Hardly a week goes by that, at the very least, one viewer will sadly admit that they miss the beloved series that aired weekly late night on our “Super Sci Fi Saturday Night” featuring the intrepid and somewhat rumbled reporter whose beat was the supernatural. There is reason to rejoice for all those fans who feel the same way-because tonight on MeTV- we have the origin story of that favorite reporter character who somehow always ends up pursuing the truth about something deadly from the realm of the unbelievable. It’s the made-for-TV movie that introduced us to Carl Kolchak, who’s out to convince authorities that they are dealing with a Vegas vampire- “The Night Stalker”!

This very first Kolchak story has the reporter, who does have a record for being fired from any number of newspapers, currently covering the news in Las Vegas when some mysterious deaths occur- in which the young female victims have been drained of their blood! Kolchak thinks the murderer is someone who “believes” he is a vampire, but his irascible managing editor Tony Vincenzo will not let him write anything to that effect without proof! However, Carl finds it suspicious that the local police authorities, the district attorney and even the FBI seem to be covering up facts on the murders.

After Kolchak actually encounters the murderer face-to-face during a bizarre raid on a hospital’s blood bank, he finally can provide a description of the killer-revealed to be someone suspected of being involved in homicides highlighted by losses of blood- dating back for several years. Kolchak pushes the story that the killings are being done by a super powerful madman, and while Tony downplays that angle of the story, fearing it could cause a panic among the populace, it seems the local authorities also want to keep things quiet. They even promise Carl that, if he cooperates, he will have exclusive rights to the story- but- will they honor that deal?

Things get intense when Kolchak finally discovers the lair of the blood-sucking suspect- and it becomes a deadly battle of man versus monster!

This 1972 Dan Curtis production sets the stage for the sequel movie “The Night Strangler”, set in Seattle, which was followed by the TV series starring Darren McGavin in his beloved role as Kolchak along with Simon Oakland. We’ll talk about the actual origins and background of the Kolchak character and his subsequent appearances- introduce the rest of the cast-including Carol Lynley- and - bring you a song with Doug Graves and Anita X. Orcist, as well as our original musical visit from the gorgeous Gwengoolie- some scenes in “Svensurround” ( done outside of the movie)- and an interview with an amazing stuntman who has played Michael Myers- and was the stunt double for Kurt Russell- Dick Warlock ( who will be appearing again at the Flashback Weekend Horror convention in Rosemont, as will I! And -to get you in the mindset of the annual costume contest I host at Flashback- we’ll show you a similar event from 2022 in Elgin!

“The Night Stalker” appears tonight on MeTV at 8pm eastern/pacific, and 7pm central time. As always, you can join in on the live commenting during the show via Tweeting on Twitter/X or Bluesky- just make sure you use the hashtag #svengoolie in your posts! Chicago area viewers can get an encore of the Sven Squad’s masterful treatment of “Swamp Thing” this morning at 11 am on WCIU the U!

The Sven Squad and myself are currently at the San Diego Comic Con, where we will be enjoying meeting fans from all over the country. Did you attend? Share your pictures here!

Coming up NEXT weekend, I go solo at the Flashback Weekend horror convention in Rosemont, IL on Friday night and Saturday. You’ll find more information posted under the “appearances” tab here on our website.

There’s still time to make this a Sven summer with the fun summer duds and more in our store! Just hit the “store” tab- very near that “appearances” tab!

Tonight- welcome back Kolchak- in his first appearance that changed TV horror history!