CLIFFHANGERS! (1979) Network Promo

Here's a real rarity! It's nearly impossible to find anything online relating to Kenneth Johnson's short-lived 1979 series, Cliffhangers!, so this vintage NBC promo clip is quite the find. The show was a modern "take" on the theatrical movie serials of the 30s and 40s, with three, 15-minute chapters of three different ongoing stories in each episode.

The one that most fit in with the Space: 1970 aesthetic was "The Secret Empire," an update/rip-off of the 1935 Gene Autry vehicle, The Phantom Empire. Both dealt with cowboys battling the inhabitants of secret underground scientific super-cities. In the Cliffhangers! version, the leader of the villains was portrayed by none other than Mark Lenard of Star Trek and the Planet Of the Apes television series.

Of course, the real gem was "The Curse of Dracula" with Michael Nouri as a very 70s undead Count...