Review Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

chainsaw_metal1

Member: Rank 8
I still love this show. McGavin is really great in the role, and the stories were very clever. I never bothered with the remake, because how do you do the original justice?
 

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
I loved the two TV Movies and sort of liked the shows! The Vampire was a good episode but they were treated very off the hand I always thought and the makeup for The Werewolf episode was pretty bad it has to be said! The premier episode, The Ripper, was the closest to the movies I always thought! Demon in Lace was another good show, a style that the film It Follows tried to imitate! Some were good and some hit and miss and it was probably the only series of the seventies that actually had William 'Falconetti' Smith as a good guy too!
JB
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
Watching this at present for the first time. Heard great things about this . It's very watchable. Darren McGavin is excellent.
The ' monsters ' are unusual and well researched by the writers using legends from ethnic folklore. So not bad at all.

I own the TV series on DVD and have enjoyed what I've seen of it so far.

However, I am still searching for the films that preceded it. I'd like to be able to watch the entirety of it from start to finish, in the correct order.
 

johnnybear

Member: Rank 6
I own the TV series on DVD and have enjoyed what I've seen of it so far.

However, I am still searching for the films that preceded it. I'd like to be able to watch the entirety of it from start to finish, in the correct order.
I've got the R2 DVD of the series but the R1 DVD of the two movies but unlike the UK I think the movies are available in Australia, Ant!
JB
 

McQualude

Member: Rank 3
I was very young when this aired but it was my favorite show back then. I was really into UFOs, Bigfoot, Loch Ness, and monster movies. I still enjoy it now although I can't quite recapture that young wonder that these things might be possible.
 

ant-mac

Member: Rank 9
I was very young when this aired but it was my favorite show back then. I was really into UFOs, Bigfoot, Loch Ness, and monster movies. I still enjoy it now although I can't quite recapture that young wonder that these things might be possible.
Snap!

Unfortunately... :emoji_disappointed_relieved:
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
The Doctor paused momentarily, while running from Mel, as he passed something that reminded him of Bessie.....


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Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1
"The Ripper" Allen Baron Rudolph Borchert September 13, 1974
Kolchak argues that a serial killer is actually Jack the Ripper.

Included with "The Vampire" in The Night Stalker: Two Tales of Terror video compilation.

2 "The Zombie" Alex Grasshoff Story by : Zekial Marko
Teleplay by : Zekial Marko and David Chase September 20, 1974
A grandmother seeks revenge for her grandson's death by turning him into a zombie to do her bidding. Originally listed in TV Guide as the show's debut episode.

3 "They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be..." Allen Baron Story by : Dennis Clark
Teleplay by : Rudolph Borchert September 27, 1974
Also known as "U.F.O."[9] An invisible alien sucks down the bone marrow of its victims while it makes repairs and looks for directions home. This is the only story where Kolchak fails to stop the "monster."

Sportscaster Dick Enberg can be heard on Kolchak's car radio calling game 1 of a fictional World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox.

4 "The Vampire" Don Weis Story by : Bill Stratton
Teleplay by : David Chase October 4, 1974
A sequel to the first movie The Night Stalker. An overlooked victim of the Las Vegas vampire makes her way to Los Angeles and begins killing anew.

Typically shown as the first episode of the 16 originally available for syndication and included with "The Ripper" in The Night Stalker: Two Tales of Terror video compilation.

5 "The Werewolf" Allen Baron David Chase and Paul Playdon November 1, 1974
In snowy Chicago the INS Christmas party is to send off Tony Vincenzo, but he gets audited instead, and it is Carl who gets to go on the singles cruise, where a werewolf goes on a killing spree.

6 "Firefall" Don Weis Bill S. Ballinger November 8, 1974
The ghost of an arsonist tries to take over a renowned conductor's body as his doppelganger.

This episode was combined with "The Energy Eater" and new narration by Darren McGavin to compose the television film Crackle of Death, effectively removing it from original syndication. One of the locations used, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Los Angeles, burned down in 1983.

