tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post6595926667356734620..comments2023-11-25T09:34:32.294-08:00Comments on It Couldn't Happen Here...: Mark Dawidziak on The SentryJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-45224714251362541832017-10-30T16:15:18.866-07:002017-10-30T16:15:18.866-07:00"There isn't anyone I trust.""There isn't anyone I trust."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16472382988471140103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-91212390446960680162012-02-02T15:59:44.408-08:002012-02-02T15:59:44.408-08:00My favorite is episode 1 - "The Mystery Of Th...My favorite is episode 1 - "The Mystery Of The Haunted House". Look for Richard Kiel playing a Frankenstein Monster maitre d/bouncer!Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-47028800851090698322012-02-02T15:30:33.634-08:002012-02-02T15:30:33.634-08:00As do I - time to bust'em out!As do I - time to bust'em out!grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-49536505209431526222012-02-02T11:58:20.147-08:002012-02-02T11:58:20.147-08:00There are two DVD sets available, grgstv338 (seaso...There are two DVD sets available, grgstv338 (season 1 and season 2). I have 'em both!Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-53123815699827116912012-02-02T10:36:16.202-08:002012-02-02T10:36:16.202-08:00Scooby-fan that she is, maybe it's time I intr...Scooby-fan that she is, maybe it's time I introduce my 4-year old daughter to the charms of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew show (I know I haven't seen a number of them since the late 1970s!).grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-46462036423501797582012-02-02T10:31:20.098-08:002012-02-02T10:31:20.098-08:00Right you are, John! We also get to see the shark ...Right you are, John! We also get to see the shark from JAWS in that episode (well, the carrot-toothed attraction version of the shark, that is), and that same shark turns up in an episode of...COLUMBO!Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-48894307846916141682012-02-02T09:49:51.931-08:002012-02-02T09:49:51.931-08:00And earlier in that same Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew epi...And earlier in that same Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew episodes, Casey Kasem was doing an impersonation of - Columbo!John Stellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16279150646112249639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-11429629957004055022012-02-02T06:05:41.595-08:002012-02-02T06:05:41.595-08:00Casey Kasem - ruh roh! ;-)Casey Kasem - ruh roh! ;-)grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-10330259004719442602012-02-02T05:50:40.942-08:002012-02-02T05:50:40.942-08:00Not only THE PHANTOM OF HOLLYWOOD, grgstv338, but ...Not only THE PHANTOM OF HOLLYWOOD, grgstv338, but there was a two-part HARDY BOYS/NANCY DREW episode (also a Universal production) about a Phantom (literally a guy in a Lon Chaney Phantom mask) terrorizing the Universal theme park. In a real "Scooby Doo" turn of events, the bad guy in the mask turned out to be...Casey Kasem!Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-27265111446287845982012-02-02T04:11:31.150-08:002012-02-02T04:11:31.150-08:00Well, hopefully if they ever did a multi-part stor...Well, hopefully if they ever did a multi-part story, it would have been for a story worthy of multiple parts! :-)<br /><br />Of course, just when I think such an idea would never have been considered, that they just didn't DO things that way back then, I remember the surprise of the two-part OUTER LIMITS episode "The Inheritors" - which turned out exceedingly well!<br /><br />Oh, and getting back to Chase's videotaped interview - anyone notice how much Chase's own "bottle show" idea that he'd been working on - someone resembling a modern day Phantom of the Opera roaming the backlots of Universal - sounds very much like the TV-movie "The Phantom of Hollywood"?grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-84563321674121565242012-02-02T02:19:42.491-08:002012-02-02T02:19:42.491-08:00Well, I think the multi-part arcs would have been ...Well, I think the multi-part arcs would have been a great idea if you're talking about something along the lines of The Vampire but the thought of a two or three part version of The Youth Killer makes me age before my very eyes.Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-62139380653065213452012-02-02T02:16:17.999-08:002012-02-02T02:16:17.999-08:00>>>Yeah, I like my Carl a loner!