Kolchak | Worlds of Weird

Tag Archives: Kolchak

Depp and Disney to Desecrate Kolchak

February 22, 2012 Dr. Monstrosity 2 Comments

Deadline is reporting that Disney will be producing a remake of Kolchak the Night Stalker starring none other than Johnny Depp. Just what we need: a sexy, family friendly Kolchak. Edgar Wright will direct.

Although the chances of corporate behemoth Disney producing a worthwhile Kolchak are pretty slim, they have hired on a director that’s been involved with some good work. Edgar Wright has directed the very funny Shaun of the Dead and executive produced the fantastic Attack the Block. And, it turns out that Depp is a big fan of the original series and was one of the drivers behind the project. He can act as well. So maybe between Depp and Wright it will work. Or maybe it will be a overblown, productized, debauched, obnoxiously computer animated, soulless mess. We’ll see…

Kolchak: What the X-Files was Trying to Be

February 06, 2012 Dr. Monstrosity 2 Comments

Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Episode 1: The Ripper

Finally after all these years I, Dr. Monstrosity, have watched Kolchak: The Night Stalker. What took me so long you ask? The thing is that supernatural stuff has never really been my thing. Being a purveyor, practitioner, and perverter of actual science, science fiction has always been nearer to my heart. But, with Netflix streaming service, many shows are so easily accessible; and there was Kolchak sitting in the queue, my wife being a big fan.

Kolchak aired in the mid-seventies and is glorious in its grooviness. It’s based on Kolchak of Jeff Rice’s novel The Kolchak Papers. It was originally adapted by none other than Richard Matheson, as a TV movie that received record setting ratings in 1972. After a second movie, also penned by Matheson, a series was finally developed which went on the air in 1974.

One thing that really struck me about episode 1 was how funny it was. The interplay between Kolchak (Darren McGavin) and his editor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) was a crack up. The show was a win based on these characters alone, but the story concept was also worthy. The episode, titled The Ripper, was an interesting take on Jack the Ripper as a superhuman force that propagates through the years. It reminded me of the Star Trek episode The Wolf in the Fold which had a similar ripper theme. The Trek episode was written by Robert Bloch and based on his short story “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper.” Ironically this ripper theme was reportedly rejected by Richard Matheson as the premise for the second Kolchak TV movie because… it was too similar to Robert Bloch’s story! Then they go and rip off Bloch’s story a year later for the premiere episode. Wow! Anyway, the ripper in the Kolchak episode is portrayed as a guy who looks like a magician and has abilities like a superhero but is of course totally evil. It’s pretty neat.

Ultimately, the show’s greatest asset is the character of Kolchak, who is so cool and well-acted by McGavin that he deserves to be the show’s namesake. When he gets interested in a case there’s no stopping him. I wish I could meet Kolchak and transplant his brain into one of my nuclear powered robots so his essence could last forever. Maybe that way we wouldn’t have had to deal with the insufferable X-Files; which, although inspired by Kolchak: The Night Stalker, was a poor substitute.

Dan Curtis’ and Bill Nolan’s Made for TV Masterpiece: The Norliss Tapes

January 29, 2012 The Black Bird No comments

I’m a sucker for a good occult/supernatural detective yarn! Whether you’re talking William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki the Ghost-Finder, Algernon Blackwood’s John Silence, Seabury Quinn’s Jules de Grandin, Manly Wade Wellman’s John Thunstone, Joseph Payne Brennan’s Lucius Leffing or even an old J. Sheridan Le Fanu story. How ’bout M.R. James’ “Casting the Runes,” filmed as Night of the Demon (starring Dana Andrews as an occult gumshoe)? The tried and true tradition of the supernatural detective ran rampant in the shudder/weird menace pulp mags of the 1930s and 1940s like Thrilling Mystery, Horror Stories, Dime Detective, Dime Mystery, Mystery Novels and Short Stories, etc. Tons of truth-seekers investigated supposed supernatural spookiness, only to discover a perfectly logical explanation to the entire affair at the conclusion. Frank Belknap Long wrote at least a dozen weird menace pulp potboilers. Not to mention several “modern gothic” novel for blue-haired old ladies in the late 1960s to early 1970s under the name Lyda Belknap Long (his wacky wife’s name was Lyda Arco Long).

Thrilling Mystery (6/1936)

H.P. Lovecraft and best pal Frank Belknap Long

by William Hope Hodgson

If you were to trace my love for this type of tale back to its grasshoppa origins, I could even cite Scooby Doo and his psychedelic fun-bus crew. Always on quests to debunk hauntings and strange phenomena. Shaggy and the Scoobster got the mean munchies, and always seemed to unmask the disgruntled caretaker or sacked employee posing as a ghost or goblin. Maybe in a future entry Dr. Monstrosity or your dark ‘n’ dreary ole “boid” might talk about some comic book supernatural shamuses.

Did it take me long to discover more “adult” supernatural detective stories on the small or big screens or in books? Nah! I caught the Kolchak bug as a not-so pimply adolescent. Kolchak the Night Stalker was one of my big fave series when I was a kid, along with The Invaders. Oh yeah, I had soft spots for Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Gallery, but I’d rather not digress. Man, oh man, was my mind blown by Dan Curtis’ two feature-length Kolchak flicks (scripted by beloved horrormeister Richard Matheson) and the subsequent series! Problem was there weren’t too many episodes, not nearly as many of The Invaders, which I watched religiously. Now… What if Dan Curtis hired Bill Nolan of Logan’s Run fame to write a TV series pilot like The Night Stalker or The Night Strangler with all the trimmings that made Kolchak such a smashing success? And, let’s take it a step further, shall we? How ’bout if we snag Invaders and Satan’s School for Girls leading man Roy Thinnes for the title role? Sound like a match made in heaven? How ’bout hell? Hell ain’t a bad place to be! Enter The Norliss Tapes (1973), a made for TV masterpiece of the highest order!! It works as a stand-alone vehicle. Without a doubt it would’ve captivated crowds of glass teat-sucklers had it eventuated as a series too. And, taking it a step further, it leaves you wanting more.

Roy Thinnes and a saucer

Dan Curtis

Author William F. Nolan

The action centers around David Norliss (not David Vincent, but nonetheless portrayed by powerhouse actor Roy Thinnes), an investigative author who has decided to write a book debunking the occult. At the outset of the flick, ole Roy contacts his editor and is seen trying to write his first page. We then see him passed out drunk, no doubt after a long battle with supernatural forces. The editor goes by Norliss’ pad only to find the author missing–a mere sentence typed, but a collection of numbered cassettes containing the contents of the book. As the editor listens to Norliss’ voice, we are ushered into the crux of this creepy little tale of a man trying to cheat death through a demonic pact involving an Egyptian scarab ring, and an evil entity called Sargoth. Along the way we are treated to some nifty appearances by character actors we’ve all seen in various old horror, crime and SF programs (Claude Akins reprises his Night Stalker role as a skeptical irate cop), not to mention some cool scenery as Norliss’ speeding Corvette cruises around Carmel, Big Sur and Monterey.

The only thing that’s missing? Well, it was made for TV, so you won’t find gobs of gore or tons of tits ‘n’ ass. Instead, how ’bout some classic cheesecake pix of the actresses I’ve been yapping about, eh?