A Slice of America: Kolchak - The Night Stalker

Years: 1974-1975
Broadcaster: ABC
Genre: Horror, Crime
Written by: David Chase, Rudolph Borchert, John Huff,
L. Ford Neale, Bill S. Ballinger, Arthur Rowe, Michael Kozoll,
Dennis Clark, Alvin R. Friedman, Zekial Marko, Tim Maschler,
Donn Mullally, Paul Playdon, Jimmy Sangster, Bill Stratton,
Steve Fisher, Bob Gale, Stephen Lord, Paul A. Magistretti,
Robert Zemeckis, Dirk Wayne, Jeffrey Grant Rice
Stars: Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland
Episodes: 20
Episode Average: 5.200

BEST EPISODES:
They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be... (1974), Firefall (1974)

TV MOVIE

(1972)

THE NIGHT STALKER

Originally broadcast: 11 January 1972
Directed by: John Llewellyn Moxey
Written by: Richard Matheson, Jeffrey Grant Rice

A reporter investigates when women start turning up dead in Las Vegas, a local hospital claims that a thief made off with a quantity of blood, and the authorities try to keep talk of a thirsty vampire away from the public.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

TV MOVIE

(1973)

THE NIGHT STRANGLER

Originally broadcast: 16 January 1973
Directed by: Dan Curtis
Written by: Richard Matheson

Kolchak is warned about standards when he takes a new job in Seattle, a medical examiner finds rotting flesh on the bodies of murdered dancers, and a researcher discovers a pattern of killings going back as far as 1889.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 8

THE SERIES

(1974-1975)
20 episodes
Total Score: 104
Episode Average: 5.20
Perfect 10's: 0

EPISODE 1

THE RIPPER

Originally broadcast: 13 September 1974
Directed by: Allen Baron
Written by: Rudolph Borchert

Kolchak protests when he's assigned to write Miss Emily's advice column, an attempt to investigate a series of murders leads to his arrest, and the police refuse to believe that they're dealing with the real Jack the Ripper.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 2

THE ZOMBIE

Originally broadcast: 20 September 1974
Directed by: Alex Grasshoff
Written by: Zekial Marco, David Chase

Mobsters from a crime syndicate are found with their spines snapped, a morgue attendant suggests that a Haitian man has died more than once, and Kolchak has to explain how he came to be sitting in an empty grave.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 4

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EPISODE 3

THEY HAVE BEEN, THEY ARE, THEY WILL BE...

Originally broadcast: 27 September 1974
Directed by: Allen Baron
Written by: Dennis Clark, Rudolph Borchert

Kolchak skips going to a ball game to check out animal deaths at a zoo, police can only watch as two tons of lead ingots disappear into thin air, and a strange asphalt-like substance is found to contain bone marrow.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 8

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EPISODE 4

THE VAMPIRE

Originally broadcast: 4 October 1974
Directed by: Son Weis
Written by: Bill Stratton, David Chase

Kolchak is told that bodies have been drained of blood from Vegas to LA, an interview with an Indian guru provides cover for an investigation, and questions about a vampire are laughed off after the police make arrests.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 4

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EPISODE 5

THE WEREWOLF

Originally broadcast: 1 November 1974
Directed by: Allen Baron
Written by: David Chase, Paul Playdon

A last minute change of plan sees Kolchak sent to do a report on a cruise, the crew try to keep the details of a disturbance away from passengers, and talk of a vicious frenzied attack leads to a warning from the captain.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 4

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EPISODE 6

FIREFALL

Originally broadcast: 8 November 1974
Directed by: Don Weis
Written by: Bill S. Ballinger

Kolchak races to investigate a strange case of spontaneous combustion, Vincenzo refuses to print a story about a symphony orchestra conductor, and a gypsy woman demands payment for advice about doppelgängers

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 7

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EPISODE 7

THE DEVIL'S PLATFORM

Originally broadcast: 15 November 1974
Directed by: Allen Baron
Written by: Tim Maschler, Donn Mullally

An accident in an elevator is the latest connected to a political campaign, Kolchak's puzzled when a mysterious dog disappears from a photo, and a bizarre car wreck removes the final obstacle in the race for the Senate.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 5

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EPISODE 8

BAD MEDICINE

Originally broadcast: 29 November 1974
Directed by: Alex Grasshoff
Written by: L. Ford Neale, John Huff

Kolchak refuses to believe that two influential women killed themselves, a Native American man escapes from a robbery with a valuable sapphire, and an expert at the Cultural Arts Center tells the story of the Diablero.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 5

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EPISODE 9

THE SPANISH MOSS MURDERS

Originally broadcast: 6 December 1974
Directed by: Gordon Hessler
Written by: Al Friedman, David Chase

Police collect salad-like samples from the crushed body of a noted chef,
an apparent hit-and-run victim leads Kolchak to a sleep research lab, and a street musician vanishes after mentioning the legendary Père Malfait.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 10

