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Kolchak: The Night Stalker: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|If you want a job done right, you just have to foul it up yourself.|'''Carl Kolchak''', ''Kolchak: The Night Stalker''}}
'''''Kolchak: The Night Stalker''''' is a 1974 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] series starring Darren McGavin as [[Intrepid Reporter]] turned [[Occult Detective]] Carl Kolchak.
The character of Carl Kolchak was the protagonist in an unpublished novel by Jeffrey Grant Rice, ''The Kolchak Papers'', a thriller in which Las Vegas newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak tracks down a serial killer, only to discover that the serial killer is really a vampire. ABC optioned the unpublished novel for production into a [[Made for TV Movie]], and the resulting adaptation (''The Night Stalker'') scripted by [[Richard Matheson]] (''The Incredible Shrinking Man'', ''I Am Legend'') became a surprise hit, earning the highest ratings of any TV movie up until its January, 1972 airing (reportedly a 33.2 rating/54 share.) It was so well-received that some of the producers later said that they wish they had taken the movie and gone with a theatrical release instead. The production also earned the 1973 Edgar Award for Best TV Feature/Miniseries Teleplay.
Impressed by this success, ABC arranged for Matheson to write the screenplay for a followup TV movie, ''The Night Strangler'', which aired about a year later, about a century-plus old serial killer who [[Exactly What It Says
[[File:TonyV.jpg|frame|Behind every successful [[Intrepid Reporter]] is [[Da Editor]]. Kolchak's is Tony Vincenzo]]
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** To say nothing of the police.
* [[Animated Armor]]: In the episode "The Knightly Murders." The ghost of an evil knight animates his old suit of armor to kill everyone responsible for the desecration of his burial site.
* [[Badass]]: He may be more of an [[Action Survivor]] than anything else, but you know what? Kolchak definitely qualifies. [[Supernatural (TV series)|His mother wasn't killed by a demon]]. [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|He wasn't Chosen by the Powers That Be]]. [[The X-Files|Heck, he doesn't even work for the FBI]]. Yet time and again he throws himself into danger to get the truth and help people, armed with little more than a few old legends, and comes up victorious every time.
* [[California Doubling]]: For Chicago. Sometimes this is more obvious than others.
* [[Car Cushion]]: "The Trevi Collection"
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* [[Creepy Mortician]]: "Gordy the Ghoul" Spangler, who isn't so much creepy as preternaturally cheerful. Did we mention he's played by [[Winnie the Pooh|the voice of Piglet?]]
* [[Da Editor]]: Tony Vincenzo
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: The remake was this, as a) it lacked a lot of the humor, and b) Kolchak was motivated in his investigations by the death of his wife at the hands of something unknown. As [[Warren Ellis]] put it, "It's like ''[[
* [[Deal
* [[Downer Ending]]: The first movie. {{spoiler|His story gets heavily altered by the corrupt city government, he loses his girlfriend and nearly gets arrested for murder. After being told to leave Las Vegas, he ends up expanding his original story into a novel.}}
* [[Evil Elevator]]: "The Devil's Platform"
* [[Expanded Universe]]: The series has inspired a number of novels featuring Carl Kolchak, Tony Vincenzo, and other series characters, the latest being published as late as 2007!
* [[Everything's Better
* [[Failure Is the Only Option]]: No matter how many monsters and paranormal happenings Kolchak gets involved with, he never has enough evidence left at the end of an episode to prove it, although in one episode he and Vincenzo actually get the story onto the wire before their management kills it.
* [[Follow the Leader]]: ''[[The X
** Also, the revival was overseen by ''[[The X
* [[Glamour Failure]]: The Rakshasa in one episode.
* [[Headless Horseman]]: "Chopper."
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* [[Iconic Outfit]]: He really wouldn't be Kolchak without the blue suit and straw hat.
* [[Ignored Expert]]: Carl Kolchak, who in both movies and the series is usually the only person who notices the unusual happenings which drive the episode.
* [[Implacable Man]]: Lots of the monsters, but the zombie in "[[Exactly What It Says
* [[Invisible Monsters]]: Several. One an Alien, the other an [[Eldritch Abomination]].
* [[Intrepid Reporter]]: Carl Kolchak
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* [[Paranormal Investigation]]: Both the original series and the later remake.
* [[Playing Against Type]]: Phil Silvers in "Horror in the Heights"; John "[[Winnie the Pooh|Piglet]]" Fiedler as fast-talking morgue attendant Gordon "Gordie the Ghoul" Spangler.
* [[Recycled in Space|Recycled IN SPACE!]]: "The Sentry" is the [[Star Trek:
* [[Ripped From the Phone Book]]: Carl does this a lot. In one episode it comes back to bite him.
* [[Room Disservice]]: Inversion in one episode, where a pimp substitutes another hooker for the vampiress call-girl Kolchak is hunting. Her reaction to Carl's wooden stake and crucifix is priceless.
* [[Silver Bullet]]: "The Werewolf"
* [[Spiritual Successor|Spiritual Predecessor]] of ''[[The X
* [[Urban Fantasy]]
* [[Vain Sorceress]]: In "The Youth Killer", Helen of Troy returns to drain the youth out of unsuspecting perfect victims, sacrifices for the goddess Hecate, in her quest for immortality.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1970s]]
[[Category:The Seventies]]
[[Category:American Series]]
[[Category:Horror Series]]
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