Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–1975) User Reviews (95)

Definitely deserves a place in TV's "Hall of Fame"

[BruceCorneil · 8/10 · 24 August 2003]

One of my favorite shows back in the '70s. As I recall it went to air on Friday (or possibly Saturday)night on the Nine Network (?) here in Australia. Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland were great together.

Each episode usually reached a climax with Kolchack having to engage in hand to hand combat with some sort of supernatural opponent. To their credit, the writers made a concerted effort to get away from the usual round of vampires and ghosts as much as possible.

I remember one episode in which the adversary was the spirit of an ancient Indian Chief which/who 'came back' as a massive electrical current which started to kill people in a city hospital. The final showdown saw Kolchack trying to short circuit the 'power beast' amidst an explosion of sparks and billowing flames. Oh well .... you had to be there at the time but it was an interesting idea.

McGavin always packed a lot of energy and enthusiasm into his roles and this was one of his best.

Definitely deserves a place in TV's "Hall of Fame". To quote Tony Vincenzo .... 'Kolchack you are ON IT '... Or, in the case of the Hall of Fame,'IN it' !

A series that has gotten to be more appreciated with time,

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 25 June 2015]

Kolchak was vastly under-appreciated in its day. In fact, I don't think I knew anyone else that watched the show in its first run - or at least would admit to watching it. Canceled after only twenty episodes in a Friday night time slot, it was pretty much forgotten until twenty years later when its basic format became the inspiration for the X-Files. Kolchak was a reporter on the trail of the supernatural. Like murders following Jessica Fletcher in "Murder She Wrote", the stories would sometimes find Kolchak rather than Kolchak always chasing the story. What made this series different from TV shows prior to it was that the government was shown to be suppressing attempts by Kolchak to get at the truth in just about every instance. This was a first in TV shows, and is possibly attributable to the fact that this show premiered about a month after Watergate blew wide open and the president was forced to resign. Although there are many similarities between this show and The X-Files, Carl Kolchak was no Fox Mulder in appearance or style. Like Peter Falk's Columbo, Kolchak wore crumpled attire and had an annoying way about him, but he did get results. Also, each episode of Kolchak was pretty much self-contained. There was no long-running story arc, such as Mulder's search for the truth in what he believed to be the alien abduction of his sister driving him to look for proof of alien existence. If you like shows about the supernatural and you can handle a little 1970's nostalgia and some cheesy special effects, I advise you give this series a try if you ever run across it.

One of the Greatest Characters Ever to Inhabit TV Land!

[eclecticist · 9/10 · 19 March 2011]

In the mid-1970s, "The X Files" was called "The Night Stalker" (TNS). Now a show that far ahead of its time couldn't exist for long in the mediocre milieu of network television, but for one brief year, we were treated to one of the greatest characters ever to inhabit TV Land.

All week, I would wait for the night the show came on, and if my homework was finished and my chores completed, I could try to talk my way past my mom's objections that "It'll give you nightmares!" (Which it did, but they were a small price to pay.) Now if we're being honest, I'll have to admit that the quality of the scripts (not to mention the special affects) was wildly uneven. But when it was good, it was magical! And even when the episode's plot left something to be desired, the relationship between Kolchak and his boss, Anthony Vincenzo (played to perfection by Simon Oakland), made every minute worthwhile.

If ever a series revolved around an anti-leading man, TNS was that series. Carl Kolchak wasn't young, handsome, or suave, and he worked for a two-bit, perpetually broke news service. A real old-school reporter, he was cynical and hard-bitten, and his prose tended toward the florid. His suit was always rumpled, and his shoes were worn. He always seemed to be in a hurry, yet he always arrived late and out of breath. In any fight, he was sure to get the worst of it.

In other words, he was far from the glamorous, polished hero image usually found in TV's mystery shows. Which made him real! Every week I would root for him to find one--just one--person that would believe his incredible stories ... but just try to get someone to take you seriously when you're talking about vampires or werewolves! Even the cops, staring the evidence in the face, were loathe to admit to anything, even away from the public eye.

Mr. Vincenzo, Kolchak's boss, was always harried and hounded to the verge of a nervous breakdown by the stress of trying to keep his tiny bureau out of bankruptcy while simultaneously pleasing his bosses in New York. All Tony ever wanted was a little peace and quiet, a good night's sleep, and a smooth-running operation. With Kolchak on his staff, however, those were all as rare as high-quality photographs of an alien or the devil.

Long before Moonlighting's conflict-energized dialogues between Sybill and Bruce, Tony and Carl could go at it with the best of them--and always at the top of their lungs. Kolchak usually managed to get the best of his boss, who was always threatening to fire the troublesome reporter "if that story isn't on my desk first thing in the morning!" Instead, he was much more likely to get a 3 a.m. call from the local police precinct, pleading for him to come down and post bail. Because Kolchak's main characteristics were persistence, an open mind, and incredible curiosity--none of which endeared him to local law enforcement. The police brass was always trying to cover up the uncomfortable details that Kolchak was determined to unearth ... and he wanted them to admit things that would get them thrown in a loony bin.

