Fighting monsters and supernatural creatures feels like easy work when you've found yourself fighting with a studio.

While Darren McGavin spent his days playing Kolchak in the show Kolchak: The Night Stalker, McGavin spent his free time frequently at odds with Universal Television.

"I've got a long and bloody association with this studio," said McGavin of Universal during an interview with The Toronto Star.

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McGavin was offered the opportunity to play Kolchak full-time after originating the character in the film, The Night Stalker. The actor then reprised the role in the sequel, The Night Strangler, before production began on the series.

However, the show lasted little more than one year before its cancellation, and McGavin wasn't shy about the shortcomings of the series, blaming the writers specifically.

"Of course, the quality is not holding up," said the actor. "The scripts are bad. Writers today don't understand suspense. It really involves a very simple formula. It's almost mathematical. But they don't understand. Look at this script for next week - it's not good enough."

McGavin's feelings, rational or not, meant that he wasn't only responsible for playing the lead in a series; he'd also have to lend a hand on the scripts. "I'll have to work on it this weekend," said the actor in the script.

But just as McGavin wasn't shy about his misgivings regarding the series, he was just as open about his own career aspirations, which tended to point toward film rather than television.

"Universal has chosen to put producers on the series who are not very good either," said the actor. "I only went into this because it meant setting up a company in partnership with Universal for the show, which I can use later for movies."