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I am – Hercules!!
Supernatural thriller, from writer-director Frank Spotnitz (“The X-Files”) about a journalist named Carl Kolchak who believes his wife’s murder is tied to forces of the uncanny. It’s loosely based on one of the most beloved (if short-lived) TV series of my tortured youth. It stars Stuart Townsend (“League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”) as Carl Kolchak, Cotter Smith (“X2”) as Tony Vincenzo and Gabrielle Union (“Bring It On”) as pretty Perri Reed. Miss Emily, it would seem, has not yet been cast.
ABC airs it in a timeslot I wouldn’t give a monkey on a rock: Thursdays at 9 p.m., opposite the WB’s “Everwood,” CBS’ “CSI,” NBC’s “The Apprentice,” Fox’s “Reunion” and the UPN sitcoms “Cuts” and “Love Inc.”
The ending of the pilot was reshot, so I can’t comment on what’ll be seen tonight. But the pilot I saw could have used a good dose of the indignant wit I associate with the Darren McGavin Kolchak.
USA Today gives it one and a half (out of four) stars and says:
… a third-rate rip-off of a superior series. … the series it's ripping off is The X-Files. … you might have expected them to come up with something better than this humorless, pallid, badly cast copy. In their efforts to blend a new show out of two old ideas, they seem to have forgotten that all series, even ones that traffic in the occult, run on character, and the character they've created is deeply uninteresting. The reason the original Night Stalker lingers in fans' memories has nothing to do with the monsters and all to do with Darren McGavin's Kolchak. McGavin created a humorous, completely unglamorous hero, a middle-aged, rumpled, wisecracking, down-on-his-luck reporter who was struggling to restore his career. True, the character worked better in the movies than he did in the series. But that's no good reason to replace him with his polar opposite: a young, good-looking, dour guy-on-the-rise played with a humorless thud by Stuart Townsend. …
The San Franciso Chronicle says:
… Anyone who remembers the old "Night Stalker" television show of the 1970s must have been foaming at the mouth when ABC announced that it was remaking the series with Frank Spotnitz, former executive producer of "The X-Files," in charge.
Even Spotnitz no laughs. At least "The X-Files" had sense of humor. Worse, in this "Night Stalker," Kolchak isn't some rumpled reporter like Darren McGavin. He's a GQ-worthy crime reporter …
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says:
… "Night Stalker" remains a problematic update. In fact, it looks a lot less like "Kolchak" than like a cup of weakly brewed "X-Files" - minus the spice and clever humor. Oh, and an even more important quality is missing. Shows about strange bumps in the night, demons and killers should be, well, scary. A few moments that make your hair stand on end are a requirement, don't you think? But the best "Night Stalker" does is raise eyebrows and grant a few "ooh" moments. Like tonight's digitally inserted image of the Kolchak from the original series. Ooh. … You can't help dabbing a nostalgic tear at the realization that Kolchak and Reed ain't Mulder and Scully. It isn't unreasonable to hold "Night Stalker" up to that more recently deceased series rather than the old one; Spotnitz was an executive producer on "The X-Files" for eight years. One wishes he took more of what he learned there and applied it here. …
Newsday says:
… One of the most memorable newspaper reporters in TV history was Carl Kolchak, played with campy bravado by actor Darren McGavin in the early '70s. In the original TV movie (that later launched a series), McGavin was a perfect match for the potboiler script by Richard Matheson ("The Twilight Zone"), steeped in Runyon-esque twang and Serling-esque horror. When not chasing leads in bizarre Las Vegas murders, Kolchak was given to sardonic asides, most often directed at his blustery editor (the equally memorable Simon Oakland). A reporter "socially fits somewhere between a hooker and a bartender," he mused, "but stands with Galileo because he knows the world is round - not that that does much good because his editor knows the world is flat...." … Based on the first two episodes, this [new “Night Stalker”] is a ghost best left moldering in the grave. … what is missing here is heart, drama, and - most inexcusably - horror. …
Variety says:
An inventive show with not particularly likable characters, "Night Stalker" appears bound for cult status but there's an audience looking for a crusty but likeable Kolchak. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… If … the new series is judged on how well it scares and entertains and not on how carefully it is cloned, it is both a success and unique among the shows on the fall menu.… Will "Night Stalker" be mainly about who killed Kolchak's wife? Fortunately, no. A subsequent episode sent for review indicates the series will broaden its horizons, flesh out Kolchak's personality and let Perri come into her own, all encouraging signs. Spotnitz, who wrote the script, and director Dan Sackheim understand that, when it comes to suspense and terror, less onscreen violence is more. That, and the smart use of jump cuts and interesting angles, make this a dependable source of entertaining fright as well as a logical companion for "Alias" on Thursday nights.
