And hence, we come to the Alien episode.

Three seemingly unrelated incidents--a few deaths at the zoo marked only by a strange black substance, a robbery in which a cement wall explodes and causes two piles of lead ingots to vanish before police eyes, and a strange radio disturbance all over the Greater Chicago Area--becomes the trademark for a non-human lifeform in the third episode of the Night Stalker series.  Kolchak misses the 'only World Series in twenty years to feature the Cubs' to cover these stories, only to find out that a visitor from beyond for some reason wants lead, electronics, and bone marrow for a mysterious purpose, and his only clue is a few murders and a strange substance that may or may not be the creature's vomit (!).   Finally, it all comes to a head at an observatory in which the creature holds off the police by somehow being able to manipulate the light controls and flies off.  Kolchak suggests that 'like any traveller, it stopped off for parts, a meal, and a map to find its way home.'

If this sounds like a very short way to summarize the show's plot, then it is.   While it tries to be scientific and suspenseful--more the latter than the former--the show is just here to scare people and having an invisible alien do extraordinary but irrational things does the trick.   If the Night Stalker series was anything, at least it could provide a good original scare without being too heavy on the internal logic.   If it worked, the viewer's mind would figure it out or make it logical.   And it didn't have to be too wrapped up;  a mystery is a mystery, no matter if it makes no sense or is supposed to.  Besides, unlike the previous two episodes which featured an immortal Jack the Ripper and a Haitian Zombie, the show could be forgiven for not taking a solid guess or making up some rules/internal logic as long as it provided some scares and Kolchak's logic didn't jump too far like a second season black and white Outer Limits episode.

But without a visual monster for the audience to admire, the show falls back on one of its strongest points:  music.   Aside from the regular incidental music, this episode uses various string instruments (violin, guitar) to very strong effect.  Who needs a cheesy rubber costume when you have a wind machine and an orchestra?  And it works.  Somehow, while the episode isn't the best that the series had to offer during its short run, it works.   And considering the alien was possibly one of the most derivative episodes Kolchak ever did before going off into weirder territory, they did it well.

BOTTOM LINE:  Short review, but that's mostly because there's nothing really wrong with the episode.   Basic, but less is more in this case.   Three and a half stars out of Four.