Kolchak the Night Stalker- ‘The Ripper’

Created by Jeff Rice and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson (of I Am Legend, Duel and numerous Twilight Zone episodes fame), Kolchak the Night Stalker is really brought to life thanks to the lead actor Darren McGavin. A veteran character actor who is so instantly recognizable that you just accept him at face value rather than wracking your brain trying to remember where you had seen him before, McGavin brings so much life and vitality to the porkpie hat-wearing hero.

The series began as a TV movie simply called Night Stalker in which a Chicago-based reporter investigate what appears to be a simple murder case only to discover that there are supernatural powers at work. It was such a success that two sequel TV movies were planned but the third transformed into an ongoing series with McGavin earning some power in front of and behind the camera (and rightly so).

The pilot of the series proper involves a time honored mystery with a twist. Kolchak is investigating a series of seemingly unrelated murders that are plaguing women who are being found mangled on the city streets. The police are baffled and due to Kolchak’s irascible behavior and attempt to impersonate a police chief, he is cut out of the story and given a seemingly endless supply of agony aunt letters to answer. In his place, the queasy and nervous Updike gets the story but refuses to cover any of the gory details.

Kolchak takes it upon himself to investigate further and finds that a letter written complaining of a creepy neighbor may be the key to it all. The entire affair hinges on some camp moments, contrived situations and stock characters but it’s also brilliant. The killer’s superhuman ability to repel an entire tactical squad, survive a fall that should have pulped his bones and dent the hood of a car barely phase the police who refuse to view the suspect as anything but another perp. But Kolchak knows better and after generous research at the library and a trip to late night hardware store, he’s prepared to go toe-to-toe with an inhuman killer.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker was a major part of pulp horror/adventure in the 1970’s and even had a strong influence years later on the X-Files. A one of a kind program combining elements of film noir, crime fiction, humor and the fantastic, it’s a rarity that earned a special place in the annals of cult TV.

Intro

After a promising start, Kolchak the Night Stalker only lasted for a single year, but more recently it has found renewed interest thanks to reruns, DVD releases and comic books. Currently, the entire series is available on DVD fpr anyone wishing to revisit or discover this series.

There is also an ongoing comic book with many luminaries on hand to write new adventures of the famous reporter of the strange including Peter David (Aquaman, the Hulk, X-Factor), Mike W. Barr (The Crow), and mystery writer Max Allan Collins to name but a few. Rice and Matheson’s Kolchak continues to find new fans to this day. Even with a market full to bursting with vampires, werewolves and other monsters, it appears that a quirky character battling the forces of darkness with little more than a beat-up Mustang, an unreliable camera and a tape recorder wins out.