The Ripper

Forgive me for the stupid title of my review, but I try to be clever sometimes. The was the official start of this short, but great series, and it definitely started with a bang, as the infamous Jack the Ripper visits the Windy City. The quick camera cuts/edits are on full display here, and it's done rather well, even though Jack was a tad more superhuman than I expected, and that was a bit of a negative to this reviewer. Look for some familiar faces in a "fat" Beatrice Colen, and Ken Lynch; regarding Colen, she's described as "fat" a few times in this episode, but by today's standards, she's just about average, but I digress. I won't spoil what happens to her character, but let's just say that it was unexpected, and that's a good thing! I forgot to mention above that Ruth McDevitt is another familiar face, but this time she plays an old geezer who thinks she saw the killer; later in the series, she would become a co-worker at INS, but as a different character. Let me add that while I liked the ending, it seemed a bit over-the-top and too easy for Kolchak to figure out. The portrayal of the Ripper himself could've had a little more pizazz to him, but all in all, this is a solid intro for what would become a fantastic and influential series.