<<&...>>>Yeah, I like my Carl a loner!<<<<<br /><br />Don't misunderstand me - I'm not saying you could work backwards and apply the X-File "fixes" to the Night Stalker; alter too much and Kolchak doesn't stay Kolchak.<br /><br />But, as Gary touches on, that's the big difference between Night Stalker and X-Files: The Night Stalker wasn't made as a pilot, something that could be readily turned into a show that could last years; the X-Files WAS, so Chris Carter could make sure his concept wasn't created with self-limiting features.<br /><br />As for what could have been done to give Night Stalker a longer life, Gary suggestion that it could have been part of a NBC Mystery Movie-like "wheel" is most intriguing (although it's admitting that the way to make Kolchak last longer is to give us less of him at a time).<br /><br />And... I see to remember, in the dim recesses of my memory, an interview that appeared in an old issue of Fangoria - one with McGavin himself, I believe - in which he talked about how The Night Stalker SHOULD have been done (those behind the scenes conflicts everyone mentions). What I recall is him talking about how more stories should have been set in Washington, DC, and perhaps they should have been multi-part stories (does anyone else recall this interview?).<br /><br />Thinking about this, it makes Night Stalker seem more... well, X-Files. Because that's another difference between the two shows not yet mentioned. Whereas Night Stalker was ALL "monster-of-the-week" shows, this was only part of the approach of X-Files since they famously had their "mythology" episodes to rely on as well.<br /><br />So maybe that's what Kolchak needed - a BIG story that he could uncover, little by little, that featured peculiarly recurring characters, that could stretch out over an entire season...<br /><br />... although I'm not sure TV even worked that way in the 1970s, so that might have been an pipe dream as well!grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-44621887583611382222012-02-01T21:29:32.737-08:002012-02-01T21:29:32.737-08:00Greg, there were more or less complete scripts, so...Greg, there were more or less complete scripts, so that made these two stories very attractive for Moonstone -- a way of realizing the Kolchak episodes that never were.Mark Dawidziakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17535425789954062022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-10294866367279445552012-02-01T21:25:57.294-08:002012-02-01T21:25:57.294-08:00I'll be checking in, but the wrap-ups will be ...I'll be checking in, but the wrap-ups will be handled by our amiable hosts. As far as a second season goes, I don't think they'd planned enough to count on guest stars returning. It's an intriguing thought.Mark Dawidziakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17535425789954062022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-49086860934238390402012-02-01T20:07:05.104-08:002012-02-01T20:07:05.104-08:00"Get of Belial" sounds very intriguing. ..."Get of Belial" sounds very intriguing. "Eve of Terror," though, is the one I wish had been made into an episode before its cancellation--I have the Moonstone comic adaptation of the story, and if it's close to what the original script was, then I very much regret not being able to see that brought to life--at the very least, there seemed to be a bit of development into Tony's character, which I would've loved to have seen. I absolutely adore the way Simon Oakland brought Tony to life, and any chance for him to expand on Tony's characterization would've been flawless, I'm sure.<br /><br />--Crystal RoseRose and Ladybughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15412069053453355849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-35543900258116182592012-02-01T18:51:33.347-08:002012-02-01T18:51:33.347-08:00Thanks for the peek at possible 2nd season stories...Thanks for the peek at possible 2nd season stories for Kolchak. I was actually surprised at the first two stories you mentioned (Eve of Terror and Get of Belial), seeing as they were later adapted into comic books for Moonstone Comics. I picked them up because of my love of Kolchak, and I had no idea that they were actually potential ideas from the show! Thank you for giving me more insight into such a fantastic show.Greg M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-78456463774039462642012-02-01T15:49:54.943-08:002012-02-01T15:49:54.943-08:00>>>Yeah, I like my Carl a loner!