The
heart has, for the better part of a century, been the symbol of St. Valentine’s
Day. Before modern times, the heart was also believed to be the human organ of
emotions and feelings.
In
cult-TV history the heart has been a plot point several times.
In
Space:
1999 (1975-1977) for instance, it was known that Professor Victor
Bergman (Barry Morse) had an artificial heart. In the Year Two story, “Catacombs
of the Moon,” Dr. Russell (Barbara Bain) had to transplant an artificial or
mechanical heart into another Alphan.
In
Star
Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), during the second season episode
“Samaritan Snare,” audiences learn that Captain Jean Luc Picard (Patrick
Stewart), similarly, possesses a mechanical or artificial heart, all owing to a
bar fight (and stabbing) during his youth.
In
many more examples from cult-TV history, however, the heart is a symbol of
horror. An episode of The
Evil Touch (1973) called “Game of Hearts” involves a corpse who, having
had his heart transplanted to a new person, wants it back…and seeks it from the
transplant doctor (Darren McGavin).
The
X-Files (1993 –
2002) episode “Milagro,” involves a psychic surgeon -- and murderer -- who removes
the beating heart from his victims. Those
victims often happen to be in love; a fact which signifies the meaning or
purpose of the heart in terms of legend
Torn
out hearts are a regular feature, too, of horror dramas. The vampires of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1997-2003), Angel (1999 – 2005), True Blood (2008 – 2014), The
Vampire Diaries (2009 - ) and The Originals (2014 - ) regularly
rip hearts of human or vampire chests in an example of a very brutal kill. For extra points, the vampires sometimes eat
the hearts.
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