Kolchak: The Night Stalker - Here monster, monster, monster
Written: Sep 26 '00 (Updated Sep 26 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Darrin McGavin's style
Cons: costumes are even worse than the original Star Trek
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| martytdx's Full Review: SciFi |
When I was a wee tot of six, my mother marked me for life. She allowed me to stay up WAY past my bedtime, fed me tea with sugar and milk, and forever changed me by letting me watch Kolchak: The Night Stalker on ABC on Friday nights. Premiering in 1976 after the original "The Night Stalker" movie (1972) and a sequel "The Night Strangler" (1974), the series was a thrilling highlight on prime time when monster movies were great despite their technical shortcomings.
Carl Kolchak - portrayed marvelously by Darrin McGavin - is a sniveling, hard-nosed and devious reporter for the International News Service (INS) with a nose for finding trouble in supernatural form. You might remember McGavin from such roles as the father in "A Christmas Story" (Ralphie's Dad) and in movies like "The Natural" and "Billy Madison". But to get an idea of what Kolchak really is, McGavin says it best in an interview from a while back:
This guy, I've got him in my mind, see, he's fired from the New York Journal in 1955. That day, the day he was fired, he was wearing a seersucker suit, a black string tie and a white shirt with a button-down collar. So, he's still wearing 'em. He hasn't bought a suit of clothes since he was fired... The truth of the matter is I love Kolchak. He's terrific. What he's saying to the world is beautiful - the heck with you, brother, I'll get my story anyway. He's a man in a million.
But Kolchak’s brand of reporting makes this series the cultish favorite that it is. And he isn’t alone in providing weird and wonderful horror. Simon Oakland is the head editor (played by stage vet Tony Vincenzo) with a grumpy charm that plays perfectly against McGavin’s weasel-like critter, vowing to ruin him and then saving his sorry hide time and again. Ruth McDevitt, who appears in episode one as a nosey neighbor and later appears in a number of episodes as the INS secretary (and as a completely different character) provides the sweet touch to lower Kolchak’s defenses. On the other end of the spectrum is “Uptight” Updike (Jack Grinnage), the mousy reporter looking for his big break but unable to stomach even the slightest issue beyond a review of a 3-star restaurant. He bears the brunt of Kolchak’s taunting and is the butt of most of the in-office jokes.
The show also brought a number of future stars into its ranks, including: Scatman Crothers, Dick Van Patton, Tom Skerritt, Richard Kiel (JAWS from the Bond films, who was in two episodes, Bad Medicine and The Spanish Moss Murders), Erik Estrada, Larry Linville, Cathy Lee Crosby and Tom Bosley.
SO BAD IT’S GREAT
The charm of the show is somewhat in how bad it was. The special effects made Star Trek look like an ILM dream-sequence. The creatures are barely recognizable and often more humorous than frightening. The acting? Well, there was some. But KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER had a charm that carried it into a second season, buoyed by the irrepressible McGavin.
Kolchak tangles with a bevy of supernatural enemies. In The Vampire, which is a sequel to the first movie, he has to tackle a prostitute vampire (arguably one of the best episodes). He goes on from there, finding werewolves on a cruise ship (The Werewolf. Hey, nobody ever said that they were original titles), Native American jewel thieves that can transform into crows (Bad Medicine, and even a politician that sells his soul to the Devil (no, really this time) in The Devil’s Platform.
Although many of the episodes elicit their fair share of groans (particularly bad are The Werewolf and The Primal Scream - where a set of prehistoric cells create a mad caveman for Carl to track down), some episodes are great stories which stand out over the show’s average production. Some of my personal favorites:
Jack the Ripper
The series’ original TV episode. Carl must prove the existence of and track down a very alive Jack the Ripper. Great suspense as Carl discovers just how right he is about his hunch, and some neat touches on Jack’s origins.
Horror in the Heights
A Rashkasa – an Indian legendary creature that assumes the forms of a trusted friend before attacking its prey – shows up in Chicago, and only our hero, one Carl Kolchak, can save the day.
Chopper
A headless biker is exacting revenge on his former rivals, while Kolchak and Frank Burns (well, Larry Linville from M*A*S*H*) try to track him down and end the terror.
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER was never great TV, but as a child, his adventures thrilled me and at one point scared the bejeezus out of me (I think it was The Sentry but I can’t remember and have never seen the episode again). Kolchak was never at a loss for a smart-a$$ comment for the authorities, a frightened look and a scamper away from danger and a biting remark towards Updike. McGavin carried the series, taking the parts and making them into a captivating whole that still makes me laugh and sit in wonderment at the six episodes I have on tape and the occasional episodes that I find on Saturday nights at 5 p.m. on Sci-Fi Channel. If you are looking for great special effects, watch Voyager. If you want realistic creatures, tune into Buffy. But if you want campy fun, an original story and an occasional shock, be sure to check out KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER.
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NOTE: Whether you realize it or not, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER is the basis for The X-Files. Not only is the whole theme of the show eerily similar, but on an ironic note, it is also McGavin who plays Arthur Dales - the friend of Fox Mulder's father who opened the X-Files in ”Travelers”. And the KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER episode U.F.O. (aka They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be) features aliens, marrow-sucked animals and pools of black goo - coincidence? I don't think so...
Recommended:
Yes
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martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
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Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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