Night Stalker: The Five People You Meet in Hell

"The Five People You Meet in Hell" is the second episode of the supernatural mystery series Night Stalker. It was directed by Rob Bowman with a script written by Thomas Schnauz. It first aired on ABC on Thursday, October 6th, 2005 at 9:00 pm. In this episode, an imprisoned cult leader named Damon Caylor exorcises his influence over others, forcing them to commit acts of violence. One victim is the prosecutor who put him away, who inexplicably beats his wife to death with a baseball bat, and then kills himself. As Carl Kolchak looks into the case, he finds that Perri Reed has a personal stake in the events that led to Caylor's conviction.

Notes & Trivia

 * Night Stalker was developed by Frank Spotnitz. It is based on the Kolchak: The Night Stalker television series created by Jeff Rice.


 * This episode is rated TV-PG.


 * This episode is included on disc one of the Night Stalker: The Complete Series DVD collection. The collection was produced by Buena Vista Home Entertainment and released in Region 1 format on May 30th, 2006.


 * Actor Art LaFleur is credited as Art La Fleur in this episode.


 * Actor Ricardo Chacon is credited as Ricardo J. Chacon in this episode.


 * This is the only episode of Night Stalker directed by Rob Bowman.


 * This is the only episode of Night Stalker written by Thomas Schnauz.


 * Actors Stuart Townsend and Tony Curran both appeared together in the 2003 adventure film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Townsend played Dorian Gray, while Curran played a version of the Invisible Man.

Allusions

 * The title of this episode is a rewording of The Five People You Meet in Heaven, which was a novel written by Mitch Albom published in 2003. It follows the life and death of a man named Eddie, who died while trying to save a girl at an amusement park and went to Heaven where he encounters five people who had an impact on his life when he was still alive. The book was adapted into a television movie on ABC in 2004 by director Lloyd Kramer.


 * Carl Kolchak's line, "A man doesn't suddenly break from reality, kill his wife, and then tell some crazy story to explain it.", draws stares from his colleagues, as this is what many believe Kolchak himself has done in relation to his own dark past. The back-story of Carl Kolchak was revealed in the series' pilot episode.

Appearances

 * This is the second appearance of Stuart Townsend's version of Carl Kolchak. It is the twenty-fourth television appearance of the character overall including the twenty episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, where he was played by Darren McGavin, and the television movies The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler. He appeared last in the series' pilot episode. He appears next in "Three".


 * This is the second appearance of Perri Reed. She appeared last in the series' pilot episode. She appears next in "Three".


 * This is the second appearance of Jain McManus. He appeared last in the series' pilot episode. He appears next in "Three".


 * This is the second appearance of Cotter Smith's version of Tony Vincenzo. It is the twenty-fourth television appearance of the character overall including the twenty episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, where he was played by Simon Oakland, and the television movies The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler. He appeared last in the series' pilot episode. He appears next in "Three".


 * This is the second and final appearance of Irene. She appeared last in the series' pilot episode.

Quotes

 * Carl Kolchak: In nightmares they intrude from places beyond our imagining. Demons, monsters, killers who strike with no remorse, or reason. In our waking hours we look over our shoulder, out the corner of our eye, alert to the stranger who might attack without warning. But in all our lives, there is a greater danger, one even more terrifying for being unexpected. Not the killer we fear, but the killer we trust.

....
 * Carl Kolchak: A man doesn't suddenly break from reality, kill his wife, and then tell some crazy story to explain it.
 * Jain McManus: Okay...

....
 * Tony Vincenzo: Ghosts, Carl? Is that what you're asking detectives about?
 * Carl Kolchak: I don't actually recall using the word "ghost."
 * Perri Reed: No, "dead man. Largish ears."
 * Carl Kolchak: Yeah, I did say that.

....
 * Carl Kolchak: How's doing?
 * Jain McManus: She seem agitated. What if she stabs me with her letter opener when I'm not looking?
 * Carl Kolchak: Well, I think she'll only go after people she loves, Jain. You're pretty safe.

....
 * Carl Kolchak: I spent long hours looking outside for answers. But there is a deeper understanding hidden inside, about the darkness that resides in each of us. And how far we would go to get back what we can never recover.

Keywords
California | Cult leader | Detective | Los Angeles | Los Angeles County | Prison | Reporter