7 "The Devil's Platform" Allen Baron Story by : Tim Maschler
Teleplay by : Donn Mullally November 15, 1974
A politician on a meteoric rise murders his opposition through a pact with Satan which gives him the ability to turn into an invulnerable dog.

8 "Bad Medicine" Alex Grasshoff L. Ford Neale & John Huff November 29, 1974
The first based on a Native American legend, a Diablero shaman spirit murders for jewels to pay back his debt and be released from his Earthly bonds.

9 "The Spanish Moss Murders" Gordon Hessler Story by : Al Friedman
Teleplay by : Al Friedman and David Chase December 6, 1974
A dreaming host conjures up the Creole legend of Père Malfait (French: "father [of] evil-doing," originally an old French term for the Devil), a moss-monster (Richard Kiel) willing to kill anyone who threatens its survival.

10 "The Energy Eater" Alex Grasshoff Story by : Arthur Rowe
Teleplay by : Arthur Rowe and Rudolph Bochert December 13, 1974
A hospital is built on reclaimed land inhabited by the Native American bear-spirit legend Matchi Manitou which threatens to destroy anyone who inhabits it.

This episode was combined with "Firefall" and new narration by Darren McGavin to compose the television film Crackle of Death, effectively removing it from original syndication.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
11 "Horror In The Heights" Michael T. Caffey Jimmy Sangster December 20, 1974
A Hindu Rakshasa terrorizes a Jewish neighborhood. Phil Silvers guest stars.

12 "Mr. R.I.N.G." Gene Levitt L. Ford Neale & John Huff January 10, 1975
An android murders anyone that threatens its survival.

13 "Primal Scream" Robert Scheerer Bill S. Ballinger and David Chase January 17, 1975
Defrosted ancient cell samples discovered in the Arctic grow into savage prehistoric primates and go on a rampage.

14 "The Trevi Collection" Don Weis Rudolph Borchert January 24, 1975
A witch (played by Dark Shadows' "Angélique," Lara Parker) desires to control the world of high fashion.

15 "Chopper" Bruce Kessler Story by : Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale
Teleplay by : Steve Fisher and David Chase January 31, 1975
Bent on revenge, a headless motorcycle rider murders those who wronged him.

16 "Demon In Lace" Don Weis Story by : Stephen Lord
Teleplay by : Stephen Lord & Michael Kozoll and David Chase February 7, 1975
A succubus from ancient Mesopotamia murders young men to maintain her immortality.

This episode was combined with "Legacy of Terror" and new narration by Darren McGavin to compose the television film The Demon and The Mummy, effectively removing it from original syndication.


17 "Legacy of Terror" Don McDougall Arthur Rowe February 14, 1975
An Aztec cult seeks to resurrect the mummy of their god by murdering perfect people. Erik Estrada plays a chosen victim.

This episode was combined with "Demon In Lace" and new narration by Darren McGavin to compose the television film The Demon and The Mummy, but it is still in syndication airing on MeTV in New Jersey.


18 "The Knightly Murders" Vincent McEveety Story by : Paul Magistretti
Teleplay by : Michael Kozoll and David Chase March 7, 1975
To prevent the destruction of its home, the spirit of a Knight reanimates a suit of armor to kill those responsible.

19 "The Youth Killer" Don McDougall Rudolph Borchert March 14, 1975
Helen of Troy returns to drain the youth out of unsuspecting perfect victims, sacrifices for the goddess Hecate, in her quest for immortality. Cathy Lee Crosby guests as Helen of Troy.

20 "The Sentry" Seymour Robbie L. Ford Neale & John Huff March 28, 1975
A lizard-man creature kills subterranean workers who have stolen its eggs. In the final scene, Kolchak says these events happened on April 20 and 21, 1975.

This episode is noted for being very similar to the Star Trek episode "Devil in the Dark."
 
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