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.
[9] Here, a Las Vegas newspaper reporter named Carl Kolchak tracks down and defeats a serial killer who turns out to be the vampire Janos Skorzeny.
[citation needed] In late 1973, Matheson and William F. Nolan completed the script for an intended third television movie, to be titled The Night Killers,[11] a story about android replicas.
[13] The suit was resolved shortly before the series aired in the fall 1974 season, replacing Toma on the network's Friday night schedule.
[citation needed] The show featured a wide range of guest stars and many Hollywood veterans, including: Ken Lynch, Charles Aidman, Randy Boone, Scatman Crothers, Dick Van Patten, Jan Murray, Larry Storch, Jeanne Cooper, Alice Ghostley, Victor Jory, Murray Matheson, Julie Adams, John Dehner, Phil Silvers, Bernie Kopell, Marvin Miller, Carol Ann Susi, Jesse White, James Gregory, Hans Conried, Mary Wickes, Henry Jones, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Mason, Stella Stevens, Abraham Sofaer, David Doyle, Jim Backus, Kathleen Freeman, John Hoyt, Dwayne Hickman, Eric Braeden, Tom Skerritt, Erik Estrada, William Daniels, Jamie Farr, Lara Parker, Pat Harrington Jr., Larry Linville and Richard Kiel.
[citation needed] The Kolchak series completely vanished after ABC's final repeat, which was the premiere episode "The Ripper", broadcast early September 1975.
The series managed in its short run to tackle most of the major monster myths, including classics such as vampires, werewolves, mummies, and zombies.
[citation needed] The series also dealt with creatures from science fiction, including an escaped killer android, an invisible alien stranded on Earth, a prehistoric ape-man spawned from thawed cell samples, and a humanoid lizard protecting its eggs.
Initially identifiable by the altered opening whistle, an off-key electronic note is seemingly randomly introduced towards the end, but when synchronized with the picture it corresponds to a specific visual.
Mellé was known for his innovative use of electronic orchestration (which was used throughout the series); however, the producers chose not to include this stylistic element in his main title for broadcast, instead opting for a more conventional all-orchestral sound.
Guest stars: Beatrice Colen, Ken Lynch, Roberta Collins, Marya Small A woman whose grandson was murdered by mobsters uses voodoo to turn him into a zombie and take revenge.
Guest stars: Charles Aidman, Joseph Sirola, Val Bisoglio, J. Pat O'Malley, John Fiedler, Antonio Fargas, Scatman Crothers Also known as "U.F.O.
[citation needed] In a sequel to the first movie The Night Stalker, an overlooked victim of the vampire Janos Skorzeny from Las Vegas makes her way to Los Angeles and begins killing anew.
Guest stars: Fred Beir, Philip Carey, Virginia Vincent, Alice Backes, David Doyle, George Sawaya A politician (Tom Skerritt) on a meteoric rise murders his opposition through a pact with Satan which gives him the ability to turn into an invulnerable dog.
The first episode based on a Native American legend, a shaman spirit called the Diablero (Richard Kiel) murders for jewels to pay back his debt and be released from his Earthly bonds.
A dreaming host who is part of a sleep study project conjures up the Louisiana Creole legend of Père Malfait (French: "father [of] mischief/wrongdoing/sin") [21][22] (Richard Kiel) willing to kill anyone who threatens its survival.
Defrosted ancient cell samples discovered in the Arctic grow into a savage prehistoric ape-man which goes on a rampage as a police manhunt ensues.
Guest stars: Andrew Prine, Jackie Vernon An ancient Aztec cult seeks to sustain their mummified leader by sacrificing five perfect warriors.
Guest stars: Ramon Bieri, Pippa Scott, Victor Campos, Sorrell Booke, Erik Estrada To prevent the destruction of its home, the spirit of a knight reanimates his suit of armor to kill those responsible.
Helen of Troy (Cathy Lee Crosby) returns to drain the youth out of unsuspecting perfect victims as part of sacrifices for the goddess Hecate in her quest for immortality.
Guest stars: Kathie Browne, Albert Paulsen, John Hoyt, Frank Marth The series was cancelled with only 20 episodes completed.
[25] The story is summed up by one of Kolchak's lines in the episode: "What if I told you that a deranged feminist murdered a Casanova lab technician, a sex goddess, and her purveyor?
In one interview when mentioned that the majority of the viewing public considered the success of The X-Files series as being inspired by other such past shows such as The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, Carter mentions that while those shows were indeed an influence on The X-Files, it was only about 10 percent, with another 30 percent coming from the Kolchak series and the rest derived as being based upon original 'pure inspiration'.
[citation needed] Jim Knipfel in "The Omen: The Pedigree of a Horror Classic" on Den of Geek, opines of the 1976 film The Omen, "[T]here is no single source quite as central and clearly influential as 'The Devil’s Platform,' an episode from the first season of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which aired in 1974[, and] stars Tom Skerrit[t] as Robert Palmer, a young politician whose meteoric rise seemed to come out of nowhere.
[citation needed] In 1991, author Mark Dawidziak wrote Night Stalking: A 20th Anniversary Kolchak Companion detailing the production of the movies and TV series.
The novel, Grave Secrets, moved Kolchak from Chicago to Los Angeles where he obtained a job at the Hollywood Dispatch newspaper (nicknamed the "Disgrace").
A second volume, Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook, was published in January 2007 featuring new short fiction by authors including P. N. Elrod, Christopher Golden, Richard Dean Starr, Dawidziak and Elaine Bergstrom.
[30] The book included stories by such writers as Rodney Barnes, Kim Newman, Nancy A. Collins, Jonathan Maberry, Steve Niles, Gabriel Hardman, and Peter David.
[31] Magnetic Video released the first TV movie on VHS, The Night Stalker, and years after the label was taken over by 20th Century Fox, it was kept in print as part of its "Selections" series until their licensing deal with ABC expired.
In addition to recording a commentary for the premiere episode "The Ripper", Mark Dawidziak, author of The Night Stalker Companion and Kolchak Novel, Grave Secrets, also provided a Booklet Essay.