Kolchak is a dying breed. On one hand, TV News was already outbidding print services for talent, and on the other Woodward and Bernstein were about to revolutionize reporting. Soon, reporters would no longer dream of a big scoop on the latest sensational murder; instead, it was to become all about politically themed exposes ... who can take down the biggest politician.

But Carl Kolchak was a great character, foibles and all, and Darren McGavin played him spot on, note for note. So it may have lasted a mere 20 episodes ... but what a show!

Hero In An Old Straw Hat.

[a_l_i_e_n · 18 August 2006]

A brilliantly entertaining series that ran for a single shining season in the 1970's, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" concerned a Chicago reporter whose investigations invariably lead him into dangerous encounters with the paranormal.

Starring the incomparable (and irreplaceable) Darren McGavin, this smartly written show has been described by some as being "campy", and while a couple of episodes ("The Youth Killer" and the much more amusing "The Trevi Collection") may have strayed far enough into that territory to qualify as camp, this was actually a series with two distinct parts. Half of the show was a situation comedy (the scenes taking place in the INS office between Kolchak and Vincenzo were particularly amusing), and the other half was a straight-faced thriller that featured some genuinely frightening scenes of horror.

Quite a maverick among television shows of the day, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" noticeably parted company with established convention regarding what qualifies a character to fill the role of a hero. Common practice dictates that your basic TV good guy will be conventionally handsome, good with his fists and fearless in the sight of danger. Some are rich and reside in fabulously appointed surroundings and often find themselves the focus of unflagging admiration from a cheering section of supporting characters.

Then there's Carl Kolchak. A far sight from the usual male model-type lead, this average-looking guy doesn't work for a big league paper, but instead pounds away at his typewriter in a somewhat rundown news bureau office. He has no family and the only people who seem even remotely close to him are a gray-haired advice columnist and a short-tempered managing editor who's usually bellowing at him to drop his latest crazy story.

Also rare for a TV hero: he doesn't even carry a gun. In fact, when faced with danger, Carl sometimes runs away in stark raving terror.

Furthermore, he's generally reviled by public officials, and after vanquishing something evil from our midst, he never even gets any credit for having risked his neck.

Armed only with a camera, a tape recorder and his wits, Carl Kolchak certainly doesn't sound very formidable. And yet, somehow, this cynical, middle-aged news hound in a seersucker suit and beat-up straw hat is the greatest foe any vampire or blood-thirsty creature of the night ever came up against. Sure, he may not get that Pulitzer prize, but for his uncanny abilities at ridding the world of one monster after another, this unlikely hero surely ranks as one of the most unique and marvelously ironic characters in the history of television.

If you're interested, have reviewed of all 20 episodes, too.

Best Sci Fi/Horror of the 70's

[Gislef · 10/10 · 1 October 1998]

In a decade which gave us Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, and...well, not much else, Night Stalker stands out as an oasis of quality horror/fantasy/science fiction in the 70's. Darren McGavin is at the top of his form in a series that splits its time about evenly between humor and horror. The only real problem with the series is the scripting, which varies from week to week in no perceivable pattern. An incredibly wretched episode like "The Energy Eater" will be followed by the series' best, "Horror in the Heights," the following week. Still, McGavin and the supporting cast are fun to watch, and you get the chance to laugh along with the writers as they both pay homage to and parody all those old horror movies.

How Kolchak Inspired Carter

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 29 September 2006]

When originally screened in America in 1972, 'The Night Stalker' became the highest rated made-for-T.V. movie in history. Based on Jeff Rice's unpublished novel, it told how a fearless investigative reporter named Carl Kolchak ( the late Darren McGavin ) discovered the existence of a vampire in modern-day Las Vegas. When it arrived on British television four years later, it did not quite have the same impact, but my friends were talking about it at school on Monday morning, as indeed was I. We all agreed that it was one of the most exciting things we had seen.

I did not know of the existence of 'The Night Strangler' until it turned up nearly a decade later. I.T.V., who screened the 'Kolchak' movies, had apparently decided to pass on the spin-off series; they felt 'Barnaby Jones' starring Buddy Ebsen to be more of a draw, and anyway, viewers might confuse 'Kolchak' with 'Kojak'! For years my only source of information concerning the show was an article in Fangoria magazine. I could not even purchase the Jeff Rice novels.

Then something wonderful happened. In 1990, B.B.C.-2 put out the show as part of a late-night Friday series devoted to the supernatural called 'Mystery Train', hosted by Richard O'Brian. 'Kolchak' found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of 'The Brain Eaters' and 'Earth Vs.The Spider'. The opening titles were trimmed, removing Kolchak's whistling, and the closing credits...well, there were none.

The first episode screened was 'Werewolf'. I cannot say I was overly impressed, but stuck with it, and am I glad that I did!

I really wish I'd seen it in 1974. My twelve year old self would have adored it. Creepy, humorous, exciting, no wonder it fired Chris Carter's imagination.

The show's biggest asset was, of course, McGavin. Unlike the recent Kolchak, the original was an everyman figure, eccentrically dressed, rather conservative. He was to the supernatural what 'Columbo' was to crime. The late Simon Oakland was great too as Kolchak's bad-tempered boss Tony Vincenzo. The scripts overflowed with wonderful, dry wit. I found myself enjoying the programme more for the humour content than the horror. When the twenty episodes ended, I felt bereft.

