Grew up walking the Night Stalker series. Kolchak's "stir the pot" persona was memorable. It's interesting that Darren was 49 and Carol Lynley was 29. Carl, you dawg.
I watched it as a kid also and really enjoyed it. There are several books and book series written around Kolchak's universe- (the movie was based on Jeff Rice's novel). Great characters-
Posts: 1513 | Location: PA | Registered: March 15, 2009
Wow that brought back some memories. Wasn’t there also a show called “Night Gallery”? Seems like it had a different type story each episode.... similar to the Twilight Zone?
"Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen...
Posts: 7139 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: July 18, 2005
Originally posted by dry-fly: Wow that brought back some memories. Wasn’t there also a show called “Night Gallery”? Seems like it had a different type story each episode.... similar to the Twilight Zone?
There's a reason for that. Rod Serling hosted the program, and wrote many of the scripts. He considered it a logical extension of TZ.
Good show. It was a bit before my time so I watched many of the episodes in syndication. I was also inspired to watch several a few years ago. Some really hold up well...others fail hard. But all to be expected.
Posts: 3553 | Location: Alexandria, VA | Registered: March 07, 2011
As a child I watched a few episodes when it originally aired. My parents put a stop to it after about the third time I kept them up with my bad dreams. I didn’t catch the rest of the episodes until about ten years later when I got cable TV.
If I remember correctly, the Night Stalker series was produced by the late Dan Curtis. He had quite an affinity for the horror genre, doing remakes of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Along with contemporary story-settings like The Norliss Tapes. Curtis had a knack for creating a sense of eeriness, and suspense in all the productions. The ABC television-series Dark Shadows exemplified it, centering on the gloomy; country estate of Collinwood. The haunting music, by Robert Cobert that he used; counterpointed the productions beautifully. The show was hit, and spawned two motion-pictures. I watched an interview with Curtis about the Night Stalker and he was more surprised, than anyone with the response to the premier. He added that Darren McGavin was the perfect-choice for the hapless reporter: Kolchak. Another aspect of the show was the great ensemble-acting by Carol Lynley, Elisha Cook, Jr., Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, and Kent Smith. Barry Atwater as the 'vampire' gets 'honorable mention'. He played the part of Janos Skorzeny to-the-hilt, yet he never uttered a spoken-line. Having Kolchak do the first-persion narration was also brilliant, and it closes with him listening to his own narration on tape. Of course: he runs through a litany of reasons why his account is now 'impossible to prove', while the flash-back credits begin to roll. A real fun blast from the past. This message has been edited. Last edited by: eTripper,
__________________________
"We're after men - and I wish to God I was with them. The next time you make a mistake, I'm going to ride off and let you die." - Deke Thornton, - The Wild Bunch
Posts: 769 | Location: 'The Hive' beneath Raccoon City | Registered: February 07, 2012
The show had lots of names you'll immediately recognize in one episode/one off roles. Tom Bosley, Erik Estrada, Scatman Crothers, Jackie Russell, Jim Backus, Carolyn Jones, Frank Campanella, Larry Storch, Jamie Farr, Dick Van Patten, Jan Murray, Bernie Kopell, Art Metrano, Dwayne Hickman, Pat Harrington Jr., Hans Conreid, Larry Linville, Cathy Lee Crosby, Tom Skerritt, Phil Silvers; to name a few.
Harshest Dream, Reality
Posts: 3697 | Location: W. Central NH | Registered: October 05, 2008
