ABC Cancels Night Stalker
Variety is reporting that ABC has already canceled Night Stalker, which was a remake of the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Production on Night Stalker has been halted effective immediately and the episode that was scheduled for this week will be replaced by a two hour Primetime Live.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker also aired on ABC in 1974 and only lasted one season. The show was based on a couple of popular television movies about the investigative journalist. Only 6 episodes of the new Night Stalker series have aired so far and only 9 episodes (including the pilot) have been shot.
The reason for the cancelation of Night Stalker is pretty simple. It was getting bad ratings and last week’s show apparently dipped below the 4 million viewer mark. Rather than giving Night Stalker a chance in another time slot, ABC opted to cut their losses and cancel the show outright.
There’s no word yet what ABC will replace the series with come January.
I can’t say I’m particularly surprised by this. Early reviews of the series were pretty negative and I was never able to generate enough interest to even tune in for a single episode.
Eoghann Irving is amongst other things the creator and Editor of Solar Flare. He has a life long interest in all forms of science fiction and fantasy and a pressing need to share this interest with anyone who will listen. Find out more at his personal website eoghann.com..
27 Comments, Comment or Ping
TMAC
Well another one bites the dust in six episodes no less. My friends and I commented that we are not getting into any more TV shows unless it goes past 10 episodes. The way they make shows (except HBO) if its not an instant hit they cut it quick. It’s not worth investing any energy in. I thought with Night Stalker and the support at Itunes this might have had a chance. Shows what I know. I liked the show I was looking forward to the second part of the two part episode. The cast is good, the story line needed a few tweaks but it had good bones and I think it would have found its footing in a few more episodes. But I forgot in today’s world of TV they don’t let shows find their audience. Like I said wait until 10 episodes before investing any more emotional energy.
Nov 18th, 2005
RG
Geezz - I really liked the show. An alternative to all the freakin reality shows or Law and Order
If they just upgraded the shows with some script feedback it would have done well.
Move it to FOX to replace the X-Files.
Nov 18th, 2005
JK
I agree. I believe that there could have been more of a try with this series. I saw 2 episodes and I agree; it wasn’t as good as it could have been - but - how about working on it (both production and timeslot) rather than just canceling it? Perhaps if it now moves to another network, it could make it. It seems as though today’s networks have personalities. Fox rides a fine line :-). ABC, CBS, and NBC have similar attitudes and similar programming. Perhaps people weren’t ready to have it air on the ABC network. Use some of Fox’s talents, and bring it on back!
Nov 18th, 2005
G-unit
ABC cancelled it just after a “To be continued” episode - what punks. I’ll be doing my best to avoid them as much as I can. :/
Nov 18th, 2005
Brenda
I agree with the other feedback. I initially didn’t sample this show because of negative reviews but when it became available on Itunes I paid my 99cents and bought the first few episodes. I got hooked and have been watching since. The general sentiment that shows aren’t given a chance to grow could not be more true. There are a dozen instances of some of the top shows of all time (Cheers is a particularly famous example) have low viewership to begin with but when given a chance to grow blossomed in to huge hits. It’s a shame Madison Avenue and the networks are too blind and greedy to see that.
Nov 19th, 2005
xfiles4life
aBC YOU CAN BLOW ME NOT EVEN FINISHING THE TWO PARTER THATS A FIRST FUCK YOU VERY VERY MUCH IF YOU DONT FINISH NIGHT STALKER THE FANS WILL IN A VIRTUAL SEASON. I HAVE ALREADY STARTED BRAINSTORMING AN EPISODE FOR THE X FILES VIRTUAL SEASON.
Nov 19th, 2005
Charmarie
My mom and I loved this show and I agree with everyone else about them cutting shows off too early. We have watched numerous shows where they cut it off in mid-season or right after the first season ends. Television show should be for everyone to watch, not just certain audiences, because I don’t watch those stupid reality shows , but they sure do air them a lot! I wish they would give these shows a chance to show everyone what they are made of!
Nov 20th, 2005
Steve C.
I am blown away that ABC has cancelled yet another show and
they wonder how HBO always does it!!
Money, Money and money is all that speaks!!!!
Sure the shows needed a tweek, characters have to develop and
evolve.
It is clear that Reality Programming is on the way out. Supernatural
is doing great…oh, yeh, it’s on the WB!!!
Producers of The Night Stalker, ditch ABC and take it to Cable so you can
bring your viewers a really scary series that won’t be pressured
by the Religious front that is dictating what we watch and read.
Well back to DVD and screw the big networks!!!
Karl, seen ya soon!
Steve C.