'The X-Files' came along a few years later and filled the void - but only to an extent. I wanted Kolchak and Vincenzo back. I am glad that the show was never revived though. Without Oakland it would not have been the same.

I have the Rice books now and have read them several times. I was very surprised when Stephen King slated the first ( in his book 'Danse Macabre' ) as it is as good as anything he has written.

Alright, so some of the monsters were hardly state-of-the-art, but so what? The new 'Kolchak' totally missed the point of the original. What you don't see is sometimes more frightening than what you do...

Best Episode - 'Horror In The Heights' Worst Episode - 'The Sentry'

Man Up you guys this is a 10

[A_Different_Drummer · 10/10 · 17 January 2014]

If IMDb allowed short reviews (they don't, they have rules) I would make this a one sentence review and simply point out that the producers and writers of the X-Files claimed their hit show was an "homage" to this incredible series. That is all you really need to know. If you are still with me, I will say that Darren McGavin, one of the great legends of early TV, was pushing 50 when he took on the role of a "cub reporter" that unintentionally ended up with all the really-really-really strange stories. His Kolchak is pitch-perfect, and in hindsight it is hard to imagine anyone else who could have pulled it off, his rumpled hat and suit make even Columbo look like a male model. And like any good reporter, he is always fighting with his boss and he always has one more question to ask, even if that last question means risking his life. The best series are not merely about stories, they are about characters that you cannot forget long after the set is turned off. McGavin made Kolchak a part of TV history. The series is timeless.

The reason I think this show is so popular

[LJ27 · 10/10 · 27 May 2007]

I loved KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER since I saw it on the night it premiered on September 13, 1974. I loved the monsters which seemed scary at the time and the cool music by Gil Melle (hey, where's the soundtrack guys?) and have often thought about what makes this show work for me so completely and have finally concluded that the reason it endures when many others do not is one simple, important element it has that almost no other scary show seems to have and that is a main character that most people can relate to on an everyday level. When Darren McGavin's Carl Kolchak starts to discover odd situations, he reacts like most people would. He finds them odd and as he gets closer to danger, he is frightened, even if he knows he must move forward to try to defeat whichever menace is being showcased in that episode. It's rare that he is brave enough to stand up against some superior supernatural force. He's usually set a trap and is hiding or waiting in the wings to see if it works. Sometimes, he seems as surprised that he managed to defeat a foe as we are. In one episode, he goes to find a monster in a sewer but when he first sees it, he runs to get out of there but is trapped so reluctantly, he must go back and defend himself. He's heroic because he is willing to do things most of us probably wouldn't do but that doesn't mean he probably wouldn't much rather someone else did it instead of him. He's a regular guy, doing a job, trying to make a buck, not a monster-hunter. He just gets wrapped up in things involving the supernatural, which he has an interest in but he doesn't want to be hurt or killed anymore than any of the rest of us do. If his plan to defeat the creature didn't work, you will often see him running for his life to get away from it, which is of course what I would do in the situation. That's why I was often watching the climax of the shows through my fingers as a kid. Kolchak was likable and you cared if something bad happened to him. You were scared for him and for the other characters too. The producers and writers obviously knew that anyone can create a monster suit, scary music and direct a suspenseful scene but it's all for naught if you don't care about the characters. Darren McGavin said that the reason why the show only lasted on season was because he got tired of doing a "monster of the week" show and he decided not to continue. I can tell you I mourned when this show was canceled when I was a kid but, as an adult, I can see why it couldn't go on in that formula for very long. I still love the 20 episodes and two movies that starred McGavin as the bumbling, determined and brusk but good-hearted reporter for the INS, known as Carl Kolchak. I seriously doubt anyone who makes shows or movies will ever really understand why I loved the show. It's not the monsters, darkly-lit sets, creepy music or goofy guest stars, although they are all vital ingredients. The secret to it's success is right there in the title - "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". Without McGavin's lovable, bumbling Carl Kolchak to root for and to care for, then it just ain't a Night Stalker.

Chi-town of Monsters

[DarkTimesDeserveDarkMovies · 10/10 · 14 June 2022]

The single most intriguing, amazing, interesting, intense televisual experience anyone could ever hope for in 1974. It was such a cool blend of fantasy and mystery that I couldn't help but stay tuned. Each episode stood alone unlike most serial dramas at that time. Who would have thought that Chicago was such a Monster town?

Pretty much as good as it gets

[BandSAboutMovies · 10/10 · 22 October 2017]

Originally airing on the ABC Network on January 11, 1972, The Night Stalker was based on an unpublished Jeff Rice novel, adapted by Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum, The Devil Rides Out, even Jaws 3-D) and produced by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, Burnt Offerings, Trilogy of Terror), The Night Stalker remained one of the highest rated TV movies for nearly a decade.

Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey (Home for the Holidays, Genesis II, No Place to Hide, The City of the Dead/Horror Hotel), this is 75 minutes of concentrated horror all with a main character that would directly connect to the fears and worries of the 70s. As part of the heroic press, a muckraker who won't take no for an answer and who is willing to push and push and push to the point that his happiness and life are in constant danger, Carl Kolchak has been kicked out of nearly every major newspaper in every major city — more than once. He's now a reporter in the gleaming neon world of 70s Vegas, working for (more like driving crazy) editor Tony Vincenzo.

