Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Encyclopedia
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC
during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin
— who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law enforcement authorities won't pursue. Often these crimes involve some element of the supernatural
or science fiction
, such as fantastical creatures.
The series was preceded by two television movie
s, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler
(1973). While the series only lasted for one season, it remained popular in syndication, and is often credited as the inspiration for the popular television series The X-Files
. Following The X-Files' success, the franchise was resurrected in 2005 in the form of a second television series
with a new cast and characters, as well as subsequent novels and comic books.
The entire series is available in syndication and is occasionally rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel
under its original expanded title, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. In 2008, it began running on Chiller
. It is also available on DVD.
newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak tracks down and defeats a serial killer
who turns out to be a vampire
named Janos Skorzeny. Although the main protagonist in the novel uses the name "Carl", the book reveals that his birth name is "Karel". At the time it was optioned for the screen, the novel was unpublished. Once the TV movie and its sequel TV movie aired, the original novel was published by Pocket Books as a mass-market paperback original under the title The Night Stalker with a Darren McGavin photo cover to tie in with the movie. The book, as well as the novelization of the second television movie (also written by Jeff Rice but based this time on Richard Matheson's original script), was republished by Moonstone in 2007 as an omnibus edition called The Kolchak Papers. Moonstone Books has continued to produce Kolchak comic stories.
The Kolchak Papers, which eventually was adapted by Richard Matheson
into a television movie called The Night Stalker. It was produced by Dan Curtis
and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
. Darren McGavin played the role of Carl. The cast also included Carol Lynley
, Simon Oakland
, Ralph Meeker
, Claude Akins
, Charles McGraw
, Kent Smith
, Stanley Adams
, Elisha Cook Jr.
, Larry Linville
, Jordan Rhodes, and Barry Atwater
as the vampire Janos Skorzeny.
The Night Stalker first aired January 11, 1972, and garnered the highest ratings of any television movie at that time (33.2 rating – 54 share). Matheson received a 1973 Edgar Award
from the Mystery Writers of America
for Best TV Feature or Miniseries Teleplay.
to write a second movie, The Night Strangler (1973), which featured another serial killer in Seattle
who strangled his victims and used their blood to keep himself alive for over a century. Kolchak recruits exotic dancer and psychology student Louise Harper (Jo Ann Pflug
) to assist him in tracking down the eponymous strangler.
A fictitious version of the Seattle Underground City was used as a setting for much of the movie's action, and provided the killer with his hiding place. Dan Curtis
both produced and directed the second movie, which also did well in the ratings. Rice then wrote a novelization based on Matheson's screenplay, a reverse of the situation for the first movie. The novel was published by Pocket Books as a mass-market paperback original under the title The Night Strangler with a close-up of the monster's eye to tie in with the movie.
Simon Oakland
reprised his earlier role as Kolchak's editor, Tony Vincenzo. The cast also included Richard Anderson
, Scott Brady
, Wally Cox
, Margaret Hamilton
, John Carradine
, Nina Wayne and Al Lewis.
Several scenes were filmed with George Tobias
playing a reporter who recalled a series of murders he had investigated during the 1930s. These scenes were cut from the version aired because of time constraints. A later DVD release contained some restored footage, but Tobias' scenes weren't included.
completed the script for an intended third television movie entitled The Night Killers, a story about android replicas. However, ABC decided it wanted a weekly series instead.
After some negotiation, McGavin agreed to return as Kolchak and also served as the series' executive producer. However, ABC did not obtain Jeff Rice's permission, and he sued the studio. The suit was resolved shortly before the series aired in the fall 1974 season; Rice received an on-screen credit as series creator. The first four episodes aired under the title of The Night Stalker. After a month-long hiatus, the series was renamed and returned as Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
The show featured a wide range of guest stars and many Hollywood veterans, including: Ken Lynch
, Charles Aidman
, Randy Boone
, Scatman Crothers
, Dick Van Patten
, Jan Murray
, Larry Storch
, Jeanne Cooper
, Alice Ghostley
, Victor Jory
, Murray Matheson
, Julie Adams
, John Dehner
, Phil Silvers
, Bernie Kopell
, Marvin Miller
, Jesse White
, James Gregory
, Hans Conried
, Mary Wickes
, Henry Jones
, Carolyn Jones
, Jackie Mason
, Stella Stevens
, Abraham Sofaer
, David Doyle, Jim Backus
, Kathleen Freeman
, John Hoyt
, Dwayne Hickman
, Eric Braeden
, Tom Skerritt
, Erik Estrada
, William Daniels
, Jamie Farr
, Pat Harrington, Jr.
, Larry Linville
and Richard Kiel
. Jimmy Hawkins
appeared on the series as a Catholic
priest on November 1, 1974, in what was his last acting appearance. McGavin's wife and assistant, Kathie Browne
, appeared in the final episode as Lt. Irene Lamont. According to IMDB.COM, the singing duo "The Gang" filmed a scene for "The Sentry" episode, but the scene never aired. This scene has never been restored for home video and is the only "lost" footage from the series.