TV Guide says:
… This Kolchak is younger and sexier than the rumpled crusader played by Darrin McGavin (whose image is digitally inserted into the pilot), but also so dire he comes off like a more depressed version of X-Files’ Mulder. The last act of the pilot is being reshot, but what we’ve seen leaves us cold, not chilled …
9 p.m. Thursday. ABC.
Pre-order and embrace the beloved original, which finally arrives on DVD in JUST FIVE DAYS!! Kolchak: The Night Stalker – The Complete Series
!!!
And don’t forget the amazing Richard Matheson TV-movies that started it all!!The Night Stalker/The Night Stranger Double Feature!!
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Serve's Them Right Cancelling it back in the 70s!!!
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it really doesnt sound that good.
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...this bloody thing seems to be a genuine piece of shit. The finger's of Carl Kolchak extends across the Atlantic, and we are two fans of the original TV movies and series that will gleefully see this poxy new series go down in flames! This crappy new series can kiss our Mr R.I.N.G.
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Spotnitz should be castrated for squandering a superb chance to make a very cool show.
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Spotnitz should be castrated for squandering a superb chance to make a very cool show.
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Spotnitz should be castrated for squandering a superb chance to make a very cool show.
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Just as bad, I suppose.
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Horror In The Heights - Top episode man. Followed by The Zombie. I also dig The Devil's Platform. Is that wrong?
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Yeah . . . w00t first time talkbacker here . . . I'm going to watch. I know, it seems stupid, but I'm giving a shot. Mainly because I don't want to get up to change the channel to Reunion after Alias. Soooo moral of this first comment? Watch alias!
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Sep 29, 2005 7:02:31 AM CDT
Had they gotten Michael Keaton as Kolchak they would have had a
by spacesheik
but studios and tv executives these days are always going for the "demographic" - fucking idiots - add this to another failed ressucitation/reinventing (KOJAK).
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to watch later. Worst case senerio, 45 minutes of my life that I"LL NEVER EVER GET BACK.
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It sucks that after 30 years of wishing someone would give this show another chance, it appears that ABC and Spotnitz have completely dropped the ball. If you're completely changing the concept and characters, why call it Night Stalker and ruin any chance of a REAL Kolchak revival in the near future? I'll give it a shot tonight, but it sure sounds awful. Oh, and the Michael Keaton suggestion sounds perfect. I've wracked my brain recently trying to think of a good Carl Kolchak, and Keaton would be very intriguing in the role. Kolchak ain't no pretty boy!!!
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Last night, as I was recording Criminal Minds and watching Lost, during one of the commercial breaks I changed to see what was going on on Head Cases. It wasn't on. Has it been cancelled already?
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Proof positive you don't need a sexy lead in your show in order to be a hit. Just surround him with pretty people if you're so insecure, but nothing will kill a show faster than uninteresting characters. We need a reason to watch every week beyond the concept...Keaton would've been great...Hell, I would've taken Michael Richards over the man who was thankfully not Aragorn.
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oldest game in town: have your series be good enough to be picked up (so you can at least pay off all your credit cards), but be bad enough to be cancelled after 13 episodes (so you don't lose your Big Screen Cred.)-----later-----m
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Smoking hot.
