Kolchak: The Night Stalker was a wonderful horror sci-fi program that aired on ABC from September 13, 1974 until March 28, 1975. Although only twenty episodes were made, the show has had an impact on the entertainment world even to this day. Chris Carter, the producer of the X Files was a huge fan and has always cited it as the inspiration for his cult favorite.
Created by Jeff Rice and starring veteran character actors, Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland respectively as beat reporter, Carl Kolchak and his harried editor, Tony Vincenzo.
Each week, Kolchak would be assigned to a story that involved some element of the paranormal. This formula became known as “Monster of the Week.”
The show also served as a launching pad for several of Hollywood’s elite. Robert Zemeckis and his writing partner, Bob Gale got their start on the show penning the iconic episode, “Chopper.” This is one of my favorites and features a headless motorcycle rider who goes on a killing spree to reclaim his head. Another alum of the show is David Chase who went on to create The Sopranos. Chase is credited for giving The Night Stalker it’s quirky, offbeat humor.
In addition to behind the scenes talent, the show attracted veteran sci-fi writers like Richard Matheson and producers such as Dark Shadows and Burnt Offerings‘ Dan Curtis. Many well-known celebrities also appeared as guest stars during the program’s run.
Unfortunately, the demise of the show was attributed to several factors. It aired on Friday nights at 10 p.m. which is not a good time slot to attract a younger audience. Another problem was that Darren McGavin was getting increasingly annoyed with having to act as a producer and writer without getting compensated. As a result, the show was cancelled.
In 2005, the show was rebooted and starred Stuart Townsend as Kolchak. It failed to garner any interest and was cancelled after a month. Season 10 of the X Files paid homage to Kolchak in the episode, “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster;” also McGavin himself appeared as Agent Arthur Dales in two episodes – Dales was the Agent who began The X-Files!
Great read. I don’t know how I could have missed this connection! Well done.
Thanks, DeRicki. Of course, when Carter was doing press for the X Files back in 93, I had heard that was his inspiration. It was even more of a compulsion for me to watch his show. Thanks for reading and commenting, DeRicki!
I love this. I still watch reruns of Kolchak when I can find them and Darren McGavin was always a favorite actor.
I adored this show & Darren was always a favorite. When I was attending LMU for my Masters, I actually wrote a script for the X Files where Mulder and Scully worked with Kolchak on a case. That was in 94 & later McGavin showed up as Arthur Dales!
Thanks for reading & commenting, Don. Always appreciated.
Fun show and nothing like it on TV at that time.
I particularly enjoyed the episodes The Ripper & The Werewolf & The Zombie. They captured that same suspense,humor,action from the 2 Kolchak made-for-TV movies that were so well done.
I do think they made a mistake by having KTNS as a weekly TV show. The 90~minute movies were able to have more time to develop the plots and characters as well as having a longer shooting schedule.
The weekly series quickly ran through monsters for Kolchak to encounter. The premise was limited & became rather formulaic.
I believe that the best option was to have had the network produce a couple of KTNS 90~minute movies each year.
I neither like nor dislike this show. But cannot comprehend why it is continually considered “sci-fi”. There is a vast difference between science fiction (such as Star Trek, or even the inane Lost In Space) and vampire/werewolf/zombie/occult stories.