Nov 20th, 2005
Munchkyn
Sorry to see it go. I wonder if so much of the “negative” reaction was a matter of people coming to the show with a set of expectations that were not met. If you name a show after a well-known show from an earlier era, it will bring certain baggage with it. If, instead of a cheesy, scruffy middle-aged reporter in a funny hat chasing silly monsters in what is almost a self-parody, you get a gang of pretty twentysomethings in chic clothing earnestly pursuing shadowy demons you never get a good look at, you’re going to be surprised. And maybe disappointed. I wasn’t, but clearly I was in a minority. Would this show have survived if the hero wasn’t named Kolchak and the show was not called “The Night Stalker”? Maybe. Against a powerhouse like “CSI”, maybe not. Guess we’ll never know.
In any case, Frank S and friends, thanks for trying. I liked it while it was on.
Munchkyn
Nov 21st, 2005
Don
You can get the un-aired 7th show on iTunes. It is called Sea.
I hope they will also make the last 2 finished episodes available also.
Nov 22nd, 2005
Heather
this show was great!
wish there were more.
what’s the deal with abc?
and how about the fact that i can watch all of it on my ipod?
i mean, good grief, if people are pay’n to down load it why not make the remaining 3
un-aired shows available?
the crapy part is itunes doesn’t have the shows listed in order & i can’t find a list anywhere!
anyone no the order they were aired in?
Nov 23rd, 2005
Trina Ramirez
Could we at least see the final episode of the two parter ? I really enjoyed the show. I’ve never seen such hasty decisions made by such uninformed “EXPERTS”. I guess this proves why ABC is a solid fourth in the “BIG THREE NETWORKS”.
Nov 25th, 2005
Dallas Parker
Can’t say I’m surprised. The show started with a weak pilot but it had potential. Unbelievable that ABC canned it in the middle of a two part episode. I guess they could give a rat’s ass to about the almost 4 million people who watched part one.
Nov 25th, 2005
Katrina
I can not freaking believe that abc canceled Nightstalker!!!
Not only was it one of the best shows on the tv, but abc ended
right after a cliff-hanger! Couldn’t they have just moved the
show to another time slot? Given it another chance?! I am fed
up with abc and I will not support the network anymore.
Nov 28th, 2005
Argent
The overall sentiment here is that the show was good and unfortunately/unfairly cancelled.
There was nothing horrifying or thrilling about it that I could see;
it tried too hard to do that “Scully-Mulder” byplay and just didnt work. I for one am
tired of these “remakes” which bear
virtually no resemblance to whatever original show theyre updating. It was
Kolchak Nightstalker in name only; they could have just as easily changed his name
to Joe Smith. I’m glad ABC cut its losses- but ending it on a cliff
hanger was not the best move.
Nov 28th, 2005
Paul
I liked the storylines of the show. I think the downfall of the show was the characterization. Although I loved the plotlines, I could not bring myself to care about the characters. I think this show tried too much to mimic the format of the X-Files and did not form its own enterprise. Also, the show picked a lousy network to be on. ABC has not shown a successful science fiction show in a really long time. I cannot even remember one. To be successful, the show should have been on Fox, UPN, or some other network. At least there, the show would have gotten a better chance.
I agree with previous posts. The show was a breath of fresh air as compared to the reality show and cop show crap that is always on. I am left with Invasion to watch.
-Paul
Nov 28th, 2005
Max
Guess I’ll have to find something else to watch on Thursday nights. But it definitely won’t be ABC.
Nov 30th, 2005
Dave
I just read about the Night Stalker cancellation here on this message board. I’ve never been much of a TV show viewer, mostly a movie and sports watcher. My recent acquisition of TiVO has changed that somewhat. Although I still do not watch a ton of tv shows, I definitely watch more than I ever have…which brings me to Night Stalker. I loved the 70’s original. I was recording all the old episodes on the Sci-Fi channel. Then I see commercials on ABC for the new Night Stalker…I was stoked, no doubt. I figured this is great, a new show I can finally get into. Reality shows and cop shows or so “dime a dozen” that I don’t get interested in any of them, including CSI, even though I hear it’s very good. I set a TiVO season pass for Night Stalker and watch it like clockwork. Like everyone else on this board, I thought it was very good. Then something strange happens…one Thursday night the show is replaced by a network movie. I ask my wife: “Why do these networks decide to just skip a week in the middle of the season?” She tells me that networks do that type of stuff quite a bit. Needless to say it’s very annoying. The following week the show picks up again with part one of a two-part stint. The week after part one airs, nothing…stinking 2 hours of “Primetime” or whatever the hell. I check the TiVO season pass list to see what Night Stalker episodes are upcoming in the next 2 weeks, ZERO! I’m thinking, “What the hell is going on here!” So tonight I decide to check the web to see if the show was cancelled. I’ve never heard of any network cancelling a show halfway through the season. It’s ridiculous! From what I gather, it is quite common these days. What a joke. That just tells me that these new tv shows they continuously pump out at us totally suck for the most part. Quantity over quality and that is not good. That proves that these networks don’t give a crap about us viewers. I will never try to get interested in any of these network shows again. I’ve learned my lesson. Well, back to my TV world of sports and movies!
