KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER: THE SENTRY {SERIES FINALE} (TV)
Summary
One in this drama series, based on the popular "Night Stalker" television movies, in which down-on-his-luck reporter Carl Kolchak investigates crimes concerning the supernatural.
The episode begins as Kolchak flees down a hallway, seemingly being chased by something. He ends up in a cavern and describes the events of the past few days in his tape recorder. A geologist, Dr. Verhyden, was inspecting a mine beneath Merrymount, an underground data storage company. He found something embedded in rock just before his assistant was killed by an unknown creature. The next day, an electrician working in another section of the facility was also killed by the creature.
Newly-promoted police lieutenant Irene Lamont is on the case, much to Kolchak’s dissatisfaction as he feels that his peers in the press are deceived by her good looks. Kolchak questions her about the police not allowing the relatives of the deceased to identify the bodies, and on Merrymount. Kolchak disguises himself as a doctor in order to attend the autopsy report on the murdered electrician. The doctors observe that the man has puncture marks on his body consistent with those of a large reptilian creature. Upon learning this, Kolchak slips out.
He goes to Merrymount Archive posing as a potential client interested in renting storage space. The company president shows him around, stopped momentarily by a leader of the worker’s union complaining about the recent deaths. Lamont and the police arrive looking for Kolchak. Kolchak meets Dr. Verhyden, who appears extremely agitated and paranoid. When Lamont calls on the phone about Kolchak, he escapes the president’s eye and interviews the union leader in the guise of an insurance investigator. He reveals that the circumstances of the recent deaths are still mysterious, and that Dr. Verhyden’s paranoia stems from an incident in his career when another geologist stole the credit for one of his discoveries.
Kolchak investigates the scene of the electrician’s death. He sees a lizardman coming through the tunnel and takes a few pictures before fleeing; the lizardman pursues. Lamont and the police catch him going the other way and handcuff them. They do not believe Kolchak’s story about the lizardman encounter and take him away to be arrested. Several men claiming to be workers for the water department attempt to get Kolchak relayed to their custody, but Lamont refuses to hand him over.
Tony bails Kolchak out of jail. He warns Kolchak to stay away from the story, as he has worked out a deal with Lieutenant Lamont. Nevertheless, Kolchak calls in a favor from his friend Arnie to sneak him into Merrymount in a delivered package. He gets into the facility and sneaks into Dr. Verhyden’s office, where he is soon caught by the doctor himself. Dr. Verhyden angrily tells him to leave, but Kolchak is insistent on questioning him on several stones he found that resemble eggshells. A lizardman bursts through the wall and incapacitates Dr. Verhyden. It goes on a rampage, smashing equipment and easily fending off gunfire from the “water department.” After the monster leaves, Kolchak investigates and discovers the “water department” are actually in the military; Lamont arrives just as Kolchak is taking photos.
Lamont and Colonel Brody of the “water department” interrogate Kolchak. Kolchak deduces that the military is covering up the existence of the lizardmen due to their infiltration into sensitive missile silos and other such areas. A lizardman breaks into the room and in the ensuing ruckus Kolchak escapes custody. He breaks into a storage room, where he finds what appears to be a nest of the lizardman’s eggs. He takes the nest to lure the lizardman away from the facility, where he finishes recording his narration from the introduction. The lizardman arrives and Kolchak fends it off with an improvised torch. His plan succeeds and the lizardman takes off with the eggs, leaving Kolchak unharmed. Kolchak guesses that the government will most likely prevent him from publishing the lizardman story. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: March 28, 1975 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:50:11
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:49817
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Drama, mystery/suspense
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1974-1975
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Cy Chermak … Producer
- Seymour Robbie … Director
- Jeff Rice … Created by
- L. Ford Neale … Writer
- John Huff … Writer
- Jerry Fielding … Music by
- Gil Mellé … Theme Music by
- Darren McGavin … Cast, Carl Kolchak
- Simon Oakland … Cast, Tony Vincenzo
- Kathie Browne … Cast, Lieutenant Kathie Browne
- Albert Paulsen … Cast, Dr. James Verhyden
- John Hoyt … Cast, Dr. Beckwith
- Frank Marth … Cast, Colonel Brody
- Tom Bosley … Cast, Jack Flaherty
- Cliff Norton … Cast, Arnie Wisemore
- Frank Campanella … Cast, Ted Chapman
- Margaret Avery … Cast, Ruth Van Galen
- Lew Brown … Cast, 1st Detective
- Keith Walker … Cast, 1st Reporter
- Bill Deiz … Cast, 2nd Reporter
- Greg Finley … Cast, Dr. Phillips
- Tom Moses … Cast, Dr. Gordon