The film opens with Kolchak listening to his own dictation of his last major story. Seems like a vampire — or something a lot like one — has been attacking women and draining them from their blood. Thanks to Kolchak's fact checking and nose for clues, the police, sheriff's department and DEA land on a suspect – Janos Skorzeny (Barry Atwater, who also hosted the Horro-Ritual that played before Dracula A.D. 1972), who is way older than his physical appearance suggests. Murder and chaos have followed Janos around the world, which the Vegas cops get to see for themselves when he's shot nearly thirty times at point blank range before killing four cops and putting one in the hospital. Even though he accomplishes all of that — and outruns a police motorcycle — the forces of order refute Kolchak's claims that they're facing a vampire (thanks to the urging of his dancer girlfriend, Gail Foster).

Finally, the police realized that they have to listen to Carl, setting up a deal: if he's wrong, he'll leave Vegas forever. But if he's right, he gets to publish his story. The pursuit of the vampire ends with Carl staking the creature while an FBI agent — finally, a credible witness — watches.

The real reason why I love The Night Stalker comes after all of this action. Kolchak is overjoyed — he finally has the story that will bring back to New York City. He proposes to his girlfriend, finally gets praise for being a great reporter from his editor and goes to see the mayor, ready to tell him to eat crow. But you can see it in Darren McGavin's nuanced performance that the moment that Vincenzo tells him that he's a great reporter that he knows that everything is about to unravel. This is a hard man, a man who has tumbled from the heights so many times that he is used to the fall.

Read more at http://bit.ly/2zHBzOX

Darren McGavin & Simon Oakland Were A Great Team.

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 17 August 2013]

Darren McGavin played investigative journalist Carl Kolchack, who found himself pursuing various supernatural menaces across the 20-episode run. Simon Oakland played his long-suffering editor who puts up with Kolchack to an astonishing degree; how Carl didn't get fired from his job was a mystery in itself! Kolchack infuriated everyone in his pursuit of the truth, and was absolutely fearless in how he would go anywhere, defy any authority to defeat the various vampires, werewolves, ghosts, reptile-men, witches(etc.) Carl was a true hero in this regard, but received no respect or recognition at all, not that it seemed to bother him all that much(you just know it had to!) A sequel series to the two previous TV films "The Night Stalker" & "The Night Strangler", it is unfortunate that McGavin never played the part again after its cancellation, since I would loved to know whatever happened to him; he was that great a character!

Excellent horror TV series

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 18 February 2010]

It's a genuine shame that this spin-off TV series inspired by the superior made-for-TV pictures "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler" only lasted a single season and twenty episodes, because at its best this program offered an often winning and highly entertaining blend of sharp cynical humor (Carl Kolchak's spirited verbal sparring matches with perpetually irascible and long-suffering editor Tony Vincenzo were always a treat to watch and hear), clever writing, nifty supernatural menaces (gotta love the offbeat and original creatures in "The Spanish Moss Murders," "The Sentry," and "Horror in the Heights," plus you can't go wrong with such tried'n'true fright favorites as zombies, vampires, werewolves, and witches), colorful characters, lively acting from a raft of cool guest stars (legendary biker flick icon William Smith got a rare chance to tackle a heroic lead in "The Energy Eater" while other episodes featured great veteran character actors like Keenan Wynn, John Fiedler, John Dehner, Severn Darden, and William Daniels in juicy roles), effective moments of genuine suspense (the sewer-set climax of "The Spanish Moss Murders" in particular was truly harrowing), and, best of all, the one and only Darren McGavin in peak zesty form as the brash, aggressive, and excitable, but basically decent, brave, and honest small-time Chicago, Illinois newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak.

Kolchak was the quintessential 70's everyman protagonist, a wily and quick-witted fellow with a strong nose for a tasty scoop and an unfortunate knack for getting into all kinds of trouble. Moreover, the occasionally bumbling Kolchak was anything but superhuman; he usually either tripped or stumbled while running away from a deadly threat, yet possessed a certain inner strength and courage that enabled him to save the human race time and time again from all kinds of lethal otherworldly foes. Kolchak was surrounded by a handful of enjoyable secondary characters: Simon Oakland was perfect as Carl's chronically ill-tempered boss Tony Vincenzo, Jack Grinnage as the prissy Ron Updyke made for an ideal comic foil, Ruth McDevitt was simply delightful as the sweet Miss Emily Cowles, and Carol Ann Susi was likewise a lot of fun as eager beaver rookie Monique Marmelstein (who alas disappeared after popping up in only three episodes). Granted, the show did suffer from lackluster make-up and special effects (the titular lycanthrope in "The Werewolf" unfortunately resembles a Yorkshire terrier!) and the latter episodes boasted a few laughably silly monsters (the headless motorcyclist in "Chopper," Cathy Lee Crosby as Helen of Troy in "The Youth Killer'), but even the second-rate shows are redeemed by the program's trademark wickedly sly sardonic wit and McGavin's boundless vitality and engagingly scrappy presence.

