Night Stalker ongoing thread (now cancelled)

I noticed that there is a new "re-imagining" of Darrin McGavin's classic Night Stalker series coming up from one of the producers of The X-Files. At first I was excited about it, but now that I've heard more I must admit that I am apprehensive about this series now.

For one thing, they've teamed Kolchak up with a hot, female reporter. What's with this!?! An X-Files producer can't put together a scary show without the Mulder/Scully dynamic!?!

Also, they've cast Stuart Townsend as Kolchak! Kolchak is supposed to be badly dressed, slightly obnoxious, and a real character. Not Mr. Cool in dark clothing (check out the photo on ABC's site, http://abc.go.com/primetime/schedule...htstalker.html).

Supposedly the producer (whose name escapes me for the moment) was a big fan of the original series...so why is he turning it into a hip, cool X-Files clone?

In all fairness, you haven't seen the show yet.

And if you were gonna remake something (which isn't the best of ideas anyway), why would you just copy the original? They made the original already, why make it again? To me, the best way to do a remake is take the basic idea and put your own spin on the idea not slavishly stick to the original.

The Kolchak remake is in the 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' category. If they don't modernize it with pretty people and make it more accesible, the average viewer won't watch it. If they do modernize it, then old Kolchak fans complain.

I saw the ad for this during the finale for LOST and I thought it looked terrible! I give it 6 episodes. If you wanted some hip, young supernatural show, call it something else and not The Night Stalker! And what's with all the supernatural shows coming out next season?! Someone wrote that it's due to LOST, but that show was never an all out supernatural program...

I would call Lost pretty supernatural *at this stage*. While the creators may have something non-supernatural cooked up that certainly hasn't come across to the audience yet.

Medium has also been a big success for NBC, so between Lost and Medium, as well as the success of non-supernatural but genre material like Battlestar Galactica, I'm not surprised there is a push for this material.

I'm definitely interested in Kolchak if for no other reason than Frank Spotnitz and his involvement. I'll definitely give it a few episodes.

And the die-hard Star Trek fans said TNG wouldn't last - you couldn't do a show without the original cast, etc., etc., etc. Then the Battlestar Galactica people did their sackcloth and ashes number. These shows don't get remade or have sequels generated in order to tap into the nostalgia of the old fans. They get done because somebody thinks a basic premise that was worth trying 20 or 30 years ago might work for a new audience - and if the audience is going to be big enough to sustain the new series then by definition it is going to have to attract people who never even heard of the original show.

You know how this usually breaks down? A small percentage of the old fans refuse to even watch the new show. A slightly larger proportion checks it out, decides it's garbage and dennounces it as heresy. An even bigger group decides the new show is just fine, as good as the old one, maybe better. And the biggest group of all is new fans who either never watched or didn't like the original show, but just love the new one. If there are enough of them altogether, the new show survives, if not, not. In both cases the fans of the old show have little or nothing to do with the success of the new one.

I thought TNG was OK, but still have a soft spot for the original. (I found DS9 boring, Voyager embarassing and Enterprise unwatchable.) I thought the original BSG sucked, despite cool effects, cute women and a fun character in Starbuck. I think the remake is much better.

I'll give the new Night Stalker a chance. I loved the first TV movie and thought Darren McGavin's Kolchack was one of the all-time great TV characters, but I recognized the inherent weakness of the "monster-of-the-week" format the series used and wasn't surprised or all that saddended when the original was cancelled. So I don't see this as descerating a classic, regardless of what happens. And the originals will all still be there, it isn't like they're going to erase the master tapes to record the new version over them. Just as TOS and the original BSG are still there for those who prefer them, or who like them just as much as the remakes.

Regards,

Joe

Well, the one difference is the old Kolchak series isn't on DVD. I probably wouldn't even bother to complain a bit if those episodes were available. I love the opening credits/title section, where he comes in whistling and the music is light and airy, and then the music grows dark... And I always seem to miss it when it's played on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Then, at the minimum, you can probably thank the remake series for a sooner rather than later release of the original show. I'm sure the original will be released on DVD to either correspond to either the premiere of the new show or its subsequent DVD release.

Jordan, that's why I hope the new Kolchak is a hit. That'll nearly guarantee that the original gets its (deserved) release on DVD

Either way, Sci-Fi will probably start running the show more when it gets close to the premiere of the remake.

Yep...if all the new show does is get the original Night Stalker series released on DVD then I'm a happy man. You just can't 'remake' McGavin's Kolchak.

I didn't mean to imply that I felt that something sacred was being tampered with. I'm just saying that from what I've seen I'm not as happy with the idea as I once was. And I very much do not like what they are doing with the Kolchak character.

I will definitely tune in, but the point of my comments was simply that I'm not happy so far...

I remember watching the original Night Stalker when I was very young and liking it and being to scared to go to sleep after the Dracula episode but I watched a few of these a few months ago and they did not hold up well at all. I think they might be able to put a positive spin on it although why they have a female sidekick, I dont know.
We'll see. I'll give it a chance.

