The Cthulhu Mythos, Played for Laughs

Dwight and I were watching episodes of Night Gallery, and in addition to the extremely good “They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar” (with a fine turn by the late William Windom), we also watched “The Last Lecture of Mr. Peabody,” in which a professor of comparative religion lectures on The Great Old Ones, including reading aloud from the Necronomicon, with somewhat predictable results. The Mythos is mostly played for laughs and in-jokes (including students named Lovecraft, Bloch and Derleth), but it may be the first time the name Cthulhu was ever mentioned on network television.

It’s a little broad, but it does have its charms:

The episode was written by Jack Laird, who seems to have adapted a number of Lovecraft stories for Night Gallery.

A deeper appreciation (and the nifty following screen grab) can be found here.

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2 Responses to “The Cthulhu Mythos, Played for Laughs”

  1. […] blogged about our “Night Gallery” watching last night. At least, mostly about “Professor Peabody’s Last Lecture” and They’re Tearing […]

  2. Charles "Wig! Wig!" Helson says:

    Wig! Wig!, fellows! That was the wiggiest! Wig, Wig Wig!

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