Vampires and werewolves and zombies oh my

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 3 September 2017]

Although it only ran for 1 season and 20 episodes, Kolchak the Night Stalker has retained a cult following ever since. I've never understood why shows like Kolchak that have such devoted followers were never able to translate that into ratings power.

Carl Kolchak with light linen suit, panama hat, and ever present camera works for a wire service and keeps getting these assignments that somehow involve the supernatural. Darren McGavin plays Kolchak with a great amount of irreverence and cynicism that all newspaper people on the big and small screen are supposed to have since The Front Page made its debut.

All kinds of creatures that go bump in the night find there way to Kolchak and he defeats them. Sad though the evidence of their existence always seems to disappear. One thing that remains constant is his ever feuding battles with his editor Simon Oakland who was working on one big ulcer. Sob sister columnist Ruth McDevitt always had an inane word or two to calm the proceedings.

A show I wish had a longer run.

Not for me

[grantss · 5/10 · 19 December 2020]

Carl Kolchak is a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. Through more accident than design he ends up investigating homicides, many of which involve supernatural forces. Ultimately, rather than reporting on the crimes, he solves them.

I was intrigued by this series as it looked like decent whodunnit-type thriller-drama. However, the supernatural element undermines any thoughts of this being a classical whodunnit. Rather than painstakingly interviewing suspects and piecing together the puzzle, the average episode involves Kolchak chasing after all manner of ghouls in fairly linear fashion. Not what I enjoy.

The Continuing Adventures of Carl Kolchak

[Sargebri · 19 May 2004]

After the immense success of the made for t.v. movies "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler", A.B.C. decided to finally make the adventures of everyones' favorite monster hunter Carl Kolchak into a weekly series. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season. Too bad though. This had to be one of the smartest series ever written for television. It was definitely a perfect mix of both horror and comedy as it placed the a regular guy like Kolchak in several unbelievable situations. Kolchak would begin by writing on stories on what he would think would be an ordinary murder and wind up finding the killer is either a werewolf or a vampire. Darrin McGavin was perfect in the role and Simon Oakland was great as his editor Vincenzo. Too bad that this show was up against the juggernaut that was the Friday night line up that was over on N.B.C.. In fact the night that it premiered, Friday September 13, 1974, was also the same night that another smartly written show premiered, "The Rockford Files".

Kolchak - the urban explorer

[sltknt · 10/10 · 3 June 2007]

As a forty-something urban explorer/photography and longtime fan of the original Kolchak: Night Stalker series since my early childhood, one aspect that hasn't really been mentioned is the amount of urban exploration Carl's character undertook during the series. He always managed to get himself in to one great abandonment, sewer or tunnel after another. Armed with only his trusty penlight (okay, so he had some flares in the primal ape episode tunnel) and his camera, he never carried any other gear to either protect himself or make the exploration easier.

Like many here, I recently purchased the DVD box set of the two pilot movies and subsequent TV episodes, and have been slowly revisiting all the shows. And although I remember watching them back in the early 70s when they first aired, its been over 30 years passed...so many of them seem new all over again. Campy, dated and cheesy - but charming and highly entertaining. They just don't make stuff like this these days. Now its all regurgitated spin-offs with predictable characters and plots.

Thankfully, my 16-yr-old daughter has been sitting down to watch the episodes with me and has developed an appreciation for them (she enjoys the genre). It gives me hope and faith the series will carry on to new generations of fans for years to come.

great

[walshtim94 · 10/10 · 24 June 2010]

Some of the scariest bits on TV were delivered by Karl Kolchak for us. "THe Vampire" was one of the best non-Dracula vampire stories ever shown on television. This is the scenario: a victim of the vampire Janos Skozeny was never found and destroyed by Las Vages police. After some earth is moved by heavy equipment, she claws her way out of the dirt and frightens a woman. She makes her way to Los Angeles and gets a job as a high priced hooker. As a call girl, she wear huge amounts of pancake and rouge. She kills the sister and her sister's boyfriend, and then wreaks havoc on the Los Angeles's Rams offensive line. Kolchak arrives in time to get bit, but he shows her a cross and she cowers away. Of course, Kolchak has to dispatch the vampire without the help of skeptical police (Kolchak, people disappear every day, is Amelia Earhardt supposed to show up as a vampire?) This female vampire is the scariest, vicious, feral lady vampire this side of the Borgo Pass. Even Drac would not want to be on her bad side. Other memorable episodes are Jack the Ripper, RING, the alien, the headless motorcyclist, the immortal, the witch, the goddess, the satanic politician (not a redundancy) and the rakshasa. The best horror serial of TV. Comparable to the movie. Kolchak in Vincenzo are in Chicago for the series, having been driven out of Vegas by the authorities who knew that Kolchak killed the vampire Skorzeny.

Grand guinol Chicago style...

