Following two hugely successful TV movies, investigative journalist Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) was given his own series in which he continued his quest to uncover the sinister supernatural goings-on on America’s streets.
Over twenty episodes of the character’s sole series, Kolchak manages to cross paths with zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and much more. McGavin was perfect in the role. Sardonic and enthusiastic, he is the epitome of the classic Hollywood screen reporter.
Widely known to have been an influence of The X-Files, Kolchak: The Night Stalker is full of wise-cracks, noir-esque narration, and some surprisingly effective chills. It’s no surprise that the stories were quality since various episodes were written by the likes of Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale (Back to the Future) and Jimmy Sangster (regular Hammer screenwriter). Several interesting guest stars appear too. Scatman Crothers, Antonio Fargas, Tom Skerritt, Richard Kiel, and Erik Estrada are among the familiar faces.
If we’ve any negative points to take away from the show, it’s that the 50-minute duration doesn’t give much time to develop the creepier aspects of the story, but it’s still far above the average monster of the week format show. It’s a shame, too, that ViaVision has only released the series on DVD, as we’re sure it would look even better than it already does in HD.
All that said, it’s a fun series that holds up well after almost fifty years, making it an easy re-watch.
