Hey guys, I’m really enjoying the show. I guess I’m revealing my age when I tell you that I watched the Night Stalker movies and the series when it first ran in the 70’s. I, like most people who appreciate the show, agree that it would have been better to keep it as occasional movies of the week or have it be on once a month sharing the time slot with other shows like the Mystery Movie—in fact Kolchak could easily have been slotted into the run alone side Columbo, McCloud and McMillan & Wife. Even at that time I was fearful about it going to a weekly series. But in spite of the flaws I loved the show. The monsters always played a backseat to the antics of Carl Kolchak. And the other characters, though under used, were great!
Of course, the way Hollywood treated Jeff Rice was disgusting and sad—and this experience contributed to him abandoning the character. It is too bad because I would have love Rice to write other books. I still have may first edition paperbacks of the Night Stalker and Night Strangler.
I read the Night Stalker Companion years ago but your podcast has answered many questions that were not covered in the book—especially concerning the demise of the show. And you have peaked my interest so much that I am now seeking out the stories from other authors.
I knew about Grave Secrets by Mark Dawidziak but could never find it. I tracked down Moonstone and have ordered the (very expensive shipping) books Grave Secrets and Kolchak Night Stalker Compendium. The Richard Matheson's Kolchak Scripts were sold out but seem to still be available from Gauntlet Press at a very expensive price. I really would love to read the Night Killers and imagine what might have been. The Night Killers would have come out before Futureworld which used the robot doppelganger plot that is now so common. It would have been great if Rice could have written that up as a third novel.
I have listened to a couple of original stories on audiobook. Not that impressed. They don’t have the cadence of Rice or the humour of the movies/series. An observation that has come up since listening to the audiobooks and watching the 2005 series is that putting Kolchak in the modern era doesn’t really work for me. The internet and cell phones and fake news and the on going decline of newspapers and degrading of journalism conflict with the Kolchak character—or at least make him less unique. Who wears a hat, tie and Seersucker suit today? Even in the 70’s Kolchak was the traditional newspaper reporter (think the Front Page), which really doesn’t exist today. I think he needs to stay apart of the 70’s with his handheld tape-recorder and mini-camera fighting against long held traditions that existed then but are gone now. If we ever get another Kolchak (with Brian Cranston or, even better, Bob Odenkirk?) make it a period piece. What do you think? - Mike Ranieri, Toronto