In addition, the series provided the first professional writing credit for Bob Gale
, who wrote the script for the episode called "Chopper". David Chase
, creator of The Sopranos
, also worked on the series as a story editor, his first regular crew position in Hollywood. Gale is credited for eight episodes but as story editor also helped rewrite the remaining 12, and McGavin and others attribute much of the show's quirky humor to his creative input.
The series' ratings were mediocre and its star was growing dissatisfied, resulting in its cancellation after one year. McGavin had been unhappy with what he felt was the show's "monster of the week" direction, and an exhausting filming schedule. He asked to be released from his contract with two episodes remaining to be filmed, which the network granted in light of the show's dwindling ratings.
Two television movies, The Demon and the Mummy and Crackle of Death
, were cobbled together in 1976. Each was based on previously-screened episodes from the series. McGavin provided a voice-over for both, which allowed the narrative to maintain some continuity. Because of this re-purposing, four episodes were removed from the syndication package and remained unavailable in their original format until Columbia House
released them on VHS
. In addition, another two previously-aired episodes were released on video called The Night Stalker: Two Tales of Terror.
branch of the Independent News Service (INS), a small wire service
.
myths, including classics such as vampires, werewolves
, mummies
and zombie
s. It also included stories about a doppelganger
, witches, a succubus
and a pact with Satan
. Four episodes focused on monsters and spirit
s based in native folklore (two involving Native American
legends, one Hindu
and one Creole
).
The series also dealt with creatures from science fiction, including a killer android, an invisible extra-terrestrial, a prehistoric man
thawed back to life and a lizard
-creature protecting its eggs.
The series also featured some more esoteric antagonists, including a headless motorcycle rider that hinted at the headless horseman
myth, and an animated knight
's suit of armor possessed by a spirit. A story about Jack the Ripper
was one of the few based on an actual historical figure, though the series provided a supernatural explanation. An episode about Helen of Troy dealt with immortality and aging.
scored the music for the original television movies. Gil Mellé
wrote the music for the TV series, beginning with the distinctive theme Kolchak whistles in the opening credits (which doubled as a haunting melody used throughout the series soundtrack). Mellé was hired and the theme was written in 20 minutes, just before the opening credits were shot.
Mellé left the series after the fourth episode, saying it was becoming too light-hearted. Composer Jerry Fielding
took over scoring music for the remaining series, augmented by one score each from Greg McRitchie (best known for his collaborations with Fielding, James Horner
) and Luchi De Jesus). Music Supervisor
Hal Mooney
re-used much of Mellé's score in various later episodes (most notably The Spanish Moss Murders which has no credited score composer) along with material from the other composers.
Two soundtrack albums have been produced. One released in 2000 by Varèse Sarabande
features two suites of Cobert's music from the TV movies. The other, a Universal Television
soundtrack released in 2002, features Mellé's theme and scores written for the first three episodes (The Ripper, U.F.O. and Vampire).
The Mellé theme song also appears on the TVT Records
' Television's Greatest Hits
Volume 5. However, all licensed soundtrack recordings of the theme use an otherwise rare original recording alternate take of the theme. Initially identifiable by the altered opening whistle, an off-key electronic note is seemingly randomly introduced towards the end, but when synchronized with picture it corresponds to a specific visual. Mellé was known for his innovative use of electronic orchestration (which was used throughout the series), however the producers chose not to include this stylistic element in his main title for broadcast, instead opting for a more conventional all-orchestral sound.
substantial. In particular the series has been described as a predecessor to The X-Files (1993–2002). The X-Files creator, Chris Carter
, has acknowledged that the show had influenced him greatly in his own work. In a once conducted interview when mentioned that the majority of the viewing public considered the success of The X-Files series as being inspired by other such past shows such as The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, Carter mentions that while those shows were indeed an influence on Files, it was only about ten-percent, with another thirty-percent coming from the Kolchak series, with the rest derived as being based upon original 'pure inspiration'. Carter paid tribute to Kolchak in a number of ways in the
show. A character named "Richard Matheson", named for the screenwriter of the pilot films, appeared in several episodes. Carter also wanted McGavin to appear as Kolchak in one or more episodes of The X-Files, but McGavin was unwilling to reprise the character for the show. He did eventually appear in several episodes as Arthur Dales, a retired FBI agent described as the "father of the X-Files".
owns the rights to the TV series, ABC maintained ownership of the two TV movies and began airing a new Night Stalker series on September 29, 2005, with the character Carl Kolchak portrayed by Stuart Townsend
. On November 14, 2005, ABC and creator Frank Spotnitz
announced that the new series was being cancelled due to low ratings. The 2005 series is available on DVD.
