Night Stalker shitcanned
I'm a big fan of the old Kolchak: The Night Stalker series. Darren McGavin is fucking awesome. The premise of the show: Carl Kolchak was a reporter for Chicago's Independent News Service, and a trouble magnet for situations involving the supernatural. Kolchak turned his investigative skills to vampires, werewolves, zombies and all manner of legendary creatures, but in the end he always failed to convince his skeptical editor, Tony Vincenzo, that the stories weren't products of Kolchak's own overworked imagination.
The original series was a huge influence on The X Files (which saw McGavin guest-star in several episodes). When X Files writer/producer Frank Spotnitz decided to do a new version of the show, I was intrigued.
Stuart Townsend, a good Irish boy, like McGavin, was cast as Kolchak. The premise: Carl Kolchak is a reporter in Los Angeles, investigating his wife's mysterious murder. While trying to uncover the truth behind her death, which he is blamed for, he discovers other mysterious and supernatural events. His hope is to one day convince everyone, without a shadow of a doubt, that these supernatural events are real. Aside from being a reporter, and his editor being named Tony Vincenzo, there aren't too many similarities to the original.
Kolchak has fellow reporter, and Nubian goddess ("What's a Nubian?"), Perri Reed (played by Gabrielle Union) and photographer Jain McManus (played by Eric Jungmann) to back him up on his spooky adventures. The Night Stalker blatantly borrows from The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. Think of Buffy's Scooby Gang, minus the superpowered Slayer.
This is a show I really wanted to like. I've watched every episode so far, but Townsend's stiff delivery, and the constant b-plot about Kolchak's wife, really dragged the show down. I think the coolest thing they did on the show was superimposing archive footage of McGavin into two episodes.
Needless to say, it was no shock to me that the show was cancelled yesterday. I was actually a little disappointed at first, thinking I would have liked to have seen where they were going with the b-plot, but I can't imagine watching it drag out over four or five seasons. I think Spotnitz would have been better off creating a brand new series, with its own mythology, than trying to recreate a cult classic.
The original series was a huge influence on The X Files (which saw McGavin guest-star in several episodes). When X Files writer/producer Frank Spotnitz decided to do a new version of the show, I was intrigued.
Stuart Townsend, a good Irish boy, like McGavin, was cast as Kolchak. The premise: Carl Kolchak is a reporter in Los Angeles, investigating his wife's mysterious murder. While trying to uncover the truth behind her death, which he is blamed for, he discovers other mysterious and supernatural events. His hope is to one day convince everyone, without a shadow of a doubt, that these supernatural events are real. Aside from being a reporter, and his editor being named Tony Vincenzo, there aren't too many similarities to the original.
Kolchak has fellow reporter, and Nubian goddess ("What's a Nubian?"), Perri Reed (played by Gabrielle Union) and photographer Jain McManus (played by Eric Jungmann) to back him up on his spooky adventures. The Night Stalker blatantly borrows from The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. Think of Buffy's Scooby Gang, minus the superpowered Slayer.
This is a show I really wanted to like. I've watched every episode so far, but Townsend's stiff delivery, and the constant b-plot about Kolchak's wife, really dragged the show down. I think the coolest thing they did on the show was superimposing archive footage of McGavin into two episodes.
Needless to say, it was no shock to me that the show was cancelled yesterday. I was actually a little disappointed at first, thinking I would have liked to have seen where they were going with the b-plot, but I can't imagine watching it drag out over four or five seasons. I think Spotnitz would have been better off creating a brand new series, with its own mythology, than trying to recreate a cult classic.