Kolchak: The Night Stalker

Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Genre
Created byJeff Rice
Starring
Theme music composerGil Mellé
Composers
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes20 (list of episodes)
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Production
Running time50–51 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 13, 1974 (1974-09-13) –
March 28, 1975 (1975-03-28)
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974–1975 season. The series followed wire service reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly those involving the supernatural or science fiction, including fantastic creatures. The series was preceded by the two television movies, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973). Although the series lasted only a single season, it developed cult status in syndication.[1]

Chris Carter cited Kolchak as a "tremendous influence" in creating his franchise The X-Files.[2][3] In 2005, inspired by that success, The X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz resurrected the series as Night Stalker. The new series was unable to compete with CBS' C.S.I.[4] and was cancelled after only six of the ten episodes that had been produced were aired on ABC.[5] The full ten-episode series was eventually aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in the summer of 2006.[6] Several comics[7] and novels[8] based upon the original series have been published.

  1. ^ Petty, Michael John (February 11, 2023). "How 'Kolchak: The Night-Stalker' Inspired Shows Like 'The X-Files' and 'Supernatural'". Collider. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  2. ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (October 23, 2018). "How The X-Files invented modern television". Vox. Archived from the original on January 6, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "Johnny Depp's 'Kolchak, the Night Stalker' Will Be Made by...Disney?". Forbes. February 23, 2012. Archived from the original on January 15, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  4. ^ Jane, Ian (May 26, 2006). "Night Stalker - The Complete Series". www.dvdtalk.com. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Hansen, John (February 1, 2011). "'Night Stalker' (2005) brings Kolchak into 21st century". Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Night Stalker, The (television)". D23. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  7. ^ "Books by Dave Ulanski (Author of Kolchak The Night Stalker)". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  8. ^ ThriftBooks. "Kolchak: The Night Stalker Book Series". ThriftBooks. Retrieved May 21, 2024.