Creepy TV redux: Night Stalker (2005)

50 years ago, viewers were introduced to reporter Carl Kolchak in Dan Curtis' adaptation of Jeff Rice's original novel, The Night Stalker, an ABC Movie of The Week. The following year brought the sequel, The Night Strangler, and a year later, Kolchak: The Night Stalker began a one season run on ABC. The difference? The series was produced by Universal, which didn't have anything to do with the movies.

30 years after the original series ended, ABC returned to the nightmare world of Night Stalker, but things were way different this time. Curtis was back as a consultant. ABC, now a unit of Disney, had the rights to key characters such as Kolchak and his boss, Tony Vincenzo, and reworked the concept, which was given to Touchstone Television.

As is the present custom, Kolchak is younger (Stuart Townsend), and has two partners in a fellow reporter and a photographer. ABC slotted this Night Stalker on Thursdays, but pulled the plug after six episodes, with the final four released on iTunes soon after the series was cancelled.

While I get the idea of making Kolchak younger, producer Frank Spotnitz (ex-The X-Files), who was also a writer on the show, misfired with the team concept that today is prevalent in a lot of genre programming. What Spotnitz tried to do was recreate the vibe and concept of X-Files, but viewers voted with their remotes. Gabrielle Union (Mrs. Dwyane Wade) co-stars in this version.

Check the pilot:

This Stalker had a shorter shelf life than the original. 

Rating: C.