Spectre was no doubt the best of Gene Roddenbery's 1970s TV-pilot films, and the only one which dealt squarely with the supernatural. Like many others here, I still recall watching it back in May of '77, and being both thrilled by, and rather creeped out by it at the same time. NBC has had a long history of passing on worthwhile science-fiction-fantasy-horror projects, and this was one of their worst(or best?) examples of doing so. If this great little film isn't available on disc yet, it certainly needs to be! A brief summary, William Sebastian(Robert Culp in an excellent performance) along with his sidekick, Dr. Ham Hamilton(Gig Young in one of his final appearances, regrettably) are a Holmes and Watson-like team who investigate occult goings-on. Summoned to England by the sister of a highly-placed English Lord, the suspenseful plot reveals that the ancient demon Asmodious, the Lord of Lechery, has been released from an ages-long imprisonment, and is at work once more. This film also features a bevy of lovely women most in a semi-dressed state, various minor demons, and related phenomena, all leading to a wild, fiery climax. The identity of Asmodious' human host is something of a surprise, and it's made clear at the very end that he's still active, despite being wounded by a sort of holy bullet Culp shoots him with at the climax.
It's remarkable Roddenberry got by with as much as he did for an NBC showing in 1977, although no doubt some(maybe all?) of the orgy scenes were heavily edited, or cut out of the original showing. Asmodious true form is still fairly-creepy even today, I think. Shame on NBC for not green-lighting this one, but many of us here know how they mishandled so many other series, the original Star Trek, Buck Rogers, etc. al. Highly recommended!
It's remarkable Roddenberry got by with as much as he did for an NBC showing in 1977, although no doubt some(maybe all?) of the orgy scenes were heavily edited, or cut out of the original showing. Asmodious true form is still fairly-creepy even today, I think. Shame on NBC for not green-lighting this one, but many of us here know how they mishandled so many other series, the original Star Trek, Buck Rogers, etc. al. Highly recommended!