Kolchak: The Night Stalker

The spooky story has been with mankind since the beginning, sitting around a fire telling tales of horror and terror we have been infatuated with those things that go bump in the night. For television one show stands out in this most ancient of genres, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. While the series lasted only twenty episodes it remains a guilty pleasure for many and has received the well earned status of a cult classic. Often viewed as the grandfather for such hits as the X-Files, this short lived series is now available on DVD and what a boon to fans this is. Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is a broken down investigative report working for a Chicago-based Independent News Service ("INS"). To the consternation of his gruff editor, Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) Kolchak usually refuses to work on his current assignment getting sidetracked by some supernatural creature that is threatening the population at large or some sinister plot that is sure to ruin the world. Each week Kolchak finds he is facing some hideous creature and has to save the day while trying to get the story. The villainous adversaries range from Jack the Ripper to werewolves, vampires and even a murderous robot.

In the opener for the series Kolchak is on the trail of a serial killer who slashes young women to death. While the Chicago police believe that this is your run of the mill killer Kolchak uncovers the truth, it is am immortal fiend that was once know as Jack the Ripper. He has been traveling from city to city over the years satisfying his blood lust. There is one episode, the Vampire, which harkens back to the original pilot made for television movie but unfortunately, there is no real continuity here, it seems that Kolchak and Vincenzo have developed amnesia about the previous affair. In Firefall, spontaneous human combustion seems to follow an orchestra conductor. A dead man’s doppelganger takes over the hapless conductor causing him to incinerate his victims. Many of the bad guys in this series just happen to be from various types of mythology, everything from Hindu demons to Native American ‘bear-gods’. Many fans seem to agree that the episode Mr. R.I.N.G. is among the best. With a tongue in cheek nod to the famous Outer Limits episode, ‘I, Robot’, a robot has killed his creator in order to avoid being shut down. Kolchak finds that this was part of a government project that they are desperate to cover.

As a long time fan of the series I am the first to admit the show had its flaws. There are reports that McGavin disagreed with the producers over the direction of the series. He apparently wanted more multi episode arcs similar to many of the current television drams of the day. The producers wanted the monster of the week format at times the camp value goes over the top but that’s a large part of the fun of this classic. Pushing the humor many vintage stand up comedians where hired to play semi-dramatic roles using such talent as Jim Backus, Phil Silvers and Hans Conreid. This also added a lot for me, their natural wit added a lot to the comic undertone that set this series apart from just about everything that has ever been on TV. Despite the formula used here the series managed to combine humor with the darkest themes much to the enjoyment of the audience. It is easy to see how a show like the X-Files grew from this. Kolchak, like Fox Mulder, is the believer, a man that has seen things that he can’t seem to always document. The skeptic here is played by Vincenzo, always doubtful, a much less attractive Dana Scully.

Darren McGavin is Carl Kolcak, I don’t care what the newly re-imaging series has going for it, this is the man for the role. In acting it is often stated that the performance is in the details. For McGavin this is largely due to the outfit he wears in this role. If you were constantly hiding from creatures of the night you might consider something dark that blends into the shadows. Instead, Kolchak is always outfitted in a pork pie like straw hat, blue and white rumpled jacket, white paints and white shoes. Perhaps he wants to distract the demons with a good laugh. McGavin gives his Koljack a haggard look of a man beaten down by a long string of failures. He once had a chance to be a real reporter but now is trapped by his passion to uncover the dark truth. Armed only with his mini cassette tape recorder and instamatic camera he records things that no one will believe. The tragedy to Kolchak is no one will ever believe the tale he has to tell. The perfect contrast here is Simon Oakland as Vincenzo. He is answerable to the big bosses at INS and knows that he is too old to start over so he has to constantly reign in the thorn in his side, Kolchak. There is a hint of friendship between the two men, they argue, bicker and holler but there is a respect there.

Typical of television shows of the mid seventies the weekly guest stars featured some of the best known faces in the revolving casting call of television dramas. The acting was typically just shy of completely over the top but this oddly works to add to the camp factor here. For those out there that is used to the more seriously inclined series presently on the tube you are in for a real joy. This series is like a time capsule, the embodiment of the seventies in its look and feel.

This is part of Universal’s recent series of cult classic television series. There should be a collective thank you now that we can have these shows in DVD format. The video is naturally presented in full screen but the re-mastering is very well done. The color balance is much better than the constant reruns seen on the Sci-Fi channel. There is a brightness to the video that hasn’t been seen since the first run broadcasts. The Dolby two channel mono is somewhat flat, not much of a dynamic range but personally I found this fitting with the grade B horror flick feel the episodes have. It’s a plain vanilla box set but this is worthwhile for the content not any fluff additions. If you are a long time fan there is no discussion necessary, get this set. If you are among the younger collectors see this series before you even consider watching the new Night Stalker show, watch the original, you will not be disappointed.

Posted 10/7/05