The Red Circle

Carl Kolchak deserves the biggest graphic we’ve ever propagated for this site. It’s about the only thanks he’s ever going to get.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker was a unfortunately short lived TV show in the 70′s that went to air after a pair of successful made for TV movies (The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler). It followed a brilliant journalist who inexorably finds his way into the worst possible situations involving all sorts of supernatural creatures and phenomenons.

Darren McGavin starred as the intrepid reporter who has to deal with being the only man alive who believes in the supernatural. He has an editor who’d love to fire him, and he’s pretty much despised by everyone in his city – despite the fact that he single-handeldy saves the lives of all of them. McGavin will always be best known for his role in A Christmas Story, but with the right amount of eyes, The Night Stalker could yet take that honor.

Remade in the 2000′s as an absolutely horrible starring vehicle for ex-Aragorn Stuart Townsend, that incarnation was doomed to fail as soon as they made Kolchak likeable and cool. Surely, these folks missed the point. Carl Kolchak does not need our respect and sympathy. We don’t need to wear twill suits because Kolchak does. We just need to believe what he’s saying because one day it could save our lives.

Despite the unjustly low budgets (seriously, just wait until you see the Alligator Man) and the lack of network support, the 20 produced episodes still boast some of the finest genre writing since The Twilight Zone. And, it’s been the stated primary influence on The X-Files.

This is classic stuff for classic people, and it can be had by just the click of a button. Please give Carl Kolchak a chance, and add Kolchak: The Night Stalker to your Netflix Instant Queue now!

Kolchak: The Night Stalker is available through Netflix Instant Streaming. An $8.99 minimum monthly subscription is required.

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