Television series

The Immortal

Name: The Immortal
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 1970
Cast: Christopher George, Don Knight, David Brian

Ben Richards is a drifter with miraculous blood—he doesn't age, doesn't sicken, and rich people will kill for a transfusion. The Immortal follows him week to week as he runs from those who'd exploit him, helping ordinary people and staying one step ahead of Fletcher's relentless pursuit. It's a contemplative action show about isolation and the burden of being hunted for what you are.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy an episodic chase where a lone fugitive helps strangers while a pursuit team keeps closing the gap, and you don't mind a 1970s hour that values momentum over polish.

Skip it if you need tightly plotted mysteries or modern production values, since this is a creaky, formula-driven hour where each week's rescue often feels like the one before it.

What it asks of you: Fifteen hour-long episodes in one season, paced steadily with room for each stop; the attention it wants is light and mostly episodic.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Fugitive1963

The template for everything that follows: a man wrongly accused on the run, week after week, building real relationships before moving on. It has the same rhythm as The Immortal, but with higher stakes and perfect emotional calibration.

But Fifty-six episodes is a commitment, and the episodic structure means repetition—there's only so many ways to say goodbye to people you just met.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker1972

A drifter journalist encounters the paranormal each week and has to survive with ingenuity and luck. It has The Immortal's sense of a man moving through the world solving problems, but trades isolation for a weary kind of companionship with the supernatural.

But The effects are dated even by 1974 standards, and some episodes stretch credibility further than others. It can feel slight.

The Outer Limits1963

Science-fiction anthology that explores what it means to be different, exploited, or hunted for your nature. Each episode is its own tight story, but they share The Immortal's philosophical strain about what makes us human.

But Anthology means no character continuity—you're starting fresh each week, which some people find exhausting. Quality varies episode to episode.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Immortal

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Prisoner1967

Both follow a man hunted for his nature, but The Prisoner internalizes the threat. Where Ben runs from external pursuers, Six is trapped with the existential weight of being wanted. Same moral core, different cage.

A man is held captive in a mysterious village designed to break him down and make him conform. It's obsessed with the same question as The Immortal: what do you do when the world wants to use you for what you are, not who you are?

But It's deliberately cryptic and philosophical—some episodes are baffling, others feel designed to frustrate. If you want clear answers, you'll leave angry.

Planet of the Apes1974

Astronaut Galen is different in a hostile world and must stay hidden to survive. Each week brings a new community and a new crisis. It shares The Immortal's structure and its central loneliness—the search for home you can never quite reach.

But The show was short-lived and can feel rushed. The makeup work, though well-intentioned, hasn't aged gracefully, and the satire sometimes overwhelms the story.

Mannix1967

A private investigator helps people in trouble, moving from case to case with competence and genuine warmth. It has The Immortal's episodic structure and its faith that an outsider can make a real difference in people's lives.

But It's a procedural first and foremost, so there's little character development. The plots are often straightforward, which some will find comforting and others dull.

The Incredible Hulk1977

A man with a terrible secret travels the country helping people while running from those who want to capture him. The Hulk's framing—one man against uncaring systems—echoes The Immortal's fundamental loneliness and strength.

But The Hulk himself is the entire draw, which means episodes without enough transformation can feel thin. The writing varies wildly in quality.

Barbary Coast1975

A con man and a secret agent travel Gold Rush San Francisco righting wrongs together. It has that same episodic adventure energy and the odd-couple companionship that makes weekly storytelling work.

But It's lighter and campier than The Immortal, which means it sacrifices depth for entertainment. Only a single season exists.

Tales of the Unexpected1977

Roald Dahl narrates twisted short stories where ordinary people encounter the extraordinary and pay the price. Like The Immortal, it's interested in how special circumstances isolate people from the world.

But As an anthology, there's no emotional investment to carry week to week. Some episodes are far better than others, and the tone can be uneven.

The Phantom of the Opera1962

Where The Immortal explores the curse of being physically superior and hunted, Phantom explores the curse of being physically inferior and invisible. Both are about bodies that mark you as other, and the isolation that follows.

A man disfigured and isolated from society uses his genius to control those around him. It's a study of how being different transforms you—the Immortal's mirror image. Lon Chaney's performance is the whole film, and it's unforgettable.

But Silent film means patience with a different language. The pacing is glacial by modern standards, and much of it is genuinely slow.

Moonlight Mile2002

The structure of The Immortal is arrival and departure, help and abandonment. Moonlight Mile stretches that single emotional note across two hours—what it costs to be the helpful stranger who can never stay, who can never truly be known.

After his fiancée is murdered, a man drifts through town, trying to help people and find meaning, but can't quite connect. It's slow and mournful where The Immortal is propulsive, but shares its fundamental premise: a man apart, helping those he meets, unable to stay.

But It's deliberately melancholic and offers no real catharsis. If you're looking for action or resolution, this will frustrate you. It's a film about stillness and grief.