Some highly biased love for Kino-Lorber discs KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER and NIGHT GALLERY SEASON ONE

 

Kino-Lorber has been THE go-to label for filling in the blu-ray gaps of genre television for the past few years for Boomers and early Gen-Xers who grew up watching the shows first run and/or in syndication. Starting with both seasons of the 60s THE OUTER LIMITS, progressing on with the 60s/70s wave of tv movies (FEAR NO EVIL/RITUAL OF EVIL, KILLDOZER and others), even the run of BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY, K-L satisfied both hard-core fans and aficionados with quality presentations (remasterings/new scans for HD) and tasty extras - basically giving these shows the proper release they should've had the first time around on DVD. (THE OUTER LIMITS especially - while the initial DVD releases are/were appreciated at the time of release just for making the shows available, the lack of supplemental material was just a slap in the face. Imagine doing THE TWILIGHT ZONE with no material on Rod Serling or anything about the episodes and/or the influence of the show in popular culture.)

If you're of a particular age and a genre television fan, you're familar with FANTASTIC TELEVISION,  Gary Gerani's book in the mid-70s that was an introduction to most of these shows and like The Bible to fans. It was among the first critical works to take this stuff seriously (and introducing the existence of a lot of British shows that took roughly some 20-25 years to be seen 'across the pond'). So it's very fitting that Mr. Gerani shows up on the commentary tracks in a lot of these releases since they'll serve as introductions to the next generation(s) of fans whose exposure was more than likely to inferior versions of these shows - as well as being definite releases (at least for the immediate future) for the hard-core fans.

Two of those gaps have been recently filled, with the release of KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER and the first season of NIGHT GALLERY in stellar editions, comparable to their previous OUTER LIMITS release, and both fan favorites.

K-L previously released HD upgrades of the tv movies THE NIGHT STALKER and THE NIGHT STRANGLER, so it was hoped that the tv series would get similar treatment (having had barebones DVD releases in the past). It did and then some - the blu-ray release of KOLCHAK firmly puts the show in context and gives it some long overdue appreciation for what it is, rather than bitching about what it isn't.

KOLCHAK The Series has been a controversial fan favorite since its inception for many reasons: some saying it's not as good as the tv movies, some questioning the logic of a 'monster-of-the-week' concept, not enough continuity, too much comedy, blah-blah-blah. Many a reason to deride it, although one thing was pretty much in agreement - people loved the character of Carl Kolchak, as portrayed by Darrin McGavin. The show got some respect via THE X-FILES, with Chris Carter explicitly citing KOLCHAK as a direct influence and has recently gotten more scrutiny due to David Chase's popularity as the creator of THE SOPRANOS.

So it makes perfect sense that if you're gonna do a release of KOLCHAK, you get some perspective from Chase himself, who was the story editor on the show, prior to his tenure on THE ROCKFORD FILES. That is one of the coups scored on the set; another featurette is with comedian Dana Gould, creator of the horror comedy STAN AGAINST EVIL. The main extras are commentaries provided on every episode of the show by people who know their film & genre stuff - Mark Dawidziak (who literally wrote the book on THE NIGHT STALKER and touched off its resurgence), Gary Gerani, David J. Schow, Kim Newman, Tim Lucas are some of the more familar names, as well as up and comers like Amanda Reyes and Mike White & Chris Stachiw (of the podcast The KolchakTapes). All of the commentaries are very good - the commentators are well matched to the episodes and everybody does pull out interesting trivia/conjecture even on the less-than-stellar episodes.

The show itself - I admit to a degree of nostalgia, since I was old enough to see it on its first broadcast run; it's 70s television, so there are allowances that you have to make in terms of production/budgetary factors, as well as cultural morès of the time - I've come to appreciate it as a hybrid that shouldn't work as well as it does, considering the convoluted production history of the show. Combining THE FRONT PAGEesque newspaper/workplace comedy with horror tropes presented in dead serious fashion all overlaid with a smidgen of hip cynical snark would not be considered a recipe for success back in 1974. Approaching 50 years later, it almost seems genius - which makes it a damn shame that it didn't survive past 17 episodes. (Had Universal execs been a bit more savvy, there could've been crossovers with two other popular shows of the time, COLUMBO and KOJAK... *sigh*).

But perhaps some things are best suited for short lifespans. While most of Kolchak's encounters in his everyday life are presented with a dose of black comedy, the situations with The Uncanny are always treated dead serious and with a determination to scare the shit out of whomever's watching. Whether you watch it as a weekly presentation of the literal adventures of a reporter battling literal monsters, or as a metaphor of a Flawed Everyman pitted against Authority and the horrors of life, who is (to quote a recent popular franchise) probably "not the hero we need, but the unsung hero we deserve".

The other release is NIGHT GALLERY (aka ROD SERLING'S NIGHT GALLERY). Usually referred to as the lesser cousin to THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but has had a considerable fan following of its own, despite issues that should've crushed it right out of the gate. But the show has always been better than people have considered it to be; fond memories of episodes aside, it wasn't helped by a bastardized version of the show being in syndication for years, until released to home video on VHS, then DVD. Also contributing to the reappraisal was the release of the book (and notice: these things always seem to kick off with companion books) ROD SERLING'S NIGHT GALLERY: AN AFTER HOURS TOUR by Jim Benson & Scott Skelton.

