weak script at time . yep . cheesy special effect at time . yep . deliciously guilty pleasure most of the time . yep . more about carl kolchak and darren mcgavin . yep . i always enjoy science fiction a a kid and but find so much of the dracula or frankenstein or mummy or horror stuff a just so much crap . it take abbott and costello to give me a new perspective on the classic universal monster and and it take carl kolchak to win me over to the dark side of entertainment . the duke have rooster cogburn and eastwood have dirty harry and garner have maverick and rockford and selleck have magnum and and darren mcgavin have carl kolchak . mix in with all those weak script and cheesy special effect and that baroque group of support character and actor and guest star and there be darren mcgavin a carl kolchak . he have a wry sense of humor in spite of the danger and be an idealist in his pursuit of the truth and and a realist when it come to accept the obligatory incompetence and eventual cover up by government official . additionally and unlike 98 % of u and kolchak be willing to stick his neck out and do what need to be do and even if it mean his demise and the end of his journalistic career and or jail time . for all his fault and include no taste in clothes and carl kolchak be a man of charm and wit who drive a beautiful classic yellow mustang ( which be an old used car at the time ) on his way to save the day for humanity . as good a any other fictional hero carl kolchak be the everyman hero bring to life every week for one season thanks to darren mcgavin . now that he pass on and his show be on dvd and i hope he have as much fun watch me watch him have fun play kolchak the night stalker all over again .