| "The Bogman of Letchmoor Heath" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Air date | October 16th, 1990 |
| Writers | Anthony Adams |
| Director | Roger Cheveley |
| Producers | Sheldon Pinchuk; Pat Finnegan; Bill Finnegan; Patrick Dromgoole; Paul Sarony; David Roessell; Tom McLoughlin; Lee Goldberg; William Rabkin |
| Starring | Kate Hodge; Neil Dickson; Scott Fults |
| Episode guide | |
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Next "Moonlight Becomes You" |
- "This creature of slime is a harbinger of doom!"
- ―Blind Angus
"The Bogman of Letchmoor Heath" is the second episode of the first season of the television series She-Wolf of London. It was directed by Roger Cheveley and written by Anthony Adams. It first aired in the United States on NBC on Tuesday, October 16th, 1990. A seamstress from Letchmoor Heath named Gertie discovers the preserved remains of a bogman buried on her property. She contacts her sister Elizabeth in London who asks Ian Matheson and Randi Wallace to go to the heath to inspect it. When they arrive however, they discover that Aunt Gertie has been murdered. They decide to stay in town to investigate her death, but soon find that the bogman has come to life and has been killing people in the village.
Synopsis[]
Welcome to Letchmoor Heath.
In the small English town of Letchmoor Heath, an elderly seamstress named Gertie is going through her fields when she digs up a petrified man buried in the peat. She unearths the "bogman" and brings him back to a local pub called the Three Horseshoes. She brags to the other patrons about her find, most of whom find the aged corpse to be the most exciting thing to happen in the heath for quite some time. One man however, an old blind drunk named Angus things otherwise. He exclaims that the bogman is a harbinger of doom. The others scoff at his wild notions and shuffle him off into a corner.
Gertie telephones her sister Elizabeth in London to tell her of her find. The phone call interrupts the Matheson family dinner, which irritates patriarch Henry Matheson a great deal. Gertie asks if her nephew, Ian Matheson, would be interested in coming to Letchmoor Heath to analyze the bogman. Ian agrees, but only if Randi Wallace can accompany him.
That evening, the bogman comes to life and kills Gertie. He stitches her eyes and mouth shut and there are long threaded stitches down her arms and legs. She was killed in a manner indicative of her vocation as a seamstress. By the time Ian and Randi arrive the following day, they are horrified to learn about the poor woman's death. Elizabeth and Henry and their grandson, Julian come down for the funeral. Julian brought along his camera, hoping to capture a few snapshots of the legendary "bogman". The patrons of the Three Horseshoes are in a state of extreme grief, especially barmaid Abigail Willoughby. There has not been a murder in the heath in over one hundred years. Constable Leary consults with Ian and Randi and tells them that he will do everything he can to solve his aunt's murder.
Ian and Randi rent a room at a nearby motel, but a quiet discomfort forms between the two as they realize that there is little privacy afforded to either of them. Randi enjoys the romantic tension between the two, but Ian grows increasingly nervous. To satisfy his own vanity, he stretches a bed sheet like a curtain between their two beds. Randi thinks Ian is being a prude.
Funeral services are held for Gertie at the town church and are presided over by Reverend Goodbody. Angus, the old blind man, causes a commotion when he begins preaching his doomsayer rhetoric again. He singles out Randi Wallace, noting that she has the "mark of evil" upon her.
That night, Abigail closes up the Three Horseshoes. Constable Leary comes in to bid her good night and flirts with her for a spell. The bogman rests quietly upon one of the pub tables and has become the star attraction of the establishment. After Leary leaves, Abigail cleans up and begins singing a song to the bogman. Unexpectedly, the bogman rises once again and attacks her. He strangles Abigail Willoughby an she screams in terror as she dies. Her body is found with a beer tap sticking out of her mouth.
Funeral services are held once again, but nobody has any notion that the bogman is behind both deaths. Before the funeral concludes, another murder victim is discovered - Mister Oates, the town baker, who is found stuffed inside one of his own ovens. Believing the three murders are linked, Constable Leary continues to study the deaths to divine some clues.
One of the primary suspects of the investigation is a trapper named Fergus Grey. Fergus is an odd, disheveled man, who is not well-liked by the townsfolk. Leary finds that Fergus is responsible for breaking into his office and he tells Ian and Randi about him.
Ian and Randi go to the small hut belonging to Blind Angus. Randi is more interested in Angus' remarks about her bearing the Mark of Evil and Angus seems to understand that she is a werewolf. He warns her that there is no cure for her condition, which distresses her greatly. Ian presses Angus for information concerning the bogman and Fergus Grey, but Angus falls over into a drunken stupor and goes to sleep.
