Kolchak: The Night Stalker! I saw this meme yesterday and didn't think much of it. Obviously it's Darren McGavin with a photoshopped Christmas Story leg lamp. I never heard of Kolchak before yesterday and didn't bother looking up where that scene came from, but it makes sense. Yesterday, I watched another episode of The X-Files, which I've been watching in sequence since July. Last night the next episode in order for me was Travelers, S5E15 (1998). McGavin's character (Dales) was an FBI agent in the 1950s that happened upon an X-File case and Mulder was doing a follow up. So afterward I look up the trivia, show creator Chris Charter got the inspiration for the X-Files from Kolchak The Night Stalker TV movies and TV show from the early 1970s. After some digging around I found an episode and watched one at random. I'd say pretty good and not campy for 1970s TV. Kolchak was a reporter that seem to stumble upon supernatural cases. The show only had small cast of regulars, Kolchak and his editor, plus a couple others. Everyone else was a rotating cast of who's-who from that time period. I watched Horror in the Heights. You're led to believe a “Hindu Nazi killing Jews,” except it's not. Whether or not you believe in the supernatural and myths and legends, the mythology really exists in different cultures, so you learn something. How easy it is today to research this stuff online, but if you wanted to follow up on these mythologies in 1974 you'd be making a trip to a library or museum. More about my disappointing trips to libraries some other time. Check out X-files episode “Travelers” then check out Kolchak episode “Horror in the Heights.” If I find the scene from the meme I'll report back here.
Secret NERDBASE Kolchak was X Files before X Files