And I hear the Rockford Files is due out this fall, too.

2 great shows.

Was lucky enought to catch The Night Stalker about 10 years ago, very late at night on UK tv. What a great series.

I always thought that The X-Files owed this programme something of a debt.

www.20six.co.uk/jiltedbarfly

It did -- Chris Carter acknowledged Kolchak was part of his inspiration for XF, and that's why Darren McGavin was asked to play Arthur Dale, the founder of the X-Files and hard-drinking, storytelling ex-FBI agent. I recently bought a clearance table DVD of the two Kolchak pilot movies, and I can hardly wait for the series DVD.

There must be something to the Columbo-Kolchak connection, because one of the world's biggest "Kolchak" fans and experts is Mark Dawidziak -- author of "The Columbo File", and also author of, I think, 3 different books about Kolchak. Did he also write the notes for the Kolchak DVDs, as he did for the Columbia House "Columbo" videos?

May well have done that Ted. Shame he wasn't called upon to do any commentaries for the series.
Would have been good to get Jack Grinnage or even McGavin himself in. I always thought Falk and McGavin were cut from the same cloth...both the kinda actors that we just don't have any more...real, working class, honest, take no crap actors.

they were two very popular shows among people my age when they originaly aired...when I think back about watching columbo movies I believe Kolchack was on afterward..not positive but could be

You may well be right. They were both ABC shows. I think Kolchak was on Fri nights around 10 or 11.Not the best timeslot. Would have been a killer double..Columbo/ Kolchak.