Night Stalker: The Complete Series (remake) (DVD)
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I love the original Night Stalker movies, and the short-lived 70s series, both of which starred Darren McGavin as an irracible, rumpled supernatural reporter with an affable in-spite-of-himself charm.
The new Night Stalker is a remake in name only, so to be fair, I will restrain myself and review it completely on its own as if I never heard of Carl Kolchak.
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Carl Kolchak (Stuart Townsend) is an award-winning investigative journalist who becomes his own best story: He's been accused in his wife's mysterious death, and he will stop at nothing to find her true killer.
In the pilot episode, the 30-something takes a job at the L.A. Beacon as a crime reporter and begins investigating a strange case in which a pregnant woman has gone missing after a violent break-in. When her body is found evidence points to the woman's husband, but Kolchak believes in the man's innocence.
What's more, he insists that there is a supernatural angle to the story. His investigations are thwarted when Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union), the newspaper's senior crime reporter, digs into Kolchak's dark past. Kolchak has allies in his boss and his old friend, Tony Vinenzo (Cotter Smith), and Jimmy Olsenesque cub reporter, Jain (Eric Jungmann), but even they think he's off-base in his assessment of the situation. This is pretty atmospheric episode, but the ending is rushed and resolution feels somewhat contrived. You really have to suspend disbelief for this one ("chemical lo-jack" indeed!).
The second episode, The Five People You Meet in Hell, is a much better show. It's scarier, better thought-out, and more relaxed than the pilot, which was perhaps trying to cram too much information into a 42 minute runtime. The Five People You Meet in Hell starts with a hit right out of the park when a peaceful lawyer takes a baseball bat to his wife then kills himself in broad daylight at his kid's Little League game. It's a really chilling scenario.
Kolchak suspects that a cult leader the man prosecuted is responsible, and has the ability to influence others into unwittingly killing their loved ones. Damon Caylor (Tony Curran, who also stole the show in Underworld: Evolution) is charismatic, but creepy as hell… and, he's in prison, so how is he causing so many deaths? And is Perri next? Just when you think you have it figured out, there is another twist.
Three, the third episode to air, is a more straight forward supernatural mystery, which has the distinct feel of producer Frank Spotnitz's previous TV shows, The X-Files and Millennium. The character of Carl Kolchak, while perhaps darker and more ambiguous, very much bears the residue of Fox Mulder and Frank Black. In fact, the dynamic of the show is similar to the trinity of Mulder, skeptical Scully (
Night Stalker uses creatures such as werewolves, mummies, and Satanic serial killers to keep Kolchak and Co. occupied from week to week, but the show makes it clear that the scariest monsters of all are human.
While the show is not as compelling as some of Spotnitz's others, Night Stalker lives up to its name: A lot of it takes place at night, and the innovative hi-def cameras, the composition, and the colors and mood are reminiscent of the gorgeous movie, Collateral (which Spotnitz says was an influence). There are plenty of stalkers — and oftentimes you don't know who's good and who's evil. The show looks stunning, and there are lots of little clues hidden in the picture. Not a frame is wasted. The history and mystery of the
If you didn't like Night Stalker when it first aired (raises hand), give it another try on DVD. It plays a lot better without interruption, and if you can divorce yourself from nostalgic notions of the original 70s show, you just might like to take a trip into the Night.
Special DVD Features:
Four episodes never seen on TV
"A Conversation with Frank Spotnitz" featurette
Deleted scenes
Exclusive insights and commentaries by the show's creators
Script for the never-produced final episodes (DVD ROM)
Night Stalker Episode Guide
1. Pilot
First aired: 9/29/2005
Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Daniel Sackheim
2. The Five People You Meet in Hell
First aired: 10/6/2005
Writer: Thomas Schnauz
Director: Rob Bowman
3. Three
First aired: 10/13/2005
Writer: Adam Sussman
Director: Daniel Sackheim
4. Burning Man
First aired: 10/20/2005
Writer: Noah Baylin
Director: Tony Wharmby
The FBI and a pompous reporter believe a copycat killer is responsible for a series of murders identical to those of a dead bio-terrorist who claimed that he could kill people with hellfire, but Kolchak suspects that the murders have a supernatural explanation.
5. Malum
First aired: 10/27/2005
Writer: Kay Foster, Adam Armus
Director: Deran Sarafian
Kolchak investigates a troubled boy and his abusive father who leave a trail of mysterious deaths behind them.
6. The Source
First aired: 11/10/2005
Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Steve Shill
Kolchak refuses to disclose a source in a story about a drug lord's death at the hands of a biker gang and the disappearance of a DEA agent who could shed light on the identity of Irene's killer, causing Agent Fain to return and investigate.
7. The Sea
First aired: 0/0/0
Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Elodie Keen
Perri and Kolchak must go on the run from the phantom bikers to protect their source on Agent Caleca and the mysteries behind Irene Kolchak's death. Meanwhile, Agent Fain puts pressure on Vincenzo and Jain to reveal what they know.
8. Into Night
First aired: 0/0/0
Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Paul Shapiro
Kolchak tries to figure out the cause of death of two office workers who are found mummified.
9. Timeless
First aired: 0/0/0
Writer: William Schmidt
Director: Jim Hayman
Carl and Peri investigate similar deaths that have occurred every 35 years since the Beacon was founded.
10. What's the Frequency, Kolchak?
First aired: 0/0/0
Writer: Vince Gilligan
Director: Colin Buckley
Carl is kidnapped by a man who insists that Carl has been sending him secret messages through his stories.