Kolchak?

[HansVerhaaden]

I am a fan of this obscure 1970's series. I understand that the original TV movie gained a record US audience in 1971. Are there any others here who like this?

Whenever I try to chat with friends about this program and I ask them if they remember Kolchak - they usually say 'You mean the bald police man with the lollipop?'

 

[Borgminister]

Gesundheit!



It was a good show for the times...

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm a huge Kolchak fan, and the show is still fondly remembered here in the States. There are still Kolchak comic books, short story collections, and even the occasional novel.

The original TV movie, THE NIGHT STALKER, was written by the late Richard Matheson, based on a (then) unpublished novel by Jeff Rice. And it did indeed get record-breaking ratings when it first aired on ABC. Matheson also wrote the sequel, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, which was set in Seattle. (My old home town!)

The two TV-movies were followed by the short-lived TV series, Kolchak:The Night Stalker, which, alas, only lasted one season, but remains a cult classic.

Chris Carter would later cite Kolchak as one of the primary inspirations for The X-Files.

 

[sojourner]

And Darren McGavin showed up in a few X-Files episodes as well.

 

[DEWLine]

It's been considered a spiritual ancestor of both X-Files and Buffy to some extent, if memory serves. And I got hooked on the TV series thanks to CBS' late-night re-runs. Glad I bought the DVD set while I could.

 

[Greg Cox]

And note that a "Senator Matheson" appears in a couple of X-Files episodes, as a deliberate homage to The Night Stalker.

The less said about the short-lived reboot the better . . .

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

No, let's address the reboot.

Greatest tv show or greatest tv show ever?

 

[DEWLine]

Neither.

 

[DEWLine]

If I were to recast the series today, I'd still go with Nicholas Campbell from Da Vinci's Inquest.

 

[Relayer1]

I remember it (vaguely) but without any fondness.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

And note that a "Senator Matheson" appears in a couple of X-Files episodes, as a deliberate homage to The Night Stalker.

The less said about the short-lived reboot the better . . .

I really liked the reboot. On the DVD set, the producer talks about where the show was going to go and includes the unfilmed Darin Morgan script that was to be produced if they hadn't been cancelled. Oh, what could've been.

The reboot's premise made little sense. Not the wife murder/conspiracy stuff, but that a newspaper in 2004 assigned THREE people to every news story. It didn't help that the make-up of the three characters would invite inevitable comparisons to Clark, Lois, and Jimmy from Superman. Not the kind of thing a (supposedly) grounded horror series should aim for, IMO.

The casting was fairly solid. Stuart Townsend was capable and the attractive Gabrielle Union could hold her own in the thankless skeptic role. The guy playing Jimmy Olsen was suitably unnoticeable but Cotter Smith was a lackluster Vincenzo. Hard to top Simon Oakland (or Darren McGavin, for that matter).

Of all of the Lost-inspired shows that debuted that season (Surface, Threshold, Invasion, Supernatural, Night Stalker), I really thought Night Stalker was the strongest, but -- as we are now in Supernatural's tenth season and Night Stalker is barely remembered -- I clearly may not be the best judge of a series' promise or potential.

 

[publiusr]

Darren McGavin made that series. I just can't see anyone else playing him.

 

[Galileo7]

I'm a huge Kolchak fan, and the show is still fondly remembered here in the States. There are still Kolchak comic books, short story collections, and even the occasional novel.

The original TV movie, THE NIGHT STALKER, was written by the late Richard Matheson, based on a (then) unpublished novel by Jeff Rice. And it did indeed get record-breaking ratings when it first aired on ABC. Matheson also wrote the sequel, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, which was set in Seattle. (My old home town!)

The two TV-movies were followed by the short-lived TV series, Kolchak:The Night Stalker, which, alas, only lasted one season, but remains a cult classic.

Chris Carter would later cite Kolchak as one of the primary inspirations for The X-Files.

Agree. I fondly remember watching Kolchak with my family as a young boy in the '70s. It was scary good.

 

[propita]

I was allowed to stay up late on Friday night to watch this. 10pm, CBS.

Loved it. Not every episode was a winner, but overall, a seriously underrated show.

 

[Admiral2]

And note that a "Senator Matheson" appears in a couple of X-Files episodes, as a deliberate homage to The Night Stalker.

The less said about the short-lived reboot the better . . .

I really liked the reboot. On the DVD set, the producer talks about where the show was going to go and includes the unfilmed Darin Morgan script that was to be produced if they hadn't been cancelled. Oh, what could've been.

The reboot's premise made little sense. Not the wife murder/conspiracy stuff, but that a newspaper in 2004 assigned THREE people to every news story. It didn't help that the make-up of the three characters would invite inevitable comparisons to Clark, Lois, and Jimmy from Superman. Not the kind of thing a (supposedly) grounded horror series should aim for, IMO.

The casting was fairly solid. Stuart Townsend was capable and the attractive Gabrielle Union could hold her own in the thankless skeptic role. The guy playing Jimmy Olsen was suitably unnoticeable but Cotter Smith was a lackluster Vincenzo. Hard to top Simon Oakland (or Darren McGavin, for that matter).

Of all of the Lost-inspired shows that debuted that season (Surface, Threshold, Invasion, Supernatural, Night Stalker), I really thought Night Stalker was the strongest, but -- as we are now in Supernatural's tenth season and Night Stalker is barely remembered -- I clearly may not be the best judge of a series' promise or potential.

The reboot was just warmed over X-Files. Believer and skeptic investigating weird stuff. The action was just moved from the FBI to a newspaper.

The original was more unique.

 

[Captain_Amasov]

If I were to recast the series today, I'd still go with Nicholas Campbell from Da Vinci's Inquest.

Oddly enough I thought Bryan Cranston could've made a good Kolchak.

 

[Starkers]

I was always a huge fan of the show, but it was only a couple of years ago that I got the series on DVD. It’s interesting but I’m not sure it was anywhere near as good as I remember it. It was very formulaic and sometimes the show seemed to go out of its way to be goofy rather than scary.

That said McGavin is always a joy to watch, and I love his interactions with the rest of the news team. The plethora of monsters on show was wonderfully diverse as well, and kudos to the writers for utilising many lesser known mythical creatures. Plus whilst it wasn’t nearly spooky enough on a regular basis, when it was spooky it was wonderful, in particular whilst the lizard things in the last episode were a little silly, the shots of Carl alone in the vast underground base were really eerier.

Of course one of the things that made the show unique then and which wouldn’t translate now, is the technology. Carl had to rely on books and seeking out specialists, he couldn’t just go onto Wiki. Plus the nature of his little pocket camera made for some interesting darkroom scenes. These days there’d potentially be too much evidence backing him up.

My favourite spooky factoid about the show is this. In the episode Mr RING there’s an android that escapes from the military. It was built by the Tyrell corporation…which seems to be a nod to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, except the company wasn’t called that in the book, it was only called that in the film, so either it’s a huge coincidence or someone involved in making Blade Runner was a fan of Kolchak!

 

[the G-man]

If I were to recast the series today, I'd still go with Nicholas Campbell from Da Vinci's Inquest.

Paul Giamatti.

 

[DEWLine]

Sorry, but with Giamatti, I don't see it. Cranston...maybe...

 

[Aragorn]

This is the internet. Aren't you guys required to suggest Bruce Campbell or Nathan Fillion somewhere?

I kept thinking that Kolchak was already remade for one short-lived cable TV season... but that was Kojak with Ving Rhames.