Night Stalker..Still Scary 30 years later

I remember sneaking up to watch this show after my bed time and being scared out of my wits. Even today some of the story lines are extremely spooky. It would be hard to watch Carl Kolchak sew the lips shut on a sleeping zombie without having chills.
Chris Carter said that this show was his inspiration for the X-Files and I can see some parallel in a few episodes.
Darren McGavin plays the role of Carl Kolchak with great ease. His drab blue suit and his funky hat add to his character. It's too bad they only shot 20 episodes. I have read a few articles and Darren McGavin was quoted as saying he was glad the show was cancelled as it was not a good time filming these episodes. You wouldn't know it though by watching.
The video quality on the set is average. There is a lot of noticable dust and debris in the footage. Some of the night scenes suffer from being too dark and grainy. Each episode does have 4 chapters and each disc has a "Play All" feature.
The audio tracks sound OK for their age and I didn't notice any hiss. They are English and Spanish subtitles. There are no extra features on this set.

All 20 episodes of the series are included on 3 discs, 2 of which are double-sided:

Disc 1, Side A (3:25:49)
The Ripper (51:42)
The Zombie (51:28)
They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be... (51:50)
The Vampire (51:49)

Disc 1, Side B (3:25:44)
The Werewolf (50:51)
Firefall (51:23)
The Devil's Platform (51:40)
Bad Medicine (51:50)

Disc 2, Side A (3:26:05)
The Spanish Moss Murders (51:45)
The Energy Eater (51:49)
Horror in the Heights (51:12)
Mr. R.I.N.G. (51:19)

Disc 2, Side B (3:22:08)
Primal Scream (50:30)
The Trevi Collection (50:30)
Chopper (50:33)
Demon in Lace (50:35)

Disc 3, Side A (3:22:03)
Legacy of Terror (50:29)
The Knightly Murders (50:30)
The Your Killer (50:34)
The Sentry (50:30)


Overall great set that was far overdue. Stories are well acted by a great cast of regulars and guest stars. Much better than the short-lived show that appeared on ABC last fll.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

named the predecessor to the X-files and other monster horror tv shows in recent years the night stalker tv show faced Darren McGavin a wise cracking stubborn reporter against the creatures an mysteries in the night well worth a place in your classic tv shows collection in 20 1 hour episodes at a time Kolchak takes on the supernatural threats as only a man who's after a great story to tell his readers can, never quite getting the story to appease his boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland)

guest stars to the series were numerous including: Jamie Farr, Larry Linville, Dick Van Patten, Eric Braeden, Tom Skerritt, Erik Estrada, William Daniels

some of the monsters he faced off against:Ghosts, Zombies, vampires, aliens, native american gods, werewolf and even a succubus he even got into a fight with jack the ripper

so even though the series came out in 1974-75 it still has merit and as a classic it still can be very enjoyable to watch

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

I totally enjoyed the show when it was on television. I always remembered it as being good and I thought that Darrin McGavin was marvelous in the role of Kolchak. The question, however, was who exactly was The Night Stalker? Was it the monster of the episode? Or was it Kolchak?

When I saw that the series ( SO unforunate that it only ran one season! ) had come out on DVD, I had to get it. As I started watching it I realized that it was one of the very few older series that had retained all of its remembered good "stuff". It was interesting, thrilling, well acted, even hair-dos and clothing were not put offs. I have purchased quite a few tv series from the past that have been released on DVD and they do NOT age well. This one does! McGavin played the character as being so enthusiatic and fearless ( even tho personally afraid) in getting the story and getting to the truth of the story that I wished that Kolchak was real and that I knew him.

kolchak; night stalker dvd

you should drop what you are doing and go to ebay buy and go ahead and get these dvds.

kolchak is the best vampire hunter of all of them and he can deal with any supernatural or paranormal event. he chases after the truth about a story,until most us would've given up. and the part i like best...he's a human being nothing more the flesh, blood and brain cells and so on...

the interesting part is the approach. the hero is a reporter, and not a cop or
kung fu man or no super powers. reporters get to show up at interesting events and he also does other news reporting in addition to working on the supernatural stories.

the cast, direction, and photography is spectacular.

kolchak the dvds can be found on ebay- i bought mine there and also there is a combination dvd of the tv originals night stalker and night strangler, also found in ebay.

i haven't seen the new episodes of the new kolchak but be careful--make sure the ad says darren mcgavin because those are the ones i'm talking about. darren mcgavin makes the show with his warmth, sense of humor, and personality
but i can't possibly put that into words. he really was a great actor and it shows here in his work on this tv show.

Kolchak:The Night Stalker TV Series 1974-1975

I just purchased the DVD of the one year wonder ABC tv series: Kolchak: The Night Stalker. 3 dvds gives you all 20 episodes. I always loved watching that show back in the mid-70's, even though I was only 10-11 years old! Now, I think the shows are classic! Yes, a little far fetched but simple, creative themes and storylines. The late Darren McGavin is always dressed the same, battles the Chicago police force along with whatever monster, vampire, werewolf or entity. Simon Oakland who plays Tony Vinchenzo is a great co-star who trys to keep Carl Kolchak in his place. Most episodes are pretty interesting, and, a few are strange and have weak endings. But, overall, if you were from the 1970's, you will enjoy these. And the music is classic! Great buy and you won't be dissappointed!