Would make a great series finale

What did you like most about Kolchak the Nightstalker: A Black and Evil Truth?

C.J. Henderson has always worked well with the supernatural mystery format, so he's a natural fit for the continuing adventures of that most down to earth of occult sleuths, the inestimable Carl Kolchak. His prose capture's Kolchak's unique voice perfectly, and the story does a great job of finally addressing the elephant in the room when it comes to explaining exactly why poor old Carl seems to run into monsters and mayhem everywhere he goes. In many ways this would make a terrific swan song for our knight in rumpled seersucker, neatly wrapping up the series with a nostalgic adventure in which many of Carl's more notable TV adversaries are name-checked.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Quite obviously, my favourite character has to be Carl Kolchak, who is so vividly drawn in this story that one can easily imagine Darren McGavin narrating the tale.

What aspect of Mark Kalita’s performance might you have changed?

Sadly, Mark Kalita is no Darren McGavin. He doesn't even try to be which, given the quality of the sadly-missed former Kolchak's performance, is perhaps something to be welcomed. However, his voice and delivery is such a mismatch to the distinctive cadence of Carl's use of language that it does take some of the fun out of the tale. Next time, perhaps it would serve the story better to get someone with delivery a little closer to McGavins. Kalita is an adequate reader, but too avuncular to capture Kolchak's acerbic humour.

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