<<&...>>>Yeah, I like my Carl a loner!<<<<<br /><br />Me too, Gary. I love how Carl relies on so many different people for informational help, but at the end of the day, It's Carl who climbs on down into the sewer...Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-49226527165448585172012-02-01T15:31:38.189-08:002012-02-01T15:31:38.189-08:00Excellent point about that psychiatrist/psychic in...Excellent point about that psychiatrist/psychic investigator solution, grgstv338! As far as THE NIGHT STALKER is concerned, however, I'm afraid we require that FRONT PAGE-style "anything for a story" poker-playing reporter guy suddenly facing something inexplicable and unbelievable, which authorities try to deny, for the special chemistry to work. "This nut thinks he's a vampire!" pretty much says it all. But Carl can no longer be astonished when something supernatural comes his way every week... and yet he MUST be, for the precious NS formula to work. It's very much like DIE HARD... Do it once, and it's a great, fresh idea for a story. Do it again... and again... and it's not so great, and certainly not fresh anymore. It's also important to remember that the original NIGHT STALKER telefeature was never designed as the pilot for an ongoing series; that just sorta happened.<br /><br />Even so, I think it's cool that we got a weekly incarnation of KOLCHAK for almost a full season. That was just enough time to have some stylish fun with all aspects of the formula (especially McGavin's robust take) without the show wearing out its welcome.<br /><br />Another way to skin this conceptual cat would be an ABC MYSTERY MOVIE approach, with Kolchak one of three rotating properties in a feature-length series that might require only eight NIGHT STALKER installments a year. More time and care could be taken with these productions (they'd automatically have higher budgets), and that annoying credibility issue wouldn't be as pronounced.<br /><br />Kolchak with a partner? Don't know about that one... I see him as the ultimate loner, for better or worse, very much like Patrick McGoohan's THE PRISONER. Our man Carl is a universe onto himself; he plays by his own rules and likes it that way. He says. But maybe he doesn't have any choice. Loved ones can visit his self-contained cosmos, but don't try to stay the weekend. Let's face it: Carl Kolchak is a lonely, suspicious, perennially dissatisfied fellow. He's obnoxious and disliked, very much like William Daniels' John Adams in 1776. Vincenzo's the frustrated but loving father figure who seems to sense that his talented son is a lost cause, no matter how many great stories he may crack. I imagine Kolchak's never dealt with or even acknowledged his personal demons ("Have a little faith in people," as Mariel Hemingway once told Woody Allen in MANHATTAN), so he spends the second half of his life fighting destructive urban monsters that may or may not be real, which I suppose is part of the metaphor we've been hinting it. Is self-absorbed Carl his own "jailer," as McGoohan is labeled in the final episode of THE PRISONER? Does he become a courageous, unrewarded Knight who saves the world every week because he can't get his own world together on a personal level? <br /><br />Yeah, I like my Carl a loner!Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-80603792033742578022012-02-01T15:28:51.381-08:002012-02-01T15:28:51.381-08:00LOL ~ Right, grgstv338? I love how Chase cites &qu...LOL ~ Right, grgstv338? I love how Chase cites "The Zombie" and "THE SPANISH MOSS MURDERS" as his fave episodes (even though he can't remember the latter's title!).Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-70593096007796372182012-02-01T15:24:06.344-08:002012-02-01T15:24:06.344-08:00A great find, Doug - some priceless behind-the-sce...A great find, Doug - some priceless behind-the-scenes info! (Especially re McGavin - as they say in STRANGELOVE - going "a bit funny"!<br /><br />Also re the insistence on nighttime shooting - "It's called the NIGHT Stalker - not the DAY-FOR-NIGHT Stalker!" ;-)grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-44434198054631779512012-02-01T14:50:28.288-08:002012-02-01T14:50:28.288-08:00Here's DAVID CHASE talking about KOLCHAK:
