Customer Reviews

Night Stalker - The Complete Series

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Grissom from "CSI" needs to be called in on this unusual homicide. It seems that a network ABC mysteriously killed a show that they wanted. It appears that they just pushed it in front of the runaway hit "CSI" but there could be much more to the murder than meets the eye. Remaking a classic whether it be good or bad is always tricky business because you risk alienating the original fans and can be unable to pull in a new audience. "Battlestar: Galatica" is a rare success in the area "reimagining" the concept for a more sophisticated audience. That show has polarized fans of the original they either love it or hate it but producer/writer Ron D. Moore shaped a new series from older material that captured a solid audience because of its intelligent scripts and well written drama. Frank Spotnitz a producer/writer on "The X-Files" and "Millennium" takes the inspiration for those shows "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler" TV movies as well as the humor laced camp classic TV show that followed and unsuccessfully updated it for today's audience by imitating the shows they inspired. While the show failed to live up to its potential it improved by leaps and bounds over time and showed potential after emerging from the shadow of its inspiration. It's possible the show may never of had much of an audience as Spotnitz alienated core fans of the original cheesy but fun TV series (these same people probably never realized that "The Night Stalker" began life as a serious modern day horror movie with humor vs. a humorous show with horror). For what it's worth "The X-Files" took much of the first year to find its groove and I believe that "Night Stalker" would have improved. After the promising pilot episode the show took a downward turn but began to improve again just as ABC pulled the plug. While actor Stuart Townsend can't hold a candle to Darren McGavin's charismatic performance in the original TV movies and the TV series (one of its saving graces) he does a credible job as does most of the cast.

As befits a new TV series "Night Stalker" looks quite good in this transfer. The gritty, detailed images from the TV show have never looked so good. The 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround audio sounds nice with the dialogue and music coming through with crystal clarity. My only reservation is that the entire series run of ten episodes plus the extras and commentary tracks have been packed on two single sided dual layered discs. The Show looks extremely good even with 5 episodes packed onto each of the two discs and with commentary tracks, deleted scenes and a featurette "A Conversation with Frank Spotnitz" included on the set.

"Night Stalker" only lasted 6 episodes. The extras here are pretty good considering the short run of the show. We do get an intelligent commentary track from writer/producer Frank Spotnitz, Daniel Sackheim and Michelle Maxwell MacLaren on the pilot discussing both the triumphs and failings of his new series as well as how he would have resolved the story arc that was designed to last at least a season regarding the murder of Kolchak's wife Irene. We also get a second commentary track with Spotnitz and Sackheim joined by co-producer John Kousakis "The Sea" the second on a two part episode (the second episode didn't air on network TV but did air on the Sci-Fi Channel). Spotnitz provided commentaries for some of "The X-Files" episodes he wrote so he's a pro here providing a wealth of information about the creation of the show and its brief development. Spotnitz and his co-producer also appear on "The Sea-Part 2" providing information about that episode.

You can also print two scripts commissioned for the show but that weren't produced due to the cancellation of the show via the Interactual player. The Interactual software is included on the second disc. The first is "Ascendant written by Melissa Blake & Joy Beth Blake and the second written by Emmy Award winner Darin Morgan ("The X-Files" episodes "Jose Chung's `From Outer Space'" and "The Final Repose of Clyde Bruckman" among many others). While it's not the same as having the final two episodes produced, it does allow fans of the series to continue to delve into the Kolchak's world.

"A Conversation with Frank Spotnitz" provides the background on the creation of the series and Spotnitz's approach with the material. While a big fan of the original TV movies and the TV shows Spotnitz also recognized that the original series could never work today. In tone the show is closer to the original TV movies and "Millennium" as well as "The X-Files". Spotnitz also discusses the reasons for the change in location for the series as well his choice to use high definition video cameras to shoot the show vs. film. Spotnitz discusses the resolution of the show much more in the commentary tracks but he also points out that although Kolchak didn't kill his wife he was born evil which makes him the perfect anti-hero for the story. At the conclusion of the interview we get a brief snippet of an outtake. We get deleted scenes for three episodes "The Pilot", "Three" and "Into the Night".

While "Night Stalker" didn't get the love it deserved and went passed into the world of cancelled shows that just didn't get a chance, we can still enjoy it on DVD. Touchstone has done a marvelous job of presenting the show including commentary tracks, a featurette, two scripts in DVD-ROM format that can be printed out and deleted scenes.

This show wasn't even given a chance, Stuart Townsend and the rest of the cast were fantastic. The show had a very hip vibe, very smart writing. ABC was stupid enough to put the show on a night that many were watching something else. Along with "Miracles"(Skeet Ulrich) another great show that was lost to the shuffle, this needs to be look upon again!

