DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements Archive => Calendar Events / Announcements '26 I => Calendar Events / Announcements '05 I => Topic started by: jimbo on January 18, 2005, 11:39:59 AM

Title: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: jimbo on January 18, 2005, 11:39:59 AM
It seems ABC has ordered a new Night Stalker pilot for its network. I have not been able to obtain additional information on it but hopefully someone here can fill us in on the specifics. The WB also ordered the "Supernatural" pilot. We know how the WB handles its pilots. lol It seems Dark Shadows is still a good fit on any network.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Nelson Collins on January 18, 2005, 03:41:58 PM
Wouldn't it be funny if Chris (X-Files) Carter were behind the new Night Stalker? ;)
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: jimbo on January 18, 2005, 07:14:21 PM
Wouldn't it be funny if Chris (X-Files) Carter were behind the new Night Stalker? ;)

That would be great-it would even be better if Dan Curtis was involved but I sincerely doubt that is happening.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Gothick on January 18, 2005, 07:26:39 PM
I don't recall Curtis having been involved in the original Night Stalker TV series.  He did the movies and that was it.  Or is my memory failing me again?

G.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: jimbo on January 18, 2005, 09:23:22 PM
I don't recall Curtis having been involved in the original Night Stalker TV series.  He did the movies and that was it.  Or is my memory failing me again?

No your memory is fine. lol I believe he produced the first film and then directed the second one. Maybe DC will be invited to direct the new pilot?
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on January 18, 2005, 10:30:00 PM
DC has been trying to get a new Night Stalker movie made for at least the last 15 years. So, I'd be a bit surprised if he isn't involved in this new project in some way.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: jimbo on January 19, 2005, 02:17:04 AM
DC has been trying to get a new Night Stalker movie made for at least the last 15 years. So, I'd be a bit surprised if he isn't involved in this new project in some way.

I believe you are right MB. Just wonder why DCP could not convince the networks to pick up his proposed version of NS? I guess timing is everything. Funny I did not see Night Stalker anywhere on the networks list of pilots they were considering. Maybe a new DS still has a chance although I am guessing that DCP is now trying to get a movie studio interested. Hope ABC treats its pilots better than the WB.

Going way off topic here tomorrow's NY Times reviews Point Pleasant and the author states, "Point Pleasant has none of the wit of "Dark Shadows" or Buffy".
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on January 19, 2005, 02:43:12 AM
Going way off topic here tomorrow's NY Times reviews Point Pleasant and the author states, "Point Pleasant has none of the wit of "Dark Shadows" or Buffy".

Actually, I was going to post a topic about the Point Pleasant reviews tomorrow (the show's premiere date) because invariably every one of them has referenced DS. How DS factors into the equation, though, depends entirely on what they thought of PP. The reviews that like the show (which seem to be few and far between) have said that DS fans might like PP. On the other hand, the reviews that have disliked the show have said that it's no DS.

I'm not quite sure when DS became the Gothic series touchstone to measure every other against. Certainly DS' detractors would be shocked by such a development. But who are we to question it?  [wink2]
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Raineypark on January 19, 2005, 02:59:54 AM
I'm not quite sure when DS became the Gothic series touchstone to measure every other against. Certainly DS' detractors would be shocked by such a development. But who are we to question it?  [wink2]


Gee....where was all this excellent "word of mouth" when the new pilot was being discussed?

The pilot fails.....the Original goes completely off the air....and suddenly it's the Holy Grail of gothic stories.

 >:(
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mary on January 19, 2005, 07:43:35 AM
Gee....where was all this excellent "word of mouth" when the new pilot was being discussed?

The pilot fails.....the Original goes completely off the air....and suddenly it's the Holy Grail of gothic stories.

 >:(

Really!  And if it's the Holy Grail, why aren't the networks all falling all over themselves to bring it back?!  Grr!

Anyway, about the original topic, how cool they're finally making a new NS pilot! :D  Thanks for posting this news, Jimbo!  Does anybody know if DC own the rights to NS?  And any idea who'll be playing Kolchak in the pilot?
Title: Re: OT - "Point Pleasant"
Post by: Midnite on January 20, 2005, 07:25:00 AM
Going way off topic here tomorrow's NY Times reviews Point Pleasant and the author states, "Point Pleasant has none of the wit of "Dark Shadows" or Buffy".