The two of them investigate the matter on their own. They discover that the bogman is more than two-hundred years old and was a criminal named Atticus Grey, who was hanged for his murderous crimes. Fergus Grey is Atticus' descendant and is aware that his ancestor is coming to life and killing people. Researching further, they discover that the bogman can only be killed in the manner in which he first died.
They go to Fergus' smokehouse late at night, but the bogman has risen and attacks his descendant, crushing his head inside of a bear trap. Ian and Randi burst in armed with the noose and place it about the bogman's head. The creature turns and attacks them, pushing Randi to the ground. He begins choking her until Ian scoops up a machete and hacks off the bogman's arms. Afterward, Randi tightens the noose around it's neck until it finally falls over dead.
Cast[]
Principal Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kate Hodge | Randi Wallace |
| Neil Dickson | Ian Matheson |
| Scott Fults | Julian Matheson |
Guest Stars[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jean Challis | Elizabeth Matheson |
| Arthur Cox | Henry Matheson |
| Dorothea Phillips | Aunt Elsa |
Co-Stars[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- She-Wolf of London was created by Tom McLoughlin & Mick Garris.
- This episode is included on disc one of the She-Wolf of London: Love and Curses DVD collection.
- Series creator Mick Garris is credited as executive consultant in this episode.
- Executive producer Patricia Finnegan is credited as Pat Finnegan in this episode.
- Actor Charles Lewsen's name is mis-spelled as Charles Lewson in this episode.
- Actor Roger Winslet is credited as Roger Winslett in this episode.
- This is the first episode of the series directed by Roger Cheveley. He directs five episodes of the show in total. His next episode is "Nice Girls Don't".
- This is the first, and to date, only known television acting work for Andy Davis, who plays a Bodhranist in this episode.
- As the events from this episode do not take place on the night of the full moon, Randi Wallace does not transform into a werewolf in this episode. However, several references are made to her condition throughout.
Allusions[]
- Ian Matheson makes reference to the 1934 film It Happened One Night, directed by Frank Capra and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. A scene from the film inspires him to erect the privacy curtain between Randi Wallace and he in the bedroom of the inn that they stay at. Randi seemed to be unfamiliar with the movie citing that she would rather "read a book".
- When Ian explains the concept of the bogman to Julian, Julian asks him if it is like a "swamp thing". Swamp Thing is the name of a character and a series of comic book titles published by DC Comics. The character, whose real name is Alec Holland, was created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson and first appeared in House of Secrets #92. The comics were adapted into a feature film directed by Wes Craven in 1982 as well as a sequel, The Return of Swamp Thing in 1989, a live-action television series in 1990 and a short-lived animated program in 1991.
- Gertie invokes the name Beelzebub in the beginning of this episode. Originally a deity of Philistine origin, Beelebub is classically regarded as demonic entity and one of the Seven Princes of Hell. His name is sometimes attributed to that of Satan, Lucifer Morningstar.
- Abigail Willoughby sings a version of the Scottish folk song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" to the bogman at the Three Horseshoes, but she replaces the name Bonnie with Boggie.
- While doing the grave-rubbing, Randi Wallace mentions that she used to read a lot of Nancy Drew. Nancy Drew was a fictional teen detective created by Edward Stratemeyer in 1930 and appeared in her own series of junior reader novels.
Quotes[]
- Randi Wallace: Ian, are you feeling nervous?
- Ian Matheson: Yes... No! I mean... I am a little.
- Randi Wallace: I got nervous when we first met.
- Ian Matheson: Randi, look. I'm the teacher and you're the student. There are boundaries. This is the boundary.
- Randi Wallace: Are you nervous because of what I turn into?
- Ian Matheson: No, I was nervous before that.
- Randi Wallace: Well, good night, Ian.
- Ian Matheson: Good night, Miss Wallace.
See also[]
External Links[]
- "The Bogman of Letchmoor Heath" at IMDB
- "The Bogman of Letchmoor Heath" at the TV IV
- "The Bogman of Letchmoor Heath" at TV.com guide
- "The Bogman of Letchmoor Heath" at TV Rage.com
 Season One
Pilot • The Bogman of Letchmoor Heath • Moonlight Becomes You • The Juggler • Nice Girls Don't • Little Bookshop of Horrors • Can't Keep a Dead Man Down (Part 1) • Can't Keep a Dead Man Down (Part 2) • The Wild Hunt • What's Got Into Them? • Big Top She-Wolf • She-Devil • Voodoo Child • Beyond the Beyond Season Two
Curiosity Killed the Cravitz • Habeas Corpses • Bride of the Wolfman • Heart Attack • Mystical Pizza • Eclipse |