User Reviews

This one is totally different than the preceding one, a much larger cast and a real female versus a female spirit. In this cast it doesn't lose much quality though. The story is more typical Wild Wild West.

The Skulls are a powerful group of bad guys who are lead by an evil politician who has ambitions of not just being President, but being ruler of the United States overthrowing President Grant. The power is not easily overcome. West and Artie face a major challenge here.

While the ending is very typical of other episodes, getting here is quite the trip. There are some unexpected twists, and costumes only help make the plot more effective.

After the somber, spooky "Night of the Man-Eating House", "Night of the Skulls" pivots back to a more traditional WWW story. This one is good, goofy fun, full of outrageous villains and dangerous situations.

The opening where West seems to cold-bloodedly murder Artie is striking. Of course, long time fans will know that something is going on, but this scene is still quite disorienting and well done.

The murder leads a fugitive West into the clutches of a gruesome secret society where murder is rewarded and innocence leads to death. The Skulls are quite colorful and creepy looking, especially the Hanging Judge who presides over a court where killers are exonerated. The jury is an outrageous collection of cliched killers like the Samurai from San Francisco, the Louisiana Axe Lady and the Baltimore Strangler. This whacky bunch reminds me of the crooks in "Night of the Poisonous Posey" and even Count Manzeppi's Eccentrics. Another exaggerated henchman is Tigo the Hunchback, who also sports an eyepatch.

Lots of good stunts and fights in this episode and the dialog is surprisingly witty throughout. Donald Woods has a field day as the sinister Hanging Judge. Once his plot is revealed, the cunning schemer instantly reverts to a babbling madman, which is a little on the improbable side. Also worth a note is the attractive Lorelei, who gives West someone to romance.

I think Artie might have set a record here for the amount of disguises used in one episode. At any rate, "Night of the Skulls" is an archetypal Wild Wild West episode, far fetched but extremely entertaining.

Thia episode; well conceived, well acted, well designed and directed has always disturbed me.. The scene with the wretched prisoner leaning into the camera to scream his protests at a death sentence for being INNOCENT is like Kafka gone wild. The cold blooded horror has always stood in my mind in a highly disturbing way. When I watched this on first run I was equally appalled at Lorelie rather cheerfully mentioning he had been found innocent and hanged. He even had to wait the night for it.Lisa Gayes excellent performance as La Belle Dame San Merci and the macabre trappings make this an S/M ritual rather rare in its intensity at the time it first aired. Ultimately this kind of thing got WWW unfairly cancelled for disturbing violence.Oddly some of the jokes in this episode (Especially Artimus Gordons) Are some of the shows best. The connections to the Lincoln conspiracy, the rise of the Klan and even the Black Legion also create some creeps. A great episode but subtly unnerving in a profound way...who does determine justice? He who holds power.