THE ENERGY EATER

Originally broadcast: 13 December 1974
Directed by: Alex Grasshoff
Written by: Arthur Rowe, Rudolph Borchert

Cracks in the basement of a hospital are put down to a geothermal leak, tests on dead patients reveal an absence of plasma in their blood, and a reluctant shaman suggests that a Matchi-Manitou killed two of his men.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 4
TOTAL: 7

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EPISODE 11

HORROR IN THE HEIGHTS

Originally broadcast: 20 December 1974
Directed by: Michael T. Caffey
Written by: Jimmy Sangster

Elderly members from a Jewish community are found partially devoured, an exterminator refuses to believe that rats could be responsible, and a man who has been painting swastikas fires at Kolchak with a crossbow.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 7

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EPISODE 12

MR. R.I.N.G.

Originally broadcast: 10 January 1975
Directed by: Gene Levitt
Written by: L. Ford Neale, John Huff

The death of a scientist leads Kolchak to a secretive government project, a cosmetologist reports that a robber stole only his wax and tools, and Vincenzo's unhappy when digging brings unwanted pressure from above.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 4

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EPISODE 13

PRIMAL SCREAM

Originally broadcast: 17 January 1975
Directed by: Robert Scheerer
Written by: Bill S. Ballinger, David Chase

A scientist working for an oil company is found dead and minus an arm, Kolchak's told that cells discovered in an ice core began to multiply, and a police officer at a second murder suggests that the killer was ape-like.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 4

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EPISODE 14

THE TREVI COLLECTION

Originally broadcast: 24 January 1975
Directed by: Don Weis
Written by: Rudolph Borchert

Kolchak sees an informant fall to his death from a fashion salon window, a cat attack and a boiling shower end the careers of two top models, and a coven offer advice about how to ward off the powers of a black witch.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 1
TOTAL: 3

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EPISODE 15

CHOPPER

Originally broadcast: 31 January 1975
Directed by: Bruce Kessler
Written by: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale

A witness claims that a headless motorcyclist decapitated a taxi driver, an expert insists that the tracks belong to tyres no longer produced, and Kolchak teases information about gangs from an uncooperative source.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 5

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EPISODE 16

DEMON IN LACE

Originally broadcast: 7 February 1975
Directed by: Don Weis
Written by: Stephen Lord, Michael Kozoll, David Chase

Two students who died of heart attacks are found next to dead women, the companion at a third incident is said to have died hours earlier, and Kolchak establishes that the only link is work on an ancient stone tablet.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 17

LEGACY OF TERROR

Originally broadcast: 14 February 1975
Directed by: Don McDougall
Written by: Arthur Rowe

People considered to be brave start turning up with their hearts cut out, Kolchak stumbles upon a mummy stored in the basement of a hotel, and a closer look at the owners reveals a link to a chain of unsolved murders.

HOLY GODIVA 4 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 6

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EPISODE 18

THE KNIGHTLY MURDERS

Originally broadcast: 7 March 1975
Directed by: Vincent McEveety
Written by: Paul Magistretti, Michael Kozoll, David Chase

A killer targets influential figures with a variety of medieval weaponry, Kolchak feels underwhelmed when he gets to meet a legendary cop, and a museum curator expresses his concerns about a themed discotheque.

HOLY GODIVA 1 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 3

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EPISODE 19

THE YOUTH KILLER

Originally broadcast: 14 March 1975
Directed by: Don McDougall
Written by: Rudolph Borchert

A very senior citizen drops dead after apparently jogging for four miles, a swinging singles feature takes Kolchak into the world of dating agencies, and a glass eye seems to suggest that an old guy was really a young guy.

HOLY GODIVA 3 - ONION JACK 2
TOTAL: 5

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EPISODE 20

THE SENTRY

Originally broadcast: 28 March 1975
Directed by: Seymour Robbie
Written by: L. Ford Neale, John Huff

Reporters demand information about accidents at a data storage facility, an autopsy reveals that an electrician was attacked by a reptile, and the authorities refuse to listen to Kolchak after he sneaks into the tunnels.

HOLY GODIVA 2 - ONION JACK 3
TOTAL: 5

CARL KOLCHAK

Played by Darren McGavin

THE NIGHT STALKER
(1972)

THE NIGHT STRANGLER
(1973)

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER
20 episodes (1974-1975)

TONY VINCENZO

Played by Simon Oakland

THE NIGHT STALKER
(1972)

THE NIGHT STRANGLER
(1973)

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER
20 episodes (1974-1975)

RON UPDYKE

Played by Jack Grinnage

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER
18 episodes (1974-1975)

EMILY COWLES

Played by Ruth McDevitt

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER
10 episodes (1974-1975)

MONIQUE MARMELSTEIN

Played by Carol Ann Susi

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER
3 episodes (1974)

GORDON SPANGLER

Played by John Fiedler

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER
3 episodes (1974-1975)