Kolchak Episode Guide

The Ripper

Writer: Rudolph Borchert

Director: Allen Baron

Synopsis: A serial killer whose crimes match the violence and brutality of Jack the Ripper is active in Chicago. Only Kolchak believes that the killer actually is the seemingly immortal and indestructible 19th century serial killer.

Writer: Zekial Marko and David Chase

Director: Alex Grasshoff

Synopsis: Leading gangland figures are being killed, their spines "snapped like celery". Kolchak discovers that the common denominator is their involvement with the death of a Haitian immigrant, Francois Edmonds, who has been buried twice with chicken blood in his ears...

Notes: This episode remains one of the series' most effective mergings of the supernatural and the mundane. The zombie, who must rest in a place of the dead, hides in a hearse at a scrapyard, with Carl obliged to strangle it from a crane while burning holy candles on a hubcap. The zombie travels back and forth from its murder scenes by Chicago public transit!

Writer: Rudolph Borchert

Director: Allen Baron

Synopsis: A series of animal killings at Lincoln Park Zoo put Kolchak on the trail of an invisible alien visitor that feeds on bone marrow, vomits digestive acid, steals electrical appliances, has the (literal) strength of a hurricane, generates strong electromagnetic fields, and needs lead to fuel its spacecraft.

Notes: The first of two low budget invisible monsters, and a rather inexplicable one. Despite its energy-like configuration, it feeds on solid substances and excretes digestive acids. This episode comes as close to featuring the entire cast as any: only Ruth McDevitt is absent, as her character has not been introduced yet. The episode's highlight is Kolchak describing the alien's eating habits to Vincenzo as Tony is having a free Italian meal he won on a bet. There are some convenient plot elements: not for the first time, Kolchak's camera hold the key to stopping the monster of the week. A neat foreshadowing of X-Files with its elements of mysterious government agents, cover-up, conspiracy, and an alien presence.

The Vampire

Writer: David Chase

Director: Don Weis

Synopsis: A female victim of the original Night Stalker, Janos Skorzeny, is accidentally revived. Moving to Los Angeles and taking up the life of a call girl, she appears unstoppable until Kolchak finds out and wrangles a trip to the West Coast to investigate.

The Werewolf (Bottom Five)

Writer: David Chase and Paul Playdon

Director: Allen Baron

Synopsis: While covering the last cruise of an famous ocean liner, Kolchak must deal with a NATO soldier infected with lyncanthropy.

Notes: Despite (or perhaps because of) the location filming, the budget on this episode appears minimal, particularly concerning the low-quality werewolf costume, which we see far too much of. The ending is rushed, suspense is minimal, and Kolchak is isolated from his supporting characters for most of the episode. Henry Jones makes a good Simon Oakland stand-in (while also doing double-duty as the "cop of the week" (although he's a ship's captain, not a police captain). But he's no replacement for the original. The fact that he momentarily considers Kolchak's explanation (asking about outrunning the rising moon) makes for a nice moment of potential open-mindness, but the element is immediately dropped.

Firefall (Bottom Five)

Writer: Bill S. Ballinger

Director: Don Weis

Synopsis: A series of deaths by incineration are the work of the ghost of an arsonist, attempting to take over the body of a concert conductor he admired in life, becoming his doppelganger. Kolchak must force the ghost to accept its death by taking the corpse to the site of its murder.

The Devil's Platform

Writer: Donn Mullally

Director: Allen Baron

Synopsis: A rising young politician's enemies are dying all about: his Satanic connections may have something to do with his meteoric rise towards the Presidency.

Notes: This episode lampoons everything from politics to religion. We finally get to meet Ruth McDevitt, whose trip to the Vatican provides Kolchak with a much-needed bottle of holy water blessed by the Pope, and a new hat which he can't stand. The episode has probably the sharpest dialogue of the series. The plot kind of meanders, however, and the limits of Palmer's satanic abilities are never really set. Carl doesn't do much, and defeats Palmer through sheer luck more than anything.

