When the Kolchak DVDs arrived I was thrilled. I had the set come in the mail from Amazon the day it came out. However, at that time I had several other items to watch and I let the Night Stalker wait. Eventually, I started watching an episode here and there. About 6 or 8 weeks after getting the set I had an episode freeze up. I absolutely could not get this episode part this point no matter what I tried. I had the same problem with the Hammer Horror Collection discs. So I figured it was time to replace my ancient DVD player. I did and the Hammer discs seemed to work. Not so for Kolchak. I figured I could live with one episode freezing up but then it happened to another episode....then another. I couldn't return the discs because I had the set too long by then. Now I'm left with a mess not knowing which episodes work and which ones will freeze up 2/3 through.

I'm debating on re-investing in these discs. I love the show but I don't want to have to repeatedly return the set to wherever I get them.

What experiences have others had with this set? Has anyone returned their set? More than once? Thanks.

I had the same problem and returned them... didn't get another set because I didn't want to get caught up in the endless loop that always seems to happen when I spend too much money on a DVD.

I'll stick with Netflix.

It's not a for-sure thing, but I have occasionally had good luck with discs like that by burning them to DVD-R. Sometimes DVD-R copies of problem DVDs play just fine (and sometimes whatever is making them freeze up prevents them from being copied). I don't know why, and it's only been successful for me maybe half the time, but you might want to give it a shot if you have a DVD burner.

Seconded.

Sorry to hear about the problems. I read something about the Kolchak DVDs that will probably prove to be nothing more than empty musing, but I thought I'd pass it along.

In some interview, Guillermo del Toro confessed to be a real Kolchak fanatic (gee, there's a surprise) and that he had tried to get Universal to make the box set more of a special edition with the use of all the Kolchak memorabilia he's collected over the years. He offered all this stuff (action figures? board games?) for free but they turned him down. As things are going well with Universal's upcoming Hellboy II, he's mentioned that he hasn't given up with requests for a much-improved revisitation of the TV series box set.

It'll probably never happen. But I, like you guys, love that fast-talking straw hat wearing smartass... and a fan can dream, right?

Maybe he'll just get fed up and gear up his own Kolchak franchise (after the taint of the recent reboot has faded off)...

Thirded.

And Guillermo del Toro with the Kolchak franchise? Ah, it sets the heart all aflutter, even if it is just a dream.

Is the DVD burner option an expensive proposition?

I guess it depends on your definition of "expensive." I'm no expert, but I added a burner to my PC for under $100. You can probably find one for half that.

If you have Region 2 capabilities, you can get the set from a United Kingdom vendor. The show is spread over 5, single-sided discs.