In a nod to the original series, the pilot episode has a brief shot from the original TV series of Darren McGavin in the INS newsroom, as the new Kolchak (Townsend) is walking through it. Inserted digitally, McGavin is dressed in the same frumpy clothes he wore as Kolchak in the original series and smiles knowingly while touching his hat. Observant viewers will note the satchel in which Kolchak carried wooden stakes and a cross to battle Skorzeny. In another shot, when fellow reporter Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union
) is searching through Kolchak's room, the hat McGavin wore in the original series is seen hanging on a coat rack. Other character names from the TV movies are referenced in various episodes, and one episode ("Timeless") recycled much of the plot of the TV movie The Night Strangler. In the 1970s, the Kolchak character was often seen in his yellow 1965 Ford Mustang
convertible while in the new series' Kolchak drives an orange Mustang from 2005.
wrote Night Stalking: A 20th Anniversary "Night Stalker" Companion detailing the production of the movies and TV series. In 1994, Dawidziak worked with Rice to produce the first official "Kolchak" material since the end of the TV series. The novel, Grave Secrets, moved Kolchak from Chicago to Los Angeles where he obtained a job at the Hollywood Dispatch newspaper (nicknamed the "Disgrace"). Most of the recurring characters from the TV movies and series also appear. Kolchak investigates a ghost who is killing those responsible for the destruction of the cemetery where its body is buried.
A comic book
based on the property was published in 2003 by Moonstone Books
with some commercial success. Moonstone continues to publish both a bimonthly serial magazine and a series of original graphic novels featuring the characters. Moonstone also adapted Rice's original The Night Stalker script as well as two unfilmed scripts for the TV series: "The Get of Belial" and "Eve of Terror".
In 2006, Moonstone published a short fiction anthology, The Night Stalker Chronicles, with short stories contributed by writers such as Peter David
, Mike W. Barr
, Stuart Kaminsky, Richard Dean Starr
and Max Allan Collins
. A second volume, Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook, was published in January 2007 featuring new short fiction by authors including P. N. Elrod
, Christopher Golden
, Richard Dean Starr
and Elaine Bergstrom
.
released the two TV movies on DVD on August 24, 2004. Universal Studios Home Entertainment
released Kolchak: The Night Stalker – The Complete Series on DVD a year later. Madman Entertainment
released the complete series on DVD in Australia and New Zealand on July 15, 2009.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
— who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law enforcement authorities won't pursue. Often these crimes involve some element of the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
or science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, such as fantastical creatures.
The series was preceded by two television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler
The Night Strangler (film)
The Night Strangler is a made for television movie which first aired on ABC on January 16, 1973 as a sequel to The Night Stalker.-Plot:...
(1973). While the series only lasted for one season, it remained popular in syndication, and is often credited as the inspiration for the popular television series The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. Following The X-Files' success, the franchise was resurrected in 2005 in the form of a second television series
Night Stalker (TV series)
Night Stalker is a television series that ran for six weeks in the Fall of 2005 on ABC. The series starred Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter whose wife was murdered. Kolchak spends his time investigating other strange murders, believing they are linked in some way to his...
with a new cast and characters, as well as subsequent novels and comic books.
The entire series is available in syndication and is occasionally rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
under its original expanded title, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. In 2008, it began running on Chiller
Chiller (TV channel)
Chiller is a 24-hour American cable and satellite television channel specializing in horror and suspense programming. conglomerate NBCUniversal.- Origin :...
. It is also available on DVD.
Origins
The Kolchak character originated in a novel, The Kolchak Papers, written by Jeff Rice. In the novel, Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak tracks down and defeats a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who turns out to be a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
named Janos Skorzeny. Although the main protagonist in the novel uses the name "Carl", the book reveals that his birth name is "Karel". At the time it was optioned for the screen, the novel was unpublished. Once the TV movie and its sequel TV movie aired, the original novel was published by Pocket Books as a mass-market paperback original under the title The Night Stalker with a Darren McGavin photo cover to tie in with the movie. The book, as well as the novelization of the second television movie (also written by Jeff Rice but based this time on Richard Matheson's original script), was republished by Moonstone in 2007 as an omnibus edition called The Kolchak Papers. Moonstone Books has continued to produce Kolchak comic stories.
The Night Stalker
ABC approached Rice with an offer to optionOption (films)
In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement between a potential film producer, such as a movie studio, a production company or an individual, and a writer or third party who holds ownership of a screenplay...
The Kolchak Papers, which eventually was adapted by Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
into a television movie called The Night Stalker. It was produced by Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
John Llewellyn Moxey
John Llewellyn Moxey is an Argentinian film and television director. He is best known for directing film The City of the Dead and directing episodes of The Saint, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote.-Life and career:Moxey was born in Argentina in 1925...
. Darren McGavin played the role of Carl. The cast also included Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley is an American actress and former child model.-Life and career:Lynley was born Carole Ann Jones in New York City, the daughter of Frances , a waitress, and Cyril Jones. Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Native...
, Simon Oakland
Simon Oakland
Simon Oakland was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.-Early life and career:Oakland was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He began his performing arts career as a musician . He began his acting career in the late 1940s...
, Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
, Claude Akins
Claude Akins
Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
, Charles McGraw
Charles McGraw
Charles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
, Kent Smith
Kent Smith
Kent Smith was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theater, and television.Born Frank Kent Smith in New York, New York, Smith made his acting debut on Broadway in 1932 in and, after spending a few years there, moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The...
, Stanley Adams
Stanley Adams (actor)
Stanley Adams was an American actor and screenwriter.-Career:Born in New York City, Adams had his first film role in 1952, when he played the bartender in the movie version of Death of a Salesman...
