Kolchak: The Night Stalker

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – the complete series

Kolchak: the Night Stalker. Darren McGavin shines as Carl Kolchak, a reporter who keeps finding himself unwillingly investigating the supernatural

I have nothing but warm memories for the short-lived television series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. It stars Darren McGavin (No Deposit, No Return, The Delicate Delinquent). I like it for a variety of reasons. First, Darrin McGavin does an admirable job portraying Carl Kolchak.  He’s a down-on-his-luck reporter. He’s reduced to working for a third-rate news bureau.  He frequently conflicts with his boss, Antonio Vincenzo (played well by Simon Oakland). A few other recurring characters at the news bureau are memorable, as are the various … things … that Kolchak keeps stumbling across. Vampires, werewolves, space aliens, zombies, and more.

Much of the appeal of the series has to do with an ordinary man, thrust into circumstances that are anything but ordinary.  Carl Kolchak is no hero. But he has a strong sense of self-preservation that serves him well.  As well as a reporter’s dogged determination to get to the truth. He’s also an ordinary man. Not handsome, not young, not hyper-intelligent. But he is determined, not overly heroic.  And easy for the audience to identify with. It’s almost as if Lieutenant Columbo ran into the supernatural.

It’s very enjoyable, and I recommend it highly.

Product Description

Kolchak: The Night Stalker, the uniquely eerie mystery series that paved the way for The X-Files, finally comes to Blu-ray with all 20 episodes digitally restored to capture every shiver, every scream and every bump in the night. Emmy nominee Darren McGavin reprises his role from the popular television movies The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973) as Carl Kolchak, a headstrong investigative reporter on the trail of the paranormal: zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, succubi and even aliens. No matter how unnatural or unbelievable, Kolchak is there to uncover the truth… one supernatural threat at a time. Join the hunt in the dark alleys and creepy hidden lairs of Chicago with such sensational guest stars as Scatman Crothers, Antonio Fargas, Tom Skerritt, Dick Van Patten, Jamie Farr, Phil Silvers, Jim Backus, William Smith, Julie Adams, Cathy Lee Crosby, Carolyn Jones, Tom Bosley and many more. Kolchak: The Night Stalker co-starred Simon Oakland (Bullitt) and Ruth McDevitt (The Birds).