Product Description

Carl Kolchak returns in a new series of spine-tingling adventures. Produced by the X-FILES' Frank Spotnitz and based on the original '70s suspense drama NIGHT STALKER updates the chilling classic in a startling new way. "There's something stylishly scary at work here" says The New York Times. Caught up in an obsessive hunt for his own wife's murderer Kolchak (Stuart Townsend) discovers that his imagination is no match for the evil that truly lurks in the dark. Paired with skeptic Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union) television's favorite crime reporter will stop at nothing to uncover the supernatural side of the night. Featuring three unaired unrated episodes to complete the series and a host of exclusive bonus material this 2-disc DVD set is so good it's scary.System Requirements:Running Time 426 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: TV-14 UPC: 786936703832 Manufacturer No: 5053103

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12025 in DVD
• Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
• Released on: 2006-05-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 426 minutes

Amazon.com
If Night Stalker had been given a chance to establish its own identity, this "reimagining" of the popular early '70s TV movies might have thrived. Instead, many viewers perceived the short-lived series as a thinly disguised X-Files spinoff, with former X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz apparently hired to recycle X-Files plots in a slightly different format. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since the series boasts superior production values and dark, sometimes violent horror plots as effectively creepy as anything seen on X-Files. But fans of the original (both TV movies and 1974 series) bristled at ABC's obvious youth-market makeover that turned Darren McGavin's original "Carl Kolchak" from a cynical, sarcastic middle-aged reporter on the fringes of journalism into a hip, handsome, Mustang-driving young reporter (played by Irish actor Stuart Townsend) who's literally marked for death in what was intended (if the series had survived) to be an epic battle of good vs. evil. By pairing Kolchak with an equally young, attractive, and skeptical colleague named Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union), the series struggled to find its place among such popular shows as Medium and the CSI juggernaut, and there just wasn't enough originality to keep viewers interested. Ratings plummeted after the pilot premiered on September 29, 2005, and of the ten episodes produced and included here, only six were broadcast before the show's inevitable cancellation.

As Spotnitz conceived it (with several X-Files veterans serving as directors or consulting producers), Night Stalker revolved around an epic "mythology" that would've emerged had the series continued. Spotnitz outlines these broader details in his smart, informative DVD commentaries, allowing viewers a greater appreciation of how the series was being planned. As it stands, the new Kolchak is striving to solve the violent, monstrous attack that killed his wife, and his ongoing investigations draw him deeper into supernatural events, mostly explored in episodes so similar to X-Files that you could easily exchange Kolchak and Reed for agents Mulder and Scully and barely notice the difference. From their high-rise offices at the Los Angeles Beacon (beautifully filmed in high-def digital video), Kolchak and Reed solve brutal murders, bizarre deaths, and other mysteries with the help of photographer Jain McManus (Eric Jungman) and editor Tony Vincenzo (Cotter Smith), while a cynical FBI agent (semi-regular cast member John Pyper-Ferguson) suspects Kolchak of killing his wealthy wife to inherit her estate. As these 10 episodes demonstrate, the hard-won trust between Kolchak and Reed would become the series' emotional anchor, with Townsend and Union establishing an appealing chemistry that served the series well.

Unfortunately, Night Stalker was doomed from the start. The series was cancelled in the midst of a two-part episode, leaving viewers with an unresolved cliffhanger and unanswered questions about the mysterious "four horsemen of the apocalypse" biker gang that's been a looming threat throughout these episodes. Thanks to Spotnitz's detailed commentaries and video interview included on this two-disc set (along with printable DVD-ROM scripts from unproduced episodes), these and other mysteries are tantalizingly explained, and these ten Night Stalker episodes stand as testament to a high-quality series that never had a chance to prove its long-term potential. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Not another X-Files clone
Back when "The X-Files" was at the height of its popularity there was a wave of "X-Files" clones, all with the same central message: the truth is out there, but the Government is trying to hide it. "The Night Stalker" is one such series. Unfortunately, it is not one of the better ones. "The Night Stalker" was cancelled after six episodes (ten were made and all are included in this 2-disc set) and rightly so. The scripts are full of holes, the acting is mediocre and none of the main characters are remotely interesting.

The story revolves around Carl Kolchak (Stuart Townsend), a journalist whose wife was murdered by some sort of monster and Kolchak is now out to discover exactly what happened (and in the process, discovers the truth about a lot of other strange events). This is a remake of a 1970's TV series ("The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler" and "Kolchak: The Night Stalker"), which admittedly didn't run for much longer than this series (only 2 tele-movies and 20 episodes), but which is far superior to this show. Buy the original series instead.

Good show, cut off short
I immediately liked this show, the lead cast is of course very important and I think Stuart Townsend & Gabrielle Union were a good match.

Ok, sometimes it looked a bit like Mulder & Scully but it just was a nice reminder. It did had a different feel as the x-files, sadly it did not get a fair chance.

Atmospherics and aether
This was a good show but in no way lived up to the promise and potential of the old series. What is sadly lacking in these updates - Yes, I am aware this is a dressed up clone of another Spotnitz series - is a sense of humor. Even at his most morose, Duchovny's character was able to lob a couple of fast ones at Scully which would be received with her standard deadpan scowl. The original Kolchak did not take itself too seriously and Spotnitz and crew could learn a lesson or two from that. All things considered, there were a handful of fine episodes in it's short run. Unfortunately, while Townsend and Union are photogenic they both lack the nuances of a great character actor like McGavin. It probably isn't fair to examine either of the two series through the prism of thirty years of change but the original series has a charm all its own which will not be easily emulated by modern refashioning and atmospheric camera work. It may be time to put this genre to bed until someone has something unique to say.