, Elisha Cook Jr.
Elisha Cook Jr.
Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was an American character actor who made a career out of playing cowardly villains and weedy neurotics in dozens of films...
, Larry Linville
Larry Linville
Lawrence Lavon "Larry" Linville was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the television series M*A*S*H.-M*A*S*H:...
, Jordan Rhodes, and Barry Atwater
Barry Atwater
Garrett "Barry" Atwater was an American character actor who appeared frequently on TV from the 1950s into the 1970s...
as the vampire Janos Skorzeny.
The Night Stalker first aired January 11, 1972, and garnered the highest ratings of any television movie at that time (33.2 rating – 54 share). Matheson received a 1973 Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
from the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for Best TV Feature or Miniseries Teleplay.
The Night Strangler
Impressed by the success of the first television movie, ABC commissioned Richard MathesonRichard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
to write a second movie, The Night Strangler (1973), which featured another serial killer in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
who strangled his victims and used their blood to keep himself alive for over a century. Kolchak recruits exotic dancer and psychology student Louise Harper (Jo Ann Pflug
Jo Ann Pflug
Jo Ann Pflug is a former American motion picture and television actress, who retired in the 1990s.Pflug's first major role was as U.S. Army nurse Lt. Maria "Dish" Schneider in 1970's MASH. Other notable roles include the voice of Invisible Girl in the 1967 animated version of Fantastic Four, Lt...
) to assist him in tracking down the eponymous strangler.
A fictitious version of the Seattle Underground City was used as a setting for much of the movie's action, and provided the killer with his hiding place. Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
both produced and directed the second movie, which also did well in the ratings. Rice then wrote a novelization based on Matheson's screenplay, a reverse of the situation for the first movie. The novel was published by Pocket Books as a mass-market paperback original under the title The Night Strangler with a close-up of the monster's eye to tie in with the movie.
Simon Oakland
Simon Oakland
Simon Oakland was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.-Early life and career:Oakland was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He began his performing arts career as a musician . He began his acting career in the late 1940s...
reprised his earlier role as Kolchak's editor, Tony Vincenzo. The cast also included Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson
Richard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
, Scott Brady
Scott Brady
Scott Brady was an American film and television actor.Born as Gerard Kenneth Tierney, he was the younger brother of fellow actor Lawrence Tierney. Brady served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a boxing champ...
, Wally Cox
Wally Cox
Wallace Maynard Cox was an American comedian and actor, particularly associated with the early years of television in the United States. He appeared in the U.S. TV series Mr. Peepers , plus several other popular shows, and as a character actor in over 20 films...
, Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
, John Carradine
John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
, Nina Wayne and Al Lewis.
Several scenes were filmed with George Tobias
George Tobias
George Tobias was an American character actor.-Early life and career:Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood...
playing a reporter who recalled a series of murders he had investigated during the 1930s. These scenes were cut from the version aired because of time constraints. A later DVD release contained some restored footage, but Tobias' scenes weren't included.
Production
In late 1973, Matheson and William F. NolanWilliam F. Nolan
William Francis Nolan is an American author, who wrote stories in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres. He is best known for coauthoring the novel Logan's Run, with George Clayton Johnson. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1976 horror film Burnt Offerings which starred Karen Black and...
completed the script for an intended third television movie entitled The Night Killers, a story about android replicas. However, ABC decided it wanted a weekly series instead.
After some negotiation, McGavin agreed to return as Kolchak and also served as the series' executive producer. However, ABC did not obtain Jeff Rice's permission, and he sued the studio. The suit was resolved shortly before the series aired in the fall 1974 season; Rice received an on-screen credit as series creator. The first four episodes aired under the title of The Night Stalker. After a month-long hiatus, the series was renamed and returned as Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
The show featured a wide range of guest stars and many Hollywood veterans, including: Ken Lynch
Ken Lynch
Ken Lynch was an American film and TV actor best known for his starring role as 'the Lieutenant' on the 1949-1954 Dumont detective series The Plainclothesman, on which his face was never seen, and for his co-starring role as Sergeant Grover on McCloud.-Career:Lynch appeared in numerous TV series...
, Charles Aidman
Charles Aidman
Charles Aidman was an American film scenarist and television actor.-Career:Among his many television credits include appearances on NBC's western series The Road West in the 1966 episode "The Lean Years"...
, Randy Boone
Randy Boone
Clyde Wilson Randall Boone, Jr., known as Randy Boone , is a former actor who co-starred in two of the three 90-minute westerns telecast during the 1960s on the national television networks, NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip...
, Scatman Crothers
Scatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
, Dick Van Patten
Dick Van Patten
Richard Vincent "Dick" Van Patten is an American actor, best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the television sitcom Eight is Enough. He began work as a child actor and was successful on the [New York] stage, appearing in more than a dozen plays as a teenager...
, Jan Murray
Jan Murray
Jan Murray was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who made his name on the Borscht Belt.-Early life:Murray was born Murray Janofsky in The Bronx, New York City...