Bad Medicine

Writer: L. Ford Neale and John Huff

Director: Alex Grasshoff

Synopsis: A trail of stolen jewelry and bizarre deaths puts Kolchak on the trail of a "diablero", a magic-wielding, shape-shifting Indian medicine man doomed to roam the earth on an eternal quest to repent his sins by amassing a fortune in jewelry.

The Spanish Moss Murders (Top Five)

Writer: Al Friedman and David Chase

Director: Gordon Hessler

Synopsis: Dream research experiments accidentally unleash a childhood Bayou legend from the mind of a subject: a swamp creature known as "pelemafait" which crushes its victims to death and leaves them shrouded in spanish moss. Kolchak must track it to its sewer lair and destroy it with a spear taken from a bayou gum tree.

The Energy Eater (Bottom Five)

Writer: Arthur Rowe and Rudolph Borchert

Director: Alex Grasshoff

Synopsis: Construction workers begin to die on the site of a hospital construction. Months later, patients begin dying in the newly-constructed clinic. What's responsible? A "matchemonedo", an Indian bear-god woken from its hibernation by the excavation.

"Horror in the Heights (Top Five)

Writer: Jimmy Sangster

Director: Michael T. Carrey

Synopsis: A cowardly Hindu demon, a rakshasa, preys on the elderly by taking on the image of the one they trust most, and then eating them. Only Kolchak, armed with a blessed crossbow given him by an elderly monster-hunter, can put an end to its existence.

Mr. R.I.N.G.

Writer: L. Ford Neale and John Huff

Director: Gene Levitt

Synopsis: An android with artificial intelligence kills its creator when threatened with dismantlement. Kolchak and the government both become involved in the search.

Primal Scream

Writer: Bill S. Ballinger and David Chase

Director: Robert Scheerer

Synopsis: Not much. Cell samples brought back from the Arctic by an oil conglomerate conveniently thaw out and somehow spontaneously grow into savage primates. They then go on a rampage.

Notes: The plot is pedestrian, the ending is vague, and the primates' weakness to fire is pretty boring. The highlight of the episode is Ron Updyke telling a story about a "piecost". "What's a 'piecost?'" Vincenzo asks. "Eighty-nine cents." Still, there are a few good moments. At the beginning of an interview with a corporate PR man, Kolchak thoughtfully takes a moment to adjust his socks! Vincenzo once again gets to act like an editor actually enthusiastic about getting a story out.

The Trevi Collection (Top Five)

Writer: Rudolph Borchert

Director: Don Weis

Synopsis: A series of deaths in high fashion (by cat, mannequin, and scalding water) leads Kolchak to the conclusion that black witchcraft is being used by someone. But is it the mysterious Madame Trevi? Or one of her models?

Chopper

Writers: Steve Fisher, David Chase, Bob Gale, and Robert Zemeckis

Director: Bruce Kessler

Synopsis: When a cemetary is excavated, the head and body of a decapitated motorcyclist are separated, causing the specter to steal an antique motorcycle and begin decapitating those who were responsible for his death decades ago.

Notes: Written by Robert Zemeckis, who later won an Oscar for directing Forrest Gump. Despite the horrendous F/X of the cyclist (who must have been 9' tall before he was decapitated) and the silly-sounding concept, the episode is actually fairly entertaining. In a series where the premise was to show the monster as little as possible, we definitely see too much of the goofy-looking headless cyclist. Watching Backus as a motorcycle dealer ranting about his WW2 experiences with the Japanese is worth the price of admission. However, Kolchak haggling with a cycle gang over the casket of one of their members is also amusing. Overall, Zemeckis' enthusiastic and satiric writing balances the bad F/X to produce a slightly above-average episode. Probably the most underrated episode of the series. Still, there's such a thing as going to the opposite extreme. The episode isn't nearly as good as Cy Chermak or Dawidziak in his "Night Stalker Companion" represent it, either. One wonders if they didn't do a little re-evaluation between the 20th and 25th anniversay Companion based on Zemeckis' winning of an Oscar).