The blu-ray 'Season One' release consists of the pilot tv-movie, broadcast in 1969 and notable for the debut of Steven Spielberg directing Joan Crawford in the segment "Eyes"; and 6 1 hour episodes when the series debuted in 1971 as a mid-season 'wheel series' experiment, "Four-In-One" where several shows were broadcast on a revolving basis, which accounts for the short season. (NIGHT GALLERY and MCCLOUD were the two shows that were successful enough to get full seasons; the other two shows still languish in obscurity.)

[THE PSYCHIATRIST and SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT in case you're curious.]

The original DVD release was meager, the only extras being 'bonus episodes' from Seasons Two and Three - which in retrospect, seems to have been a hedge in case sales didn't support going forward with the other seasons (which happens more often than you think).  That has been corrected admirably with commentaries for all 6 episodes - Gary Gerani handles the pilot movie, and Benson & Skelton step up to represent, along with familar names including Tim Lucas, Kim Newman & Stephen Jones, Amanda Reyes and a new featurette, "The Syndication Conundrum".

Seasons Two and Three are due in 2022, so an in depth overview look at the show on blu will have to parcel out slowly. Season One tends to get overlooked in discussions of the series, and at least this blu release will rectify that situation to a degree. In hindsight, Season One probably provides the clearest look at what Serling might have intended for the show, if he had the same measure of control that he had on TWILIGHT ZONE - which he didn't have on NIGHT GALLERY.

The other notable - notorious? - aspect of NG that's remembered, those "comic" short skits that were the influence of producer Jack Laird aren't in Season One, although there is "The Housekeeper" a segment with Larry Hagman in the first episode that actually is humorous (due to being written by TZ veteran Douglas Heyes under a pseudonym). About the closest Season One comes to that level is "The Nature of the Enemy", written by Serling and notorious for its ridiculous ending - although I'd be willing to build a case for it being a blatant example of Serling 'trolling' the network and his producer. (Look up the story, "Does The Name 'Grimsby' Mean Anything To You?" in Serling's first NG novelization, which was not accepted for the show.)

Most of the season is written by Serling, with a couple of exceptions, and one can sense echoes of TZ aspects both good ("The Little Black Bag, "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" which was nominated for an Emmy Award) and not so good ("Pamela's Voice", "Make Me Laugh"). One gets the sense that Serling did want to take advantage to push things - "Clean Kills And Other Trophies" is a solid segment, yet compare it to the novelization in that first compilation, which has the ending that Serling intended, and one can start to sense the beginnings of the frustration that one would've thought the success of TZ would have at least minimized.

For all those perceived flaws, the other aspect on display is the artistry of everyone involved - there's solid craft in both the acting and technical departments, providing some welcome pleasure in seeing established professionals in their prime (Godfrey Cambridge, John Astin, Burgess Meredith, William Windom, Rachel Roberts to name a few), familar character actors (Jason Wingreen, Albert Popwell, Tom Bosley, John Colicos, etc.) and some at the beginning of their careers (Diane Keaton, Roger Moseley) who would eventually become better known.

Kino-Lorber's deal with Universal has borne some must-have releases - not bad, especially in the era of streaming and the 'death of physical media'  (PLEASE...)  - I can only hope that things can pan out for other blu-ray 'gaps' to be filled... at this point, the major ones remaining being THRILLER (hosted by Boris Karloff and which did get a respectful DVD release) and ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS/THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR. Other shows that got DVD releases overseas, but not domestically that would also be welcome are THE SIXTH SENSE (which will get plenty of mention in NIGHT GALLERY'S syndication history) and the James Coburn hosted DARKROOM, one of the last network anthology shows.

 

OUT OF THE UNKNOWN DVD Set

Science-Fiction on television is mainly dominated by American shows - from THE TWILIGHT ZONE, THE OUTER LIMITS to FIREFLY & THE X-FILES among the sublime to the downright goofy but entertaining shows by Irwin Allen (LOST IN SPACE), who passed that torch to Glen Larson (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, BUCK ROGERS). Shows from other countries will occasionally make their way across the pond; witness the popular DR. WHO, TORCHWOOD and ORPHAN BLACK now on BBCAmerica, older shows like BLAKE'S 7, SAPPHIRE AND STEEL, RED DWARF, SURVIORS and the serialized DR. WHO with Tom Baker whom many first saw on their local PBS stations in the 80's and 90's and the Gerry Anderson shows of the 60's (FIREBALL XL-5, THUNDERBIRDS), 70's (UFO, SPACE:1999) and 80's (SPACE PRECINCT).

What many don't realize is that British Television has had a long history of Sci-Fi quality programming pretty much from the start. Most in America are familiar with Nigel Kneale's Quatermass series, but probably from the Hammer films. They were originally done as live television plays and even after the era of live television passed, the British kept the concept of doing the television play, well into the 1980's. Most of the plays and series were taped 'live' - that is, shot in a multi-camera setup with the cast running through much like recording a theatrical performance, with filmed inserts for certain scenes.

