At last, I closed with my quarry of many moons. I procured the entire run of Kolchak: The Night Stalker from Pete at Movies N' Stuff, one of the last video-rental places remaining in Ottawa. I was watching the show on the NBC site for a spell but then couldn't access it anymore, and instead resorted to the flotsam and jetsam on YouTube.
ABC's Kolchak, now widely recognized as a cult classic, aired in 1974–1975, starring wire service reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly those involving the supernatural or science fiction themes, including fantastical creatures. Two ratings-garnering television movies preceded the series, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973).Did you enjoy or ever watch The X-Files? Show creator Chris Carter attributed his creature--of-the-week inspiration to Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Carl availed well of himself despite a limited budget, gay stereotypes and featured the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois with many stock shots and a pulpy voiceover. Regular guest stars of 1970's TV fame abounded. Impressive celebrity cameos included Jamie Farr, Larry Lunville and Dick Van Patten. Ultimately, it's a charmer, with all the show's early-to-mid-1970's foibles. I kinda dig it. Besides, Kolchak: The Night Stalker bridges the gap between weird-horror TV of the seventies with its earnest continuation in the early nineties, still inspiring gifted imitators, as well as graphic novels and fictional anthologies, in including writer-editor James Aquilones' very good Kolchak: The Night Stalker–—50th Anniversary Graphic Novel.