McCloud Meets Dracula

This episode was apparently the last one of the series. Dennis Weaver looks older than he did when the series started, but J. D. Cannon does not. This was the second episode I viewed after getting the McCloud DVD set. The first was the very poor Hawaii episode, which made me consider selling the DVDs and watching no more. I was glad I didn't because this episode was excellent. Even talk show host Tom Snyder, a man I despised as a teenager back in the 1970s, was excellent.

McCloud wants to be part of a team trying to catch a sniper, but the chief instead puts him on a case where someone is killing people by sucking out all their blood. The episode is both interesting and amusing, with an old Dracula actor helping to solve the case. It also has the one and only line I remember from watching the series as a teenager. When asked what will happen to a deranged person, Chief Clifford replies that like all broken people in New York City, he will simply be swept away.

This final episode of "McCloud" was more entertaining than creepy, although the creepiest character was Morris the butler, played by Reggie Nalder. In 1979, Nalder portrayed the infamous vampire Mr. Barlow, from the equally infamous "Salem's Lot", which is still the best/scariest vampire film I've ever seen. Back to this story, the familiar faces include Ken Lynch, Diana Muldaur, John Finnegan, J.D. Cannon, and quirky performances by Tom Snyder, and especially John Carradine; their interview together is rather interesting and fun. I'll do my best not to spoil too much, as I'll give some positive and negative aspects. Let's get the minuses out of the way first; right off the bat, I thought Belasco(Carradine)could've shown his fangs at least ONCE, but he never does, so he really just looks like a tired old man. I wasn't crazy about how he runs from the police, considering vampires are supposed to float/fly. When he enters and kills a female victim in her apartment, I don't recall him being invited in, so I'll chalk that up to lazy writing. Lastly, I thought Muldaur was only average, and slowed the episode down a bit. Regarding the positives, Belasco's abode was done fairly well, with candles and an eerie dark room where the coffin rests. For those paying real close attention, one of the props in the house is a painting, and if you watch the Night Gallery, you may notice the same painting from a segment titled, "With Apologies to Mr. Hyde". Even though I complained above about a "running" vampire, I did like how he climbed up a bridge before the final scene, which I won't ruin for you, but I like how it's left ambiguous. Nalder was the best aspect of this episode though, and in 1979, he was the scariest vampire ever to appear on film. If you're a fan of 1970's vampires, you probably won't be too disappointed, although I felt a bit more meat could've been added to the bone.

In what turned out to be the final ep of the "McCloud" series, there are some victims with teeth marks on the neck while there's also a sniper up on a building. Actually, there's more emphasis on Dracula than on that sniper who's only depicted shooting someone at the beginning before he reveals his face near the end. Of course, this being a somewhat realistic-like show, no one really, well, maybe McCloud's reporter girlfriend who's doing a book on vampires, believes the coroner's insistence of such a creature existing. Also, there's an actor famous for playing the count involved. He's played by John Carradine whose previous flicks as such appears on the TV screen when that reporter is watching them. Anyway, this was quite exciting and amusing to watch.