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Sep 29, 2005 11:42:04 AM CDT
I'll watch the first ep, but only because everybody slows do
by l.h.puttgrass
The casting of Townsend told me they were going for the "All-Powerful-And-Holy" demographic, not the flavor of the original show. There's a little voice in the back of my mind that just keeps screaming, "Why! Why! Why!!". Sad. Just sad. And yes, Keaton would have been great casting for Kolchak. I doubt that kind of thinking ever crossed the producers' minds.
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Sep 29, 2005 12:09:49 PM CDT
Will the show be any good on it's own merits? I haven't
by l.h.puttgrass
Still, nothing about this show feels right to me. It's like Spotnitz had some leftover X-Files in his fridge, popped it the microwave and said,"Hot damn! I got me a new show!". And anyway, Stuart (Don't call me Pete!) Townsend is really just Paul (Am I fast or furious?) Walker without the blonde hair.
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but I'm not expecting much. I've never seen the original, but I still count THE X-FILES as my favorite show ever, but we all know how many shows have tried to mimic that series only to fail miserably. Plus, I thought TV execs had moved on from copying X-FILES to copying LOST?
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... this turd, plus all the other Buffy/Lost/Alias/CSI/X-Files knockoffs will all be gone by Thanksgiving. I'm sure the nets can't wait to start up their, "Nothing But Reality Shows" programming again.
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...but, I did.
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sounds like crap. I watched the original movies not long ago, and they were better than I remember; Richard Matheson's a genius writer!
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... And I'm a big Matheson fan, as well as an admirerer of McGavin (as are all lovers of A Christmas Story). But I was pretty disappointed by the two-movie DVD set I bought earlier this year. It was watchable to be sure, but nowhere near as scary or creepy (or funny, for that matter) as I had been led to believe. I'll give this new one a 2 episode shot, out of curiosity.
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Have not seen the new version, but from everything I
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If it wasn't for the hot black chick with the nice booty and the badass mustang I would've gone into a coma. This thing won't last. What a let down. Uncapie was right.
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Just saw the last 10 minutes, the 'scary' escape from the whatsit in the cave. Then the epilog, where 'Kolchak' WRITES A COVER-UP STORY rather than the truth, followed by a lot of yak about how someday he'll have the true truth that they won't be able to ignore, yadda yadda. ******** I'll let others who saw the whole ep rip it to shreds (BTW, where/how did they insert the clip of McGavin?), but here's my theory about the original series: remember how it opened with a title sequence of Kolchak going to his office late at night, starting to type & then the music turned creepy, mood became ominous, etc? Then at the end of the show, behind the closing credits you saw him looking at what he just typed, laffing at it & then throwing it in the garbage. I say everything we saw inbetween were KOLCHAK'S FANTASIES ABOUT HOW HE SAVED THE DAY AGAINST EVIL PARANORMAL FORCES, with absolutely no thanks from the powers that be who covered it all up after the fact. Think about it, the guy was a going-nowhere hack for a third rate news service in a rundown office building; can you blame him for fantasizing being a hero in his spare time?
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its a fine show, nothing great and awesome but i'm willing to keep watching for a bit and see where it goes. but did anybody notice the darren mcgavin cameo? i have NO clue why but they digitally added him as kolchak into a quick shot at the paper's office. it's almost a blink and you miss thing but he stood out because of his clothes and you could also tell he wasnt really in the room. it was just weird and didnt fit at all, if they wanted to pay homage to the original series they shoulda either gotten darren to appear himself or use some photo and tie it in someway...but this was like so "forrest gump" ....anyway it happens about halfway through the episode and its a shot of the office in the morning as kolchak(townsend version) is coming in, i think he says good morning or something...anyway the old kolchak is ahead of him like almost in front of the camera but its a pan shot that cuts fast so i could see it being easy to miss...anyway yeah
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I'm going to have to check out the original series and tv movies on DVD but I thought this was a pretty solid 1st episode. As wrong as Townsend was for Aeragorn I think he's playing a compelling character here. Throw in some great eye candy like Gabrielle Union and your set. I will be watching next week.
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Just finished watching the first episode.