, Larry Storch
Larry Storch
Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch is an American actor best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for top cartoon shows, including Mr...
, Jeanne Cooper
Jeanne Cooper
Wilma Jeanne Cooper , best known as Jeanne Cooper, is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless...
, Alice Ghostley
Alice Ghostley
Alice Margaret Ghostley was an American actress. She was best known for her roles as housekeeper Esmeralda on Bewitched, as Cousin Alice on Mayberry R.F.D., and as Bernice Clifton on Designing Women, for which she received an Emmy Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1992...
, Victor Jory
Victor Jory
Victor Jory was a Canadian actor.-Biography:Born in Dawson City, Yukon, Jory was the boxing and wrestling champion of the Coast Guard during his military service, and he kept his burly physique. He toured with theater troupes and appeared on Broadway, before making his Hollywood debut in 1930...
, Murray Matheson
Murray Matheson
Murray Matheson , born Sidney Murray Matheson was an actor who had appeared on stage and in films and television programs until 1983....
, Julie Adams
Julie Adams
Julie Adams is an American film and television actress, sometimes credited as Julia Adams or Betty Adams.-Life and career:...
, John Dehner
John Dehner
John Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
, Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S...
, Bernie Kopell
Bernie Kopell
Bernard Morton "Bernie" Kopell is an American television character actor who is probably best known for his roles as Dr. Adam Bricker in The Love Boat and KAOS agent Siegfried in Get Smart...
, Marvin Miller
Marvin Miller
Marvin Julian Miller is a former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association , from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players' union was transformed into one of the strongest unions in the United States...
, Jesse White
Jesse White (actor)
Jesse White was an American television, film, and stage character actor. He is best remembered for portraying the Maytag repairman in television commercials, a role he played from 1967 to 1988.-Life and career:...
, James Gregory
James Gregory (actor)
James Gregory was an American character actor noted for his deep, gravelly voice and playing brash roles such as McCarthy-like Senator John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate , the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and loudmouthed Inspector Luger in Barney Miller...
, Hans Conried
Hans Conried
Hans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
, Mary Wickes
Mary Wickes
Mary Wickes was an American film and television actress.-Career:Wickes was born as Mary Isabelle Wickenhauser in St. Louis, Missouri, of German Irish Protestant extraction. She graduated at the age of eighteen with a degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, where she...
, Henry Jones
Henry Jones (actor)
Henry Burk Jones was an American actor of stage, film and television.Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Helen and John Francis Xavier Jones. He was the grandson of Pennsylvania Representative Henry Burk...
, Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
, Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
, Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
, Abraham Sofaer
Abraham Sofaer
Abraham Sofaer was a stage actor of Burmese-Jewish descent who became a familiar supporting player on film and television in his later years. He was born in Rangoon, Burma...
, David Doyle, Jim Backus
Jim Backus
James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
, Kathleen Freeman
Kathleen Freeman
Kathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois...
, John Hoyt
John Hoyt
John Hoyt was an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life:Hoyt was born John McArthur Hoysradt. Before becoming an actor with Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre, the Yale University graduate worked as a history instructor, acting teacher and even a nightclub comedian...
, Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
, Eric Braeden
Eric Braeden
Eric Braeden is a German-American film and television actor, best known for his role as Victor Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless and as John Jacob Astor IV in the 1997 film Titanic...
, Tom Skerritt
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:...
, Erik Estrada
Erik Estrada
Henry Enrique "Erik" Estrada is an American police officer and actor, known for his co-starring lead role in the 1977–1983 United States police television series CHiPs...
, William Daniels
William Daniels
William David Daniels is an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild . He is known for his performance as Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate , as John Adams in 1776, as Carter Nash in Captain Nice, as Mr. George Feeny in ABC's Boy Meets World, as the voice of KITT in...
, Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
, Pat Harrington, Jr.
Pat Harrington, Jr.
Pat Harrington, Jr., is an American voice, stage, and television actor most popularly known for his role as building superintendent "Schneider" on the CBS sitcom One Day At A Time. He is the son of Pat Harrington, Sr.- Biography :...
, Larry Linville
Larry Linville
Lawrence Lavon "Larry" Linville was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of obnoxious, pious, self-important and inept surgeon Major Frank Burns in the television series M*A*S*H.-M*A*S*H:...
and Richard Kiel
Richard Kiel
Richard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
. Jimmy Hawkins
Jimmy Hawkins
James F. Hawkins , known as Jimmy Hawkins, and later, Jim Hawkins, is an American actor and film producer whose career began as a child actor to such Hollywood stars as Lana Turner, Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, and Donna Reed...
appeared on the series as a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest on November 1, 1974, in what was his last acting appearance. McGavin's wife and assistant, Kathie Browne
Kathie Browne
Kathie Browne was an American film and television actress.-Background:Born in San Luis Obispo, California as Jacqueline Katherine Browne she appeared in many films and TV shows such as Star Trek: The Original Series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason,...
, appeared in the final episode as Lt. Irene Lamont. According to IMDB.COM, the singing duo "The Gang" filmed a scene for "The Sentry" episode, but the scene never aired. This scene has never been restored for home video and is the only "lost" footage from the series.
