MovieChat Forums > Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) Discussion > A Theory ............. and a peeve ........

A Theory ............. and a peeve ...................

posted 7 years ago by shango7200
1 reply | jump to latest

1) My Theory:
If "Kolchak" was made a series in say 1972-- I suspect it would have been a HIT (if not a big hit-- maybe a show that lasted 2 or 3 years). Here's why:
In general "horror" TV was more accepted back then ( i.e. Night Gallery, Ghost Story, etc.) Also many TV movies had horror themes AND old horror movies were still on TV (Universal Monsters and all the other classics like A.I.P. Teenage Werewolf type movies) . Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, Boris Karloff Thriller, and Outer Limits were doing well in syndication too!
And as history dictates : Fred Silverman was president of ABC at the time of the Kolchak series debut --and word was he has a distain for horror based series (this is a fact!)

So yeah- if we pushed back a few years-- and the 2 Night Stalker movies came out in 1969 and 1970 and say: then the development time period to get Kolchak a regular weekly gig was set to go by.... 1972-ish ...who knows ? But I think he would have had a better run.

2) My Peeve:
Kolchak never made it to the cover of.....TV GUIDE! Damn. Yet short lived junk like Get Christie Love and That's My Mama DID make the cover in 1974/75 !
What happened ?

"In every dimension , there's another YOU!"

[–] ScaryMary123 7 years ago

Night Gallery, Ghost Story,

By 1972, Night Gallery was on its last legs and was soon cancelled. Ghost Story, which was also called "Circle of Fear" was a ratings LOSER. 1972 was NOT a good time for horror.

The 1974 season also saw the premiere of Planet of the Apes, which also flopped. It just wasn't a good time for horror or science fiction. And let's face it, Kolchak became very formulaic and not at all scary. The first film was great, but the second one was pretty horrid, in my opinion.

That's My Mama last a few seasons on ABC. Kolchak lasted just one. Barely.