were several monster of the week episodes like Squeeze/Toombs where there was no connection and thus it was just the strangeness of the events that would prevent widespread acceptance. I guess that's whats going on here. I also thought that Paula made me think of Scully in the way she worked with Kolchak, bringing different but useful knowledge to the situation.

So good episode 8 easy to obtain shotguns out of 10

The Werewolf

On a cruise liner full of party animals on the prowl, one passenger truly is your boogieman.

It's Winter, and one lucky editor is getting away on a cruise line for swinging singles. That Tony Vincenzo, what a stud! Alas, the office Christmas party gifts him with a lump of coal in the form of auditors. Updyke won't take the ticket, he'd be happier being miserable with his imaginary cold. Reluctantly, then, the cherished getaway goes to kolchak - and Vincenzo's damn well not gonna let him enjoy it! This is a working trip, boyo, Tony wants an expose of the Love Boat.

Once aboard, Kolchak is surrounded by great stories. An ocean liner, formerly a majestic icon of grace, about to be decommissioned as obsolete in the jet age playing host to a crowd of '70s-modern, sexually jaded passengers rejecting old mores...a divinity school flunky on the make and a purser on the take...a couple who were married and found the institution didn't suit them, and are now are happily divorced swingers together. it's rich pickings, but Kolchak is more fascinated by the four freshly mangled corpses in the ship's swimming pool.

All hell breaks loose that first night of the cruise. Something wild is killing passengers on deck, and the crew is running around in pandemonium trying to figure out what it is they're looking for. Kolchak can't help but notice. As a ship's crew will, it's 'nothing to see here' to everyone not wearing a uniform. Captain's a busy man, no time for questions. They all come face to face with the killer that night: a nattily dressed wildman with a face full of hair. The men are tossed around, and Kolchak is knocked unconscious.

He awakens later in the infirmary to the sound of a fellow passenger upset over horrible nightmares and a wound that hasn't healed for weeks, and is irate at not being given sedatives. His name is Bernard Steiglitz, he's an officer with NATO, he has anger management issues.

And is hair was perfect.

Steiglitz is a good move for K:TNS, the first monster featured to be given any kind of character depth at all. Not much, and it's pretty standard for a werewolf portrayal - the guy knows what he is and is distraught over an inability to keep from transforming and killing innocents...but it's more than the series has offered us before in their gallery of creatures. Steiglitz is played with intensity by Eric Braeden, of The Forbin Project and Escape From the Planet of the Apes. Braeden is an actor of dark, quiet intensity who holds your attention just standing still. As Braeden, his intensity is giving way to anger. Braeden is a little too cold to feel sorry for, but it's enough to understand the tragedy of his circumstance. He's not a willing monster, but he's killing all the same.

Leavening that is a strong streak of humor. Humor has been a part of the Kolchak formula from the first film but it has ramped up considerably since even The Ripper. First is the fun had at the expense of put-upon Vincenzo and the nebbishy Updyke who does not have the Winter flu but is certain the supplements he is taking are making him ill. This time TNS goes over the line into broader humor with one character suggesting a "drinkie-winkie" and comic actor Dick Gautier (RIP) as movable mouth Mel Tarter, half of the happily-divorced-and-still-dating couple. Gautier is known for Hymie on Get Smart, but to me he'll always be Robin Hood on When Things Were Rotten. He's a Love Boat, Love American Style stereotype strictly for laughs, none too bright but always lit, we suspect, friendly and tacky.

Mel's polar opposite is found in Captain Wells (Henry Jones), as sturdy as his ship and twice as icy as the waters it's in. Again for TNS it's casting to type making use of Jones' air of long-suffering exposure to fools. Wells can quote every line of sea law that will see Kolchak introduced to irons while the reporter himself cannot fast-talk his way past a single one of Well's men.

Wells: "Article 22, Revised Maritime Code, should any passenger or passengers exhibit, in the captain's opinion, an unbalanced state of mind the captain may order such passenger be put-" Kolchak: "- to sleep, yes, I know."

Kolchak is fast but the crew is faster, and potential romantic hookup Paula (Nita Talbot) is the fastest of them all. She's intelligent, which might be why she continues to find Carl fascinating even after he proves oblivious to sexual overtures. Too bad, as they have a pretty good chemistry.

Kolchak's seeming asexuality is curious though nothing is made of it, but then the episode is full of incongruous moments that might be funnier than the more overt jokes. For instance, for a ship full of people who presumably can't wait to party all night, Kolchak is the only person alarmed by the sight of the crew rushing all over the ship in a panic. "I don't know what's gotten into everyone!" Paula says. "Claws and fangs", he quips. Or there's the usual trope of Kolchak's delving into resources to understand what he's up against. Being aboard ship, he has to rely on Paula's extensive store of movie lore to learn about lycanthropy. What better source for a horror show to lean on than Hollywood! We have silver dress uniform buttons melted to make silver shotgun shells - and exactly what is a shotgun doing aboard a ship? Is hunting on the list of approved amenities? I know gun laws were looser then, but really!

What sets The Werewolf apart is the setting. The Werewolf was filmed aboard the RMS Queen Mary to give it an air of authenticity, and it's well used. The beast is every bit as trapped aboard as his fellow passengers and likely prey, and so is Kolchak. In this setting, all anyone can do is stalk, run in panic, or hide behind locked doors. Everything leads back to itself, a closed circuit maze of corridors and ladders. There's something about ships that make them particularly affecting as a horror setting. Echoes of the Marie Celeste and the Titanic lurked under my thoughts while watching.

I have to wonder shy a man who knows he's a werewolf books a cruise during a full moon.

Pace is brisk, including the choppy editing technique that has come to mark the show. that helps, because the werewolf makeup is nothing inspired. The one look we get, a blurred freeze-and-zoom, is still too clear to be helpful. Nor does it help that what we are told is bodies "torn limb from limb" can't be shown on television of the era. I expect a werewolf to tear someone up, not throw him over a railing.

On balance, I think I have to give it 8 improvised leg irons.

Asides:

Ruth McDevitt returns to the cast as INS contributor Edith Cowles, a creator of puzzles. McDevitt was first seen as the self-described "weirdo" writing to Miss Emily about her creepy neighbor. She must have impressed the producers.

Once Kolchak is no longer in his presence, Captain Wells admits that he believe Kolchak may be right. That's a welcome change and marks him as a smart man.

Kolchak is a writer but he doesn't know what a polemic is? Wolves do attack humans, but rarely and not for sport but for food or territorial trespass. They are reputed to be shy of confrontation. For sheer viciousness, wolves have nothing on mankind. That should mean that werewolves are at their most dangerous whenever the moon is not full.

One week it's October, the next Spring, then Winter. Never mind the weather, Chicagoans need forecasters to tell them what time of year it's gonna be tomorrow.