In addition, the series provided the first professional writing credit for Bob Gale
Bob Gale
Michael Robert "Bob" Gale is an American screenwriter who co-wrote the science fiction film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert Zemeckis, and the screenplays for the film's two sequels. Gale also co-produced all three films....
, who wrote the script for the episode called "Chopper". David Chase
David Chase
David Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
, creator of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, also worked on the series as a story editor, his first regular crew position in Hollywood. Gale is credited for eight episodes but as story editor also helped rewrite the remaining 12, and McGavin and others attribute much of the show's quirky humor to his creative input.
The series' ratings were mediocre and its star was growing dissatisfied, resulting in its cancellation after one year. McGavin had been unhappy with what he felt was the show's "monster of the week" direction, and an exhausting filming schedule. He asked to be released from his contract with two episodes remaining to be filmed, which the network granted in light of the show's dwindling ratings.
Two television movies, The Demon and the Mummy and Crackle of Death
Crackle of Death
Crackle of Death is a 1976 film, the third produced in the Night Stalker film series. It combined the Kolchak: The Night Stalker episodes "Firefall" and "The Energy Eater" with additional narration by Darren McGavin as Kolchak....
, were cobbled together in 1976. Each was based on previously-screened episodes from the series. McGavin provided a voice-over for both, which allowed the narrative to maintain some continuity. Because of this re-purposing, four episodes were removed from the syndication package and remained unavailable in their original format until Columbia House
Columbia House
The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by the Columbia Records division of CBS, Inc. as an umbrella for its mail-order music clubs, the primary incarnation of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. It had a significant market presence in the 1980s and early...
released them on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
. In addition, another two previously-aired episodes were released on video called The Night Stalker: Two Tales of Terror.
Characters
The series features Kolchak as a reporter for the ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
branch of the Independent News Service (INS), a small wire service
Wire Service
Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.-Synopsis:Wire Service focuses on three reporters for the fictional Trans-Globe wire service, which was similar to real-life news wire services such as the Associated Press and United Press International...
.
INS characters
- Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavinDarren McGavinDarren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
) Kolchak is a talented investigative reporter with an affinity for bizarre and supernatural occurrences, obtaining information driving around Chicago in his yellow Ford MustangFord MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
convertible and always snatching exclusives armed with his camera and portable cassette recorder.
- Using only limited information, Kolchak has relentlessly cracked several cases relying on gut instinct and often prevailing through sheer dumb luck. But more often than not, Kolchak's prospects are hampered by the utter destruction of any or all evidence to prove his claims, thus advancing the sheer implausibility of his stories where his peers, particularly his editor, are concerned. On other occasions his investigations have led to demotion or relocation of varying authority figures, though reasons for these actions are never truthfully disclosed.
- Tony Vincenzo (Simon OaklandSimon OaklandSimon Oakland was an American actor of stage, screen, and television.-Early life and career:Oakland was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He began his performing arts career as a musician . He began his acting career in the late 1940s...
) – Kolchak's cantankerous editor who seems to be one of the only people willing to tolerate Kolchak's antics, despite their arguments.
- Ron Updyke (Jack Grinnage) – Kolchak's supercilious rival at INS whom Kolchak repeatedly refers to as "Uptight". Updyke is the complete opposite of Kolchak, always smartly dressed and hobnobs with Chicago's elite.
- Emily Cowles (Ruth McDevittRuth McDevittRuth McDevitt was an American stage, film, radio and television actress.-Career:She was born Ruth Thane Shoecraft in Coldwater, Michigan. After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she married Patrick McDevitt and decided to devote her time to her marriage. After her husband's death in...
) – an elderly puzzles and advice columnist. The only character who is sympathetic toward Kolchak.
- Monique Marmelstein (Carol Ann Susi) – an intern whose father owns INS. Because of her clumsiness, many of her coworkers believe she got her job due to nepotismNepotismNepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
.
Other recurring characters
- Gordy "The Ghoul" Spangler (John FiedlerJohn FiedlerJohn Donald Fiedler was an American voice actor and character actor in stage, film, television and radio. He was slight, balding, and bespectacled, with a distinctive, high-pitched voice and a career lasting more than 55 years.He is best remembered for four roles: as the nervous Juror #2 in 12...
) – a helpful morgue attendant. - Captain "Mad Dog" Siska (Keenan WynnKeenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
) – a Chicago police officer whose efforts to rein in his temper were constantly thwarted by Kolchak's abrasiveness.
Monsters
In the series' short run it managed to tackle most of the major monsterMonster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
myths, including classics such as vampires, werewolves
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
, mummies
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
and zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s. It also included stories about a doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
, witches, a succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
and a pact with Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. Four episodes focused on monsters and spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s based in native folklore (two involving Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
legends, one Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and one Creole
Louisiana Creole people
Louisiana Creole people refers to those who are descended from the colonial settlers in Louisiana, especially those of French and Spanish descent. The term was first used during colonial times by the settlers to refer to those who were born in the colony, as opposed to those born in the Old World...
).
