“Kolchak: The Night Stalker” Returns to TV

Do you remember Carl Kolchak, the champion of the First Amendment, who worked for that fictional newspaper (and that cranky editor) in Chicago? Forever on the trail of the weird, and stymied because he could never publish the hot stories he uncovered, Kolchak nevertheless persevered, at least through two made for tv movies and one season on ABC. Tonight, a new Kolchak makes his debut, still on ABC, at 9 p.m. but now working out of L.A. If you, like me, remember with fondness the original Kolchak, played with the appropriate world-weariness, but a certain eagerness for the chase, and for any clash with the authorities, by Darrin McGavin, note that DVDs of the series will be available for sale October 4.