[millerman378 · 10/10 · 13 April 2008]

I remember the original series vividly mostly due to it's unique blend of wry humor and macabre subject matter. Kolchak was hard-bitten newsman from the Ben Hecht school of big-city reporting, and his gritty determination and wise-ass demeanor made even the most mundane episode eminently watchable. My personal fave was "The Spanish Moss Murders" due to it's totally original storyline. A poor,troubled Cajun youth from Louisiana bayou country, takes part in a sleep research experiment, for the purpose of dream analysis. Something goes inexplicably wrong, and he literally dreams to life a swamp creature inhabiting the dark folk tales of his youth. This malevolent manifestation seeks out all persons who have wronged the dreamer in his conscious state, and brutally suffocates them to death. Kolchak investigates and uncovers this horrible truth, much to the chagrin of police captain Joe "Mad Dog" Siska(wonderfully essayed by a grumpy Keenan Wynn)and the head sleep researcher played by Second City improv founder, Severn Darden, to droll, understated perfection. The wickedly funny, harrowing finale takes place in the Chicago sewer system, and is a series highlight. Kolchak never got any better. Timeless.

Memories!!!!

[EmmeCHammer · 10/10 · 16 October 2020]

I remember every show being a young kid with a way older sister, she would have a slumber party with all her cheerleader friends, my parents would be out on Saturday night and I was going to get to stay up late and watch my favorite show. We only had about 5 or 6 channels back then and I would crawl up in my parents bed , get ready with some popcorn and watch The Night Stalker. So now with this crazy world we live in now: Covid, Race relations, Hurricanes (2 in 12 days) and Politics, I can still escape with my DVR and the Night Stalker, bringing me back so vividly To the good ole days of my youth. Thank you MeTv for giving me the opportunity to smile for a hour every week no matter how ugly it gets out here-- besides family this is exactly what TV and movies is supposed to do. Memories and a smile!

Night Hunter

[hellraiser7 · 10/10 · 2 June 2015]

I've always been into those stories on unexplained phenomena from Bigfoot, the flying mothmen, black panthers, alligators in sewers, you name it. But what if all those things didn't stay hidden and turned out to actually be proved true, and what would you do if you even got dangerously close?

This is one of my favorite TV shows of all time, it's also another childhood relic of mine. This was one of the first that really got the paranormal noir subgenere going as after this show there has been a huge inspiration to many other shows in it's wake like "The X-Files", "Gravity Falls", even a bit of the graphic DC comic series and underrated TV series "Constintine".

What really made this show great was not just the concept of all the unexplained phenomena being real but just the notion of combining both the supernatural and noir genres into one which surprising made a beautiful combo and was something truly different for it's time. Instead of looking for the guilty culprit we're looking for the creature of the week.

I love the theme song it's one of my favorite theme songs which feels right as it evokes mystery and also a bit of a sense of dread.

Each of the mysteries are thought provoking which really gave it a sense of participation, we're all in the same boat as Carl Koljak, just like him we're trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I really love the use of darkness in the show which really gave everything both a noir atmosphere and even a really creepy, spooky and at time scary one, it really felt like a world where there is danger hidden or lurking in the shadows and the contemporary reality we all take for granted could betray us at any time. But there is also some comedy this gives the show a light heartiness, being both scared and laughing at the same time is always a great combo.

Carl Kolchak is one of my favorite fictional protagonists. He's sort of a pulp hero, up there with "Doc Savage", "Doctor Who", and many others. Like any of the pulp heroes he's a single man that goes into many colorful adventures and has to deal with many outrageous situations. This was the kind of guy I'd wanted to call if I even saw something bump in the night.

What I love about Kolchak is his character type in a way he's sort of like a 1920's detective that has been transported to the modern 70's era. He is somewhat of an outsider as he is literally the only one that has to seek out and deal with each of these bump in the night creatures, the only way/s he knows how. Which really increases the stages because it give this show a bit of a sense of isolation but is also stays true to the traditional noir genre as most of the protagonist usually are isolated characters.

I even love that he's got a sharp dry charisma and isn't totally smooth as there is one moment that cracks me up when he tries to trap a vampire but makes a mistake as the person that entered isn't. And just like with "Doctor Who" Carl Kolchak has to mainly deal with each of these threats as best he can, he has no muscle or any weapons, his best weapon in the situations is his wits and intelligence. Which I think is great because it makes the protagonist more human making him more relate able, let alone inspiring despite the guy's limitations he's almost kinda a bad ass taking on supernatural foes that could overpower him and yet he is able to get the drop on them.

There are several favorite episodes of mine, like one where he is dealing with a vampire which for it's time the episode was revolutionary because it brought the vampire to our modern times, which at the time was rare. Another was seeing him pitted against a voodoo zombie, I'll admit that one gave me the creeps.

Beware of the dark, you may seek into the darkness, but the darkness always seeks you.

Rating: 4 stars

Kolchak Mulders inspiration

[hansoloslovechild · 10/10 · 16 January 2009]

If Mulder was looking for his real father here he is Darren McGavin, the first X Files, pity it was only one season long the producers of this show didn't know that they had the makings of a classic on their hands and in 1993 along came Chris Carter with what i call the follow up to the Night Stalker, The X Files. Both will go down as classics is my opinion the two shows taking the viewers to a level of experience that only comes along once in a while and who should appear in the X Files years later Darren McGavin, as Agent Arthur Dales helping our two favorite hero,s solving cases. Paying homage to the man i think so, well done Chris Carter bringing back a forgotten TV show in the form of David Duchovny as Darren McGavin if it wasn't for watching The X files and that particular show i would have never known about the Night Stalker.

