Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1 Viewer)

[RickER]

The Best Buy i go to here in Tulsa only got 8 copies. I dont know how big a seller it will be. I am sure they figure only 40 year old guys like me would want it. Just finished disc 2, side 1. Still playing fine, still a tad dark in areas, but what fun it is to watch again.

 

[TravisR]

Don't forget X-Files nerds that got turned onto the series (like me ).

 

[RickER]

Travis, after you watch it you'll have to tell us what you think of it. I am also an X Files fan. Curious how an older show like Night Stalker hold up to a younger audience. Just dont judge the show on episodes like Chopper!

 

[TravisR]

I've seen them all before but it's been quite awhile. I had a friend who had them in the '90's and I saw them all back then. Eventually I taped them all off of the Sci-Fi Channel.

I'm impressed by how well the episodes stand up against the Kolchak telemovies. I've seen the movies a bunch of times over the years and my memory was that the series was good but not really up to the level of the movies. I was happy that many of the episodes that I've watched so far are almost as good as the movies.

And I don't know how but I forgot how Scully's closing narration on many older XF episodes was 'borrowed' from Kolchak.

 

[GuruAskew]

When I saw that Wal-Mart carried other Universal "Classic Television" series I was sure they would have "Kolchak", especially with the tie-in opportunity with the new TV show. I was surprised to see that they didn't have it and even more surprised when my local FYE didn't have it, either. I ordered it yesterday morning on Amazon and, being the impatient person I am, I got the next-day shipping and it arrived today. I've watched the first five episodes with no problem whatsoever. I'm hoping to finish up disc 1/side b tonight and I'll watch the next two discs over the next two days, hopefully I won't have any problems. The image quality is definitely lower than the films on the MGM disc but part of that can obviously be interpreted to the fact that the series surely had a lower budget than movies of the week. The quality is about what I expected out of a 30-year-old TV series. I'm not a 40-year-old, I'm only 23 and as an "X-Files" fan I've been interested in checking this show out for years.

 

[Jeff#]

Yeah, but at least Scully had a notebook computer. All Kolchak owned was his tape recorder.

 

[DanMel]

This Is not unusual for Amazon if you have used free shipping. I've pre-ordered a bunch of stuff. One example is the new Outer limits season one that will be released on November 1st. Well if I choose free shipping, my ship date goes from November 1st to November 14th with a delivery on the 18th. They never use to do this to me but now they typically hold on to packages at least 10 days before they ship if free shipping is selected.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Rick, I have really noticed this at Best Buy. To borrow a term from another forum, I think they are staffed at all levels by whippersnappers who just don't get it. For example, when I went in and asked for the Muppets set, I got blank stare by one associate, and was all but dismissed by another. I went to Costco, where they had an ample supply. I expect blank stares from floor staff, but the people in the BB executive offices must be as equally young and stupid. They must be targeting the 18-30 set and thinking they are the only shoppers who matter. Or they have no concept of what might be popular because they were not around to notice it. (Oh, and the business articles I've read about Costco say that they are staffed by very savvy people, and not just because they stock Muppets DVD's.)

I loved the Night Stalker as a kid. And as a 40-year-old, I am also looking very much into checking out some of those episodes. (Alas, I probably won't be able to watch all for my review, but if anyone has any that are a particular concern or interest, let me know.)

- Steve

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

They had a couple of copies at my local Best Buy. The prices are crummy, so I used a 30% off coupon from Border's Rewards and got it for what I'd pay at Amazon for it. Kind of disappointed that it didn't show up at Costco, but my saving on the FLY two-pack makes up for it.

The transfer does look unusually dark, but is much better than I feared after reading some of the Amazon reviews mentioned here.

 

[Steve Berger]

I think Kolchak's recorder was actually a very high tech (for the time) wire recorder.

