ABC Says Good Night to 'Stalker'

[Mr. Mulder]

oldish news but i just found out

ABC Says Good Night to 'Stalker'
Monday, November 14, 2005 02:04 PM PT
ABC is turning out the lights on its freshman series "Night Stalker," pulling the plug after six episodes that struggled to find audiences up against TV's top-rated series, "CSI."

Show creator Frank Spotnitz ("The X-Files") announced the cancellation on his blog (Biglight.com/blog) Sunday (Nov. 13), and ABC confirmed Monday that the show was being pulled, effective this week. An expanded edition of "Primetime" will fill its 9 p.m. Thursday spot this week, with previously scheduled movies set for the two Thursdays after that.

"While I'm disappointed the series has come to an end, I am enormously grateful for the experience and the opportunity given me by the network and Touchstone Television," Spotnitz writes. After thanking the show's cast and crew, he adds, "It was a blast."

The news doesn't come as a big surprise -- "Night Stalker" was one of many series that have struggled on ABC's Thursday schedule in recent years. In its six weeks on the air it averaged just 5.2 million viewers and also struggled in the key adults 18-49 demographic.

Any show facing CBS' "CSI," which draws 28 million viewers each week, is fighting an uphill battle. But "Night Stalker," an update of the 1970s series that stars Stuart Townsend as ghoul-hunting reporter Carl Kolchak and Gabrielle Union as his skeptical colleague, couldn't break free from the pack behind NBC's "The Apprentice." Last week, it finished in a virtual tie with FOX's "Reunion" and only beat The WB's "Everwood" by a couple hundred thousand viewers.

Nine episodes of "Night Stalker" were filmed. At the moment, ABC has no plans to air the three that haven't been seen yet.

shit

[Gripper]

b*stads,so wtf is primetime its not likely to pull more viewers,right Mulder you an me are gonna haf ta go liberate the unaired 3 episodes.

[Mr. Mulder]

it sux twice as hard that they left it on a cliffhanger

and all for csi - the lamest, most tame program in existence ftw

[Busyman]

it sux twice as hard that they left it on a cliffhanger

and all for csi - the lamest, most tame program in existence ftw

CSI knocked off X-Files as the "must watch show" is all.

CSI is quite noice.

It, Miami, and NY are consistently in the top 8 shows every week.

I liked Night Stalker but it wasn't that good.

[Mr. Mulder]

it was better than csi.


fact.

[Busyman]

it was better than csi.


fact.

Sans the wraparound story, I agree.

CSI is severely formulaic but it happens to work in most episodes.

Numb3rs is another but it many times is based on some real math applied as bullshit.

[Mr. Mulder]

SCI FI CHANNEL TO AIR 3 NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN EPISODES OF TOUCHSTONE'S 'NIGHT STALKER' (2005) AS PART OF 10-EPISODE OFF-NET PICK-UP
Released by Sci Fi

SCI FI CHANNEL TO AIR 3 NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN EPISODES OF TOUCHSTONE'S 'NIGHT STALKER' (2005) AS PART OF 10-EPISODE OFF-NET PICK-UP

Series to Debut on SCI FI Summer '06

New York, NY - December 12, 2005 - SCI FI Channel has acquired all ten episodes of Touchstone Television's series remake of 'Night Stalker' it was announced today by Thomas Vitale, SCI FI Channel's Senior Vice President, Programming and Original Movies. In addition to the seven episodes that aired on ABC this fall, SCI FI will have the exclusive premieres of 3 never- before-seen episodes. The series is slated to launch next summer.

'Night Stalker' is executive produced by Frank Spotnitz ('X-Files') and stars Stuart Townsend ('Queen of the Damned'), Gabrielle Union ('Bring It On'), Eric Jungmann ('Varsity Blues') and Cotter Smith ('X2').

Inspired by the original movie and series, Carl Kolchak ('Townsend'), is a crime reporter whose wife was mysteriously killed 19 months earlier. Now, in the eyes of the FBI, Kolchack is the primary suspect. His determination to discover the truth behind his wife's murder leads him to investigate other crimes that seem to have some kind of supernatural component. But he's trying to piece together a puzzle that keeps changing its shape. Who or what is committing these crimes? How are they all related? And why do some victims end up with a strange red mark on their hands in the shape of a snake? With his reluctant partner Perri Reed ('Union'), a sexy if skeptical fellow reporter in tow, Kolchak will go to any lengths to answer these questions.

w00t

[ziggyjuarez]

what the fuck you on about Mulder?Stalker? whos that?

[Cheese]

I was wandering what happened to Night Stalker. It was enjoyable enough, shame it went up against CSI. That's like building a corner shop next to Aldi's...

[DanB]

numb3rs is pants