Mikel_Cooperman wrote (post #11):


Actually, I find just the opposite. It was pretty clear at the time for anyone over the juvenile age level that the producers of the original were going at least as much for comedy as for chills. To me it worked then and it works now, every time I see the episodes. The jokes still work.

My question is: who will play "Vicenzo"? That's the key. If they try for the seriousness of The X-Files, they're dead.

Yeesh, that looks terrible, and not because of the remake angle either. Those are just very boring-looking actors

The thing is, though, it's hard for me to even imagine Townsend as Carl Kolchak because the name itself is just so harsh and craggy, the kind of name you would expect a middle-aged guy like Darrin McGavin to have, not a young babyface like Stuart "Anti-Aragorn" Townsend. I am, however, glad for this show's presence because, as mentioned above, it should hopefully get the original series on dvd much faster

Vincenzo is being played by Cotter Smith.

A recent item, with some comments by Spotnitz:

http://tinyurl.com/a5boa

There was no episode of "The Night Stalker" that featured Dracula....

previews on abc's site looked ultra dull....the setting and tone were all dull dull dull.

6 episodes is generous. I think this is going to bomb and bomb hard right out of the gate, like Wonderfalls. I wouldn't be shocked to see it disappear within 4 episodes.

Most people didnt think they could redo Battlestar Gallactica successfully and same with the reimagined Doctor Who which Rocks.
The moral here, could go either way depending on the writing, the performances and the chemistry between the two characters.
I watched the old show when I was a kid and it used to scare me but recently watched it and it was horrible. It could use some updating.

There was no episode of "The Night Stalker" that featured Dracula....

Yes, there was a Night Stalker TV movie that featured him. I remember, I was about 8 and couldnt sleep after seeing it.

You must be thinking of the original pilot movie....it did have a vampire in it but he certainly wasn't Count Dracula.

The new series doesn't look promising..but I'll check it out anyway.

Saw the pilot episode of Night Stalker (2005). Let's just say the pilot is "out there" in the cyber-ether. I don't want to spoil anything (except where noted) so I'll keep my comments general.

It wasn't the disaster I thought it would be, but I wasn't overwhelmed either. It reeked of "X-Files" style. I don't know if this is good or bad. I know the whole Night Stalker influenced X-Files story, but this seemed too much. The dynamic of the actors didn't seem too great, but it is a pilot and these things usually improve. Stuart Townsend wasn't bad, but he wasn't great either. I like Gabrielle Union, but I don't know if this show needs a "Scully." Whereas the original TV movie still holds up for me, the pilot of The Night Stalker 2005 was less than mindblowing.

There were a few nice nods to the original:


Warning Spoiler! Click to show

I love the original and I'm a sucker for supernatural shows so I'll be there when it premieres. Hopefully, it will improve over time (if it lasts).

Now all we need is a remake of "The Norliss Tapes"

Ah yes, that one scared the crap out of me as a kid as well. I remember the reel to reel tape recorder with the full tape reel spinning at the end.

Author Warren Ellis gives his take on the new Night Stalker

Warren Ellis Night Stalker Review

I see that this premieres next Thursday, September 29th, so I thought I'd resurrect this thread in preparation.

While I don't hold a lot of faith in this series, I do admit a keen interest in the premiere. We shall see...

Just a reminder that this program premieres tomorrow night (Thursday, September 29th).

Entertainment Weekly had an interesting article on the development of this show, worth reading even if you think the show is a bad idea. I didn't realize how long it takes to bring a show to the air. I also didn't realize the original show lasted less than one season.

I'm looking forward to it, mainly because of the subject matter. If you don't think it should be remade, just pretend it is a different show and the guy happens to be named Kolchak. It seems some are really just hung up on names- if the character & show had new names, would you be upset?

Tonight's the night. 9:00 pm (PST) on ABC.

Hopefully this program will turn out to be real surprise. Galactica was...

The media reviews posted over at AICN tear Night Stalker apart and don't bother to put it back together, and given it's timeslot, don't expect it to last. Hell, ABC didn't give Miracles the shot it deserved...and I already have my monster-of-the-week fix with Supernatural anyway.

Even if it fails (which seems likely), ABC will probably air all of the episodes so they don't 'waste' any other show against CSI. I guess that's almost a silver lining

I just finished watching The X-Files .....I mean The Night Stalker. You might as well call the characters Mulder & Scully and rename the show as such. Heh....they might as well give the FBI guy hounding Kolchak a cigarette while they're at it. Can't say that I'm really impressed so far and don't like it's chances as it has that 'been there, done that' feel to it.

NIGHT STALKER discussion

Anyone check out the new "Night Stalker"? Semi-promising start, but I hope the production values were just cheap because it was a pilot. They never did really show the creature, and when I slowed it down to try and get a look, it seemed like basically a hand puppet (especially in the shower attack scene).

Also lots of blathering on about connections and "the mark," but nothing really about what these creatures were, or why they were attacking. There was some mention that the women were pregnant, but that was never really followed up.

And why did the creatures carry the girl back to the caves rather than just killing her?

Seemed like there were lots of plot threads that were never really tied together. But I'll give it a couple more episodes.