 

[RickER]

Yea Steve, when i go to BB i only have 1 guy who i can talk to. He is the only guy working in the place close to OUR age. I asked him Tues. morning where the Night Stalker discs where. He took me to them, and had already taken one for himself. Thats when he said, "we only got 8". I asked him if BB had Dracula 1972...i know, what was i thinking! He knew of the movie and actually looked to see if they had it. No, it was an online order only. But like you Steve, if i ask ANYONE else in the media area at BB about a 20 or 30 year old movie or TV show i get a blank stare, and no offer to look. I had to work the last 2 days, so i hope to finish up on the last disc of the Night Stalker this weekend, it was a fun $30 buy.

 

[Kevin M]

His recorder was not a wire recorder, in what time do you think the series was supposed to take place, 1947?
It was a tape recorder, in the first film you can see the tapes themselves spread across the desk in the close-up's, in the series there are many close-up's of the tape recorder with the tape inside spinning.

 

[Jeff#]

Yep. It was a portable tape cassette recorder with a carrying strap to put around the shoulder. Standard stuff for reporters in the 1970s.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Man, am I dumb! I posted this a few days ago:



Anyway, I'm enjoying it, and now I can enjoy it even more since the possibility of a bad disc is no longer hanging over me.

BTW, the image was dark but acceptable on the first three, and quite excellent as far as I could tell on the fourth one.

 

[Jeff#]

Regarding "The Vampire" episode which also guest starred Kathleen Nolan...just why did she quit The Real McCoys some 12 years earlier? Was it a contract dispute for more money, or was she ready to move on after the first 5 years of that sitcom? Obviously her career since that time wasn't particularly memorable.

 

[FrancisP]

Thanks for the heads-up on Amazon. If they ever send me a
feedback form, they are going to get a eyeful. I will be taking my business elsewhere. Whether Amazon is violating any laws may be questionable but it is dirty pool. It
took 4 business days before my card was even charged and the status moved from "not yet shipped" to "preparing
to ship".

 

[Jordan_E]

I'm trying hard to watch just one episode a day so it will last until Halloween, but it's dang hard! I started the wrong way and began with The Werewolf. Loved it. Now that I have this set and the two TV movies makes for terrific marathons in the future.

 

[Dave Mack]

Hi all! Does anyone know this trivia? Was the cruise ship one (werewolf?) filmed aboard the old queen mary which is now a docked hotel in California?

Thanks! d

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I finally got my Set today for $15.99 I did'nt mind waiting. The First Ep is really Dark, but things improve in the 2nd and third episodes. I don't really think they did any remastering since I swear I saw a film splice on the first show. The First two shows in the collection really shows how much the new series is just so lackluster and drab, the new Kolchak has all the spark and personality as a dishrag. Some of the shows of the original were'nt great, a good example is the third ep the UFO story, but Mcgavin excudes so much charm and personality, and the Duo of Mcgavin and Simon Oakland are so great , you hardly Notice.

I dare anyone not to get the willies as Kolchak is trying to sew the Zombie's Lips shut, what a great series.

 

[Jeff Krispow]

Dave, you guessed correctly: the episode was filmed on the Queen Mary, which is now forever imprisoned docked in Long Beach, CA.

However… while the Queen Mary was used for the majority of the episode(both interiors and exteriors), an entirely different ship was used/shown during any shots where you actually see the ship "at sea."

This other ship barely resembles the Queen Mary in, well, nearly ANY respect -- very different smokestacks, different shape, different design. It's so obviously a different ship… not just for those of us who know what the QM really looks like up close, but solely in the context of the episode itself. I remember watching this episode during it's first 1974 run (and subsequent re-runs over the years) and thinking the same thing each time… THAT's not the same ship! Oh well, what are you gonna do -- obviously they couldn't find and/or use any color stock footage of the real ship at ship (any footage I've even seen was from black & white newsreels).

Now there's a real good trivia question… what was the name of the "real' ship seen sailing at sea? Doubt we'll ever find that answer out…

Just as an FYI, for many years the Queen Mary has hosted an annual Halloween Terror Fest… this year's "Shipwreck 2005" event is their 11th year. Even though I live in Southern California, I've never gone to one of these events (my health over the past 8 year is simply far too poor for me to even bother to attempt it, and this tour isn't really good for folks in wheelchairs due to all the stairs). An since the ship is supposedly "haunted," it's a good way to get a fright on during this best of holidays!

Regards…