There were the Quatermass serials during the 50's and adaptations of material like Orwell's 1984, as well as series like A FOR ANDROMEDA, and an anthology series of science fiction for ABC Television, OUT OF THIS WORLD, which was hosted by Boris Karloff and featured stories by Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Clifford Simak, John Wyndham, among others. The show was a success, but only lasted a season, due to the creator of the show, Irene Shubik, being hired by the BBC.

Shubik pitched another anthology series, OUT OF THE UNKNOWN, which was accepted and went into production in 1965 and lasted for 4 series (seasons) until 1971. Most American fans never heard of the series until the late 70's - early 80's when some of the British shows started being imported into the U.S.A. I suspect the first mention of it (along with other British product) was in the book FANTASTIC TELEVISION by Gary Gerani & Paul H. Shulman, the first extensive book on genre programming on television up through the mid-70's.

The show was never imported to the U.S. In fact, the only time that I ever got to put eyeballs on an episode was when surviving episodes got uploaded to YouTube just a few years ago. And 'surviving episodes' is probably another factor for the show not being broadcast here - The BBC had the custom of wiping tapes, as a cost-savings measure, of shows, which is why the early history of British Television is very spotty - most of the shows simply don't exist anymore, except for stills, audio and the occasional clip.

So knowing this upfront, one can imagine what the response was when the BFI, as part of their "Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder" celebration announced the release of OUT OF THE UNKNOWN on DVD.

If you are a fan of science-fiction... and I don't mean that you like STAR WARS and watch the SyFy Channel on occasion - I mean that if you are the person who not only watches, but also reads science-fiction; if you know what the names Asimov, Pohl, Sheckley, Kornbluth and have read their work; if you're a fan for the ideas of sci-fi more than just the spectacle. then it is worth your while to track down a copy of this. If you are indeed a fan, then discovering OUT OF THE UNKNOWN is tantamount to when you discovered THE TWILIGHT ZONE and/or THE OUTER LIMITS (60's) for the first time - now imagine that only 40% -60% of either of those shows were all that were in existence.


One important distinction between the American and British approaches (besides budget and production value, obviously) is that the British were more apt to adapt material from writers in the genre - OUT OF THE UNKNOWN adapted several Isaac Asimov stories, as well as stories from Frederick Pohl, Ray Bradbury, Kate Wilhelm, J.G. Ballard (whose story 'Thirteen To Centaurus" was also an inspiration to the recent SyFy miniseries ASCENSION), John Brunner, John Wyndham, Clifford D. Simak, Robert Sheckley, E.M. Forster, amongst others. Most of the American shows really didn't pull from the pool of material from established sci-fi writers.

The bulk of surviving episodes are from Series One; Series Two has two notable episodes of the show, "The Machine Stops"  by E. M. Forster (A Passage To India) and "Level Seven" by Mordecai Rashwald and adapted by J. B. Priestley. Both series were broadcast in black and white and where the 'classic tv vibe' is the strongest. Series 3 and 4, the series changed producers and started broadcasting in color - it's also where the majority of missing episodes lie. In cases where the surviving material is audio and stills, there are episode reconstructions, to give the viewer a sense, at least, of the story.

Series 4, the show shifted from most of the 'space opera' type of science-fiction towards more psychological and occult type of material; probably due to concerns that the fantastical type of sci-fi couldn't credibly compete with current real-life events (the Apollo space program was in full swing at the time). Nigel Kneale contributed a story, "The Chopper", which unfortunately is among the missing/wiped shows.

Overall, if you're the sort that still buys physical media to enlarge your personal library AND a fan of science-fiction, this is obviously one of the Releases of the Year. It's also a very important historical release for British Television - the set includes 11 commentaries on selected episodes, all of which did add some value, especially about the environment in which these shows were created. In addition to image galleries and episode reconstructions, there's a 40 min documentary 'Return To The Unknown" which goes into the history of the program and includes surviving clips from some of the missing episodes.

Being a R2 release, if you're in the U.S. and don't have access to an all-region player, or haven't taken the step to hack your player to all-region (if it's possible to do so), then the only way you'll be able to see some of the eps will be via the uploads on YouTube, if they'll remain up for anytime past this.

In the U.S., the best way to get the set - and indeed, pretty much any DVD/BR import - is through DiabolikDVD - it should be about $90, including shipping, but that may depend on the exchange rate at the time.

The Digital Fix did an extensive breakdown on the set, as well as this excellent review from Mondo Digital. You can also find more specific info about the show on the British television site Archive Television Musings.

The definitive guide to the show by author Mark Waid can be ordered here.

And if this gives you a taste for British Genre Television beyond just DOCTOR WHO, know that there's a considerable amount out there that may make going all-region in one form or another pay off; there's also the plays of Nigel Kneale, and shows such as THE CHANGES and CHILDREN OF THE STONES, and GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS, just to start out...