Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about…™ kolchak: the night stalker (The Complete Series) – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Capt D McMars]

Having watched a couple of episodes off the new Blu-ray’s the episodes look so much better than the DVD version. Delightful. The commentary Dawidziak did for The Ripper covered the backstory of how the series came to be. He played an audio tape of an interview he did with McGavin when compiling research for his Night Stalker book that was a nice surprise.

I really loved this series and so glad that it's getting the love that it desirves...mines still on preorder. Can't wait!!

 

[Capt D McMars]

It much more like an hour long Mike Hammer. Only this time in color, with monsters, and a hairpiece for McGavin.

A smattering of location footage establishing shots mixed with a lot of Universal backlot and soundstage shooting.
McGavin's similar sardonic voice overs.
Parallel structure to a detective show.
etc.

I was genuinely startled when I finally saw the earlier show just how similar it was to his later Kolchak.
In fact, the way it plays feels far more like Kolchak than Mickey Spillane.

I also enjoyed this rendition of Mike Hammer as well - 274972824722

 

[cadavra]

No. Just no.

Don't just say no. Tell me why "no."

 

[Wayne Klein]

Having watched a couple of episodes off the new Blu-ray’s the episodes look so much better than the DVD version. Delightful. The commentary Dawidziak did for The Ripper covered the backstory of how the series came to be. He played an audio tape of an interview he did with McGavin when compiling research for his Night Stalker book that was a nice surprise.

Looking forward to it. thanks for the preview unfortunately I haven’t received my copy just yet (it probably won’t be here until release day).

 

[Wayne Klein]

Don't just say no. Tell me why "no."

It’s not Johnny Quest Anymore than “The X-Files” is Johnny Quest Or Mike Hammer (minus the monsters) is Johnny Quest. There are 36 dramatic situations in all of literature and slight variations on them but that doesn’t mean that “Alien” is “Ten Little Indians” In outer space. Basic plot structures don’t really define what something is or is not.

Carl Kolchak doesn’t have a super smart scientist father that flies him around in a private jet. Carl Kolchak didn’t have an Indian kid side kick and dog that helped with the mysteries (you could more readily compare Scooby Doo to Johnny Quest) or Race Bannon to help get him out of trouble.

So no, it isn’t “Johnny Quest” unless Johnny grew up to become a newspaper reporter Who wore a seer sucker suit and had an editor with an ulcer due to Kolchak’s stories.

 

[Capt D McMars]

The prior domestic DVD sets seemed to be repurposing the masters originally created for/used by Columbia House when they issued the series in a set of ten, two episodes-per-tape VHS tapes.
Plugged up shadows are common.

Kino released a newly transferred "next on..." tag a couple months back and the quality was mouth watering to this long time fan. I won't have my set for a couple weeks, but I fully expect this new Bd set to show just how inadequate that DVD set was.

KL seems to always stepup on the video side of things, yet ofton times falls short on the bonus materials, for me at least!!

 

[cadavra]

It’s not Johnny Quest Anymore than “The X-Files” is Johnny Quest Or Mike Hammer (minus the monsters) is Johnny Quest. There are 36 dramatic situations in all of literature and slight variations on them but that doesn’t mean that “Alien” is “Ten Little Indians” In outer space. Basic plot structures don’t really define what something is or is not.

Carl Kolchak doesn’t have a super smart scientist father that flies him around in a private jet. Carl Kolchak didn’t have an Indian kid side kick and dog that helped with the mysteries (you could more readily compare Scooby Doo to Johnny Quest) or Race Bannon to help get him out of trouble.

So no, it isn’t “Johnny Quest” unless Johnny grew up to become a newspaper reporter Who wore a seer sucker suit and had an editor with an ulcer due to Kolchak’s stories.

You simply listed the things that I had already exempted. The basic concept--hunting the monster of the week--is clearly pretty much the same, even down to some of the same monsters (e.g., mummy, werewolf, walking plant, robots, invisible creature).

 

[Wayne Klein]

You simply listed the things that I had already exempted. The basic concept--hunting the monster of the week--is clearly pretty much the same, even down to some of the same monsters (e.g., mummy, werewolf, walking plant, robots, invisible creature).

That’s structure. You could plug in any mystery And say that Kolchak is a mystery story with a monster. It’s the sum of the parts that define genre, the mixture. By that definition, Kolchak is Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein or They Meet The Mummy. In fact, those have more in common than Johnny Quest much as I enjoyed that series as a kid and even as an adult. 36 dramatic situations and structures exist but that doesn’t define just what it is Or isn’t. You’re just doubling down which is common in today’s world. It just isn’t Johnny Quest. You are welcome to see it that way but by that definition you can insert any film or TV show as being ‘like’ something else when the resembles are superficial.,

 

[bmasters9]

I also enjoyed this rendition of Mike Hammer as well - 274972824722

I have the older version of the 50s Mike Hammer both-in-one (the one that had the 6-disc notation at the bottom left of each season case)...

 

[Capt D McMars]

That’s structure. You could plug in any mystery And say that Kolchak is a mystery story with a monster. It’s the sum of the parts that define genre, the mixture. By that definition, Kolchak is Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein or They Meet The Mummy. In fact, those have more in common than Johnny Quest much as I enjoyed that series as a kid and even as an adult. 36 dramatic situations and structures exist but that doesn’t define just what it is Or isn’t. You’re just doubling down which is common in today’s world. It just isn’t Johnny Quest. You are welcome to see it that way but by that definition you can insert any film or TV show as being ‘like’ something else when the resembles are superficial.,

i see this almost as an Invaders-esque aspect vibe, with monsters. Chasing after a good story, solving a mystery, doing what ever needs to be done to get the job done...dispite his editor and everyone else around him.

 

[Wayne Klein]

i see this almost as an Invaders-esque aspect vibe, with monsters. Chasing after a good story, solving a mystery, doing what ever needs to be done to get the job done...dispite his editor and everyone else around him.

I agree. In fact, if story arcs were a thing back then, I could easily see this with some sort of story arc involved someone releasing the majority of these creatures (the Vampire and some of the others aside).