Kolchak The Night Stalker

As a die-hard fan of classic, ok, sometimes cheesy, science fiction and/or horror and a card-carrying Mistie (I’m jealous I didn’t think of that idea first. I’d be rich now.) , I am always on the lookout for new or not-new discoveries. One show I loved was The X-Files. I am still mourning its cancellation. The creator of The X-Files, Chris Carter says he was inspired by another series: Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Before there was Scully and Mulder, there was Carl Kolchak, intrepid reporter and seeker of supernatural truths. This show has it all: vampires, aliens leaving black goop on people’s lawns, werewolves, zombies…yup, definitely X-Files fodder. Not to mention voiceover narration worthy of Philip Marlowe. But while The X-Files was creative and imaginative (most of the time), this show stays firmly in the Velveeta vat. The titles are shown over a shot of an autopsy, shown from the point of view of the body. Now that’s television!

Darren McGavin stars as Kolchak (Hey, that’s my Pentax!). Simon Oakland is his long-suffering boss. (He was also Steve McQueen’s long-suffering boss in Bullitt, this guy can’t get a break.) Also present is just about every character actor who was working in the 70s, including Claude Akins, Carol Lynley (That's her crocheting in the casino.) and a pre-M*A*S*H Larry Linville, boy coroner.

Before the series proper, there were two TV movies. The first one finds Kolchak in Las Vegas after leaving New York City for unspecified reasons. The script is by Richard Matheson. (If you don’t know who he is, Stephen King thinks he’s creepy – but he’s a great writer. I admire him greatly.) Someone is killing women and leaving their blood-drained corpses in strange places, like the middle of an aqueduct.





Kolchak is convinced the killer is a real live vampire (!) and lays out his plan for destroying him to the Vegas PD. (I am detecting serious doubting-Thomas vibes from the guy on the left.)


Kolchak tracks the vampire to his lair, which is of course, dark and creepy, (Don’t look in there!) and proceeds to carry out his plan, much to irritation of the vampire.

It's hard to say who he reminds me of under all that bad makeup. Needless to say, our hero vanquishes the undead and gets a great story in the process. By way of thanks, he is charged with murder, but the Vegas PD is willing to drop the charges if Kolchak leaves town ASAP. That’s gratitude for you.

The second film, also scripted by Matheson, takes place in Seattle. Kolchak is again faced with a mysterious killer, who may or may not be Oscar Goldman. This show ran for only 20 episodes in 1974 but has risen to cult status. It was resurrected briefly in 2005. Darrin McGavin did a cameo on The X-Files as a suspiciously rumpled investigator. He then went on to become the embodiment of my grandfather in A Christmas Story. I miss you, Darren.