I never really watched the original, but was addicted to this very intense remake, very well done. Stuart Townsend was Great, as was Gabrielle Union. I was so upset at the network when the show was cancelled. If they were going to cancel it- so be it, but to yank it off the air in the middle of a two parter was just mean. They never did show the conclusion. I could not believe it, I kept it on my Tivo for months hoping they would run the conclusion to a very compelling story. Now I can buy it and finally see how the story arc ends

First of all, I will explain why this show might have failed on ABC. It was given a bum Thursday night timeslot. Had it had Lost's timeslot or Grey's Anatomy's time slot or Boston Legal's timeslot it would still be around I fear. This show actually is more of a cool, edgy twist on CSI than an XFiles clone. Shame on ABC for not giving it a good timeslot to start off with (as it did for Grey's Anatomy) or giving it at least a timeslot next to one of it's shows that already had a decent following without too much competition. Shame Shame Shame. I've had the luck to purchase and see all of the ending episodes and I must say that I will be purchasing this on DVD regardless. Amazing TV here folks.

A note of caution: This series is WAY too intense and scary for kids under 12 years old. The 2005 series the Night Stalker is a very well written and well acted show. That is probably why it failed on broadcast TV. This Carl Kolshak, played expertly by Stuart Townsend, is a man haunted by the mysterious and brutal death of his wife. He was there when she was killed, and no one really believes him as to how she was killed. Many think Carl is a murderer, but they can not prove it. This spiritual/emotional/psychological tension in apparent in most of the episodes. It casts a shadow on all that Carl does, especially his relationahips with co-workers. Some of the episodes have resolutions, but some do not. This makes the show really kind of edgy and true to life. Why do so many TV show writers think all of life's problems can be solved in a 45 minute time slot? The best episodes deal with the "monsters" concept, but others are just serial killers.
The acting is excellent. Gabrielle Union is fabulous as Perri the "senior crime reporter" who has worked at the LA Beacon for all of four years. Besides being a great actress, Gabrielle Union is simply beautiful. Perri struggles to try to fingure out what is going on in the cases they investigate, but also she tries to understand why Carl does what he does.
The newspaper's photographer is another interesting character. He tags along with Perri and Carl on many investigations. This threesome is rather unique in television and adds to the quality of th show. Unfortunately, the photographer's name is very hard to catch. It is Jain, sounds like Jane, for a man, really unusual. Why did the writer's do that?
The background music is suitable and sets the tone well. The only major grievance I have with this series is that too often the victims seem to be women killed by a man. That may mirror life, but it was too emphasized.
All in all the new Night Stalker is a great series, but not for children. You may like the show if you can live with ongoing unresolved issues tormenting the main character.

Okay, I've just watched both discs and all shows therein (over a couple of days, mind you) and I have to say this was a really good show getting better.However, I have to concede that quite possibly the big mistake this show made was calling itself a remake of "Night Stalker".Doing such a thing places built in expectations of the show and the original "Kolchak-The Night Stalker" is almost iconic.Maybe, if this show had been a stand alone and given another title, it might still be with us today.Good scripts, good cast, interesting. Some of the blame, of course, has to be placed on the stations. They seem to be more interested in quick, cheap fixes (eg reality shows ad nauseum) and don't give the good stuff a chance. No wonder I tend to read at night.

Well isn't that a surprise, ABC cancels another good series that has so much potential can anyone say "Invasion"!! ABC is notorious for axing good shows right before they start and "Night Stalker" wasn't any different. Ignore the other reviews panning this series. It was actually very good.

The acting by Stuart Townsend, Gabrielle Union and the rest of the cast was EXCELLENT. The stories had a mix of the supernatural and regular drama. Stuart as Kolchak is being investigated for the death of his wife but along the way of cf clearing his name he investigates violent and mysterious cases. I would also like to say for the idiots who say this is an X-Files ripoff to do your homework. The X-Files was not the first show to deal with aliens in a serious form can you say "War Of the Worlds from 1988". Actually as well the other cancelled CBS show "Threshold" was more closer to the X-FIles that this show. "Night Stalker" was also part cop show, and not only a show on supernatural.

The ratings were a problem but ABC like to juggle this show around hoping it would fail putting it one bad timeslot to the next. They just never gave this show a chance, and if you doubt if these show has fans you to go some of the SciFi boards on the net and you'll notice that it's gotten quite a following.

In the DVD release you get to see the rest of the unaired episodes that would have aired but didn't. I will say that the rest of these episodes are very good, and do seem to bring many things together. If you are a fan of the new series the DVD is a must have.