Made it to the end with out throwing household items at the screen by imaging how wonderful it would had been if Darin Morgan, the writer of -
From the crappy DV to the utterly uninvolving storyline and characters, this was completely awful from beginning to end. I don't need everything spelled out for me, but what the fuck was going on?? This isn't going to last half its season, and deservedly so. A total waste of time.
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...Was insulting. You'd think ELEVEN YEARS after Forrest Gump they'd have perfected this kinda thing, but it looked just ridiculous. One more thing to hate about that godawful pilot. (And before anyone proclaims me some kind of hater, I'm a very big X-Files fan, and had expected ALOT more from Frank Spotnitz)
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...Yeah, the first one was crap. I believe in letting a show get its sealegs (like I did with NUMB3RS, and it's still on the air after the initial shakiness). Apart from that, though, the EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT *TONY CURRAN* is in the next ep. Sure, he starred with Townshend in the mess that was "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," but he's a damn fine actor, and certainly worth giving this show another chance.
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But you already knew that (and don't try and quote True Romance, IT is above you).
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I kinda liked the new show. Half the criticism of this is that it doesn't measure up to the original, which seemed like a cheesy 70s fest on par with Fantasy Island. Don't care. Though, I agree the bad McGavin CG was uncalled for. But I liked the DV technology (why does DV make something inherently more creepy?) and the general feel of it. With the mark on the hand, are we supposed to think Kolchak was in the construction site, watching that first woman be dragged away and did nothing? Curiouser. Anyway, it seems like one of the more unique genre offerings this year, at least in terms of look and intimacy. I'll keep watching.
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Imagine if he had been stuck with this boring pud for all 3 LOTR movies as Aragorn
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No, I don't mean the cheese-tastic video insert just before the halfway mark. When Gabrielle Union ( VERY easy on the eyes ) is checking up on Kolchak by Google-ing his name, one of the headlines supposedly illustrating his talent as an investigative journalist was "Kolchak wins Major Award" ... a lamp in the shape of a sexy leg, perhaps ?
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To be a self proclaimed fan of the original Nightstalker series Spotnitz seems to have utterly missed what made it great. Namely the frumbled never-took-himself-too-seriously comedic charm of Darrin McGavin. Hell, SciFi's short lived series The Chronicle was far closer in spririt to the original Nightstalker than this. How about this for a new series. Let's re-make Colombo but have the character be a dark humorless brooding bastard and lets cast Hayden Christensen in the title role, it would be just like the original. In name at least.
Man, I haven't this dissapointed since found out Inconceivable actually wasn't a series based on Wallace Shawn's character from the Princess Bride
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Not great, but it kept me entertained.
Haven't seen the original. -
Tough crowd...it was alright...but certainly not great. CSI is started to get trivial....and the Apprentice, The Donald should tell Zucker, pres. of NBC.."ya Fiareeed!"
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Thursday, September 29th at 8:00 Central Time
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Looks like they fixed quite a lot of the original pilot in last night's episode. It was a lot better. The biggest mistake the producers made was accepting that the original pilot was fine when it clearly wasn't. Still not great but I'll keep watching.
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What's strange about the show is that they watched some of the original, they apparently have some fondness for it (the McGavin cameo, the straw porkpie hat hanging from the rack in Townsend's office)... and yet they completely and utterly missed the mark. What made the original great was they had a great character and great actors. Kolchak wasn't one of the cool kids, he wasn't young or hip or drive a neat car. He was a gruff, boozy, abrasive pain in the butt who still managed to have enough snake-oil charm to remain a loveable underdog. His relationship with Vincenzo was classic. Townsend's Kolchak is flaccid and unknowable -- he doesn't even seem to be living in this world. "Chemical Lo-jack?" That he can trace with a PDA? He's not Batman, for Chrissake. Go back to your mansion and brood some more you humorless imposter. Vincenzo is worse. There's simply no chemistry between any of the actors at all.
