Anyone remember THE NIGHT STALKER TV show and movies?

[KGeo777]

There's a blu-ray set in the works coming this fall for the tv series.

 

[BAYLOR]

Disguised itself as Miss Emily iirc.

Rakshasha concluded the Miss Emily was probably the only person that Kolchak actually trusted but, what that demon didn't take into account was that Kolchak's paranoia of people was stronger .

 

[KiraAnn]

My favorite scene in that series was when Kolchak was dealing with a zombie. He had crawled inside a hearse where the zombie was, filled its mouth with salt and was preparing to sew the mouth shut. Then it opened its eyes and looked at him!

That was a great scene!

 

[KGeo777]

I have been listening to commentaries on the show.
Darren McGavin was most happy with the first movie, he was not happy with the Night Strangler-had a falling out with Dan Curtis and had no desire to do a series but he was bugged so much that he agreed on the assumption that he would be executive producer.
But when they were shooting, it became a situation where he was fighting with the staff and some were fired--and ultimately he asked to be let out of it. But he was fond of the character. He felt that Kolchak was like a folk hero--because he stood up to authority and wanted to bring out truth, and kept trying despite always being forced to suppress the story.

He wasn't enthusiastic about the monsters yet he was responsible for selecting the director of photography who probably made the choices that made some things really spooky in it.
And he also wanted comedy actors for the show--which may have been really smart looking back at it because it made some of the absurd dialogue work better--maybe a more serious actor would have made the dialogue too dull to be memorable or effective. Comedians can be very effective in non-comedy parts--something makes them stand out more when they get serious or even semi-serious, it can feel more realistic.

I don't think the series could have lasted. It was best as a tv-movie format. They should have done them as 75 minute shows and cut some of the duller ideas.

It's interesting that it has a better reputation now than shows it was played off like Sanford and Son or Police Woman.
Those shows have very little fandom but Kolchak has a cult following.

 

[Randy M.]

I have been listening to commentaries on the show.
Darren McGavin was most happy with the first movie, he was not happy with the Night Strangler-had a falling out with Dan Curtis and had no desire to do a series but he was bugged so much that he agreed on the assumption that he would be executive producer.
But when they were shooting, it became a situation where he was fighting with the staff and some were fired--and ultimately he asked to be let out of it. But he was fond of the character. He felt that Kolchak was like a folk hero--because he stood up to authority and wanted to bring out truth, and kept trying despite always being forced to suppress the story.

He wasn't enthusiastic about the monsters yet he was responsible for selecting the director of photography who probably made the choices that made some things really spooky in it.
And he also wanted comedy actors for the show--which may have been really smart looking back at it because it made some of the absurd dialogue work better--maybe a more serious actor would have made the dialogue too dull to be memorable or effective. Comedians can be very effective in non-comedy parts--something makes them stand out more when they get serious or even semi-serious, it can feel more realistic.

I don't think the series could have lasted. It was best as a tv-movie format. They should have done them as 75 minute shows and cut some of the duller ideas.

It's interesting that it has a better reputation now than shows it was played off like Sanford and Son or Police Woman.
Those shows have very little fandom but Kolchak has a cult following.

One of the troubles with the series is that Richard Matheson, who wrote both movie scripts, was too expensive for a TV show by then. Interesting to look at who did write for it. Note one Robert Zemeckis.

 

[BAYLOR]

One of the troubles with the series is that Richard Matheson, who wrote both movie scripts, was too expensive for a TV show by then. Interesting to look at who did write for it. Note one Robert Zemeckis.

And Bob Gale and David Chase too.

 

[KGeo777]

David Chase was the main writer. Jimmy Sangster also wrote an episode.

I can't remember why Matheson wasn't involved. I think he passed on it because he didn't think he could come up with a new show every week but maybe it was money.


They had planned a female Jekyll and Hyde story--very curious how they would have visualized it--there's a comic version but it is too vague to get a good idea.
There were two other ones planned (hillbilly monster, painting that comes to life)

I think they could have done shows on gremlins (that was a suggested idea by someone),
a scary clown or puppet (which would also recall Twilight Zone)
giant spider creature (since that eventually was done as a Dan Curtis film)
sea monster
demon-possessed vehicle or machine

But then they become too repetitive and I don't think the show could have worked if they had a memory of previous episodes.

I think the Helen/Hecate episode should have been about a Gorgon or a Fury or Harpy instead. That is the worst episode.

 

[BAYLOR]

David Chase was the main writer. Jimmy Sangster also wrote an episode.

I can't remember why Matheson wasn't involved. I think he passed on it because he didn't think he could come up with a new show every week but maybe it was money.


They had planned a female Jekyll and Hyde story--very curious how they would have visualized it--there's a comic version but it is too vague to get a good idea.
There were two other ones planned (hillbilly monster, painting that comes to life)

I think they could have done shows on gremlins (that was a suggested idea by someone),
a scary clown or puppet (which would also recall Twilight Zone)
giant spider creature (since that eventually was done as a Dan Curtis film)
sea monster
demon-possessed vehicle or machine

But then they become too repetitive and I don't think the show could have worked if they had a memory of previous episodes.

I think the Helen/Hecate episode should have been about a Gorgon or a Fury or Harpy instead. That is the worst episode.

A Creature of the week shows don't tend to have long runs . One way this shows could have lasted was if they tried something that was very rarely done Prime time tv shows of that era, Serialized story telling over multiple episodes.

 

[Dave Vicks]

Picked up Season one of THE NIGHT STALKER on DVD. Have the pilot movie
On VHS.

 

[Vladd67]

Picked up Season one of THE NIGHT STALKER on DVD. Have the pilot movie
On VHS.

Have you got the second film The Night Strangler? A film that influenced the X Files and whose success led to The Night Stalker tv series.

 

[Toby Frost]

I've never seen The Night Stalker, but Stephen King says some interesting things about it Danse Macabre.

 

[BAYLOR]

I've never seen The Night Stalker, but Stephen King says some interesting things about it Danse Macabre.

Its a good series and it out on dvd but the tw films don't appear to be included in the DVD series package. Also if you can find it The Norliss Tapes 1973 made for TV movie. Also reccomend The Horror at 37,000 Feet, The Cat Creature .And Thriller tv show Hosted by Boris Karloff.