Nov 30th, 2005
Nil
What a real bummer….Night Stalker cancelled. Hey, we didn’t even get a chance to watch the
end of the two part episode…What’s with you ABC? It was great, that finally we were starting
to get rid of those so-called “Reality” shows. I can’t stand them. ABC don’t you realize that
there were over 4 Million viewers tuning into the show….I guess we don’t count.
Dec 4th, 2005
Kit
I agree with most of the earlier posts. It seems rather disrespectful of the 4 million viewers that made the time to watch the show, to cancel it
in the middle of a two-parter. Perhaps we can all write to ABC or ITunes to get the last episodes for download. The network execs just don’t seem
to understand that with what will happen when we all go digital, the focus of power will shift to the viewers. I mean 4 million viewers!
“Night Stalker” did better than ANY show ABC has had in that time slot since “Bewitched”.
Dec 5th, 2005
Scott
So it seems that iTunes didn’t feel like carrying dead weight either… I went on this evening to purchase
up what was left of the 1/2 season to find that there was no Night Stalker! After a little bit of research
I found that iTunes decided to kick Night Stalker to the curb during their introduction of several new
(and old) tv series for download. Apparently the show didn’t have enough customers shelling out the $1.99
per episode compared to Lost, Housewives and such. I can’t see that the show received less customers than
“That’s so Raven” or “The Suite Life”. I don’t think anyone knows how to properly market television anymore…
How many seasons of Survivor and the Amazing Race have their been? How lame and predictable have all of the
current “Teen Drama” spin offs become? Television sucks these days! If it wasn’t for Lost, my Tv would remain
unplugged… Come on guys…. Bring us something decent to watch… Don’t just cancel promising shows and
replace them with another repetitive hour of garbage… Try to improve things and give them a chance first!
Atleast let a show run for a season before dropping it!
Dec 7th, 2005
Rose
I think abc stinks for cancelling a potentially good show. It’s last episode was due to
be continued and they left you high and dry. Thanks alot.
Dec 20th, 2005
MJ Logan
The show definitely had some potential to be a hit. With a more focused direction and a little fine tuning, it would have been a contender. We can’t forget what ABC put it up against on Thursday night. With that type of competition, you have got to be knock your socks off rock solid good. Much like the X-Files from day one. Writing, directing, cast, the general pulse of the show must flow smoothly with fluidity. I feel that is where the Night Stalker was lacking. It was good, but it wasn’t great. I do miss it and would like to see it come back. Fox or Sci Fi, are you out there? Help out a cancelled show !!!!!
Dec 23rd, 2005
cameron
I think night stalker was the best TV show ever I really liked.
it’s to bad the cancaled it . out of a scale of 1 through 10 I’d give It a 10
Jan 12th, 2006
Daisy
this show was one of the best shows of all time i cannot believe they canceled it i realy realy
liked to watch it i think that this show could have been big if only they would have give it more time people realy liked to watch this show and i enjoyed it alot this show always had me thinking it always had me in suspense i realy do hope that u guys know that u canceled the best show i have evr seen!!
Feb 24th, 2006
cEmEtArY mAn
I have to agree with most of the comments, it is really a shame that they cancel a good show like this. They should have given it a chance and rather moved it to another time than the prime time. Dont watch much on tv but this one i really enjoyed and was looking forward too seeing more of it but not
I hope it starts again.
Apr 11th, 2006
finalsacrifce
Are you all serious? I’m watching this show on Sci Fi, and frankly, it stinks…big time! I usually love this kind of show, but this is a chore to watch.
The actor playing Kolchak is sooo boring! Can this be the same guy who was so cool as Dorian Gray in TLOEG? The plot devices are crazier than the monsters. In the first episode, he sprays a “chemical” on a lawn that a monster later walks over, and then he amazingly can use the chemical to track the creature on some sort of global positioning device…WTF?!?! He also drove a fricking car INTO A CAVE for cryingoutloud! How many caves do you know (outside of movies) have wide, flat even floors?
And since when do newspapers pay so well that their new reporter can have a hilltop solid glass mansion to live in? What would have been better is if he had a dark apartment filled to the top with old papers, old computers and boxes and boxes of research. Also, he (Kolchak) should have been rumpled and grittier. I’m not saying he had to be frumpy or ugly, mind you, but frankly everyone on the show is just too freakin’ pretty. I enjoy lookin’ at attractive people as much as the next person, but still, a bit of ‘character’ is appreciated in my quirky, reality twisting television series.
I’m only on the second episode, and I admit it might be too early to write it off (at least as far as seeing the remainder of the episodes that were completed), but I can easily see why this failed.
Aug 4th, 2006
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