Night Stalker
ABC, Thursdays at 9/8 pm
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October 13
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October 20
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October 27
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Thursday, September 29, 2005
Detroit Free Press
A WALK ON THE DARK SIDE: Reporter seeks out truth, chases fears
BY MIKE DUFFY
FREE PRESS TV CRITIC
September 29, 2005
Prime time has turned into Nightmare Alley this season, as spooky things go bump in the night.
'Night Stalker'
THREE STARS
out of four stars
9 tonight
WXYZ-TV, Channel 7, ABC
We have alien visitation and body snatcher thrills ("Invasion," "Threshold"), a sea creature infestation ("Surface"), dead people talking ("Ghost Whisperer") and brothers on a paranormal road trip ("Supernatural).
Now comes moody, menacing "Night Stalker."
And the hero's a newspaper reporter!? Now that's scary.
"Night Stalker," premiering at 9 tonight on ABC, is a paranormal remake of a cult thriller from the early 1970s, starring Darrin McGavin as Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter on the trail of zombies and other beasties.
McGavin's Kolchak was hoping to score the big supernatural scoop.
But as played by Stuart Townsend ("The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") in the leaner, meaner and more stylish remake, Los Angeles Beacon crime reporter Carl Kolchak is haunted by other issues.
"I drive by night. A police radio is my compass. Looking for answers to questions I'm only learning how to ask. About things that adults dismiss ... but that children are right to fear," announces Kolchak, introducing himself while cruising along a lonely highway.
Eighteen months earlier, Kolchak and his wife were the victims of a strange attack on a deserted highway. His wife died. Kolchak survived, drenched in guilt and obsessed with finding who or what killed her. He also remains the FBI's No. 1 suspect in his wife's death.
So right from the dark start, the new "Night Stalker" is a more provocative, emotionally layered thrill ride.
The show also gives off an enjoyably eerie "X Files" vibe, thanks to the considerable talents of executive producers Frank Spotnitz and Daniel Sackheim, key members of "The X Files" creative team.
On the compelling series premiere, Kolchak becomes obsessed with a murder that is similar to his wife's. Jacked up on wild theories, he's certain there's a creepy, perhaps otherworldly link in the crimes.
So if Kolchak is Mulder, who's his Scully?
That would be senior Beacon crime reporter Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union, "Deliver Us from Eva"), who respects Kolchak's knack for digging up information but is skeptical of his theories.
Their boss, hard-edged Beacon editor Tony Vincenzo (Cotter Smith), fits "The X Files" profile of FBI Assistant Director Skinner. Eager Beacon photographer Jain McManus (Eric Jungmann) supplies freaked-out comic relief.
Carl Kolchak just may put a spell on you.
The gripping new "Night Stalker" shapes up as a killer thriller.
posted by Frank Spotnitz at 8:02 PM