Tv Review: The Night Stalker

It wouldn't have been as bad if they hadn't named the character Kolchak. That just made no sense at all. The music video segment was bizarre. I don't watch a lot of TV -- are other shows doing that as well? Weird. I liked the LA shooting, but pairing the two main characters up like that laid an egg. They seemed like the same character, only different sexes. I don't think Kolchak SHOULD be remade, but if they're going to do it, why in Bierko's name not cast someone like Miguel Ferrer and make him a fumbling, smart social pariah like Darren McGavin's Kolchak?

EVERYONE does the music montage now. It's become a running joke, though apparently the network execs aren't in on it yet. Every single pilot I've seen for this season had at least one, usually with the College Rock Song of the Moment.

The quest for the Tween Buck (tm) continues unabated.

Supernatural actually skirted it slyly by having the older brother insist on playing nothing but (not always) classic rock.

Very good point. I was also baffled by the fact that, by the end of the episode, she was basically on his side regarding all his conspiracy theories. She went from hard-nosed skeptic to supernatural convert in one story. So much for dramatic arcs.

That's what makes Townsend's casting so bizarre. The list of better actors for the role - both in terms of demeanour and talent - is endless. Pretty much anyone who's seen the original can think of a more interesting lead.

Michael Keaton is a name I keep seeing mentioned, and he would've been superb in the role. Robert Forster is another one. Steve Buscemi is another.

Granted, these guys may or may not have taken the role - but Stuart Townsend?

I don't mind Stuart Townsend, but there are a million other people I'd cast as Kolchak before him.

Starting with William H. Macy.

That said, I'll check this show out when I can. But I get the feeling I'd probably enjoy it much more if it wasn't titled NIGHT STALKER.

I think Bradley Cooper would have made a good Kolchak (he's about the same age as Townsend, isn't he?)

otherwise I think Richard Ramirez could have been interesting -if gimmick- casting

That's so astute and so true. Where do they go from here? And who will care. The end of every Kolchak episode was like, Kolchak has been through hell and back and nobody is ever any wiser (except him), and he's usually knee deep in shit as a result. I just don't get how Frank Spotnitz could have screwed the pooch so drastically!

I don't think Townsend's a bad actor, but you're right, it's just bizarre casting. Any of these guys would be much more interesting in the role, but I'm partial to Miguel Ferrer b/c of his fine work in The Night Flier, in which he played a Kolchak-esque character.

To be honest, I struggle to have an opinion about him one way or another. I've never seen him in anything that amazed me, and I've never seen him in anything in which he was terrible. He's just one of those black hole actors who fills in thankless roles.

If I wanted to be really cynical, I'd call him "the Jude Law you can actually afford".

How can you not love an actor that can deliver lines like this with a straight face:

"I pride myself on taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely pride, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. I love you, Sheriff Truman."

What's amusing about Townsend's casting is that in EW, Spotnitz says he was on his list because he was impressed by his work as Dorian Gray in LXG.

I just must have overestimated Spotnitz. Or maybe he cowed to corporate pressure (he wouldn't be the first and won't be the last).

Dan, I would argue he's more watchable than Jude Law, but that's just my personal take. I tried to watch Closer last night and couldn't get past the first four minutes.

Genious!

Damn, I miss Peaks and that charactor...though I prefer him in his initial 'ass-hole' phase.
Any idea if Lynch wrote that?

I think that episode is credited to Robert Engles.

Whoever did it, it's pure fried-gold!!

I loved the original Night Stalker so much I would tape the audio with my portable cassette recorder that, in those days, weighed about two pounds and was roughly the size of an X-box. It was one of the ways I could be like Kolchack.

I loved how Kolchak just wanted to follow the story. A real pro who seemed to take the fact that his beat went from robberies and natural homicides to swamp monsters in the sewers and headless motorcycle riders (Two of my favorite episodes) with a stoicism befitting a veteran reporter.

So, I tune in to the new show with my nostalgia in check, just hoping for a touch of the old magic. I almost blacked out with fury over what I saw.

I can understand to a degree the need to modernize the setting and the characters, but how in the name of Simon Oakland could they have gotten it so wrong?!

Honestly Dan, I'm shocked you could muster the strength to review it beyond saying it was miscast, poorly written, confusing, boring and, worst of all, not scary. How could they make it so completely un-scary?

Kudos to you Dan. Your review will be far and away the best writing ever associated with the new Night Stalker.

I hope this shit dies a quick death. I hope Townsend realizes he should never, ever leave Charlize Theron's side. Unless it's to remake Land of the Lost and he's a sleestack.

I gotta say, I have never seen an episode of the original NS, but this version isn't THAT bad. Just for a reference, I am not some Tween, but a 31 year old raised on a healthy dose of both good and bad sci-fi and horror.

The acting is pretty bad, but I like the idea and the stories.

Thier show is Bullshit!
Steward is a bad actor, Spontiwits ( whatever his name is ) is nothing with out Carter! And there is absolutley NO CHEMEMESTRY between Union and Townsed!!

Enough with these damn remakes.


Shows you Hollywood's state of thought right now. Originality is dead, but lets fuck a classic up.

Just like the new and unimproved Battlestar Galatica, they like to use name recognition and forgo any likeable characters.

Glad to hear the show got beat really bad in the ratings its third time out.

The great thing about the original series is that Karl was thought of as a fucking nutjob.

Where is that passionate zeal to 'proove the bastards wrong?' The lead guy is a fucking robot.

I hate this shite.

And it's been axed after just six episodes...

Sounds like a deserving fate.

Proof there might be a god after all............
I admit the new "Galactica" has grown on me, but this was just pure shit that never got any better.