There are a ton of “X-Files” fans out there, which was proven by how astronomically successful the series was even in the last few seasons where the mythology started falling apart. As most of the fans are aware, Chris Carter, often cited ”The Night Stalker” as his major influence when he created the series. A few of those fans might even know just what (or who)”The Night Stalker” was, but I’m sure there are just as many of you who don’t. Since I was a fan of scary movies from the time I could recognize the magic of the theatre and TV (thanks to my parents), when 1972 rolled around I was glued to the set for the first ever showing of ”The Night Stalker.” The movie starred Darren McGavin as a most unusual hero. His name was Carl Kolchak, a reporter for a newspaper in Las Vegas. After a string of murders occurs, Kolchak accidentally discovers that the perpetrator is actually a vampire (or at least someone who believes he is a vampire).

Being that his curiosity often overtakes his fear, the bumbling Kolchak continues his investigation only to be shot down by both the police and his editor. Even when his belief turns out to be true, no one believes him and he is summarily run out of town.

”The Night Stalker” was one of the most highly rated TV movies at that time, allowed McGavin to create an indelibly memorable character with Kolchak. To his credit, he even had a strong hand in designing the ‘look’ of the character. Originally he was supposed to run around in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, but McGavin didn’t think that would work. As he read into the character’s background and realized that he was fired from a major reporting gig years earlier, he opted to wear an out of date rumpled white seersucker suit and a battered straw boater hat. It was perfect, and Carl Kolchak became my favorite TV character of all time.

After the success of the first film, creator Dan Curtis (“Dark Shadows”) brought Kolchak back the following year in “The Night Strangler”, which brought him to Seattle and a new string of odd murders. This time around, the culprit was a man who had learned he could live forever by using blood taken from the base of the neck. Of course, Kolchak discovers and destroys the villain… and again no one believes him.

In 1974, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” debuted as a weekly series. Now Kolchak was in Chicago, and found himself face to face with Jack the Ripper, werewolves, vampires, aliens and wendigos. The series was fun and well-written, but doomed to a terrible time slot. It died after only 20 episodes. But in spite of the shows’ demise, the character of Kolchak became somewhat of a cult icon (deservedly so) and influenced many of the more recent glut of Hollywood’s creative minds. (Unfortunately it also inspired a remake of the series this year, starring Stuart Townsend. Unlike the original, I really hope this dud dies quickly.)

While I had the original films on video, then DVD, for years I had not the seen the series since 1974. Then about 4-5 years ago Columbia House offered it up on video (2 episode per tape) and I ponied up the cash to buy them. It was expensive, but at the time I didn’t realize that TV on DVD would become so popular. I’m now giving away my video set because Universal is releasing the entire series on DVD (God bless them!!).

All 20 episodes have been put onto 3 discs, which take up far less space on the shelves. Needless to say, I so own this set and would have paid just about any price for it. I wish I could say the episodes look better than the VHS counterparts, but suffice to say the quality is really only comparable. My only other nitpick is the complete lack of special features. I would give anything to see some interviews with McGavin or Simon Oakland (who played his editor Tony Vincenzo), even if they were older ones.

But these are small nitpicks in light of the simple pleasure of having these episodes available at all. Watching them again, I can see where they are a bit dated and a couple of the episodes were less than stellar, but the character of Kolchak saves even the bad episodes from mediocrity. I enjoyed seeing some of the guest stars like Larry Linville, Jamie Farr and Jim Backus interacting with Kolchak, and was very surprised to see the names Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis and David Chase showing up in the writing credits. And I have to mention soap opera fans will get a kick out of seeing Eric Braeden (Victor Newman on “The Young and the Restless”) as a werewolf in one of the episodes.

“Kolchak: The Night Stalker” had all the makings of a hit show when it premiered, I only wish there had been more episodes. Yes, Carl Kolchak is an icon, but who knows where it could have gone if there could have been more seasons.

Episodes:
The Ripper
The Zombie
They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be…
The Vampire
The Werewolf
Firefall
The Devil’s Platform
Bad Medicine
The Spanish Moss Murders
The Energy Eater
Horror in the Heights
Mr. R.I.N.G.
Primal Scream
The Trevi Collection
Chopper
Demon in Lace
Legacy of Terror
The Knightly Murders
The Your Killer
The Sentry

Starring: Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 10/4/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Kolchak: The Night Stalker - Complete Series an A-.