Kolchak: The Night Stalker - Episode 1 - The Ripper

Kolchak was just about the coolest show ever. I remember watching reruns of the original movies as a little kid and being scared and enthralled at the same time. Starring the perfectly cast Darren McGavin as the titular Carl Kolchak, fans tuned in every week to watch their favorite reporter with the acerbic wit battle the forces of evil. In the shows all too brief 20 episode run Carl faced just about every monster achitype including: vampires, werewolfs, mummies, zombies, ghosts, witches, Satan, Jack the Ripper, mad scientists, succubi, the goddess Hecate, Native American, Hindu and Creole folk monsters, killer androids, aliens, the headless horseman (or in this case the headless motorcycleman), a possessed suit of armor, a recently thawed caveman and some sort of lizard man.

It all started with the original TV movie The Night Stalker. Premeiring on January 11th 1972, it introduced our hero and his battle with the vampire Janos Skorzeny. Written by the always spectacular Richard Matheson, The Night Stalker pulled the highest rating of any TV movie up to that time. Running off of the success of the original movie, ABC hired Matheson to write a sequel. The Night Strangler, which aired the next year, found Kolchak now living in Seattle having been driven out of Las Vegas by the local police force. And what do you know, it also found him on the trail of another supernatural killer. This time around, a crazed centuries old alchemist who uses his victims blood to stay young forever. The series proper premeired on September 13th (Friday the 13th, how awesome is that) 1974 and died on March 28th 1975. While arguably the worst episode of the series, the final edisode featured McGavin's real life wife Kathie Brown.

While the series wasn't a huge hit at the time of it's original broadcast, it's influence still lingers today. It has been a major influence on just about anything involving the investigation of the unknown. Chris Carter, creator of the X-Files, sites Kolchak as the main influence for the show, as does Nicolas Cage when talking about his series The Dresden Files. It has also been adapted into dozens of novels and comic books.

Above and to the right, you'll find the entire first episode of the series for you viewing enjoyment. If you enjoy it, I highly recommend you check out the movies and the entire series, all of which are fantastic.