Night Stalker 1.4: "Burning Man"

Written by Noah Baylin
Directed by Tony Wharmby

In which the apparent return of a serial killer who used a biological agent to burn victims alive pits Kolchak and Perri against a senior reporter, who doesn’t believe that the killer still lives…


I’m still not sure where I stand with this series. Every time I think I have a sense of where it’s going and how it’s going to progress, it comes along with an episode filled with predictability and precious little else. It also made me think about the central premise of the series and one of its more obvious flaws. That’s not something a struggling series should be doing.

Let me start with my thoughts on the premise. It occurred to me, during the final act, that Kolchak is an investigative crime reporter. That means that he’s good with the investigating, but in just about every other situation, he’s out of his element. This is not a particularly problematic character trait until he finds himself in the kind of situation that, say, law enforcement credentials (backup) and paraphernalia (a weapon or two) would facilitate.

As Kolchak is facing down the man with the instantly deadly biological agent, it struck me that Kolchak should be a dead man. He’s facing down a maniac with no reason to hold back. Instead of drawing his conclusions and tipping off the authorities after walking out the door with a false grin, he stands there and forces Mr. Psychotic to admit his complicity. That’s just not a good idea.

Now, I could buy it if Kolchak had some kind of established death wish. But that’s not where the character has been doing, exactly. He’s more in the “Mulder” mode, with a crusade that keeps him going and prevents him from having a death wish. Uncovering the truth is his mission, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into standing in the same room as the serial killer with no means of personal protection and forcing a confession.

My point is that Kolchak is a reporter, not an FBI agent, and the writers sometimes slip into the comfortable realm of “X-Files” plotting. This episode is filled with it. Substitute the co-workers at the Beacon with Skinner and some pompous agent, and suddenly this is a first season “X-Files” episode. And a fairly mediocre one, too, which is part of the problem. Perri even makes a passable “Scully” figure (and she’s hot!).

I’m also not impressed with Kolchak’s ability to work out psychology, which he really needs to understand in his line of work. I pegged Mr. Psychotic as the real killer about five seconds after Kolchak and Perri dropped off the file. The writers really telegraphed that one, and the structure didn’t suggest that such was the intent. It made Kolchak look very stupid, because Mr. Psychotic was practically handing him the truth for most of the episode.

So the end result is that Kolchak once again proves to his allies that there is more to the story than the consensual reality of the latest press release. And Kolchak recognizes something of Mr. Psychotic in himself. This happens every episode, so I think the point has been made. Kolchak could have fallen into darkness, we get that. Now show us why he didn’t, and in the process, don’t put him in the kind of position that a crime reporter shouldn’t survive.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/2

Final Rating: 6/10