Based on the pilot alone, I'd have to agree.  But it was nice seeing Michael Cavanaugh (Sheriff Patterson).  Bzzzzz  ;)
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Julia99 on January 20, 2005, 01:28:39 PM
Well i was just about to say. . hasn't a redo of the Night Stalker been done. . i.e. The X-Files?  It seems supersilious to me and likely to fail.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on January 28, 2005, 07:53:42 PM
Apparently this person isn't known as the Filmjerk (http://www.filmjerk.com/new/article1178.html) without good reason:

ABC is working on a remake of Kolchak the Night Stalker! Because we all know how well that remake of "Dark Shadows" went last year.

::)
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: AdAstra on January 28, 2005, 09:47:33 PM
So...was Night Stalker the inspiration for the X-files?  I haven't seen it, so I have no idea what it's about.  Was Dan Curtis involved in it?  Just wonderin...thanks!
Ciao
-Mel
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Misa on January 29, 2005, 08:01:46 AM
Yes, Night Stalker was an inspiration to Chris Carter. He wanted to get Darren McGavin to play Fox Mulders dad. Dan Curtis was involved with the two Night Stalker movies, (The Night Stalker, and The Night Strangler) but then he didn't have anything to do with the series.

I hope they do make another version of the Night Stalker. I thought it was different enough from the X-Files.

Who would everyone like to see play the lead role?

Misa
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mark Rainey on January 29, 2005, 06:02:47 PM
Good lord; no one will ever be able to touch Darren McGavin. He was one-of-a-kind, and his chemistry with Simon Oakland was priceless. If it's gotta be done, somebody like Greg Kinnear might pull it off...
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on March 04, 2005, 09:46:58 PM
According to this item on Sci Fi Wire (http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?id=30518), it looks like they're going in a completely different direction from the movies and previous series:

12:00 AM, 04-MARCH-05

Townsend Stalks Night
Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned) will star as ABC's new Kolchak in the drama pilot Night Stalker, an update of the 1970s supernatural TV series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gabrielle Union will also star in Night Stalker, from Touchstone TV and writer-producer Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), the trade paper reported.

Union will play Kolchak's colleague at the paper who partners with him in his pursuit of supernatural phenomena.[/b]

Interestingly, DC hasn't been mentioned in one thing that I've read about the project, so perhaps he isn't involved in it at all.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Gothick on March 05, 2005, 09:00:11 PM
Well, Stuart Townsend is a real sexpot,so it does indeed sound as if they're going for something that looks a lot more like the X Files than Night Stalker (I personally thought the reputed resemblance between the two series was greatly exaggerated).

Does anybody have a photo of Ms. Union handy?  If she looks like the slinky-and-champagne type, it'll be a clue to the UST (unresolved sexual tension) factor in her partnership with the Townsend character.

G.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Midnite on March 05, 2005, 10:13:28 PM
it does indeed sound as if they're going for something that looks a lot more like the X Files than Night Stalker (I personally thought the reputed resemblance between the two series was greatly exaggerated).

Really?  I think nearly every episode of Night Stalker contains themes that are familiar to the X-Files audience.  I don't want to wander too far off topic, but citing NS's "The Vampire" and X-Files' "3" as examples, they're both set in L.A. and feature lady vampires who use sex to attract their victims, and the finales involve fire.

Quote
Does anybody have a photo of Ms. Union handy?

Gabrielle Union (http://www.southbeach-usa.com/flash-glam/flash-glam1/union/gabrielle-union.htm)
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Countess on March 06, 2005, 06:12:45 AM
Well i was just about to say. . hasn't a redo of the Night Stalker been done. . i.e. The X-Files?  It seems supersilious to me and likely to fail.

I agrree.  The X-Files was a landmark series that will be the yardstick by which supernatural series will be measured for some time.  I believe that fans are going to expect the same quality or better.  Having Frank Spotnitz on hand is a big plus, but if they're going to play the sexual chemistry card...well, that wasn't the Carl Kolchak I remember and loved.  Speaking of the X-Files, I was a huge fan of the series, yet I always kinda felt that Julia might have been the prototype for  Scully.   There seemed to be a lot of similarities between the characters.

Countess
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Countess on March 06, 2005, 06:19:37 AM
Quote
Does anybody have a photo of Ms. Union handy?

Just checked out Gabrielle Union's photo...yup, another Vogue cover model playing an investigator.  So the sexual chemistry is inevitable.  Sigh....  Does anyone know if Zelda Rubenstein(from the movie Poltergeist) is still alive? ;D  Now she'd make a great partner for Kolchak.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Patti Feinberg on March 07, 2005, 11:42:08 PM
[Does anyone know if Zelda Rubenstein(from the movie Poltergeist) is still alive? ;D  Now she'd make a great partner for Kolchak.

Again, not to get too far OT, but, no, she, like Heather Rourke and Danielle (the teenager), all died. Makes ya think...

