31 Days of Horror Recommendations: "Kolchak: The Night Stalker"

 

Years: 1974-75

Number of Seasons: 1

Creator: Jeffrey Grant Rice

Subgenre: All of them (Supernatural mystery televsion)

Episode Runtime: 50 minutes

Star: Darren McGavin

I felt the need to recommend at least one horror series this month, and I had NO trouble choosing 'Kolchak'! It is my favorite. I know....at this point there are dozens of horror/supernatural live action series out there; heck several have premiered in the just the last few weeks (one, del Toro's new series, just yesterday!). But there is just something about this one that has always sent me to my happy place. It was only on for 1 season, and I don't recall that I saw much (or any of it) while is it was in first runs. I do remember watching it over and over again in reruns. I liked it more than reruns of 'The Twilight Zone,' and it's spin-off 'Night Gallery.' Hell, I even preferred it above my beloved 'Dark Shadows'--which I was addicted to (had to have it every night at 6:30, after an ep. of Monty Python)! I was quite simply just a BIG Darren McGavin fan. His Kolchak is funny, sarcastic and regularly indulges in "girly screams." Also the series manages, even in just one season, to pay homage to all the Universal monsters, plus a few others (such as the Aztec mummy) to boot. In all there are 20 episodes, each featuring a different monster and mystery. Set in Chicago, where Kolchak has managed land a reporting job at a dead beat little paper (after two previous newspaper jobs in Las Vegas and Seattle, as shown in two made for television films in 1972 and 1973). He's meant to be the paper's investigator reporter--but every story that his boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) sends him on turns out to have some type of scary ("monstery") explanation. Needless to say, Kolchak has trouble getting these into print (this ain't a "poop sheet" after all!). Adding some fun flourishes to the show is Miss Emily (Ruth McDevitt), the paper's elderly advice columnist, who is always at the ready to give Kolchak a nugget of sage advice....that usually proves at least partially helpful. It's just fun. My understanding is that the show was cancelled due to McGavin wishing to be let out of the contract. He was being squeezed for production work that he was never credited for, and he was able to use this as a solid reason to break his contract. It's too bad for us fans, but completely understandable under the circumstances. Years later, fan Chris Carter, creator of the 'X-Files' had McGavin in a couple of now classic Mulder and Scully escapades (my favorite being 'Agua Mala'--a season 6 episode). I own it on DVD, but it has since been released on blu ray in 2K remastered form. (also, if you have a cable or satellite subscription, NBC's app with ads has it for streaming from time to time--almost always during October).