The influential Kolchak TV series from 1974-1975

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 26 April 2018]

The TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker ran for one season in 1974-1975, consisting of 20 episodes. Two additional episodes were scheduled to be filmed, but star Darren McGavin was becoming disillusioned with due to an exhausting schedule and the fact that he was rewriting scripts plus doing much of the production work without compensation. The ratings were mediocre so he asked to be released from his contract with two episodes yet to be shot. The network granted his request in light of the ratings. I wish Darren would've persevered and finished out the season because then we'd have two more episodes to enjoy. He was too fatigued at the time to see that this unique and groundbreaking series would be his most well-known role, along with "A Christmas Story" (1983).

If you haven't seen the two pilot movies, "The Night Stalker" (1972) and "The Night Strangler" (1973), I encourage you to view them before checking out the series. The debut movie was the best of the batch with "The Night Strangler" almost as good and even better in some ways (see my reviews for details). Both movies established the template (formula) for the TV series and myriad books that followed.

The 20 episodes are more of the same, but condensed into 51 minutes and all-around inferior. They're all of about the same quality with favorites emerging depending on how interesting the Monster-of-the-Week is, as well as the guest stars, both of which are a matter of taste. The first episode, "The Ripper," is a quality beginning for the series but it's too much like the two pilot movies for its own good, particularly the first film. It's basically a compressed version with a slightly different 'monster.'

"Horror in the Heights" is usually cited as the best segment because of the intriguing monster, which can mimic a person its victim trusts. It's actually pretty chilling for mid-70's television. "The Trevi Collection" is one of my personal favorites because it deviates from formula and contains a twist. The story tackles witchcraft but doesn't make the mistake of doing it in a one-dimensional manner (e.g. the mannequins). "The Energy Eater" is another fave due to guest stars William Smith, who beams with charisma, and professional-but-sultry Elaine Giftos, both of whom sorta team-up with Kolchak, particularly the former.

"The Vampire" is distinguished for its ties to the pilot movie and taking place in Los Angeles rather than Chicago, not to mention its vicious no-talking (and sharp) antagonist. "Demon in Lace" is one of the better episodes due to the intriguing succubus and the campus locale. "The Zombie" is notable for its formidable foe and one of the creepiest sequences in the last act at a junkyard. The monster make-up in "The Werewolf" is lame, but I favor the episode because it takes place completely on a cruise ship and features voluptuous & perky Jackie Russell as Wendy (in a black bikini); and Nita Talbot as Paula, who becomes Kolchak's gal pal.

The low points, for me, are the clunky "The Knightly Murders" (no pun intended), and "The Chopper," which devolves into camp. Yet even those episodes have their points of charm. The final segment, "The Sentry," is often reviled due to the reptilian creature costume, but it would've worked if the creators kept its cartoonish face & teeth obscured. The story rips-off Star Trek's "Devil in the Dark," but isn't anywhere near as absorbing. Yet this is partially made up for by the beaming & lovely Kathie Browne as Lt. Irene Lamont. Kathie was McGavin's wife for 34 years until her death in 2003. You might recall her as hottie Deela in Star Trek's "Wink of an Eye" from seven years earlier. Unsurprisingly, she & Darren have great chemistry.

The concept of the show, and its star (and some of the co/guest stars), are better than the actual execution of most of the episodes. The show needed someone of the caliber of Gene Roddenberry at the helm. As it turned out, the bulk of the pressure & work fell on McGavin's shoulders and thus he couldn't even finish out the season. Nevertheless, the show was seminal and acquired a cult-following, influencing more popular future series like The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural and The Walking Dead.

GRADE: B-

No other actor except Darren McGavin could have pulled off this show

[robertmaybeth · 8/10 · 28 December 2020]

And it seems to be almost the role he was born to play - I can't imagine anyone else playing Kolchak.

This show came in the 1970's, making it the primary form of entertainment for me any my high school friends. Preceded by some rather scary TV movies (or so it seemed at the time), we were thrilled to watch this show every time it came on. Since it was television, there were unfortunately limits on how scary the show's producers could make it - but with every episode you got the distinct impression that the show could very easily be much scarier than it was. And indeed this show seemed to push the very limits of what the American censors of the 1970's would allow.

Ultimately every show usually turned out to be much less scary then we hoped it would be, and this was what kept us tuning back in every week - we wanted to see just how dramatic this episode would be. From zombies, to underground monsters, to vampires we never knew what to expect, the format being what X'Files producers called "monster of the week". Naturally Kolchak was usually unharmed after every monster encounter, of course - he was the star of the show and this demanded the thickest possible plot armor. But younger viewers, like me and my friends, found it to be just the right amount of scary. Older people though, generally found it too corny to watch for long, and corny it was - in the Haitian zombie episode, for instance, Kolchak tricks the zombie into killing itself (again) by jumping through a conveniently placed wire noose.

Coming from the "vast wasteland" of television that was the 1970's, "The night stalker" was a welcome break from boring dramas and unfunny sitcoms and I watched every episode. Unfortunately its easy to see the show had no future and unsurprising it was cancelled after one season... you can only have so many monsters-of-the-week until you run out of monsters for Kolchak to stalk!