The series also dealt with creatures from science fiction, including a killer android, an invisible extra-terrestrial, a prehistoric man
Prehistoric man
Prehistoric man may refer to:*Human evolution*the Homo *archaic Homo sapiens*any perceivedly primitive culture-See also:*Caveman*Primitive man*Prehistory*Paleolithic*Cradle of Humankind...
thawed back to life and a lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
-creature protecting its eggs.
The series also featured some more esoteric antagonists, including a headless motorcycle rider that hinted at the headless horseman
Headless Horseman
The headless horseman has been a motif of European folklore since at least the Middle ages.The Headless Horseman is a fictional character who appears in a short story called “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which is in a collection of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon written by Washington Irving...
myth, and an animated knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
's suit of armor possessed by a spirit. A story about Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
was one of the few based on an actual historical figure, though the series provided a supernatural explanation. An episode about Helen of Troy dealt with immortality and aging.
Music
Robert CobertRobert Cobert
Robert "Bob" Cobert is an American musical composer who has written for television and movies. He is best known for his work for the TV mini-series The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Together, the film scores for these two movies constitute the longest film score ever written for a movie...
scored the music for the original television movies. Gil Mellé
Gil Melle
Gil Mellé was an American artist, jazz musician and film composer.In the 1950s, Mellé's paintings and sculptures were shown in New York galleries and he created the cover art for albums by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins...
wrote the music for the TV series, beginning with the distinctive theme Kolchak whistles in the opening credits (which doubled as a haunting melody used throughout the series soundtrack). Mellé was hired and the theme was written in 20 minutes, just before the opening credits were shot.
Mellé left the series after the fourth episode, saying it was becoming too light-hearted. Composer Jerry Fielding
Jerry Fielding
Jerry Fielding was an American radio, record, film and television composer, conductor, and musical director.-Childhood and education:...
took over scoring music for the remaining series, augmented by one score each from Greg McRitchie (best known for his collaborations with Fielding, James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
) and Luchi De Jesus). Music Supervisor
Music supervision
A music supervisor is an individual who combines music and visual media. In the musical theatre industry, a music supervisor is often responsible for managing a team of music directors working on any number of musical productions.-Description:...
Hal Mooney
Hal Mooney
Hal Mooney was an American composer and arranger, born Harold Mooney on 4 February 1911, in Brooklyn, New York. He died on 23 March 1995, in Los Angeles, California.-Early life and career:...
re-used much of Mellé's score in various later episodes (most notably The Spanish Moss Murders which has no credited score composer) along with material from the other composers.
Two soundtrack albums have been produced. One released in 2000 by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
features two suites of Cobert's music from the TV movies. The other, a Universal Television
Universal Television
Universal Television is the television production arm of the NBCUniversal Television Group, and by extension, the NBC television network...
soundtrack released in 2002, features Mellé's theme and scores written for the first three episodes (The Ripper, U.F.O. and Vampire).
The Mellé theme song also appears on the TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
' Television's Greatest Hits
Television's Greatest Hits
Television's Greatest Hits is a series of albums containing recordings of TV theme songs through the years. The series was first introduced in 1985 as the centerpiece of the then-new TVT Records. Each of the original 8 volumes contains 65 theme songs. The format of the original eight volume series...
Volume 5. However, all licensed soundtrack recordings of the theme use an otherwise rare original recording alternate take of the theme. Initially identifiable by the altered opening whistle, an off-key electronic note is seemingly randomly introduced towards the end, but when synchronized with picture it corresponds to a specific visual. Mellé was known for his innovative use of electronic orchestration (which was used throughout the series), however the producers chose not to include this stylistic element in his main title for broadcast, instead opting for a more conventional all-orchestral sound.
Legacy
Though Kolchak was short-lived as a series, its impact on popular culture has beensubstantial. In particular the series has been described as a predecessor to The X-Files (1993–2002). The X-Files creator, Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
, has acknowledged that the show had influenced him greatly in his own work. In a once conducted interview when mentioned that the majority of the viewing public considered the success of The X-Files series as being inspired by other such past shows such as The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, Carter mentions that while those shows were indeed an influence on Files, it was only about ten-percent, with another thirty-percent coming from the Kolchak series, with the rest derived as being based upon original 'pure inspiration'. Carter paid tribute to Kolchak in a number of ways in the
show. A character named "Richard Matheson", named for the screenwriter of the pilot films, appeared in several episodes. Carter also wanted McGavin to appear as Kolchak in one or more episodes of The X-Files, but McGavin was unwilling to reprise the character for the show. He did eventually appear in several episodes as Arthur Dales, a retired FBI agent described as the "father of the X-Files".
The 2005 television series
Though Rice retains the rights to written Kolchak works, and Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
owns the rights to the TV series, ABC maintained ownership of the two TV movies and began airing a new Night Stalker series on September 29, 2005, with the character Carl Kolchak portrayed by Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend is an Irish actor and director. His most notable portrayals are of the characters Lestat de Lioncourt in the 2002 film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned, and Dorian Gray in the 2003 film adaptation of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.-Early life and...
