Marcus heads to the Big Apple to try to find the NYC of the 70s. He explores the stories of the Son of Sam, Harlem drug dealer Nicky Barnes and the Sex Pistol's Sid Vicious.
Marcus heads to NYC to try to find the city of the late '70s: the grimy, vibrant city where epic characters were well-known; some were even feared.
Marcus starts his Big Apple adventure by taking a ride with Michael Chapman, the man who shot the movie Taxi Driver. Michael did a great job of capturing the city's essence on film, and Marcus wanted to get his take on how tough the streets of NYC were in the '70s.
They tour the city and stop at one of the most famous attractions, Times Square. This bustling area looked much different in the '70s with prostitutes and drugs dominating the streets.
One of the epic characters who held the city hostage in the summer of 1976 was the Son of Sam. This serial killer murdered 6 people and wounded 7.
Marcus reads the letters written by Son of Sam over and over to see the world through his eyes. Marcus then performs a short story based on the letters at The Inspired Word, a performance space for poets, writers, comedians and musicians.
Marcus discusses the Son of Sam case with psychic medium Jackie Barrett.
Moving uptown, Marcus heads to the Seville Lounge in Harlem to meet with Joseph "Jazz" Hayden. Hayden was the right-hand man for Nicky Barnes, Harlem's biggest drug dealer.
Since then, Harlem has been revitalized and Marcus gets a feel for it all from Harlem Children’s Zone's chief operating officer Anne Williams-Isom.
Marcus looks into the story of punk rock singer Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols and his groupie girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. Nancy was found stabbed, with Sid passed out in the same hotel room. He was arrested for the murder.
Many of Sid's friends and associates from the punk rock world couldn't believe that Sid could do such a thing. Marcus meets with Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba and his wife at their bar (a "temple of punk") to discuss Sid and Nancy.
Marcus meets with Jimmy Webb, the owner of the legendary Trash and Vaudeville clothing store. He has one question for Jimmy, Did Sid kill Nancy? Jimmy, however, has other ideas and instead gives Marcus a punk rock makeover.
