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There are a
ton of “X-Files” fans out there,
which was proven by how astronomically successful
the series was even in those 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).
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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earlier, he opted to wear an out of date rumpled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 landed 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. This time 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.
Most recently, it inspired Frank Spotnitz (who
was also behind the success of "The X-Files')
to create a newer, updated version of the series.
When I first heard of this 're-imagining' of the
cult hero, I was nonplussed. It seems that gone
was going to be the trademark seersucker suit
and straw hat. Gone was the goofy fun of watching
Kolchak weather his way through a never-ending
parade of 'bump-in-the-night' style antagonists.
Gone was the bumbling anti-hero we all knew and
loved.
In this newer version of "The Night Stalker",
Carl Kolchak (Stuart Townsend) is still a crime
reporter, but he's young and hip. This Kolchak
is one of the lead suspects in the murder of his
wife and in an obsessive hunt for the real killer.
He also has a partner, in the form of the skeptical
Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union), who helps him in
his quest to expose the insidious creatures of
the night to the revealing light of day. (Hmmmmm…
a male character who believes in the supernatural
and a female partner who is a skeptic. I wonder
where Spotnitz EVER got this idea…?)
The series was not very well received, and to
be honest the 'Original Night Stalker' fan in
me kept me from watching it. The network aired
just 6 of the 10 episodes produced and summarily
canceled it due to low ratings. Buena Vista Home
Entertainment opted to release the complete series
on DVD, and even when it came in a couple of weeks
ago, I was very hesitant to watch it. Mostly for
the obvious reasons, but also because I was never
much of a fan of Stuart Townsend. But, steeling
myself, I decided to give it a go just to see
if it was any good at all.
The DVD set offered up the 6 episodes that were
aired, plus the additional 4 that never saw the
light of day. And I'll be honest with you, the
series was a darn site better than I expected.
It was dark and moody, Townsend and Union made
a fairly good team, and the overall mythos they
were trying to create was actually quite interesting.
Had I watched the show when it originally aired,
I might have been a bit put off that it was cancelled.
This isn’t to say it was a perfect show,
but from those few episodes I could see the potential
for a better show down the road.
I really wish that Spotnitz had instead created
the series as an original as opposed to trying
to garner interest by invoking the name of a series
that has such a large cult following. Ultimately
it backfired on him. By doing so, he inadvertently
undermined the chances the show had to survive.
Too many people either didn't watch or compared
it to a show it would never be. And with its cancellation
also came the unresolved mystery that those who
did like it wanted to have played out.
The DVD release helps out a little in that regard
as it includes a lengthy interview with Spotnitz,
who shares what he saw for the series down the
road. There are also a handful of DVD-Rom accessible
scripts for some of the final episodes that were
never produced. Add to these a couple of commentaries
and some deleted scenes and you have a decent
release for a decent series.
Episodes:
Pilot
The Five People You Meet in Hell
Three
Burning Man
Malum
The Source, Part 1
The Sea, Part 2
Into the Night
Timeless
What's the Frequency, Kolchak
Starring: Stuart Townsend, Gabrielle Union, Eric
Jungmann, Cotter Smith
Extras: Commentary by the show creators on "Pilot"
and "The Sea - Part 2 of 2", 4 episodes
never seen on TV, A conversation with Frank Spotnitz,
Deleted scenes, Script printer (DVD ROM) - final
episodes never produced
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Sound
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Date: 5/30/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give The New Night Stalker: Complete Series
a C.
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