Patti
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: ProfStokes on March 08, 2005, 12:59:06 AM
Again, not to get too far OT, but, no, she, like Heather Rourke and Danielle (the teenager), all died. Makes ya think...

Actually, Patti, I just checked imdb and not only is Ms. Rubinstein alive and well, but she's playing a character with a very interesting name in a new film called Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.  Check it out: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0748289/  :o

ProfStokes
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Midnite on March 08, 2005, 02:49:00 AM
she's playing a character with a very interesting name in a new film called Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.  Check it out

Heh, heh!
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mary on May 17, 2005, 08:36:51 AM
I was just reading on an "X-Files" board that there are rumors that the new "Night Stalker" has just been picked up for a series.  Has anyone heard anything?
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Midnite on May 17, 2005, 03:40:23 PM
I think nearly every episode of Night Stalker contains themes that are familiar to the X-Files audience. I don't want to wander too far off topic, but citing NS's "The Vampire" and X-Files' "3" as examples, they're both set in L.A. and feature lady vampires who use sex to attract their victims, and the finales involve fire.

Gee, Mary, you must've been reading my mind because I wanted to reply to this topic and it was right at the top of the listing.  Anyhoo, the original "Night Stalker" is tomorrow's SciFi min-marathon and it includes "The Vampire" ep mentioned above.  Also, "The Trevi Collection" with Lara Parker for anyone who still hasn't seen it.

Actually, here's the list:
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER    "Mr. R.I.N.G"
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER     "The Trevi Collection"
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER     "The Ripper"
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER     "The Knightly Murders"       
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER     "Bad Medicine"
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER     "The Vampire"
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER     "Horror in the Heights"        
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER     "The Youth Killer"

Check http://www.scifi.com/schedulebot to determine the times in your area.

Thanks, K!
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Bette on May 17, 2005, 05:57:37 PM
I was just reading on an "X-Files" board that there are rumors that the new "Night Stalker" has just been picked up for a series.  Has anyone heard anything?


Yes, today's LA Times reports that ABC presented its Fall season to the advertisers, and "The Night Stalker" is on the list.

Bette
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mary on May 18, 2005, 08:56:11 AM
Thanks, Bette!  I'm really looking forward to seeing this, although, I'll probably end up sobbing "No, no, nooooo!!!!"  LOL!
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: jimbo on May 19, 2005, 02:02:55 AM
I guess timing is everything. Several supernatural themed shows have made it to this fall's schedule. Even the WB has one but I won't go there as the subject (the WB's passing on the 2004 DS pilot) will make my blood pressure rise. At least Dan the man came through for the crew of the N.S. as he was a consultant on its pilot. Perhaps Dan can remind ABC that he has a new Dark Shadows in development-or so as were told by the Fest.
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on June 17, 2005, 08:43:51 PM
Zap2it.com posted an interesting interview with Gabrielle Union today about the series: Union's Ready for 'The Night Stalker' (http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|95882|1|,00.html)

Call me a cynic, but given the new Night Stalker's time slot and its competition (particularly CSI on CBS because NS would appeal to a similar demographic), even if the show turns out to be absolutely wonderful, I can't see it lasting for long. Unless ABC decides to switch its time slot around, I can't see how NS is going to last beyond 2 months. And if its ratings turn out to be really low, NS might not even last half that long. ABC has tried a few supernaturally themed series on Thursdays (Veritas: The Quest and the excellent Miracles being two of the most recent) and they have all been pulled before they got to air even 10 episodes.  :-
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Raineypark on June 17, 2005, 09:09:29 PM
I, for one, would very much appreciate an alternative to CSI.....I've had about all I can take of graphic forensics......(tho I have to admit I'm still crazy about Abbey and Ducky on NCIS..... :D )
Title: Re: OT - Proposed new Night Stalker series ordered
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on June 17, 2005, 09:34:25 PM
I, for one, would very much appreciate an alternative to CSI.....I've had about all I can take of graphic forensics......

Well, 26.3 million other viewers (according to CSI's season ending average viewship for this past season) might disagree.  [wink2]  CSI was second only to American Idol. And according to Entertainment Weekly's analysis, this past season's viewership actually increased 3% over last season's. In fact, CSI was one of the few shows to increase its audience.

Quote
tho I have to admit I'm still crazy about Abbey and Ducky on NCIS.....

I enjoy NCIS too, though for some reason I rarely get to watch it because I frequently seem to be too busy on Tuesdays at 8.


But getting back to The Night Stalker, don't get me wrong, if it turns out to be a series that's well done, I'd love to see it succeed. I just think that, given its timeslot, it has a steep uphill battle to attract a significant enough audience to keep it on the air.  :(