I didn't see this show when it originally aired because I was very leery about the reworking of a classic, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," although I did tape it when it originally aired. I lost the tapes, or eventually taped something else over them, but decided to give it a shot when it came out on DVD, and bought the set. I was extremely (and pleaantly) surprised -- there was no attempt to craft look-alike/act-alike/sound-alike roles (after all, no one could one-up Darren McGavin playing Darren McGavin). They took a fresh, new approach to the material which I found immediately engrossing. Half-way through watching the 10 episodes on the DVDs, I felt a sudden loss: in this show's cancellation, gone was the chance that this show would evolve -- as it most surely would have -- into the next "X-Files" (after all, it even had an "X-Files" director at its helm). With a little more creative license from ABC (which declared that all of the "monsters" must be humans), this show would have become the enigmatic touchtone that returned Sci-Fi to the major networks. It's cancellation is a true loss. I only wish that I had watched it when it originally aired, so that I could have helped in the effort to save it (something I had not even thought of doing for any series aside from "Twin Peaks"). If you're looking for a continuation of the 1970s series, this isn't for you; if you're open to a modern, new approach, I encourage you to give this series a shot.

I'm sure, if you've heard of this 2005 version of Night Stalker, you've heard all the negative things said about it. Over 95% of these negative comments are from people who are offended that this "remake" completely abandons the original "Kolchak the Night Stalker".

Well, I'm glad it did.

I realize that the original series has a sizeable cult fanbase. I can respect that. But that fanbase grew up with the show and watched it in the 70s. It's now 2005, and the fact that the original failed in the 70s should obviously tell you that it's not going to work in 2005.

The new Night Stalker chooses psychological horror, rather than the original's overuse of showing the monsters and creatures. This show makes its characters believable, not silly like the original. This show is an even darker version of "The X-Files", but in some ways better.

Like I said before, this series uses mainly psychological horror to frighten it's viewers. What I find funny is the fact that everyone insults supernatural shows on television because they're not creative enough, they use stuff the viewer SEES to scare them, etc., and when a show comes along to scare viewers with what's NOT necessarily seen, it's rejected.

Anyway, the new Night Stalker is a visual feast, using advanced HD cameras that create a realistic feel to the show. Everything on screen looks fantastic. The cast is both attractive and capable, all of them are established actors and make their characters likeable.

Like "The X-Files", this show has a mythology. Only instead of investigating an alien invasion, "Night Stalker" has it's lead investigating the meaning of a red snake-shaped mark on the wrists of certain victims, which usually die by supernatural means, but, other than that, appear to be unrelated. At the end of the pilot we discover that Carl, who started investigating the mark after the violent, brutal death of his wife, also bears the mark on his wrist.

I do believe that this show could have succeeded. It was a slick, suspenseful thriller that could have become the next X-Files, but ABC banished it to a terrible time slot, Thursdays against CSI, The Apprentice, Everwood, etc. The show also received NO off-network advertising, since the network pumped everything into "Commander-in-Chief". Despite this, enough viewers tuned in to the premiere that the show could have at least lasted one entire season, but after the premiere ABC advertised the show even LESS, not reminding people it was on, yet they still heavily advertised every new episode of Desperate Housewives and Lost, although the viewers of those established shows are obviously going to keep tuning in.

If you're a horror fan, this new reimagining of Night Stalker is a must-see.

If you are a fan of the original Nightstalker, it's a good chance you will absolutely hate this version. Why? Because it's nothing like the original. It dares to take itself seriously, which the originally only did once in awhile. The terrible thing about it is that this was actually a good show. And like a previous reviewer mentioned, had it been named something else and put on at another time-slot and actually advertised, it might still be on the air.

This show was a darker X-files (think of a series made up of X-file episodes like "Kill Switch" and "Home"), but the two characters were extremely witty. Sure Perri Reid (Gabrielle Union) seemed like Scully at times and Carl Kolchak (Stuart Townsend) an extention of Mulder, but there was a different mythology, one of which I would have loved to seen the end of. Irene's death, Carl's mark, the mystery of where the biker's went or if they were even alive are all left to the viewer's imagination, unfortunately.

Fortunately, this two-disc offering does give the fans a little something to be happy about. It features 4 un-aired episodes, scripts for 2 more episodes, 2 commentaries, deleted scenes and a nice chat with Frank Spotnitz, himself. And thankfully, it allows the fans to see the second part of the two-parter ABC decided not to show. The best of the un-aired episodes is "What's the frequency, Kolchak?" in which the show explores some serious psycological horror. That's what this show was best at-freaking your mind out.

One thing that did become evident watching and re-watching the shows is that Perri and Carl were going to have to resolve some of that tension they had going on and they wouldn't have been able to legitimately stretch five years and a movie before they kissed (or almost kissed), and that may have resulted in the show becoming stale. Because let's face it, everyone always wants the two leads together but rarely is it done right and it leaves the viewer stunned. So if anything positive came out of Nightstalker being cancelled, it was the fact that it was never messed up with a shoddy romance.