htt...Here's DAVID CHASE talking about KOLCHAK:<br /><br />http://emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/kolchak-the-night-stalkerDoug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-62255234565295993842012-02-01T14:19:54.670-08:002012-02-01T14:19:54.670-08:00It's always painful for me to read McGavin'...It's always painful for me to read McGavin's brutally honest comments about wanting to "end this thing". I totally understand where he was coming from and it makes sense, but the little boy inside of me can't help but feel crushed! <br /><br />Man, how great would a SASQUATCH episode have been? Or a YETI, or a LOCH NESS MONSTER, or so many other possibilities?<br /><br />The twenty episodes we wound up with, flawed though some of them are (the flaws vary depending on who you ask!), will forever be my direct time machine to those wonderful Friday nights of my youth when monsters lurked in the shadows, I hid under the covers, and Kolchak saved the day...every time!Doug Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796333627043218622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-18016190919070680552012-02-01T13:15:27.131-08:002012-02-01T13:15:27.131-08:00Also to add...
Chris Carter did a very good job a...Also to add...<br /><br />Chris Carter did a very good job at recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of THE NIGHT STALKER as a concept for a weekly TV show.<br /><br />Not only did he solve the "how does our hero get involved with the weekly monster/threat" question, but he also realized that lone wolf investigator, while okay for a TV-movie like Night Stalker or even The Norliss Tapes, sometimes makes it hard on the writers. Answer - give the investigator a partner. (Now the Kolchak-like lead doesn't have to return to the newsroom to butt heads with the disbelieving co-worker). Another dilemma - don't make your male lead a monk. Answer - make the partner a woman. Quick - Mrs. Peel, We're Needed!grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-31541191214356879172012-02-01T13:05:41.157-08:002012-02-01T13:05:41.157-08:00Gary, I recall in your write-up about THE SIXTH SE...Gary, I recall in your write-up about THE SIXTH SENSE that you mentioned how a network exec raised the point that it stretches credibility that a regular psychiatrist would encounter the supernatural week after week. Answer - change him to a psychic investigator!<br /><br />Going into KOLCHAK, we can see the same criticism would have been valid. Of course, WE love the fact that they got at least 20 episodes out of the concept, but that begs the question - is there anything they could have done to the original format to give the show a better shot at a longer life? (I'm not sure changing Kolchak into a strictly "supernatural beat" investigator would have satisfied, because it likely would have meant losing many of the best-loved elements of the show - namely, Vincenzo!)grgstv338https://www.blogger.com/profile/03532739459643834686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3061398142362448372.post-16659429470998782162012-02-01T12:52:36.211-08:002012-02-01T12:52:36.211-08:00Fascinating stuff, Mark. As much as my friends an...Fascinating stuff, Mark. As much as my friends and I loved KOLCHAK, we all kind of felt the formula -- even the expanded formula -- really wasn't resilient enough to sustain this series for ongoing seasons. The show was on the verge of starting to repeat itself already, even on its own peculiar terms, and the implausibility factor would probably begin to take its toll. Chris Carter cannily solved this problem on THE X-FILES years later, partially because it was the protagonists' specific job to look into inexplicable mysteries, rather than the "Guess what? Another 'once in a lifetime' supernatural monster in our midst!" approach that could never be sustained week-to-week unless viewed as a metaphor, which is more than a little dicey for network television.<br /><br />And yet...<br /><br />Just as dinosaurs evolved into birds, one can make a case that Universal TV's monster-challenged, never-say-die reporter Carl Kolchak evolved into Universal TV's monster-challenged, never-say-die reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) in THE INCREDIBLE HULK series. So KOLCHAK was going to do a "Bigfoot" episode? Lou Ferrigno's emerald neanderthal almost qualifies. For what it's worth, having one fantastic monster for a reporter to track is a tad more credible than 22 unrelated ones per season. Indeed, I can picture world-weary Kolchak and equally cynical McGee re-living some amazing adventures while sharing a beer... and ultimately not trusting one another!Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.com