Kolchak: The Night Stalker - Legacy

Legacy

Though Kolchak was short-lived as a series, its impact on popular culture has been substantial. In particular the series has been described as a predecessor to The X-Files (1993–2002). The X-Files creator, Chris Carter, has acknowledged that the show had influenced him greatly in his own work. In one interview when mentioned that the majority of the viewing public considered the success of The X-Files series as being inspired by other such past shows such as The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, Carter mentions that while those shows were indeed an influence on Files, it was only about ten-percent, with another thirty-percent coming from the Kolchak series, with the rest derived as being based upon original 'pure inspiration'. Carter paid tribute to Kolchak in a number of ways in the show. A character named "Richard Matheson", named for the screenwriter of the pilot films, appeared in several episodes. Carter also wanted McGavin to appear as Kolchak in one or more episodes of The X-Files, but McGavin was unwilling to reprise the character for the show. He did eventually appear in several episodes as Arthur Dales, a retired FBI agent described as the "father of the X-Files".

Author Kevin Given has cited Carl Kolchak as one of the inspirations for his vampire hunter character "Karl Vincent" in his "Karl Vincent: Vampire Hunter' comic books and the novel "Last Rites: The Return of Sebastian Vasilis"