Writer: Bill S. Ballinger, David Chase
Director: Robert Scheerer
Actors:
John Marley as Captain Maurice Molnar / Jamie Farr as Jack Burton / Pat Harrington Jr. as Thomas J. Kitzmiller / Katherine Woodville as Dr. Helen Lynch / Barbara Luddy as Woman / Gary Baxley as Humanoid / Jeannie Bell as Rosette Mason / Al Checco as Nils / Regis Cordic as Dr. Peel / Sandra Gould as the Landlady / Vince Howard as Policeman / Byron Morrow as Dr. Cowan / Paul Picerni as Humane Society Man / Barbara Rhoades as Kitzmiller's Secretary / Chuck Waters as William Pratt / Arnold Williams as Barney / C. Lindsay Workman as Dr. Fisk / Paul Baxley as Dr. Julius Copenik / Craig R. Baxley as Robert Gurney
Memorable Line:
Kolchak: "...That wasn't just J. Fred Muggs out there dressed in a tutu a-and drooling for the public and playing on a unicycle! Th-that was some creature!"
Story:
Cells from the Antarctic, grow into ape-men who prowl the Chicago streets at night.
Primal has an interesting premise. I liked the science, the idea of an arctic cave dweller coming to life in our modern age. I also enjoyed the scenes in the newsroom. While a bit out of character, it was nice seeing Tony get charged up over the story, and fun to see him with stars in his eyes as the enormity of it all gives him hope for a better, brighter life and career. (This time Kolchak has evidence and Vincenzo's gonna fight right alongside him to see that it gets published.)
It has humor: Carl is pugnacious, biting, and sarcastic when confronted with big business spin-doctors - and hilariously clever in his attempts to uncover the truth (I loved watching him wheel himself near a Hospital room in order to eavesdrop on a top-secret meeting).
The suspenseful ending is another that involves a dark and gloomy tunnel. Carl gradually lights his way with flares, revealing something new with each toss (from ape hair to a body). When he looks back and forth trying to spot the creature, which suddenly appears out of the blue, I jumped out of my skin.
Unfortunately, the episode is also plagued by dry exposition. There are long wordy scenes that make it a bit of a slog and that’s too bad. Because while the idea is there, the character exchanges are there, and there are great scenes… they just don’t coalesce into a great episode as a whole.
Grade: C+
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