The Kolchak Tapes

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Night Stalker 2005 Pilot Jun 07, 2017

Show notes

Chris Stachiw and Mike White jump ahead in the timeline to discuss the pilot episode of Night Stalker which stars Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak, a reporter in Los Angeles who lost his wife in an attack by werewolves. He joins Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union) and Jain McManus (Eric Jungmann) on the hunt for creatures of the night who have stolen a little girl.
Chris and Mike talk with series creator and X-Files veteran Frank Spotnitz about the original intentions for the series and how it changed before even going in front of the cameras.

The Ripper (1974) Apr 26, 2017

Show notes

Reporter Carl Kolchak's third reported encounter with the supernatural, the Ripper, was broadcast the night of September 13, 1974.
Chris Stachiw and Mike White discuss the first episode of The Night Stalker (AKA Kolchak: The Night Stalker). Written by Rudolph Borchert and directed by Allen Baron (Blast of Silence).
The episode pits Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) against Jack the Ripper who has come to Chicago to slaughter sex workers (and Carl's fellow reporter Jane Plumm (Beatrice Colen). The episode introduces us to Carl's co-worker Ron Updyke (Jack Grinnage) and the actress Ruth McDevitt who will return in later episodes.
Special Guest:Mark Dawidziak, author of The Night Stalker: A 25th Anniversary Tribute.
Links:
Buy Kolchak: The Night Stalker series on DVD
Buy Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone: A Fifth-Dimension Guide to Life by Mark Dawidziak
Read the It Couldn't Happen Here discussion of "The Ripper"
Visit The Kolchak Tapes Facebook page
Subscribe to The Kolchak Tapes on iTunes

The Norliss Tapes / The Night Killers Mar 27, 2017

Show notes

On the third episode of The Kolchak Tapes, Chris and Mike are joined by guest co-host Amanda Reyes to talk about The Norliss Tapes (1973). Aired on NBC on February 21, 1973, the film stars Roy Thinnes as David Norliss, a writer trying to solve a supernatural mystery.
Written by William F. Nolan, the film was directed by Dan Curtis who had helmed The Night Strangler and produced The Night Stalker. We discuss the similarities and differences between Norliss and Kolchak. We also look at The Night Killers, the third (unfilmed) Kolchak TV movie. Co-written by Richard Matheson and William F. Nolan, the script would have had Kolchak going to Hawaii to investigate the sudden death of the state's Lieutenant Governor.
Special Guests:Jeff Thompson, author of The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis: Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker and Other Productions, 1966-2006 and author William F. Nolan discuses his work on The Norliss Tapes, The Night Killers, The Intruder and more.

The Night Strangler (1973) Feb 19, 2017

Show notes

Reporter Carl Kolchak's second reported encounter with the supernatural, The Night Strangler, was broadcast on the night of January 16, 1972.
Chris Stachiw and Mike White discuss The Night Stalker and the character of Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin). Written by Richard Matheson (and later adapted for a novel by Kolchak creator Jeff Rice), the made-for-TV movie was directed by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows).
Special Guest: Amanda Reyes, editor of Are You In The House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999.
Links:
Buy The Night Strangler on DVD
Listen to the Made for TV Mayhem podcast
Visit The Kolchak Tapes Facebook page
Subscribe to The Kolchak Tapes on iTunes
Music:
Music by John Walker, Robert Cobert, Gil Milles

The Night Stalker (1972) Jan 11, 2017

Show notes

Reporter Carl Kolchak's first reported encounter with the supernatural, The Night Stalker, was broadcast on January 11, 1972 to jaw-dropping ratings.
Chris Stachiw and Mike White discuss The Night Stalker and the character of Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin). Based on a book by Jeff Rice and adapted by Richard Matheson (I Am Legend), the made-for-TV movie was produced by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey.
Special Guest: Professor Mark Dawidziak, author of The Night Stalker: A 25th Anniversary Tribute.
Visit Mark Dawidziak's blog
Buy Mark Dawidziak's Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone: A Fifth-Dimension Guide to Life
Visit The Kolchak Tapes Facebook page
Visit Kulture Shocked for more Chris Stachiw
Visit The Projection Booth for more Mike White
Subscribe to The Kolchak Tapes on iTunes
Music by John Walker, Robert Cobert, Gil Milles

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