I recently checked out some old episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and I was amazed at how ahead of its time the series was. Kolchak was out hunting and researching werewolves, vampires, aliens, and all sorts of paranormal phenomena decades before it became thew hip thing to do. Shows like The X-Files and Supernatural certainly owe a debt to this trailblazer. Darren McGavin made an appearance on The X-Files as the man who actually initiated the X-Files Program, so it was nice to see them acknowledge their forerunner in that way.
I wonder how he'd react to the Munsters or My Favourite Martian.
ReplyDeleteOr to the witches from 'Bewitched'.. or to 'Jeannie'?
ReplyDelete^_^
When I was a pre-teen, in the early Seventies, I often had fantasies of him and the Curiosity Shop kids visiting Castle Frightenstein!*
ReplyDelete*My two favorite educational kids' shows, back then.
Great cover, Ross!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't the Batman himself be the kind of thing Kolchak would have been investigating as well? He probably do a better job than Knox & Vale did...
"decades before it became the hip thing to do"??? Do you know when "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" were even written?? :D
ReplyDelete@Keith B already beta me to it, but yeah I was thinking the same thing, given Kolchak's gimmick, he'd be the one to try to disprove the Batman myth in Gotham.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know he was in X-Files tho. Very nice tribute to him I think.
Chris Carter has made no secret Kolchak inspired his X-Files series. Originally McGavin was suppose to Mulder's father but the timing wasn't right.
ReplyDelete@ my namesake: Circa 1898 and 1818, respectively.
ReplyDeleteThis was after Darrin Mcgavin launched the OSI's Bionic Man program.
ReplyDeleteRoss great job the past few days featuring some of my favorite characters (DD, Green Hornet) and concepts (DC's Super Spectaculars)followed up by an eerie Bronze Age Brave and Bold/TV Mash-up! Can't say I was overly familiar with Kolchak, but was aware of him and did see him on the X-Files episode, as I was a fan of that series.
ReplyDeleteThe team-up I have been waiting for forty+ years now is TV Batman '66 and Agent 86, Maxwell Smart from Get Smart. Growing up these were my top 2 favorite TV Series, and I always wished they would have shared an adventure, like the Dynamic Duo did with the Green Hornet and Kato. I picture Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara consoling a befuddled Chief of CONTROL and Larabee as Max and 99 run off with Batman and Robin!
Keep up the great work, Ross!
That one is on here, just click on the "get smart" label...
ReplyDeleteAs a long time Kolchak fan (admittedly not during the original run) I love this. I hope it isn't the last Kolchak inspired cover.
ReplyDelete@Ross Re: Get Smart - Duh! not only did you do it already, I actually commented on it. Must be getting old myself!
ReplyDeleteI can actually see Kolchak being lured to Gotham City by the reports of Batman's initial forays (a la the 1989 Michael Keaton movie). Only for the two of them to team up against the aforementioned Hugo Strange. Who knows? Maybe they could even have a sequel adventure involving the Red Monk and Dala!
ReplyDeleteP.S.---any chance of a STAR WARS/LOTG crossover?
ReplyDeleteThat iconic outfit also turns up in the new season of "The X-Files" being worn by a character in "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-monster". Unfortunately, the events of the episode lead one to deduce that Kolchak met his end just before the episode started . . .
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous No. 5---I would rather see Ross do a team up between STAR TREK:TOS and LOST IN SPACE. I know Bill Mumy, himself, wrote a story for the DC comic book adaptation of the former entitled "The Worthy." But, that was more of a pastiche/homage. Not an actual crossover!
ReplyDeletehere's your crossover.
Deletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BxWFd7ul5ao
"KOLCHAK" !!!!!
ReplyDeleteTony Vinchinzo
Said several times per episode
I believe Tony's surname is spelled "Vincenzo."
ReplyDelete@ MB Nothing but a stupid-a** plug for Facebook!
ReplyDeleteThis image really needs to be a poster
ReplyDeleteI loved Nightstalker as a kid. Just scary enough.
ReplyDeleteX-Files never engaged me. I've seen maybe one full episode.
I often told people it was a bad play on Nightstalker, but they didn't know the show. Glad it got credit, even if most people didn't catch it.
Maybe Batman and Carl Kolchak would team up to try to take down Solomon Grundy.
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