Demon in Lace

Writers: Stephen Lord, Michael Kozoll, and David Chase

Director: Don Weis

Synopsis: College men are dying of heart attacks. Apparently they are being frightened to death during sex by a succubus, a female demon that possessess the bodies of recently deceased women. The revelation of her true nature during sex kills them and feeds her. Her existence is tied to a priceless Mesapotomian tablet, which Kolchak must destroy.

Legacy of Terror

Writer: Arthur Rowe

Director: Don McDougall

Synopsis: Physically-superb men and women are being killed, their hearts cut out with a dull blade. Each victim is found on a higher and higher prime numbered flight of stairs. Kolchak's investigation turns up a bizarre cult based on Aztec religion that seek to revive their mummified god at the correct celestial alignment. To prevent the mummy's resurrection, Kolchak must prevent the sacrifice of their fifth, "perfect" victim on the highest flight of stairs in Chicago.

The Knightly Murders (Top Five)

Writers: Michael Kozoll and David Chase

Director: Vincent McEveety

Synopsis: Ward bosses and decorators are being killed off with medieval weaponry. The source: the haunted armor of a "Black Cross" Knight, whose museum is going to be converted to a discoteque. Who can blame it for killng those responsible?

Notes: A purely average episode in basic concept, there are dozens of little moments that make this episode. Dehner is hilarious playing the cop of the week, doing a dead-on Edward R. Murrow impersonation and going off on tangents from WW2 commandos with crossbows to the chamber recitals he sits through with his wife. Other highlights include a mom & pop heraldry store trying to sell our intrepid reporter a "Kolchak Coat of Arms," and Kolchak having to act as biographer for an antique pawnshop owner. McGavin gets to play a literal white knight, since Kolchak has to wield a blessed axe to defeat the Black Knight. We also get a rare glimpse of the heroic Kolchak when he is present at one of the murders as it takes place (a unique occurrence - he's typically there after the fact), and unhesitatingly tries to stop the Knight from cutting one of its victims in half.

The Youth Killer (Bottom Five)

Writer: Rudolph Borchert

Director: Don McDougall

Synopsis: A series of unidentified elderly bodies are turning up around Chicago. Kolchak discovers that they were in fact young swingers who all were members of an exclusive dating club run by a hauntingly attractive woman who a local Greek taxi driver conveniently recognizes as Helen of Troy.

Notes: As preposterous as it sounds. Crosby's performance as Helen is horribly wooden: she was obviously cast based on her looks rather than her acting ability. Crosby ruins every scene she is in. The scenes without her are fairly humorous, effectively demonstrating how the show sustained itself more on humor than horror. Strong evidence that the show was near the end of the season and on its last legs. Again, some spotty writing. Why does Helen's patron goddess, Hecate, wait until Carl points out that Helen sacrficed an imperfect one-eyed victim? Why does Helen threaten to sacrifice the physically imperfect Carl? When even the main character can point out the flaws in the villainess' reasoning, you know there are script problems. Where's Kevin Sorbo when you need him?

The Sentry (Bottom Five)

Writers: L. Ford Neale and John Huff

Director: Jerry Fielding

Synopsis: In an underground archival facility, strange geologic nodules are found. Their discovery coincides with a series of grisly murders which Kolchak discovers are the work of a lizard creature protecting its young.

Notes: The last episode of the series. The story is told in flashback as Kolchak flees the creature, then pauses to narrate what has gone before while waiting for the monster to catch up to him. This does allow for a minute or so of padding since we see the same footage of Kolchak's flight twice. The episode rather obviously "borrows" *ahem* from the Star Trek episode "Devil in the Dark," and the "Sentry" looks like a low-budget costume you might see a fan in at a science fiction convention. A depressing note to end the series on. Only Kathie Brown's role as Lt. Irene Lamont gives the episode any value. One suspects she and McGavin have had lots of practice at this kind of back-and-forth sparring.