The Immortal

The 1970s were great! There were bell bottoms, disco music, classic rock music, muscle cars, and of course some of the best television shows ever created. Now raise your hand if you heard of this television show. Oh, my bad. Well, you can write your answer then.

One of my favorite shows of the 70s only ran one season. The Immortal was an American science fiction television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1970, through January 14, 1971. The series had 16 episodes and was based on a pilot film of the same name that aired on September 30, 1969, as the ABC Movie of the Week. The show was based on a science fiction novel written by James Gunn in 1964.

Christopher George, starred as a man who had a blood chemistry that was resistant to almost all diseases, including old age. So, this made him immortal. George portrayed Ben Richards in the series and was a test car driver for a large corporation owned by a billionaire named Jordan Braddock, played by Barry Sullivan.

Ben Richards was supposed to be 43 in the series, but he looked 30 and never got sick a day in his life due to his blood chemistry. Ben’s life changed after he donated a pint of blood to Braddock who was dying. Ben gave him a transfusion and he was revived from the brink of death.

Ben’s doctor Matthew Pearce, played by actor Ralph Bellamy discovered Ben’s blood was O-negative and contained all known antibodies and immunities. This made Ben immune to every known disease and gave him an estimated lifespan five to ten times of most humans, making him virtually immortal.

The billionaire Braddock decides he wants to use Ben as a personal blood bank so he could stay healthy and vibrant. When Ben rejects Braddock’s offers to remain with him, Braddock has him imprisoned, but he escapes.

Richards tells his fiancée Sylvia Cartwright, played by actress Carol Lynley, they cannot get married because Braddock would imprison her to get to him. So, Ben is now on the run in every episode while being pursued by Braddock’s henchmen.

However, Braddock dies during one of the shows, but an employee named Fletcher, played by actor Don Knight is hired by another billionaire, Arthur Maitland, played by actor David Brian, who also wants Richard’s blood to stay healthy.

The series is based on the idea that Richards would probably never lose his life if he were to live quietly because he would never die, of any known diseases. However, his flight from Fletcher puts his life at great risk, constantly engaging in dangerous efforts to avoid capture, and his blood did not make him immune to losing his life from injury. So, Richards must run because he will live virtually forever.

The series also focused on Richards’ journeys, and the people he met while trying to avoid Fletcher. A second plot in the series involved Richards’ search for a brother he had never known. Richards constantly searches for him because he might have the same type of blood and be at risk from billionaires as well.

In one episode, Richards is imprisoned by Maitland, who hires a computer programmer played by actress Lynda Day George, Christopher George’s, real-life wife, who tracks, and predicts Richards every move, using a mainframe computer.

          The series had many guest stars as well. Some included Jessica Walter, Jack Albertson, Vic Morrow, John Dehner, Ross Martin, and Howard Duff.

          The Immortal was cancelled midseason before a proper finale could be filmed. However, episodes were rerun on ABC in the summer of 1971. It was later rerun on the American Forces Network in Europe in the 1980s, and on the Sci Fi Channel in the 1990s.

          Christopher George also starred in a series called The Rat Patrol, that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show followed the exploits of four Allied soldiers, three Americans and one British, who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II.

The cast of The Immortal:

Christopher George – After eating dinner at home with his wife, on November 28, 1983, felt sudden chest pains, and was rushed to Westside Hospital in Los Angeles. He went into cardiac arrest, and died at 10:35 p.m., three hours after he was admitted.

Barry Sullivan – Died of respiratory failure on June 6, 1994. He was 81.

Ralph Bellamy – Died from a lung ailment at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, on November 29, 1991. He was 87.

Don Knight – Died on August 18, 1997, at Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California, following a stroke earlier that month. He was 64.

David Brian – Died of heart disease, and cancer at Sherman Oaks, California, on July 15, 1993. He was 78 years old.

Lynda Day George – Is 80 years old.