Returning to Kolchak: Polymediated Narrative, Discourse, and Supernatural Drama

Abstract

Scholars are paying a great deal of attention to the complexity of the stories being created for print, film, television, and the web. In this essay, the authors explore the relationship between complex narratives and the discourses in which they participate using one genre and starting with one television program: Kolchak: The Night Stalker. The authors expand on the concept of polymediated narrative complexity in contemporary storyworlds to explore the external discourses that influence their legacies and interpretations. As such, this research examines Kolchak as an important ever-evolving discursive fragment within what would become the supernatural drama genre.