This new version is just D.O.A. It's not the least of the new season's spook shows, but it's certainly never reaches higher than a sort of tepid mediocrity, which is tragic considering what this could have been. Whoever mentioned HOUSE was right on the money. Just cast Tommy Lee Jones and you're in business. Shame on you Frank Spotnitz for selling a beloved character down the river. Hopefully this new incarnation will either improve dramatically or be swiftly smothered with a pillow and quickly vanish from the collective memory like a bad dream. -
I was really hoping that this would be entertaining. Not so. They could have done a bunch of little stuff and got a great show. First, they don't need the female partner. Kolchak worked best alone. Have them as supporting characters. Second, the actor playing Kolchak is not old enough. Really bland acting. They should have hired someone older. More of a character actor. I was not worried about the suit or hat. It would have been nice but not needed. Also, I thought the use of the government agent was ridiculous. What was the purpose of this? This was not needed. I will try to watch next week but it doesn't look good for this night stalker. Cannot wait till the original series is released on dvd. Long live Darren McGavin.
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Oliver Platt would have been better as Kolchak. Frumpy and funny - hell, I could have been Kolchak . . . except for the funny part. It's feast or famine for fans of this genre, ain't it?
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If you're gonna do a show about monsters, show the F**KING things. And maybe wrap things up!! I loved the original movies, and even the original series to an extent, but this update missed the mark completely and utterly. And it was boring. Hope it dies a quick death.
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Her booty can be her backup.
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At least in the X-Files they bathed everything in green light for no reason.
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The original Kolchak series hits the shelves this week. Townsend isn't fit to lick the street grime from McGavin's penny loafers.
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The X Files was inspired by Kolchak.
still i do agree that this remake sucks. -
I saw the pilot about two weeks ago and watched it again (although somewhat distractedly) and will say I'm disappointed, but have not given up hope.
First the good, I like that has some ongoing conspiracy instead of the monster of the week like the original. I like some things abut the look. It moved quickly and didn't suffer from some of the budget problems of the original.
Now the bad, I agree with most that they didn't capitize on the flavor of the original. The old show had a fun feel, this show is a little too much of a downer. I'm really tired of people having to motivated by some tragedy from their past (Mulder's missing sister, I was raped so I hunt rapist, my family was killed by a serial killer so I hunt serial killers, etc...) in this case a wife who was killed by a mysterious beast. Can't people just be motivated by a sense of justice. Lots of 9/11 firefighters died because that was their job, not to avenge some past death. I feel that Spotnitz has cribbed too much from the "X-Files with team a believer with a sceptic and the Government conspiracy elements could become too similar to the X-Files.
I loved that McGavin Kolchak was a broke, down on his luck guy. The new version is seemly rolling in the dough with a hot new sports car, a million dollar house in the hollywood hills and some hi tech tools to track beasties.
All these casting ideas are great, but landing Michael Keaton to a series is nearly impossible and if the show becomes a hit, you have to throw truckloads of money to keep him because he'll get bored playing the same character week after week. That's one of the major reasons shows get cast the way they do. Star power is hard to hold onto year after year.
I'm willing to give the show 2 or so more episodes before I totally write it off. I hope that like the new Battlestar I can see that the new tone will pay off.
Indie_DP -
Oct 02, 2005 10:36:48 PM CDT
Herc, why'd you even refer to the series as Kolchak? For fiv
by lenny nero
...and I've been watching almost every new show now that I have DVR." I guess I'm an idiot.
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I think it'll get better. I haven't seen the old show so maybe that's why I'm not so quick to see this thing destroyed.
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if Herc hates it, must be OK
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This show sucks. The only thing it has in common with the original Night Stalker is that the main characters name is Kolchak, he's a reporter and chases monsters. The real Kolchak had personality. This new guy is an imposter. I watched the original when it was originally broadcast, and I was 9 years old. I begged my parents to let me stay up past my bedtime so I could watch it, and since it was on TV Friday nights, they agreed. There is no single show that I remember as well as I do this one from when I was a kid. ABC execs, if you read this, please, please, please, recast this show. Give us a desheveled middle aged Kolchak with personality, not Mr. cardboard GQ.
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Clearly the "producers" of this tripe had no clue about the character & what made him appealing. Aweful stuff. Avoid like herpes...
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