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Various, 1974-5) (TV) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 5 December 2007]

A couple of years back I had purchased (and enjoyed) the MGM double-feature DVD of the two Kolchak TV movies, THE NIGHT STALKER (1971) and THE NIGHT STRANGLER (1972). When the Universal set of the subsequent TV series came out, I had intended to buy it immediately – but rumors of playback issues with the dreaded DVD-18s kept me from adding it to my collection; recently, I placed an online order which consisted of a spate of discounted Universal Box Sets and decided to pick up the KOLCHAK 3-Discer as well.

Having watched it now, I can safely say that I didn’t regret acquiring this beloved (if short-lived) crime/horror series one bit: it may follow a standardized formula – dogged and resourceful newspaperman Carl Kolchak, marvelously played by Darren McGavin, gets into everybody’s hair with his attitude (flustered editor Simon Oakland, long-suffering colleagues, assorted authoritarian figures, a plethora of monsters and villains), faces up to the inevitable (and usually supernatural) threat alone but, finally, is pressured into keeping his story under wraps – but a winning one (further boosted by an impressive line-up of guest stars and notable behind-the-scenes credits), making the show a great deal of fun.

That said, quality varies from one episode to another and the modest budgets afforded them results in special and make-up effects which sometimes leave a lot to be desired (for instance, the werewolf in the eponymous entry and the goofy alligator creature in the very last installment) – not to mention the fact that these were restricted to 50-minute programmes and intended for family consumption to boot rather precludes a simplified and wholesome rendering of its often intriguing psychological and metaphysical themes (in the case of the werewolf, again, he’s never seen biting anyone but, somewhat foolishly, is made to merely throw people around)!

While the hero’s cynical narration does a lot to pull one into the fanciful plots, there’s a healthy dose of comedy relief involved in each episode (often, but not exclusively, revolving around McGavin’s relationship with either Oakland or geeky reporter Jack Grinnage) – to say nothing of reasonable atmosphere (the setting, for the most part, is Chicago) and suspense. To make the ride even more pleasant, there’s a bouncy score by Gil Melle' and Jerry Fielding.

For the record, the monsters encountered (but not always defeated) by Kolchak throughout the series are: a revived Jack The Ripper, a variety of cults (voodoo, Native American, Aztec), aliens, vampire, werewolf (going round its over-familiar concept by having this particular episode entirely set on a cruise-liner!), doppelganger, Satanist, swamp creature, mass of electricity, robot, apeman, witch, headless motorcyclist, succubus, a knight’s armor taking a murderous life of its own (the episode with perhaps the best supporting cast – featuring John Dehner as a morose police captain, Hans Conried and Robert Emhardt), Helen Of Troy(!) and crocodile. Some of the actors (other than those playing Kolchak’s co-workers) return in the same roles – Keenan Wynn and Ramon Bieri (both as officers of the law), John Fiedler (as a shrewd morgue attendant) and Richard Kiel as two distinct nemeses of the hero. If I were pressed to choose the finest (or most entertaining) episodes, I’d lean towards HORROR IN THE HEIGHTS (co-starring Phil Silvers and Abraham Sofaer) and the afore-mentioned THE KNIGHTLY MURDERS – while, as the weakest, I’d go for THE WEREWOLF (due to reasons I’ve already explained) and CHOPPER (based on a story concocted by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale!).

Unfortunately, the set contains no extras: it would have been nice to see a featurette discussing the numerous concepts dealt with in KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER, as well as putting the series into the context of where TV was at the time of its original airing, or even denoting the lasting influence it had on the apparently endless run of sci-fi series popular today. In fact, Kolchak himself – in a much younger and ostensibly darker guise – returned in a 2005 revival; this version is available at my local DVD rental outlet…but, for various reasons, I’m not sure I’d want to check it out so soon after the 1974-5 classic!

Entertaining TV show

[pundit-1 · 5/10 · 4 June 2006]

I remember seeing this when it made it's appearance on TV. While not exactly the best show on television it is far from being one of the worst. Some of the episodes however were a waste of time producing and were rather flimsy in quality. One excellent example was the episode involving an Aztec cult that practiced human sacrifices and starring Erik Estrada. This one now seems too outdated and even laughable to say the least.

The show while good in some ways did not have the inherent potential of great longevity. The later episodes seem to show it as running out of creative ideas or good stories. The show it seems was doomed to be a short lived series because of this. It's as though they ran out of cases for Kolchak to pursue and cover because he had exhausted all of them.

The main character in the show Karl Kolchak reporter for the INS, was the main reason why the show is fun to watch. It's not the creatures he comes up against or the bizarre occurrences that he comes across that makes this series memorable but this protagonist. Karl Kolchak the fast talking reporter with his somewhat humorous comments who gets on everyone's nerves is hilarious. His attempts to cajole and appeal to other's egos while trying to get some info out of them is a lesson in public relations. Also memorable is his audacity or brazen way of pursuing a story. Like impersonating a doctor,a businessman,or one of the hotel staff just to get pass security and to an interview. He is perhaps the main reason why this show even lasted as long as it did.

The only other memorable character in the series would be his boss the uptight high-strung Tony Vincenzo, who seems like a classic case of a high blood pressure victim. While watching the series one sometimes wonders why he never got around to firing Kolchak and replacing him with someone else. But then with Kolchak out of the picture there isn't much of a picture to watch.