. On November 14, 2005, ABC and creator Frank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz is an award-winning American television writer and producer, best known for his work on The X-Files television series.-Biography:...
announced that the new series was being cancelled due to low ratings. The 2005 series is available on DVD.
In a nod to the original series, the pilot episode has a brief shot from the original TV series of Darren McGavin in the INS newsroom, as the new Kolchak (Townsend) is walking through it. Inserted digitally, McGavin is dressed in the same frumpy clothes he wore as Kolchak in the original series and smiles knowingly while touching his hat. Observant viewers will note the satchel in which Kolchak carried wooden stakes and a cross to battle Skorzeny. In another shot, when fellow reporter Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union is an American actress and former model. Among her notable roles is as the cheerleader opposite Kirsten Dunst in the film Bring it On. Union starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the blockbuster film Bad Boys II and played a medical doctor in the CBS drama...
) is searching through Kolchak's room, the hat McGavin wore in the original series is seen hanging on a coat rack. Other character names from the TV movies are referenced in various episodes, and one episode ("Timeless") recycled much of the plot of the TV movie The Night Strangler. In the 1970s, the Kolchak character was often seen in his yellow 1965 Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
convertible while in the new series' Kolchak drives an orange Mustang from 2005.
Other projects
In 1991, author Mark DawidziakMark Dawidziak
- Early life :Mark was born in Huntington, New York, on September 7, 1956. He is a graduate of Harborfields High School, class of 1974.He is married with one teenage daughter, and currently lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio- Journalism career :...
wrote Night Stalking: A 20th Anniversary "Night Stalker" Companion detailing the production of the movies and TV series. In 1994, Dawidziak worked with Rice to produce the first official "Kolchak" material since the end of the TV series. The novel, Grave Secrets, moved Kolchak from Chicago to Los Angeles where he obtained a job at the Hollywood Dispatch newspaper (nicknamed the "Disgrace"). Most of the recurring characters from the TV movies and series also appear. Kolchak investigates a ghost who is killing those responsible for the destruction of the cemetery where its body is buried.
A comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
based on the property was published in 2003 by Moonstone Books
Moonstone Books
Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales....
with some commercial success. Moonstone continues to publish both a bimonthly serial magazine and a series of original graphic novels featuring the characters. Moonstone also adapted Rice's original The Night Stalker script as well as two unfilmed scripts for the TV series: "The Get of Belial" and "Eve of Terror".
In 2006, Moonstone published a short fiction anthology, The Night Stalker Chronicles, with short stories contributed by writers such as Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, Mike W. Barr
Mike W. Barr
Mike W. Barr is an American writer of comic books, and mystery, and science fiction novels.-Biography:Barr's debut as a comics professional came in DC Comics' Detective Comics #444 , for which he wrote an 8-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated Man...
, Stuart Kaminsky, Richard Dean Starr
Richard Dean Starr
*Richard Starr redirects here, not to be confused with Richard StarkeyRichard Dean Starr is an American entrepreneur, editor, and author of fiction and graphic novels whose work has featured characters including Hellboy, Zorro, The Phantom, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Avenger, The Green...
and Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins is an American mystery writer. He has written novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations and historical fiction. He wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition , created the comic book private eye Ms...
. A second volume, Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook, was published in January 2007 featuring new short fiction by authors including P. N. Elrod
P. N. Elrod
Patricia N. Elrod is an American novelist specializing in urban fantasy. She's written in the mystery, romance, paranormal, and historical genres with at least one foray into comedic fantasy. Elrod is also an editor, having worked on several collections for Ace Science Fiction, DAW, Benbella Books,...
, Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
, Richard Dean Starr
Richard Dean Starr
*Richard Starr redirects here, not to be confused with Richard StarkeyRichard Dean Starr is an American entrepreneur, editor, and author of fiction and graphic novels whose work has featured characters including Hellboy, Zorro, The Phantom, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Avenger, The Green...
and Elaine Bergstrom
Elaine Bergstrom
Elaine Bergstrom is an American author in the genres of fantasy and horror. She has had 13 novels published.-Biography:Bergstrom was born in Cleveland and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin....
.
DVD Releases
MGM Home VideoMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
released the two TV movies on DVD on August 24, 2004. Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
released Kolchak: The Night Stalker – The Complete Series on DVD a year later. Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
released the complete series on DVD in Australia and New Zealand on July 15, 2009.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| Kolchak: The Night Stalker - The Complete Series | 20 | October 4, 2005 | August 21, 2006 | July 15, 2009 |
External links
- Darren McGavin (authorized website)
- Jack Grinnage (played "Ron Updyke")
- The Kolchak DVD Official Universal Studios Site
- The Kolchak Series Gil Melle Universal Television Soundtrack CD (The Ripper, UFO & Vampire suites)
- Big Light Productions, production company for the 2005 Night Stalker series
- The Kolchak Journals, a print media fan magazine.
- Pomegranate Press Publisher of The Night Stalker Companion: A 25th Anniversary Tribute by Mark Dawidziak
- Moonstone Books Publisher of Kolchak comics and novels.
- IOACentral.com Article An article about "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" from a fan of the series.
- Comic Books/fiction Moonstone Books Main Website.