THE NIGHT STALKER - Not the classic 1970s original (but it's out on DVD and if you haven't seen it, shame on you!) but the slightly ill-advised 2005 remake. Launched the same season as Supernatural, it swiftly became obvious which show had grasped the spirit of the original... and it wasn't this namesake. Viewers obviously agreed as it was canned after a mere six episodes (a total of ten were completed and these have all aired off-network and overseas). The big mistake was replacing the cynical washed-up one-man-band Carl of the original with a young go-getter (with a complicated back-story about his dead wife) supported by not-quite-believing fellow journalists. If you want to remake The X-Files, don't sully the name of Carl Kolchak! That said, there is some good stuff here if you take it on it's own merits. Fans of the REAL Carl should look carefully at the newspaper office scenes in the pilot episode. Available on R1 DVD.
FREAKYLINKS - From the creators of The Blair Witch Project, the gimmick in this short-lived (13 episodes) 2000-01 show is that our heroes work... wait for it... for a website that investigates paranormal activity. Predictably, a website was key to the show's off-air marketing support. The number of episodes made, and the lack of a DVD release, show's how successful that plan was.
THE CHRONICLE - When a series was announced based on Mark Sumner's News From The Edge trilogy of Kolchak-like (the twist: the reporter is female this time!) paperbacks (For the record: Vampires of Vermont, The Monster of Minnesota and Insanity, Illinois) we were excited. The books seemed a natural for TV adaptation (Sumner was probably thinking exactly the same) provided Kolchak creator Jeff Rice didn't sue. Maybe the producer's had the same fear as what appeared on-screen bore little resemblance to the books. Very disappointing. That said, the episodes have more humour and are more off-the-wall (a pig-man, Moonlighting's Herbert Viola no less, working in the basement for instance. Russell T. Davis: ring any bells?) than most of the other X-Files knock-offs. An original show for the Sci-Fi Channel, the budget matches its' status but the 22-episodes are good fun. No DVD release.
BAYWATCH NIGHTS - Yes, really. This long-forgotten jiggle-vision spin-off holds even more horrors than you might expect. The first season saw the Hoff (as super-hero lifeguard Mitch Buchanan) somehow manage to be a single-parent, be a life-guard AND moonlight as a detective after dark. See Gregory J. Bonann's excellent book Baywatch: Rescued From Primetime for the motives behind making the show... and why it didn't exactly go as planned. After the first-season failed to deliver the expected ratings (or overseas sales... ITV aired a couple of episodes in primetime before dumping the show), the show was retooled as a monster-of-the-week (really!) X-Files rip-off for year two. It's unlikely anyone noticed. After 22 supernatural-themed episodes no-one talked about a third year and Mitch was free to concentrate on his day job. Neither season is available on DVD. For shame.
STRANGE - Oft overlooked British telefantasy show launched with a Saturday night pilot in March 2002 and a full series of six episodes the following year. The cast included the late, great Ian Richardson and Samantha ("Message to Your Heart") Janus. Former priest John Strange (with a name like that, trouble is sure to be close behind) has been drummed out the church after being accused (but not convicted) of the brutal murder of his wife, a killing he claims was really carried out by a demon. Now, in the great tradition of television, he fights to clear his name and get the demon (ahem) responsible. Jude (played by Janus) is a former scientist who's working as a nurse. She takes a personal interest when she discovers, in the opening episode, that her boyfriend is really a demon. Bummer. Richardson is Canon Black, a clergyman with his own agenda. The show is stylish and deserved more attention, and more viewers, then it received. Not available on DVD.
THE HARDY BOYS AND NANCY DREW MYSTERIES - Yes, really. Based on the long-running series of novels, this 1970s prime-slice of Larson can loosely be defined as telefantasy with episode titles like The Mystery of the Haunted House (S1), A Haunting We Will Go (s1), The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (S2), The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (S2), The Creature Who Came on Sunday (S2), The House on Possessed Hill (S2) and Voodoo Doll (S2). But, in the tradition of SCOOBY DOO, the mysteries usually have perfectly normal (albeit far-fetched) explanations and the real scares come from the 1970s 'do's (does anybody have any ears?) and Shaun Cassidy's ability to break into song at any moment. Swoon. To date, season's one and two (of three) are currently on DVD in the UK.
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