ORIGINAL TITLE: THEY HAVE BEEN THEY ARE THEY WILL BE… This episode is also known as UFO.
Aired Sept 27, 1973 Directed by Allen Baron
Written by Rudolph Borchert and Dennis Clark.
From IMDB: Kolchak connects a string of bizarre thefts committed by a powerful invisible entity that targets metal deposits to a string of suspicious animal and human deaths connected by the fact that the victims' bone marrow is missing.
Len Lesser and Darren McGavin face an alien attack.
The third episode in the series is one you’re probably going to have to watch more than once— there are some misfires in it including a strange slow motion sequence when the unseen monster first strikes. It feels odd and unbalanced but that plays into the overall episode about aliens and government coverups. This episode is one of the most obvious examples of its influence on Chris Carter when he would create THE X-FILES some twenty years later.
ODDBALL CHARACTERS; (this episode is loaded)
Mary Wilkes
There are some prime Kolchak highlights including a cameo by Dick Van Patten as a man who finds UFO goop on his front lawn (listen for his call in to a radio show where he talks about his grandfather falling in it) and a scientist role for Mary Wickes who spent part of the 40s sparring with Abbott & Costello and she shows those same comedy chops here. She’s the quasi Kolchak Gal Friday in this episode but she’s less involved than some of the other ones.
Monique is back and this time she’s taken over for Mail Boy as the office darkroom technician, she’s got a good scene with Carl in the INS Bathroom/Darkroom. She’s a really great addition to the office and its a shame that she only has three appearances in the series as a new producer will be coming in and decide she doesn’t make the cut very soon.
Fritz Feld provides Vincenzo’s gourmet meal.
A sub-plot running through the episode is the World Series in which the Cubs are playing the Red Sox- and lifetime baseball fan Kolchak wants nothing more than to get to the game with a ticket provided to him by Ron Updyke (after some convincing) who is filling in as Sports Editor at the news organization, but the UFO story is getting in the way, there’s a clever bit where the radio reception is messed up so Carl can’t even listen to the game— obviously a result of our alien invasion.
Carl’s boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) is at the top of his game enjoying a gourmet meal he’s won in a World Series bet with a rival editor. Fritz Feld has a small role as the waiter that brings the exotic meal to Vincenzo, Feld was in literally thousands of TV Shows and one of his trademark moves was to make a popping sound by smacking his mouth with his hand— he often played fancy French waiters and that’s his role here.
Dick Van Patten talks about black goop on his lawn.
Len Lesser has a small role as a policeman, his name might not instantly be familiar but he was a veteran character actor who had appeared in many TV series including BATMAN and THE MONKEES but he’s best known as Jerry’s Uncle Leo in SEINFELD.
Carl’s visit to Gordie The Ghoul adds a level of dimension as we meet Gordie’s boss, the upright and proper Stanley Wedemeyer played by Rudy Challenger who was also well known to TV audiences of the time. Personally I think they should have just had him play Rudy Challenger because that’s a great name.
Phil Leeds and the UFO Support Group
Phil Leeds is another well known character actor who has a great role here as the head of a UFO Abduction Support Group which itself is made up of some very unique folks each of whom have their own story of Alien abduction.
HOW’S THE MONSTER: Uh, is there a monster? Not sure what we’re looking at but sometimes that’s the best way to handle these episodes.
James Gregory’s Police Captain.
HOW’S THE SEASONED COP WHO HATES KOLCHAK: James Gregory was General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and the Inspector on BARNEY MILLER— he’s great here too, although he doesn’t seem to hate Kolchak so much as just dislike him. Gregory has a great presence.
KOLCHAK EXCERPT: (After Carl reluctantly accepts an assignment from Tony)
KOLCHAK: If that press bus leaves without me…agreed?
VINCENZO: You know the time schedule, you’ve got a watch, what do you want from me?
KOLCHAK RATING: 3.5 - I used to really dislike this episode but if you really pay attention to it you’ll get what they were trying to do and you’ll also see how X-FILES Creator Chris Carter was heavily influenced by this show. Carter even cast McGavin in two episodes of THE X-FILES— initially trying to get him to play Kolchak again, instead the character was lightly disguised as an ex-FBI agent.
NEXT: The Vampire Sequel to the first movie.