First let me begin by admitting a bias. I have always loved this show dearly. Carl Kolchak is partly responsible for you reading these very words. When I was young and The Night Stalker first appeared I was enthralled with it. My father had already introduced me to the Universal Monsters so this was great fodder for my young and developing brain. I immediately knew I wanted to BE Kolchak. I decided I wanted to be a journalist and so began to write. Not only has that passion lasted through the decades since, but thanks to this job I often get to write about monsters and things that go bump in the night. Come to think of it, I am Kolchak, or at least I’m closer than the one ABC has put on Thursday nights this season. Enough about me and Carl.

The Night Stalker began as a TV Movie of the Week. Kolchak was a down on his luck reporter in Vegas looking for that one big story that would put him back in the game. Instead he discovered a real vampire killing women and demolishing police cars. Of course, no one believes him, and Kolchak must stalk the beast himself. The film’s success quickly led to another film, The Night Strangler. Now Kolchak’s in Seattle and this time the Boston Strangler is still alive and killing young girls to keep himself young. Once again Kolchak must take matters into his own hands, and once again he’s run out of town for his troubles.